p-bugle
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Chapter 16: Fight or Flight
"He said he'd be here a couple minutes ago, you still think he's going to come?"
The question was a passing remark, said over infrequent platters of rain against tiled roof and occasional small talk from their few surrounding occupants. The Seedy Pecha, a tavern based around the recreational area of the guild hall entirely too classy to live up to its namesake, provided a fine resting place for Bagon and Raichu. The day was young, the daily fruits of their labor collected, and any light that would of filtered through bar-side windows cut off by grey clouds, a seeming foreboding to both an oncoming storm, as well as the similarly tinted Charmander they would soon meet. Any pokemon fallen to the floor in inebriation from previous day's celebration had left, leaving Chimera and Argon nearly alone, lazing the time away in front of a well worn dartboard tacked to white brick walls.
"Eh, probably," Chimera replied, reaching for a tray of multicolored darts, much smaller than the ones he was usually acquainted with, "seemed like a 'mon who keeps to their word, wonder what he's been doing for the past–dammit..."
Three blue darts had been thrown at the board, with two haphazardly pinned to the one and six point sections respectively, while the most recent clattered to the floor with a dull thud. Two yellow darts had already earned his companion eighteen points, with a third soaring through the air to attach itself for a modest addition of three. With an indignant sigh, Chimera reached for a small collection of coins in his exploration bag and held it towards Argon. She eyed the Bagon with morose eyes, but accepted the coinage nonetheless,
"A-Are you sure? We are just playing for fun, I'm fine if you want to keep the stakes low."
"Of course," he replied, "I made the bet after all, can only blame myself if things go wrong. Though...I'm a bit surprised, it's not like you'd need to with my piss-poor throwing, but you could just levitate the darts into the board. Why don't you?"
She tilted her head at the question, closing her eyes to surround another yellow dart in a pink aura. The projectile meandered toward the board in a straight line, lodging itself perfectly in the center,
"Well...that wouldn't exactly be fair to you, would it? You probably still aren't used to using your short hands for throwing, and the barkeep already said you couldn't use your crossbow to shoot them."
"True enough," Chimera replied, chuckle accompanied by exchange of narrowed glances with an Octillery pouring drinks, "and I appreciate it. Though...while I like to believe a part of the reason we're limiting ourselves is that we're partners, work wise I mean, the main reason is because of the low stakes."
Though a tinge of embarrassment came with reminder of his poor performance, Chimera walked back to the board, retrieving darts for Argon and himself,
"It's an interesting topic at least. What do you say we make a new bet? Whoever gets the lower score this time pays the rent for the next three months."
"That's...not a bet you're likely going to win," Argon replied, scanning the Bagon's challenging smirk to find that he indeed was serous.
"Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps I can't throw a dart to save my life, perhaps I've been faking it for just this moment. I'm more trying to prove a point than anything. If we were to do this Argon, and it was completely allowed to levitate the dart, would you still not do it?"
Chimera was bluffing, that much was easy enough for her to tell. Just as in Uxie's cave, the Bagon's posture concealed his hands, in a failed attempt to hide the periodic shaking that seemed to plague his conscious in times of pressure or nervousness. And yet, the question still intrigued her. Assuming Chimera was somehow able to win, the consequences of upholding the dare would be dire. Her life, once relaxed in pace, would be interrupted with extra missions necessary to match the additional cost of living the Bagon necessitated. Of course, the opposite effect would occur if she were to win, and in her evolutionary abilities was the chance to make the rewards certain. Was upholding a sense of fairness correct, when there was a chance her livelihood could deteriorate so greatly?
"Yes," she replied, "i-it would suck if I lost, it really would, but it would be worse if I knew I won by not even giving you a chance. I mean...every pokemon is hatched with potential, it shouldn't matter what element you are, how tall you are, whether you can move things with your mind, this should be a game of skill."
Chimera was slightly perturbed by the response, but his grin soon returned,
"Fair enough, I can respect that. We're having fun right now, though when the cards are down, I'm worried things can get a little...grey."
A quint entrance chime directed both pokemon's attention to a familiar Charmander, dyed scales and concealed tail damp from early morning showers. He eyed the two with a smile, avoiding the barkeep's quizzical glances to take a seat near one of the elaborately crafted wooden tables near the tavern's corner.
"Speak of which..."
Without another word, Chimera and Argon joined him. A sense of unspoken tension from the previous night seemed to fill the room as orders were taken and drinks and meals served to all, but a toast proposed by the Charmander quickly alleviated this,
"To friends made and wounds forgiven. Before we start, I feel I should apologize for my behavior yesterday. Emotions and passions are a powerful thing, and despite how my blood boiled at the sight of you Chimera, I realize now I must suppress that part of myself if I am going to achieve my mission."
They both nodded, though Argon could see a slight hesitation in Chimera as their glasses clinked, a hesitation that she couldn't help matching after a couple of seconds. In the bowls before all three was the contents of a thick stew, consisting of bread, assorted vegetables, and especially small chunks of meat. Chimera dug in first using another tool constructed through his hobby of metallurgy, hosting three short prongs jutting out of the center handle that he would use to carry food to his mouth. Such a tool seemed to the Raichu completely unnecessary, but Chimera was adamant, chalking it up to one of the human customs he was unwilling to abandon just yet. Regardless, looking between Eoin and the forkful of food sent a shiver down her spine, all because of a single thought,
Meat
The minute cube of meat about to enter Chimera's mouth was, similarly to the Charmander across from her, dyed to conceal its pallid origins, having a brownish texture unbecoming to its true source. It was a well known fact that, while most meals consisted of root vegetables and berries, there were a small percentage of pokemon around Faire with carnivorous or omnivorous needs. The latter constituted herself and Chimera, wherefore she had informed the Bagon at his first meal that the only source moral enough to obtain this from was the mainland mystery dungeons. She raised her paw to Chimera before the food could enter his mouth, looking toward the Pallid as if she was caught committing a crime.
"Uh...Eoin," she said, "are you alright with us eating this? I-I mean, judging from where and who it comes from, I can understand if you'd take offense."
The Pallid eye's were centered on the bowl before him. The disgust in his frown was clear, though it was difficult to judge what part of the meal it was aimed at. Eventually, he turned back to Argon, holding a melancholic smile,
"No, it is...fine. We all have to eat, the carnivores have to devour some pokemon. In truth, that is not the worst of the problem, but I am getting ahead of myself."
Chimera for his part had frozen in place with his partners gesture. With the Charmander's approval, he chewed on the cube of meat, watching as his partner slowly lifted a paw to her own bowl to do the same.
"Well then," she said, "I guess now that we got that out of the way, you could give us your story? I-I just...I need closure. Ever since we met yesterday, there's been this voice in my head saying that I choose the wrong occupation, and that I'm not a good pokemon. I've hurt a lot of pallids in my time here, we both have, it very well could be right, but I need to know from you."
"You need not worry," Eoin quickly replied, "any pokemon would have done the same in your position, few would have actually taken the time to help me after they knew the truth. But anyway, I suppose I should open this preamble with a question."
Hasty glances from Eoin confirmed that none of the few pokemon around the tavern were paying the three any mind, and after a moments consideration he raised a hand to his goggles, letting white eyes stare toward both. The Pallid's posture drooped. His voice was slow and deliberate, tail subconsciously concealed between his legs as if he was about to bolt for the exit or hurl himself under the table,
"Do...do you believe that actions are defined by experience, or that instincts decide who you are able to be? Please be honest."
The question wasn't a surprise to either, though a moments consideration was necessary before Argon gave her opinion,
"I'd probably say the former. I-If this isn't some elaborate trick, you're a living testament to that. You aren't defined by where you come from, what species you are, or whether you can breathe fire out of your mouth. Or at least, you shouldn't be."
"Eh, for me it'd probably be a mix," Chimera replied, looking down to the pronged fork in his hand and the weapon at his side, "the place you come from, the body you inhabit, I think they each have different effects on how you act. It's...push and pull, deciding how much influence from each you're willing to accept and give up."
Eoin perked up slightly at the response, but any enthusiasm was quickly subverted when he keeled over to the table, holding a hand to his forehead as if to conceal a sharp pain. He raised the opaque goggles to his eyes, not giving either pokemon time to question the brief tapering of his pupils.
"I appreciate the sentiment. It does a great deal to inflame my heart with drive, though...I have not exactly given a good display showing the former to be true. I fear you were right in a way Chimera, of what you said yesterday, more so than you could possibly imagine."
The remark only exasperated the quizzical stares shared between Bagon and Raichu, causing Eoin to shoot from his seat, glass raised for another toast,
"It matters not, all that can be dealt with later. Anyhow, I am sure you both remember what happened after we first encountered each other below Uxie's Cave, correct?"
The recollection brought a cringe to Chimera's face, but he spoke first,
"I let you go, Argon offered you that tamato berry, then you walked off the way we came with my badge in your hand?"
"Correct. From what I can tell, most of my kind are like the ones you usually encounter: thoughtless, aggressive, unforgiving, and nonexistent after the mystery dungeon resets. A few of us, however, go through this...process. Many times our aggression remains, but we start to see things differently. We discover power in knowledge, morality in kindness, and utility in learning. Something in my mind, I do not know what, told me that I wanted to live, and that the badge in your hand was the ticket to all of it."
A strange sensation fluttered in Argon's chest, one that consisted of equal parts relief and anxiety. If what Eoin said was true, then she hadn't spent the last four years beating creatures as sentient as herself into unconsciousness in self defense. Despite this, the thought occurred that perhaps the sapience Eoin had shown was hidden inside the occasional pallid. Just one month ago they had shoved a stun seed inside the mouth of a transformed bagon and left it to the whims of the mystery dungeon, was there a chance that bagon had the potential to speak just as well as the one next to her?
"But...something's not right," Chimera said between bites, "even if you were somehow able to figure out how to use the guild badge, how did you get here? More than that, how did you even learn to speak? Awakened or not, it would be next to impossible to learn all that in a month, combined with all that other stuff you supposedly learned."
"You are correct in that belief. It would have been impossible to learn all I know in such a short time, if not for the help of a certain friend. You remember Uxie, correct?"
Again, they nodded, eyes a mix of shock and disbelief putting the pieces together,
"We encountered Uxie at the end of the dungeon. Long story short, we convinced hi—it to leave in order to discover the secrets of life outside of the cave, we haven't spoken since," said Argon.
"I suspected as much," Eoin replied, raising a hand to his chin,"I still remember that look the lake guardian gave to me on that tiny isle, after my ignoramus brain finally figured out how to get that damn badge to work. I was tired, isolated, barely more than feral at that point, and I suppose it found pity for me. I now realize how similar we really were with your claim; two pokemon entering an entirely new world, one a divine being with the power of knowledge and illusions, another a grey charmander lost in an ocean of distrust."
Chimera chuckled at the story, not in humor or malice, but understanding,
"I guess that makes three of us then. I'll spare you the details, but I can relate to entering a world you know very little about."
"M-Maybe that's why Uxie was so open to you?" Argon commented. "She left us without a trace after exchanging an...item."
"Perhaps. I would likely be as intelligent as a hatchborn had Uxie not shared with me the same ability it used at the start of civilization. I did not know what it was then, only that after that pokemon closed its eyes and dove into my mind, I truly was transformed. I cannot begin to describe how euphoric it was. Imagine spending the sum of your life trudging through a fog, judging your actions on a blind whim not being able to see past the immediate, then having that gone in an instant."
The Pallid's eyes shot towards the window in silence. Condensation had since formed from the omnipresent evening rains, concealing what would be an upper view overlooking the guild hall courtyard. As if to illustrate his point, Eoin ran his hand over the window, wiping the collection of moisture onto the table. The courtyard could now be clearly seen to all, though continuing showers as the Charmander sat down made the fog return as quickly as it had left.
"With the legendary's help, I stowed away on the Draeke, staying on even after you two had left until it made a voyage to the Eastern Faire region. The thirst for knowledge, the need to learn everything I could about the world I now called home was...undeniable. It was overwhelming, but somehow manageable so, if that makes any sense. Uxie helped me along the way of course, brought in books for me to read in the dead of night, disguised my color to those who would be suspicious, helped me attain the items that kept my origins safe. We have since parted ways, though I hope we will meet again."
"So you're a bookworm then," Chimera said, cracking a smile, "the Charmander that growled at me below Uxie's cave developed a greater interest in reading than I, impressive..."
"Having to take in so much in a short time, I-I can't imagine what it's like. What's your favorite book to read then?" Argon asked, similarly interested.
A half second passed when Eoin's mouth opened to respond, but where words should have appeared only came a dull moan. Again, the Charmander's head keeled over toward the table, accompanied by him clutching at his chest and a deep shiver running down his spine.
"I-I...dear Arceus, please not now, not this soon."
Eoin's hands shot toward the bag at his side, drink bumping off the table with a crash as he dug through its contents,
"Where is it? I thought I brought—oh no...how could I have been so careless?"
"Eoin," Argon exclaimed, shooting to her feet at the display, "do you need medical attention? What can we do to help yo—"
"Stun seeds!" the Pallid shouted. "do you have any?"
Argon and Chimera rummaged through their bags, producing only disappointed looks. A glance at the barkeep Octillery saw he was already talking into a silver speaking tube built into the guild hall walls,
"So be it then," Eoin said, shooting out of his seat onto the tavern floors, "there's no time. I must tell you while I am still here. My mission, I implore you both to accompany me on a mission to the Eastern Faire mainland! I have seen things...horrible things you will have to experience to believe."
He clamored to his feet, concealed eyes searching desperately for isolation. The Charmander's request was granted by the marble door to a storage closet on the far side of the tavern. Every step of Eoin's sprint to the room seemed to bring another surge of pain into his conscious, but his course remained. The door was forced open as quickly as it was slammed shut, leaving only Argon to look at her partner, gawking expression at the scene being returned,
"What should we do?" Chimera asked.
She considered the possibilities. The Pallid was obviously in distress, though provoking him at a point like this could potentially worsen the problem. Deep groans could be heard even through the thick marble door however, and not attempting to provide aid or at least find the problem would be even worse. Had it been most other pokemon, she would have been content to leave it to the guild professionals, but just as the Pallid had stated, he was in a sea of distrust. There was only one other pokemon Argon knew that Eoin was unlikely to respond negatively to in his time of need, and unfortunately for her, that legendary had long since taken its leave.
"I-I'll follow him, see if I can find out whats going on. We don't know what he's going through, but we don't want to seem like we're cornering him."
"Oh...right," the Bagon replied, "that's probably true. I'll be here to pull you out if you need me then, answer any questions they have about our new 'friend'. I'm willing to bet he doesn't want his secret being leaked out."
She nodded, putting one foot in front of the other toward the closet. The groaning had ceased, but in its place was a dull, whispering moan, accompanied by claws scraping against stone wall. Short breaths gave way to long inhalations in an effort to calm her nerves, ending with a sharp creak as a paw laid on the silver door handle slowly forced it open.
"Eoin," she said, oran berry dug out of her bag in hand, "we're here to help you, we just need you to tell us what's happening."
The Charmander had curled up into the room's corner, knocking over a broom against one of the wooden shelves on either side in the process. His head shot up at the voice, and the goggles haphazardly clawed off his eyes fell to the floor. Recognizance of the speaker's identity forced the Pallid to turn even more inward, concealing a millisecond look of horror to forces unknown,
"Please," he pleaded, "shut the door, barricade it, knock me out if you have to. It could be a couple minutes before the effect fades, or a couple hours. The beast...I cannot afford to let him escape."
The door shut, and Argon raised both paws to Eoin gently,
"The beast? I don't want to hurt you Eoin. Y-You can't mean—"
"There's no time. I—aaargh."
Eoin's head dropped for the last time, subdued scream giving way to a chittering growl. Dyed scales trembled, legs twitched, and grey fire blared. The Pallid looked upward with bared teeth and lunged, cramped conditions of the closet not giving Argon enough to maneuver. Both pokemon fell to the floor with a thud. Sparks crackled preemptively from the Raichu's cheeks as the Charmander's arm raised, just about to strike when their eyes met. For a split second, blue and narrow grey pupils stared toward each other just as they had against the looming stalagmites of an underground lake. Neither said a word, hostile look in the feral's eyes fading into a sense of understanding between the two. Before she could question the situation, three knocks thudded against the door, accompanied by the familiar voice of her partner through the walls,
"Are you alright? There was a loud noise, do you need my help?"
"No," she replied, "I...I'm fine."
She said it again, as though testing to see if she was lying. The Charmander's claws were still raised in a striking position, but it lay still, head cocked to the side and eyes wide. Whatever the creature over top her she was staring at was, it wasn't Eoin. Or...perhaps it was, just not the Eoin she had grown accustomed to on the ballroom floor. Regardless, it slowly reverted to its feet, paranoid glare not leaving its face as it retreated to the far corner of their confines. Halfway to the room's end, the Pallid ran a foot from one room-side shelf to another, punctuating the statement with a growl in what she could only assume was a crude marking of territory. Argon was happy to agree with the declaration, and she likewise sat down opposite the Charmander, back leaned against marble door.
The Pallid was just as anxious as when Eoin first entered the room, though she suspected this was for different reasons. The creature was cornered, and it knew it, no amount of familiarity could change that fact. If the Charmander's flame was any indication of its agitation, Argon suspected she could cook a three course meal fueled by its own dread. It wouldn't be long for the feral to decide to reengage if nothing were done to quell its nerves. Luckily for her past experience, accompanied by a childhood affinity for spicy foods seemed to provide a solution.
Argon closed her eyes, letting three red-spiked berries float out of her exploration bag. Its head immediately perked up, temptation taking the place of fear with salivating lips. In accordance with their territorial agreement, she levitated the berry into the Charmander's hand, and exchanged wary smiles after it had fully devoured the tangy food. She did likewise with the second berry, though stopped at the third. The purpose of this whole exercise, she figured, was establishing trust between her and the strange reversion Eoin had endured, and a part of the Raichu's mind was morbidly curious how far she could push it. The pink glow around the third berry faded, and she instead held it in her hand toward the Pallid. The gesture brought a quizzical chirp, but eventually instinct for food overcame apprehension, and the Pallid rose to its feet to walk to her side of the closet.
"I-uh...I hope you enjoy it, not-Eoin, it's the last one I have."
Judging whether the Pallid had understood the remark was impossible, but it accepted the berry nonetheless, again beaming a toothy grin half layered with its chewed contents. Argon expected the Charmander to return to its side of the room, but it lay dormant on its feet. In a way, this was her second reunion with the Charmander below Uxie's Cave, and when a creature was neither able to flee nor willing to fight, familiarity again overcame apprehension. It dropped to all fours, tail flame placating below its metal confines to lie its whole body down on the floor, right on top of her lap.
"Eoin?!" Argon yelped.
Her bargain had payed off, perhaps even more so than she wanted. Its once greedy smile had morphed into tranquility, and if her hearing still worked, the rumbling chirps coming from the Pallid sounded all too similar to purring. A part of her wanted to back away at the absurd gesture, but the Charmander on her feet, as well as the strange warmth its scales provided, made such movement impossible...and somewhat undesirable. She was trapped, that much was clear, the Pallid nearly as tall as her with eyes closed and tail swishing against stone floor had done a better job at ensnaring her movements than any seviper or tangela inhabiting the mystery dungeons of her daily life. A Raichu who was never one for physical affection, Argon lifted her paws to avoid disturbing the Charmander. It took notice, and the Pallid's eyes opened a smidge, chirping slightly as it craned its neck in her direction with anxious breaths. A quick yelp again escaped her mouth, and she looked between her paw and the way the Charmander in her lap's neck twist and turned, words not being needed to convey the clear request,
"E-Eoin? If you're still in there, I'm not sure I should—"
It only let out a soft growl, body curling to pull deeper into the odd embrace. She had known Eoin for barely over a day, and a part of her felt that he was not in a state to make fulfilling its instinctual desires moral. On the other hand, he had informed her that the effect wouldn't be permanent, and keeping the Pallid in a state that wouldn't make it want to bolt out of the closet and attack the first pokemeon in sight, not to mention revealing his secret, remained top priority. With a large breath equal part hyperventilation and yawn, she lowered a paw to its neck and started to scratch. Perhaps they could both forget what happened later?
The effect was immediate. Its tail swished with greater intensity, and breaths quickened to signal a great release of tension. Three knocks again emanated from the marble door at her back, and with a seconds hesitation she shouted back that the situation was within hand. Time passed, and after deliberation with her partner through the wall Chimera walked off, agreeing that visiting a certain Girafarig would be necessary if they were to investigate Eoin's request. After an hour of Raichu and Charmander maintaining the awkwardly comfortable position, light snoozing slithered from its mouth, warmth from its scales forcing Argon to succumb to a similar effect. The adrenaline that had pervaded her body at the start of the encounter faded, bringing with it a quiet contentment that belayed notion of what consequences the reversion would bring.
It ended when the Charmander turned, yawning as blue and wide-grey eyes met each other after hours of sleep. Argon's paw lay dormant on Eoin's neck mid-scratch, and if there were any sewing pins stored on the shelves between them, the ensuring silence would let both of them hear it drop.
"Eoin?" she asked.
"...Yes."
Shit.
The thought was mutual, and in an instant Eoin broke away from the hold, scrambling to retrieve the goggles knocked under one of the shelves.
"Arceus, you were not supposed to see that. The beast...I attacked you, did I not?"
"No actually," she responded, "W-Well, you charged at me, but you stopped. I guess I was able to keep you calm enough that...well you know."
Eoin froze, face locked in incredibility before looking downward to sneer at his own claws. He sat down next to Argon, taking great care to maintain a distance between the two that wouldn't bring back what had just transpired.
"It matters not. I...cannot hide my hypocrisy to you any longer. The gift Uxie bestowed upon me, while tremendous, was not perfect. The recursions...the one you just saw, they come with unpredictable intensity. I have been able to subdue its aggression with isolation and stun seeds until this moment."
Eoin's head drooped, and he snorted towards the metal contraction concealing his grey flame, before readjusting his goggles to hide from Argon's passive stare,
"For all my talk of civilization, of honor, of knowledge, I cannot escape the fact that deep down, I am just as feral as the Charmander that attacked you underneath that cave, your friend was right..."
"I...I'm not sure that's the truth, at least not the whole of it," she replied, drawing a puzzled look from Eoin, "I-I mean, I've lived my life with expectations of what pallids are, and I can say for certain that you've subverted all of them. Regardless of what just happened, that shouldn't change all that you've done, or make you any less of the Charmander who learned to talk and dance."
"But—"
Again, he looked toward his tail, seeing his own reflection in the warped surface,
"But he is—I am dangerous. If it had not been you, if it had been your friend or anyone else, I would have attacked as unrelentingly as any other of my kind. How can I accomplish my mission if I cannot even refrain from assaulting those who trust me? I do not deserve to be trusted."
"Well then...you'll just have to learn how," she said blankly, attempting to convey understanding, "I can try my best to help you, find out what's causing you to act like that and put a stop to it. Pokemon can change. I've always thought you choose who you are, and you've chosen to be better, that's enough to earn my trust."
Eoin's head remained locked to the floor despite the flattery, seemingly lost in his own expression. In the ensuring silence Argon raised her paw above the neck of the Charmander beside her, before lowering it back to her side, thoughts raging on whether he would appreciate the gesture. Again, her paw hovered just above the back of the Pallid's neck, and again, it retreated to her side. The cycle nearly repeated until Eoin noticed the attempts, melancholic chuckle accompanied by a nearly imperceptible nod.
"You really believe that?" he asked, turning away to hide his smile as instinctual euphoria carried through his spine. "You are more generous than most."
"Of course. And I suppose that the first step to that is going through that whole mission you've been talking about. Life's been...pretty nice in the past month, but if there's anything Chimera taught me, it's that variety is the spice of life, can't spend everyday cooked up inside of a room this small."
The Pallid's smile seemed to fade with recognizance of the road ahead, but quickly returned as she returned the gesture. There weren't any windows to corroborate, but Argon could sense that, for the time being, the clouds had rolled by.
"He said he'd be here a couple minutes ago, you still think he's going to come?"
The question was a passing remark, said over infrequent platters of rain against tiled roof and occasional small talk from their few surrounding occupants. The Seedy Pecha, a tavern based around the recreational area of the guild hall entirely too classy to live up to its namesake, provided a fine resting place for Bagon and Raichu. The day was young, the daily fruits of their labor collected, and any light that would of filtered through bar-side windows cut off by grey clouds, a seeming foreboding to both an oncoming storm, as well as the similarly tinted Charmander they would soon meet. Any pokemon fallen to the floor in inebriation from previous day's celebration had left, leaving Chimera and Argon nearly alone, lazing the time away in front of a well worn dartboard tacked to white brick walls.
"Eh, probably," Chimera replied, reaching for a tray of multicolored darts, much smaller than the ones he was usually acquainted with, "seemed like a 'mon who keeps to their word, wonder what he's been doing for the past–dammit..."
Three blue darts had been thrown at the board, with two haphazardly pinned to the one and six point sections respectively, while the most recent clattered to the floor with a dull thud. Two yellow darts had already earned his companion eighteen points, with a third soaring through the air to attach itself for a modest addition of three. With an indignant sigh, Chimera reached for a small collection of coins in his exploration bag and held it towards Argon. She eyed the Bagon with morose eyes, but accepted the coinage nonetheless,
"A-Are you sure? We are just playing for fun, I'm fine if you want to keep the stakes low."
"Of course," he replied, "I made the bet after all, can only blame myself if things go wrong. Though...I'm a bit surprised, it's not like you'd need to with my piss-poor throwing, but you could just levitate the darts into the board. Why don't you?"
She tilted her head at the question, closing her eyes to surround another yellow dart in a pink aura. The projectile meandered toward the board in a straight line, lodging itself perfectly in the center,
"Well...that wouldn't exactly be fair to you, would it? You probably still aren't used to using your short hands for throwing, and the barkeep already said you couldn't use your crossbow to shoot them."
"True enough," Chimera replied, chuckle accompanied by exchange of narrowed glances with an Octillery pouring drinks, "and I appreciate it. Though...while I like to believe a part of the reason we're limiting ourselves is that we're partners, work wise I mean, the main reason is because of the low stakes."
Though a tinge of embarrassment came with reminder of his poor performance, Chimera walked back to the board, retrieving darts for Argon and himself,
"It's an interesting topic at least. What do you say we make a new bet? Whoever gets the lower score this time pays the rent for the next three months."
"That's...not a bet you're likely going to win," Argon replied, scanning the Bagon's challenging smirk to find that he indeed was serous.
"Maybe, maybe not. Perhaps I can't throw a dart to save my life, perhaps I've been faking it for just this moment. I'm more trying to prove a point than anything. If we were to do this Argon, and it was completely allowed to levitate the dart, would you still not do it?"
Chimera was bluffing, that much was easy enough for her to tell. Just as in Uxie's cave, the Bagon's posture concealed his hands, in a failed attempt to hide the periodic shaking that seemed to plague his conscious in times of pressure or nervousness. And yet, the question still intrigued her. Assuming Chimera was somehow able to win, the consequences of upholding the dare would be dire. Her life, once relaxed in pace, would be interrupted with extra missions necessary to match the additional cost of living the Bagon necessitated. Of course, the opposite effect would occur if she were to win, and in her evolutionary abilities was the chance to make the rewards certain. Was upholding a sense of fairness correct, when there was a chance her livelihood could deteriorate so greatly?
"Yes," she replied, "i-it would suck if I lost, it really would, but it would be worse if I knew I won by not even giving you a chance. I mean...every pokemon is hatched with potential, it shouldn't matter what element you are, how tall you are, whether you can move things with your mind, this should be a game of skill."
Chimera was slightly perturbed by the response, but his grin soon returned,
"Fair enough, I can respect that. We're having fun right now, though when the cards are down, I'm worried things can get a little...grey."
A quint entrance chime directed both pokemon's attention to a familiar Charmander, dyed scales and concealed tail damp from early morning showers. He eyed the two with a smile, avoiding the barkeep's quizzical glances to take a seat near one of the elaborately crafted wooden tables near the tavern's corner.
"Speak of which..."
Without another word, Chimera and Argon joined him. A sense of unspoken tension from the previous night seemed to fill the room as orders were taken and drinks and meals served to all, but a toast proposed by the Charmander quickly alleviated this,
"To friends made and wounds forgiven. Before we start, I feel I should apologize for my behavior yesterday. Emotions and passions are a powerful thing, and despite how my blood boiled at the sight of you Chimera, I realize now I must suppress that part of myself if I am going to achieve my mission."
They both nodded, though Argon could see a slight hesitation in Chimera as their glasses clinked, a hesitation that she couldn't help matching after a couple of seconds. In the bowls before all three was the contents of a thick stew, consisting of bread, assorted vegetables, and especially small chunks of meat. Chimera dug in first using another tool constructed through his hobby of metallurgy, hosting three short prongs jutting out of the center handle that he would use to carry food to his mouth. Such a tool seemed to the Raichu completely unnecessary, but Chimera was adamant, chalking it up to one of the human customs he was unwilling to abandon just yet. Regardless, looking between Eoin and the forkful of food sent a shiver down her spine, all because of a single thought,
Meat
The minute cube of meat about to enter Chimera's mouth was, similarly to the Charmander across from her, dyed to conceal its pallid origins, having a brownish texture unbecoming to its true source. It was a well known fact that, while most meals consisted of root vegetables and berries, there were a small percentage of pokemon around Faire with carnivorous or omnivorous needs. The latter constituted herself and Chimera, wherefore she had informed the Bagon at his first meal that the only source moral enough to obtain this from was the mainland mystery dungeons. She raised her paw to Chimera before the food could enter his mouth, looking toward the Pallid as if she was caught committing a crime.
"Uh...Eoin," she said, "are you alright with us eating this? I-I mean, judging from where and who it comes from, I can understand if you'd take offense."
The Pallid eye's were centered on the bowl before him. The disgust in his frown was clear, though it was difficult to judge what part of the meal it was aimed at. Eventually, he turned back to Argon, holding a melancholic smile,
"No, it is...fine. We all have to eat, the carnivores have to devour some pokemon. In truth, that is not the worst of the problem, but I am getting ahead of myself."
Chimera for his part had frozen in place with his partners gesture. With the Charmander's approval, he chewed on the cube of meat, watching as his partner slowly lifted a paw to her own bowl to do the same.
"Well then," she said, "I guess now that we got that out of the way, you could give us your story? I-I just...I need closure. Ever since we met yesterday, there's been this voice in my head saying that I choose the wrong occupation, and that I'm not a good pokemon. I've hurt a lot of pallids in my time here, we both have, it very well could be right, but I need to know from you."
"You need not worry," Eoin quickly replied, "any pokemon would have done the same in your position, few would have actually taken the time to help me after they knew the truth. But anyway, I suppose I should open this preamble with a question."
Hasty glances from Eoin confirmed that none of the few pokemon around the tavern were paying the three any mind, and after a moments consideration he raised a hand to his goggles, letting white eyes stare toward both. The Pallid's posture drooped. His voice was slow and deliberate, tail subconsciously concealed between his legs as if he was about to bolt for the exit or hurl himself under the table,
"Do...do you believe that actions are defined by experience, or that instincts decide who you are able to be? Please be honest."
The question wasn't a surprise to either, though a moments consideration was necessary before Argon gave her opinion,
"I'd probably say the former. I-If this isn't some elaborate trick, you're a living testament to that. You aren't defined by where you come from, what species you are, or whether you can breathe fire out of your mouth. Or at least, you shouldn't be."
"Eh, for me it'd probably be a mix," Chimera replied, looking down to the pronged fork in his hand and the weapon at his side, "the place you come from, the body you inhabit, I think they each have different effects on how you act. It's...push and pull, deciding how much influence from each you're willing to accept and give up."
Eoin perked up slightly at the response, but any enthusiasm was quickly subverted when he keeled over to the table, holding a hand to his forehead as if to conceal a sharp pain. He raised the opaque goggles to his eyes, not giving either pokemon time to question the brief tapering of his pupils.
"I appreciate the sentiment. It does a great deal to inflame my heart with drive, though...I have not exactly given a good display showing the former to be true. I fear you were right in a way Chimera, of what you said yesterday, more so than you could possibly imagine."
The remark only exasperated the quizzical stares shared between Bagon and Raichu, causing Eoin to shoot from his seat, glass raised for another toast,
"It matters not, all that can be dealt with later. Anyhow, I am sure you both remember what happened after we first encountered each other below Uxie's Cave, correct?"
The recollection brought a cringe to Chimera's face, but he spoke first,
"I let you go, Argon offered you that tamato berry, then you walked off the way we came with my badge in your hand?"
"Correct. From what I can tell, most of my kind are like the ones you usually encounter: thoughtless, aggressive, unforgiving, and nonexistent after the mystery dungeon resets. A few of us, however, go through this...process. Many times our aggression remains, but we start to see things differently. We discover power in knowledge, morality in kindness, and utility in learning. Something in my mind, I do not know what, told me that I wanted to live, and that the badge in your hand was the ticket to all of it."
A strange sensation fluttered in Argon's chest, one that consisted of equal parts relief and anxiety. If what Eoin said was true, then she hadn't spent the last four years beating creatures as sentient as herself into unconsciousness in self defense. Despite this, the thought occurred that perhaps the sapience Eoin had shown was hidden inside the occasional pallid. Just one month ago they had shoved a stun seed inside the mouth of a transformed bagon and left it to the whims of the mystery dungeon, was there a chance that bagon had the potential to speak just as well as the one next to her?
"But...something's not right," Chimera said between bites, "even if you were somehow able to figure out how to use the guild badge, how did you get here? More than that, how did you even learn to speak? Awakened or not, it would be next to impossible to learn all that in a month, combined with all that other stuff you supposedly learned."
"You are correct in that belief. It would have been impossible to learn all I know in such a short time, if not for the help of a certain friend. You remember Uxie, correct?"
Again, they nodded, eyes a mix of shock and disbelief putting the pieces together,
"We encountered Uxie at the end of the dungeon. Long story short, we convinced hi—it to leave in order to discover the secrets of life outside of the cave, we haven't spoken since," said Argon.
"I suspected as much," Eoin replied, raising a hand to his chin,"I still remember that look the lake guardian gave to me on that tiny isle, after my ignoramus brain finally figured out how to get that damn badge to work. I was tired, isolated, barely more than feral at that point, and I suppose it found pity for me. I now realize how similar we really were with your claim; two pokemon entering an entirely new world, one a divine being with the power of knowledge and illusions, another a grey charmander lost in an ocean of distrust."
Chimera chuckled at the story, not in humor or malice, but understanding,
"I guess that makes three of us then. I'll spare you the details, but I can relate to entering a world you know very little about."
"M-Maybe that's why Uxie was so open to you?" Argon commented. "She left us without a trace after exchanging an...item."
"Perhaps. I would likely be as intelligent as a hatchborn had Uxie not shared with me the same ability it used at the start of civilization. I did not know what it was then, only that after that pokemon closed its eyes and dove into my mind, I truly was transformed. I cannot begin to describe how euphoric it was. Imagine spending the sum of your life trudging through a fog, judging your actions on a blind whim not being able to see past the immediate, then having that gone in an instant."
The Pallid's eyes shot towards the window in silence. Condensation had since formed from the omnipresent evening rains, concealing what would be an upper view overlooking the guild hall courtyard. As if to illustrate his point, Eoin ran his hand over the window, wiping the collection of moisture onto the table. The courtyard could now be clearly seen to all, though continuing showers as the Charmander sat down made the fog return as quickly as it had left.
"With the legendary's help, I stowed away on the Draeke, staying on even after you two had left until it made a voyage to the Eastern Faire region. The thirst for knowledge, the need to learn everything I could about the world I now called home was...undeniable. It was overwhelming, but somehow manageable so, if that makes any sense. Uxie helped me along the way of course, brought in books for me to read in the dead of night, disguised my color to those who would be suspicious, helped me attain the items that kept my origins safe. We have since parted ways, though I hope we will meet again."
"So you're a bookworm then," Chimera said, cracking a smile, "the Charmander that growled at me below Uxie's cave developed a greater interest in reading than I, impressive..."
"Having to take in so much in a short time, I-I can't imagine what it's like. What's your favorite book to read then?" Argon asked, similarly interested.
A half second passed when Eoin's mouth opened to respond, but where words should have appeared only came a dull moan. Again, the Charmander's head keeled over toward the table, accompanied by him clutching at his chest and a deep shiver running down his spine.
"I-I...dear Arceus, please not now, not this soon."
Eoin's hands shot toward the bag at his side, drink bumping off the table with a crash as he dug through its contents,
"Where is it? I thought I brought—oh no...how could I have been so careless?"
"Eoin," Argon exclaimed, shooting to her feet at the display, "do you need medical attention? What can we do to help yo—"
"Stun seeds!" the Pallid shouted. "do you have any?"
Argon and Chimera rummaged through their bags, producing only disappointed looks. A glance at the barkeep Octillery saw he was already talking into a silver speaking tube built into the guild hall walls,
"So be it then," Eoin said, shooting out of his seat onto the tavern floors, "there's no time. I must tell you while I am still here. My mission, I implore you both to accompany me on a mission to the Eastern Faire mainland! I have seen things...horrible things you will have to experience to believe."
He clamored to his feet, concealed eyes searching desperately for isolation. The Charmander's request was granted by the marble door to a storage closet on the far side of the tavern. Every step of Eoin's sprint to the room seemed to bring another surge of pain into his conscious, but his course remained. The door was forced open as quickly as it was slammed shut, leaving only Argon to look at her partner, gawking expression at the scene being returned,
"What should we do?" Chimera asked.
She considered the possibilities. The Pallid was obviously in distress, though provoking him at a point like this could potentially worsen the problem. Deep groans could be heard even through the thick marble door however, and not attempting to provide aid or at least find the problem would be even worse. Had it been most other pokemon, she would have been content to leave it to the guild professionals, but just as the Pallid had stated, he was in a sea of distrust. There was only one other pokemon Argon knew that Eoin was unlikely to respond negatively to in his time of need, and unfortunately for her, that legendary had long since taken its leave.
"I-I'll follow him, see if I can find out whats going on. We don't know what he's going through, but we don't want to seem like we're cornering him."
"Oh...right," the Bagon replied, "that's probably true. I'll be here to pull you out if you need me then, answer any questions they have about our new 'friend'. I'm willing to bet he doesn't want his secret being leaked out."
She nodded, putting one foot in front of the other toward the closet. The groaning had ceased, but in its place was a dull, whispering moan, accompanied by claws scraping against stone wall. Short breaths gave way to long inhalations in an effort to calm her nerves, ending with a sharp creak as a paw laid on the silver door handle slowly forced it open.
"Eoin," she said, oran berry dug out of her bag in hand, "we're here to help you, we just need you to tell us what's happening."
The Charmander had curled up into the room's corner, knocking over a broom against one of the wooden shelves on either side in the process. His head shot up at the voice, and the goggles haphazardly clawed off his eyes fell to the floor. Recognizance of the speaker's identity forced the Pallid to turn even more inward, concealing a millisecond look of horror to forces unknown,
"Please," he pleaded, "shut the door, barricade it, knock me out if you have to. It could be a couple minutes before the effect fades, or a couple hours. The beast...I cannot afford to let him escape."
The door shut, and Argon raised both paws to Eoin gently,
"The beast? I don't want to hurt you Eoin. Y-You can't mean—"
"There's no time. I—aaargh."
Eoin's head dropped for the last time, subdued scream giving way to a chittering growl. Dyed scales trembled, legs twitched, and grey fire blared. The Pallid looked upward with bared teeth and lunged, cramped conditions of the closet not giving Argon enough to maneuver. Both pokemon fell to the floor with a thud. Sparks crackled preemptively from the Raichu's cheeks as the Charmander's arm raised, just about to strike when their eyes met. For a split second, blue and narrow grey pupils stared toward each other just as they had against the looming stalagmites of an underground lake. Neither said a word, hostile look in the feral's eyes fading into a sense of understanding between the two. Before she could question the situation, three knocks thudded against the door, accompanied by the familiar voice of her partner through the walls,
"Are you alright? There was a loud noise, do you need my help?"
"No," she replied, "I...I'm fine."
She said it again, as though testing to see if she was lying. The Charmander's claws were still raised in a striking position, but it lay still, head cocked to the side and eyes wide. Whatever the creature over top her she was staring at was, it wasn't Eoin. Or...perhaps it was, just not the Eoin she had grown accustomed to on the ballroom floor. Regardless, it slowly reverted to its feet, paranoid glare not leaving its face as it retreated to the far corner of their confines. Halfway to the room's end, the Pallid ran a foot from one room-side shelf to another, punctuating the statement with a growl in what she could only assume was a crude marking of territory. Argon was happy to agree with the declaration, and she likewise sat down opposite the Charmander, back leaned against marble door.
The Pallid was just as anxious as when Eoin first entered the room, though she suspected this was for different reasons. The creature was cornered, and it knew it, no amount of familiarity could change that fact. If the Charmander's flame was any indication of its agitation, Argon suspected she could cook a three course meal fueled by its own dread. It wouldn't be long for the feral to decide to reengage if nothing were done to quell its nerves. Luckily for her past experience, accompanied by a childhood affinity for spicy foods seemed to provide a solution.
Argon closed her eyes, letting three red-spiked berries float out of her exploration bag. Its head immediately perked up, temptation taking the place of fear with salivating lips. In accordance with their territorial agreement, she levitated the berry into the Charmander's hand, and exchanged wary smiles after it had fully devoured the tangy food. She did likewise with the second berry, though stopped at the third. The purpose of this whole exercise, she figured, was establishing trust between her and the strange reversion Eoin had endured, and a part of the Raichu's mind was morbidly curious how far she could push it. The pink glow around the third berry faded, and she instead held it in her hand toward the Pallid. The gesture brought a quizzical chirp, but eventually instinct for food overcame apprehension, and the Pallid rose to its feet to walk to her side of the closet.
"I-uh...I hope you enjoy it, not-Eoin, it's the last one I have."
Judging whether the Pallid had understood the remark was impossible, but it accepted the berry nonetheless, again beaming a toothy grin half layered with its chewed contents. Argon expected the Charmander to return to its side of the room, but it lay dormant on its feet. In a way, this was her second reunion with the Charmander below Uxie's Cave, and when a creature was neither able to flee nor willing to fight, familiarity again overcame apprehension. It dropped to all fours, tail flame placating below its metal confines to lie its whole body down on the floor, right on top of her lap.
"Eoin?!" Argon yelped.
Her bargain had payed off, perhaps even more so than she wanted. Its once greedy smile had morphed into tranquility, and if her hearing still worked, the rumbling chirps coming from the Pallid sounded all too similar to purring. A part of her wanted to back away at the absurd gesture, but the Charmander on her feet, as well as the strange warmth its scales provided, made such movement impossible...and somewhat undesirable. She was trapped, that much was clear, the Pallid nearly as tall as her with eyes closed and tail swishing against stone floor had done a better job at ensnaring her movements than any seviper or tangela inhabiting the mystery dungeons of her daily life. A Raichu who was never one for physical affection, Argon lifted her paws to avoid disturbing the Charmander. It took notice, and the Pallid's eyes opened a smidge, chirping slightly as it craned its neck in her direction with anxious breaths. A quick yelp again escaped her mouth, and she looked between her paw and the way the Charmander in her lap's neck twist and turned, words not being needed to convey the clear request,
"E-Eoin? If you're still in there, I'm not sure I should—"
It only let out a soft growl, body curling to pull deeper into the odd embrace. She had known Eoin for barely over a day, and a part of her felt that he was not in a state to make fulfilling its instinctual desires moral. On the other hand, he had informed her that the effect wouldn't be permanent, and keeping the Pallid in a state that wouldn't make it want to bolt out of the closet and attack the first pokemeon in sight, not to mention revealing his secret, remained top priority. With a large breath equal part hyperventilation and yawn, she lowered a paw to its neck and started to scratch. Perhaps they could both forget what happened later?
The effect was immediate. Its tail swished with greater intensity, and breaths quickened to signal a great release of tension. Three knocks again emanated from the marble door at her back, and with a seconds hesitation she shouted back that the situation was within hand. Time passed, and after deliberation with her partner through the wall Chimera walked off, agreeing that visiting a certain Girafarig would be necessary if they were to investigate Eoin's request. After an hour of Raichu and Charmander maintaining the awkwardly comfortable position, light snoozing slithered from its mouth, warmth from its scales forcing Argon to succumb to a similar effect. The adrenaline that had pervaded her body at the start of the encounter faded, bringing with it a quiet contentment that belayed notion of what consequences the reversion would bring.
It ended when the Charmander turned, yawning as blue and wide-grey eyes met each other after hours of sleep. Argon's paw lay dormant on Eoin's neck mid-scratch, and if there were any sewing pins stored on the shelves between them, the ensuring silence would let both of them hear it drop.
"Eoin?" she asked.
"...Yes."
Shit.
The thought was mutual, and in an instant Eoin broke away from the hold, scrambling to retrieve the goggles knocked under one of the shelves.
"Arceus, you were not supposed to see that. The beast...I attacked you, did I not?"
"No actually," she responded, "W-Well, you charged at me, but you stopped. I guess I was able to keep you calm enough that...well you know."
Eoin froze, face locked in incredibility before looking downward to sneer at his own claws. He sat down next to Argon, taking great care to maintain a distance between the two that wouldn't bring back what had just transpired.
"It matters not. I...cannot hide my hypocrisy to you any longer. The gift Uxie bestowed upon me, while tremendous, was not perfect. The recursions...the one you just saw, they come with unpredictable intensity. I have been able to subdue its aggression with isolation and stun seeds until this moment."
Eoin's head drooped, and he snorted towards the metal contraction concealing his grey flame, before readjusting his goggles to hide from Argon's passive stare,
"For all my talk of civilization, of honor, of knowledge, I cannot escape the fact that deep down, I am just as feral as the Charmander that attacked you underneath that cave, your friend was right..."
"I...I'm not sure that's the truth, at least not the whole of it," she replied, drawing a puzzled look from Eoin, "I-I mean, I've lived my life with expectations of what pallids are, and I can say for certain that you've subverted all of them. Regardless of what just happened, that shouldn't change all that you've done, or make you any less of the Charmander who learned to talk and dance."
"But—"
Again, he looked toward his tail, seeing his own reflection in the warped surface,
"But he is—I am dangerous. If it had not been you, if it had been your friend or anyone else, I would have attacked as unrelentingly as any other of my kind. How can I accomplish my mission if I cannot even refrain from assaulting those who trust me? I do not deserve to be trusted."
"Well then...you'll just have to learn how," she said blankly, attempting to convey understanding, "I can try my best to help you, find out what's causing you to act like that and put a stop to it. Pokemon can change. I've always thought you choose who you are, and you've chosen to be better, that's enough to earn my trust."
Eoin's head remained locked to the floor despite the flattery, seemingly lost in his own expression. In the ensuring silence Argon raised her paw above the neck of the Charmander beside her, before lowering it back to her side, thoughts raging on whether he would appreciate the gesture. Again, her paw hovered just above the back of the Pallid's neck, and again, it retreated to her side. The cycle nearly repeated until Eoin noticed the attempts, melancholic chuckle accompanied by a nearly imperceptible nod.
"You really believe that?" he asked, turning away to hide his smile as instinctual euphoria carried through his spine. "You are more generous than most."
"Of course. And I suppose that the first step to that is going through that whole mission you've been talking about. Life's been...pretty nice in the past month, but if there's anything Chimera taught me, it's that variety is the spice of life, can't spend everyday cooked up inside of a room this small."
The Pallid's smile seemed to fade with recognizance of the road ahead, but quickly returned as she returned the gesture. There weren't any windows to corroborate, but Argon could sense that, for the time being, the clouds had rolled by.
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