Skal was setting up the campsite by the time the others reached the top. There was a noticeable lack of vegetation here, and not iin a natural way, either. The little bits of green that did have the audacity to have popped out of the ground here had been artificially cut short to the length of a finger tip. The site looked as if it had been prepared ahead of time.

Skal and Terez were as quiet as they were on the way here while they got to work finishing up the campsite. The only address George and Blitzer got were orders to help out, tired or not. The night was cold, and all George could think of was the bed of straws back home. As discomforting as it were, at least let him dodge the dark, unlike the touch of the cold grass. It was like the sleepless nights back in the foster’s house. Not pleasant in the slightest.

“‘Ey, you, Charmeleon, go spark the fire!” growled Skal as he dropped a batch of dried grass onto the ground. There were four batches like it. Beds for the night, by the looks of it.. One was bigger than the other three combined. “Oi! You heard me, go spark the fire!”

“h-Hey! I’m trying, okay!” Blitzer cried back with a slight growl in his voice, as he was rubbing two sticks together. Two measly sticks. George couldn’t help chuckle a little as he stared at them, then the fire on Blitzer’s tail, then the sticks again. The absurdity wasn’t lost on Skal, either. But he didn’t find it so funny.

“Oi, you think you’re a jokester, right? Go set the fire for real, or I’ll grab ye by the arse and do it for ya!”

“What? I can’t just breathe fire! What if I start a forest fire?” Blitzer said back, this time with a high pitched chirp instead.

“Forest fire?! You’re old enough to aim!” Skal thumped his thick iron tail on the ground. George gritted his teeth as he watched chunks of grass fly into the dark.

‘Why on earth did we follow these people again? He’s bound to kill us eventually…’

“Skal, please, calm yourself!”

The commotion hadn’t escaped Terez’ notice. She had been absent in the dark for a little while, an occasional blue light in the dark being the lone sign of her presence. She emerged into the orange light at last, frowning at her partner in crime.

“This is ridiculous, why are you being so hostile to him?”

“‘Cause he ain’t doin’ what I’m tellin’ him to, that’s what. Still don’t know why ye wanted to bring this kid along so badly, he’s doin’ us no favours,” Skal replied with crossed arms.

Blitzer folded his arms and pretended to ignore Skal, his tail flaring in annoyance. He hadn’t asked for any of this, yet here he was taking heat. George shot an annoyed frown at the Aggron. That was all the protesting they could do, given the little control they had. Control wasn’t even a word in their book anymore.

Terez shook her head. ”This is not about a few menial errands,” she said in an oddly sombre tone. “Cut him some slack. You yourself know what it feels like to suddenly have the things you love taken away from you.”

“But I got over it,” Skal said back, holding his arms before his chest as if in the midst of a melee.

“That’s not the point! And you can’t get over losing your parents that easily. If it was that easy, the Alliance wouldn’t even exist, would it?” Terez said, wholly exasperated.

The wind rustled through the nearby trees, invisible to the common eye. The evening wasn’t getting any brighter. Not with Blitzer’s tail dimming.

“...What do you mean, losing parents?” the Charmeleon asked. “They’re tougher than that. They can’t just be gone.”

Skal and Terez looked each other in the eye; Skal shook his head, Terez motioned for him to stop, then Skal muttered something unintelligible at her..

George looked towards Blitzer, whose head hung low. His tail had dropped straight onto the ground, without so much as the slightest bend visible; there was little energy in the spark at the tip, either. He looked as if he was about to cry. George shufffled his way over to him, raising his hand up to his back..

“Hey… I’m here for you.”

“...Thanks,” Blitzer whispered. “Do, do you think they’re telling the truth? Are my parents really no longer…” he couldn’t finish the sentence before locking up. A hollow wind passed over the hilltop, howling out in anguish.

“Of course not,” George answered while swallowing a glob of his saliva. “They’re tougher than that, you said so yourself.” He bit his lip. That couldn’t have been anymore dishonest, yet he went through with it anyway. In truth, no one on the hilltop could answer that question with any sincerity.

Blitzer raised his arm and laid it on George’s back. He looked as if he wanted to lean on George, but quickly realised he couldn’t. Evolution had made him twice as tall as George. He breathed out a puff of smoke, his mouth curling up into a sly smile.

“Yeah, I hope so too.”

George crossed his arms over his scalchop, and breathed in deep. ‘If only I had actual good news to tell him. Anything to cheer him up. How in the world can I stay optimistic when he’s not?’

By this time, Skal and Terez had finished bickering. The Aggron was first to swing his large body around, once again letting his thick armoured tail swing around with enough force to make the air cry out in pain.

“Boys, about time we ate. I’m starvin’.” Skal reached for a thick, worn-looking bag laying by his foot. Dirt was smeared all over the bottom. It looked as if the bag had been left out in the rain for a while.

Terez sat down on her bed without any reservations. With a dress that pristine, one would believe she’d be more careful to not get mud and dirt smeared all over it, but that wasn’t the case. George followed her lead, and settled on his own bed. Terez was ahead of him, Blitzer was to his left, and between himself and Skal was the campfire.

“Blitzer, could you start the fire, please? Not with the sticks, by the way, you’d be up all night in that case.”

Blitzer shook his head. “I can’t. There’s too much chance I’ll set the forest on fire, and I don’t want to live with that.”

“What do you mean?” Terez asked.

The Charmeleon sighed. “My parents raised me to be careful with my flames. Being the only fire breather in the village meant I’d get the blame if any fire happened, so I only use my flames if I really have to. Like when I’m defending myself,” Blitzer said.

‘He’s never told me that before.’ George uneasily eyed his friend’s tail, whose tip laid just a few hops away. “Can’t you use your tail to start it?”

“Too risky.” Blitzer scratched into the dirt with one of the sticks.

“Food ain’t gonna cook itself, kid,” Skal scoffed deadpan..

“I’m not a kid!”

Terez raised her hand. “Calm yourselves,” she said, her eyes taking on a slight blue glow. George felt a calming wave flow over his body; his muscles relaxed slightly, negativity faded.. In that moment, there was some kind of connection binding him and Terez together. He reached out to her, then the connection vanished as fast as it came. George retracted his hand,

‘What was that? Did she just…?’

“Blitzer,” Terez continued, “I understand your concerns. In fact, I share them. The people of this area have suffered enough as is. But I can assure you that we are here to back you up if things go awry. I know how to silence a fire, and look at who’s sitting right next to you. The Othersider- or your friend, rather, is of water. Surely he would be capable of putting out a fire.”

George tucked his tongue into one of his cheeks. A soft growl came out of his stomach. ‘I guess.’

“Okay,” Blitzer sighed out. He gently took his tail in one of his claws, and laid it on top of the fireplace. It didn’t take long for the flames to spread into the wood; he pulled it right back out with a wild tug.

“Hngh…”

An orange glow spread over the hilltop. The faces of Skal and Terez became visible once again, revealing a relaxed stare on one and a toothy grin on the other.

“Sweet. ‘Bout time we ate somethin’.”

Skal got to work, first placing some kind of raster over the campfire, then reaching into the bag and pulling out a slab of meat. The smoke from the fire billowed out over the raster as it rose into the heavens. The glow accompanied it out to the treetops. Neither would be difficult to spot. George bit his lip.

“Hey, aren’t you worried they’ll find us out here?”

Terez raised her hand. “Not in the slightest. The illusions I have conjured are far more potent than you might believe. They can mask our presence here easily, the fire very much included. For tonight, we will be safe.” She clasped her hands together, and lowered her head slightly. “Of course, we must be on the move come the break of dawn. The Crest is bound to scourge the land in search of us. Not to mention, the Prince wants to see you as soon as possible. He seemed very urgent about it.”

“The Prince?” George folded his arms over his scalchop. ‘Are they related to the Queen by any chance?’

Skal chuckled with a voice that sounded like he had been gargling gravel. “Heheheh, ye’ll find out soon ‘nuff, kid. Gotta get some food in that stomach now, ‘s been a long day.”

George looked towards at his chest with a frown. For simple words, they had power one wouldn’t expect. Granted, separating Skal’s words from an imagined punch to the chest was a bridge too far, yet the cramp in his stomach was there regardless. A day’s worth of walking and running, a lack of food since the morning, and a racing mind struggling to process the day’s events had drained him of energy. All he wanted now was to eat and sleep, preferably in a warm space. Like he’d been doing for his whole life.

“I’ll just whip up some dinner, then we can get settled, eh kids?”

George and Blitzer kept to themselves for the next few minutes as Skal and Terez cooked. Skal brought up peculiar, far too detailed stories of himself, complete with exaggerated swings of his arms and tail, while Terez held her head out of embarrassment. The stories themselves seemed half nonsense, and half things you could only wish were nonsense. In that sense, the hunger and exhaustion weren’t so bad. How the Aggron had the energy to tell all of this now was a mystery.

After a few too many stories, the food was done. A cut of feral mystery meat with some kind of Leppa paste slathered over it. Terez said Leppa made it easier to stomach; Skal laughed right after. All four bit into their share, and George swallowed without paying much attention to the odd texture. Had this been served at any other meal in his life, he wouldn’t have hesitated to spit it right back out. Alas, there wasn’t much choice. Having food at all out here was a gift.

While the others ate, Skal leaned back with his chunk of meat, drops of grease dripping from his claws. George kept an eye on him. Why he’d hesitate after being so jubilant about getting to eat felt off. Something about Skal in general seemed off, but what?

It wasn’t until the others were almost done that Skal threw his metal jaws open, shoved the meat into his gullet whole, and made the loudest swallowing sound George had ever heard, followed by a giant belch.

“Aah, that hit the spot.”

Terez rolled her eyes. “Skal...”

“What?”

“How many times have I told you to grow some proper table manners? You’re not a feral, for crying out loud.”

Skal shrugged. “‘Ey. Good food’s good food, I ain’t gonna nibble on it. ‘S not how an Aggron like me eats. Gotta mouth this big, what else am I supposed to use it for?”

Terez groaned. “Forget I said anything.”.

While staring at Skal with a dull gaze, Blitzer pushed the remainder of his food into his mouth. George’s pace only slowed. He may not have been so hungry after all.

* * *

Once dinner had wrapped up, George crashed down on the bed with a thud. The day had gone on for far too long, and by the looks of it, tomorrow wouldn’t yield a brighter horizon. Or the day after. The sun may as well have vanished.

“Haaargh…”

“Is something the matter, Othersider?” Terez said, sitting neatly on her makeshift bed. When George didn’t respond, she repeated the question, this time with a mild psychic impulse. George feigned surprise as he got back up, then rubbed his eyes.

“I’m exhausted, let me sleep.”

Terez nodded. “You’d do best to get as much rest as you can. It will be some time before we have reached the safe haven.”

“How long?” George asked, clutching onto the straws. The wind blew through the trees from behind, bringing a cool breeze that wouldn’t help him sleep with it..

“More than a week, at the minimum.”

George’s ears went flat. “A week?”

“Say that again?!” Blitzer shouted in a panicky tone, his flame flickering as it lashed against the ground repeatedly. “You can’t be serious…”

“‘Tis what it is, kids. Unless you want Soldiers to come and get ya, no dice,” Skal rumbled. “Gotta be careful if we want to win, ya know. She’ll throw the whole army at ya once she finds out yer with us.” He leaned forward and stoked the fire with a few leftover branches.

George rolled over belly upwards. A strong wind flew over his body, tickling his dry and tired feet in the process. “I’m exhausted enough after today…”

Skal and Terez looked each other in the eye for a moment, then nodded at each other before turning back to gaze at George. “That is why we’re here, Othersider. The journey to the haven is far too perilous for you and your friend to make all on your own. If not the Soldiers, the elements and ferals would claim you.”

George pressed his hands against his face, then rubbed his skin as hard as he could. “This is all too much.”

“Sure is for ya!” Skal said, before beating his chest with a single claw. “But sure is necessary, though. Ye ain’t got much choice. Eravate ain’t gonna last if ye don’t.”

George raised an eye. “What are you talking about?”

The two black scarves straightened their backs. They gave off a strong, commandeering vibe. Like they were mentors, despite being complete strangers. George dragged himself off the bed, then got back onto his feet. Too many questions had gone unanswered for too long, yet receiving their answer became evermore intimidating by the minute. The black scarves were waiting for him, Terez most of all.

“You may not have noticed, George, but we have been keeping our eye on you for some time,” Terez explained. “This is not the time for details, but the gist of it is as follows. You are a human at heart. I can sense it. Only the Creators have the power to bring a human to this world, and it is only for a single purpose.”

George licked his upper lip. “What is it?”

She raised her head. “You are an Othersider, George. A higher being has judged you, and found you worthy. I do not know why, but your importance goes without saying. You have the strength of character required to do what is needed.”

George bit his lip, and looked into the darkness past the trees. There was a faint shimmer some ways into the land where the light had vanished; the edges of the illusion, most likely. He breathed in deep, then exhaled. It was such a long shot. The ‘chosen one’. That was something that only existed in fairy tales,wasn’t it? And of all the people, why him? He had no special strength. Yet here Terez was, telling him of a supposed destiny he was to follow.

Then again, neither he nor the creatures seated around him were supposed to be real, either. Nor their powers, for that matter. The world had slipped and hit the back of its head; why would this be out of the question?

‘’You… think I was brought here for a reason. And you want to make sure I fulfil my, uh, role,” George said, his tone dull.

“Yes, that is correct,” Terez said.

“Yep. That’s ye right there, kid. Got some big responsibility on yer shoulders. Good thing ye got us to help ya with that.” Skal winked. George rested his head against his arm.

‘Who on earth would pick me for that? ’

“So this is why you’ve demanded that we follow you, huh?” Blitzer’s tail tapped the floor uneasily. “Does that mean the Soldiers wanted George for the same reason?”

Terez nodded. “Indeed. They must have caught wind of him being the Othersider now as well. Naturally, they want to make sure he does not harm their rule. His presence is a direct threat… one they seek to silence by any means necessary.” She raised her head, and looked George straight in the eye. “You’d do best to stick with us.”

Skal brought his claws down onto the dirt and leaned forward over the fire. “Yah.’s lot to take in, but ‘tis the truth alright. Ya got whatever it takes to bring ‘em down. Reason enough to get rid of ya.”

George swallowed; his fur visibly shivering from an imagined electric aftershock. ‘That makes no sense… why can’t anyone see that?’

Blitzer put a claw on George’s back. “Does… that mean I have a purpose in this, too?” The wind swept over the hilltop right as he referred to himself. Skal affirmed him with a nod and a click of his tongue.

“Ya inserted yerself in this the moment ya bumped into the kid and took ‘im under yer wing. To the Crest, ye both are one and the same. ‘S the way it is. Hate to break this to ye, but if ye had any ideas about turnin’ back now, forget it. Ye’d be taken prisoner on the spot, and since yer not the Othersider like yer friend is, they probably ain’t showin’ you a speck of mercy. And I mean that in the worst way.”

Blitzer stared out ahead of him, grimacing. He did not speak a word, nor make a sound that couldn’t be confused for air escaping from his throat. His head eventually sank, and he closed his mouth. Faint shimmers appeared in his eyes, glistering in the campfire’s light. They welled up for a moment, before beginning to make their way down his face.

Neither Terez nor Skal said anything. Both were giving him some room, even Skal did. There was no laughing, no shaking of his horned head or visible contempt present. Even he seemed to understand that this was not the time to laugh it all off.

George crawled his way over to Blitzer, and grabbed onto his arm. The Charmeleon turned his gaze to him, letting the tears flow freely for a few more seconds, before spreading his arms wide and embracing him fully. George felt his feet leave the ground as Blitzer pulled him up this neck, pressing him up into his scarf in the process. He felt the warm breath flow down his back. It was then that Blitzer finally broke, and cried.

George didn’t last much longer. In the time it took for him to wrap his own arms around Blitzer’s chest, his own eyes began welling up as well.

Deep down, from the moment they followed the two black scarves, they knew there was no turning back. Greenfield and life as they knew it had changed forever. Yet nothing could prepare for a blow like this. A strike deep into the soul that left little untouched. The family, friends and neighbours they once had… they were history. Beyond their grasp.

For George, the pain he felt was one all too familiar. He thought of that fateful day on which his parents left him behind, how he cried as he watched their car speed off into the night. That day changed his life forever, and yet. Despite only having lived as a Pokemon for a fraction of his days, this felt worse. In these past few weeks, he truly felt at home. Like he belonged. That wasn’t just an object of derision to everyone else he knew. And now it was taken from him.

And what of Blitzer? This was all he ever knew. A life of peace and happiness, dreaming of adventure and heroism, of becoming stronger and helping his fellow Pokemon out. Now it was gone, and all he had left was a long, arduous road through a land he knew little of, accompanied only by threats and strangers. What even awaited him at the end? Was it truly ‘safe haven’, or a mere mockery of the concept? Their embrace only grew tighther with time. It was as if the whole world had turned against them, and they only had each other left.

“Do you feel a little better?”

George and Blitzer slowly let go of each other.

“Yeah… I’ll, I’ll be fine,” Blitzer said. “We’ll be fine.”

Skal’s tail thumped. “Listen kid, there ain’t goin’ to come anything good out of lying to yerself. Truth is, ye’ll always carry a piece of today with ya. No matter where ye are, what ye’ll do, who ye’ll be. Same thing happened with me. Same thing happened with all the Alliance.”

Blitzer released a shaky breath from his jaws. “It’s just… there’s been too much today. I couldn’t even walk right when I woke up, then I was chased out of my home, lost my parents, then evolved as well.” He wiped his eyes down with an arm, before holding his claws out before him to stare at them. “What is this, even? Why now of all times? All the pain I’ve had in the last few weeks is gone, too.”

“Your pre evolution cramps, correct?” Terez asked.

“Huh?”

“Pre evolution cramps are what happens when you are close to evolving,” Terez went on to explain, “Your body can tell when the time is near, and will start preparing itself for the changes that are to come. Where was the pain the strongest, Blitzer?”

Blitzer cautiously touched the horn-like protrusion on his head. “Well, um, here for starters. My legs as well, and my hands. Also a little in my tail, and I guess my back, too.”

“Precisely,” Terez said. “Those are the parts affected most by the change, hence why they might’ve cramped harder than others.”

Blitzer sighed. “Aah! The whole time I was wondering where they even had come from. My parents never said anything specific, they just smiled. No wonder, they knew I was… close to…”

His face expressed abject horror as the realisation settled in.

“The whole time… they were… they knew I was close to evolving, and I always wanted to evolve…”

“Sounds about right. What parent wouldn’t be happy to see that-”

Before Skal could finish his sentence, Blitzer suddenly tipped over rightwards, a loud, scream-like whine came out of his throat. George immediately jumped off his laurels to try and comfort him. The black scarves looked away. Blitzer curled up into the fetal position. Tears flowed uncontrollably out of his eyes.

“Blitzer, it’s okay,” George whispered.

But for as long as Blitzer was awake, there was no consoling him.