A few days came and went. Artanouk, Skal and Lavals slowly gave away details on ‘the killing blow’, as Skal dubbed it. A hodgepodge of phases and stages explaining everything from the launch to the end; the speed, the tactics, which group of Pokemon was doing what, and how it all affected George and Blitzer in the end.

Violent as the operation was presented to be, and despite being the decisive battle, the topic had the energy of a corporate boardroom meeting. A load of talk about achieving things in as plain a manner, all to get a job done. It’s just that the job was overthrowing the Vined Crest, and all the flowery language of establishing a new age had to be grounded in something.

George and Blitzer’s contributions to the effort were scaled back from Tirasford. No spreading panic, no claw to claw combat, no espionage or duels where the elements clashed; that was others’ responsibility. Once the Queen had been baited out, with all her Seal-induced powers in tow, George would play a tune that Lavals had been building her lessons towards. Once played, the immense power would fade into nothingness.

George wasn’t sure about any of it. Artanouk, Skal and Lavals were vaguer than ever when describing their feelings on the matter. They all repeated stock phrases about the new dawn, their hopes and dreams, and how beautiful Eravate would become. Lavals and Skal especially were an odd bunch: The former wanted to establish a music school, while the latter wanted to start a masonry business. Leaving their involvement with the Alliance for what it was, what was stopping them from doing that now? Were they really that passionate about the Vined Crest, and the iron grip they kept over Eravate?

Four days passed. Today, all of the lessons learned throughout the months leading up to this day would culminate, in the form of a song…

One with a disturbing beginning. A black void.

George woke to the sight of nothing. Not the smoothed stone walls, or the comfy sheets of his bed, nor the sight of Blitzer standing over him. Not even the azure skies and clouds. No, George wasn’t awake at all. This was the depths of a nightmare. One he hadn’t seen since that fateful day in the bunker.

His breathing intensified as the void swirled around, like a thick black soup devouring the light. There was no escape. Nothing but void to run at, and nothing more… aside from a presence. One George hoped he’d seen the end of long ago. Something far beyond the mortal reaches of the world, whose mere existence could make one weep.

But the Dewott bit his lip rather than weep, then put on a stern face. An expression that didn’t fade, even as two glowing red eyes appeared before him, big enough to fit a house in between.

“Why, hello there, Othersider. Have we been doing well?”

George clenched his fists as the presence spoke. The dark voice mocked, frightened, pitied and warmed all at once. A chill went up his spine.

‘Perfectly well, thank you very much…’ He sucked in a breath between his teeth. ‘Come back for round two? Did you change your mind about killing me?’

A gale of wind struck the Dewott’s head on, forcing him to shield his face and plant his feet further into the dark below, as the two red eyes tilted sideways.

“Come on, now. You know that I am a man of my word! I’m not one for killing, really… Words work far better for fixing mistakes!”

‘Sure you do,’ George growled.

“Now, that’s just harsh of you. Did you not detest being unfairly judged growing up? With that not-so-nice lady giving you a rough time?”

‘ENOUGH!’ shouted George with a snarl. ‘Don’t you dare bring any of them up! Don’t you DARE compare me to that headmistress, and all of the other idiots still pissing and pushing everyone around back there!’

A laugh echoed in the dark. “Struck a nerve, did I? My apologies. I know that time in your life has been hard for you to process… even now with a different body, hm?”

‘How do you even know about my life?’ George continued to grumble.

“I see and work in ways you wouldn’t understand, Othersider. And besides, you haven’t been keeping quiet about yourself, have you?”

‘Grr…’ The Dewott shielded his chest with both arms. ‘What… what do you even want from me? Just spit it out.’

The eyes reeled back. With the way they moved through the void, George imagined them being attached to a giant reptile. A long necked lizard that all feared. Or a serpent slithering through its dark domain.

“Me? I don’t want anything from you, no… I only wish you would start thinking a little deeper about yourself.”

‘...In English now,’ The Dewott grumbled.

Wind blasted past George as the red eyes positioned themselves far above, coiling and swooping past several times. The Dewott stood firm. It could’ve been the headmistress, a monster, or the Grim Reaper himself. He was not about to back down.

“Your true purpose here.”

‘And what is my true purpose, then? Go on. Explain what I’m supposed to look into. If you even know what you’re saying.’

“Ever since you came here, you must have occasionally had the question linger in your mind. Who am I, really? And why was I brought here? And perhaps most important of all… do others appreciate me, or is it all an act? Am I genuinely loved, or is it a novelty? What does the Crest want from me? The Alliance? Individuals such as the Charmeleon, and the Garchomp?”

George spat at his feet. No saliva came out; his mouth had turned dry as a desert. ‘Don’t act like I know nothing, creature. Whatever you are. I know what everyone wants, alright… Blitzer? He’s my best friend. My only friend! He’d never hide his feelings from me. The Crest wants me gone. The Alliance? Either likes me as a tool, or will keep in touch after the Crest’s gone. Gareda wants to kill me. Happy now? Or does the rest of the world hate me too?’

A gust of wind passed. “Of course not. But you know, people aren’t always who you believe them to be. Not on a surface level. Oh, you might be shown kindness now. But what after the Crest’s gone? What when the world’s crisis has been resolved? What then?”

‘Simple. No one would just want me to disappear afterwards. That just doesn’t happen! Especially when you’ve done no wrong in their-’

The eyes tilted sideways. “Is that so?”

The Dewott fell silent. The darkness felt all the more oppressive, now putting pressure on his airways. He gritted his teeth.

“No offence intended, of course, but you haven’t been keeping up on this world’s history, haven’t you? Ever read a history book?”

‘...the last time was for school. Do you have a problem with that? Was I supposed to keep up with studying while trying to not get killed out there?’ replied George, his brow furrowed. Being mocked and belittled like a weak little student… the pain of a punch, or whatever those two eyes up there were capable of seemed so merciful in comparison.

“Have you heard the story of Krookodile Barron? The one who came long before you? A human much like yourself, turned Pokemon. Groundling in the cold, weak and struggling to fend for himself. Oh, the Pokemon of Eravate took him in, raised him… they knew he had a role to serve.”

“And he did. All those years ago, when Mount Tenebrous erupted, he took charge of the situation… many Pokemon survived thanks to his commanding presence. And yet… After all was set and done, his purpose had been fulfilled. And he was naught but a human deep down, so odd in his mannerisms, so foreign. “

“Eravate’s people could not relate to him anymore. Gradually, they left him to fend for himself, still showing respect of course, but far more distant that time. Being left alone did the worst on poor Barron. he had a drinking habit, and it only got worse and worse the lonelier he became. And eventually, his body lost the dance with death. And so Eravate moved on without him… such a tragedy. One completely preventable, might I add.”

George stared up at the eyes as they fell down to his level. ‘And? What does that have to do with me?! I’ll survive… I didn’t have anyone back where I’m from, either. Friends, people in my corner? Please! Anything here in Eravate’s an improvement!’

“Ah, ah, ah…” the demon spoke. “Remember what was said, oh George. People aren’t who you think they are. Even those you’ve written off before.”

‘Shut up!’ The Dewott reached for a scalchop to throw at the eyes, his blood boiling. He ended up with nothing but air, and a cramp in his fingers. ‘I don’t believe a word! Why should I believe you? You can’t even be bothered to show your face, let alone say who you are!’

His fingers itching, he took a step back, just as the voice faintly chuckled in response.

“Oh, don’t worry about me. You’ll see what I mean in the not too distant future, you know. Now then, if you excuse me, it’s been a pleasure getting to know you! Hope you’ll guess my name!”

As much as George wanted to demand that he’d spit out his name, any chance of that happening faded away with the void. The red eyes departed first, and the consciousness inside the void disappeared soon after.

The Dewott’s eyelids fell down as he drifted off back into sleep, his final moments of lucidity spent cursing and grumbling about how little answers he had.

* * *

Back in the waking world, it was morning. The day followed the schedule laid out in advance, identical to the days before minus the song George had to learn. Breakfast, morning exercise, playing a game with Blitzer here and there, and killing time until Lavals would come to fetch him. The Meloetta never specified when she’d come. She liked it that way.

And that’s the kind of chaos the Alliance liked in their base. That was the curious twist about their schedule down here; there basically wasn’t any. Sure, breakfast, lunch and dinner would be served, but whether you’d be training, given bar duty at a stall, or going out on a mission somewhere across Eravate was up to the dice. Some threw the system on its head entirely, and just chose to screw off for the day. There were large boards requesting reinforcements for matters in the main tunnel, and at all hours of the day there were Pokemon browsing the entries listed on it.

Nevertheless, George had an exceptional case today, and Blitzer wasn’t about to wander off on his own, so they ended up sticking together, messing around their room and the base, elders be damned. There wasn’t much down here, but they could make the most of it.

And since they didn’t have much better to do, George tried asking Blitzer if he had any strange dreams last night, anything that remotely hinted at a similar encounter with the darkness. Alas, no dice. Nothing but dreams of frolicking in the fields and scaring wild Wooloo. Close as he was getting to fourteen, Blitzer’s inner child wasn’t letting go that easily.

Sometime after lunch, Lavals showed herself at last, and George went with her without any reservations. He’d be learning the song that everything in his life had supposedly been building up to, but that’s all it was. A song. Failure wasn’t an option. In the literal sense that every mistake was just another step up the road. Progress.

Instead of the rectangle they’d been using for the last few days, Lavals took the Dewott to a sparring arena instead, wobbling through the halls with her cane. The size of a gymnastics hall, with enough room to play a game of football, it felt somewhat disturbing to be one of just two people here. All the lines drawn over the ground, the stands with room for at least one hundred decently sized Pokemon, the equipment stored in the back, all for nothing. You didn’t need much for music practice. A body and an instrument, maybe a chair to sit on…

…And, in this case, a rock on a pedestal, tainted with a purple mist swirling around.

George stopped dead in his tracks, his arms dangling from their sockets. “What… the heck is that?” ‘Is that rock somehow an anomaly? That shouldn’t be possible, it’s not alive, is it?... is this even safe?!’’

Lavals fixed up her hair with one of her thin hands, humming a soft note to herself. “Oh, it’s a little tricky to explain, but let me try. This is a rock with similar energy to what the usurper Queen has. It’s what she’s been drawing from the Seal. You know what the seal is, right?”

The Dewott nodded. “The ancient power source underneath the mountain near Luminity, if I remember correctly. What was that mountain called again… Stalwart?” ‘I was that close to saying Tenebrous, damn.’

“Mhm,” the Meloetta mumbled, then smirked. “That sounds in key. Somewhat like you in the last hour of practice for the day.”

George clicked his tongue. “Thanks.”

Keeping her distance from the rock, Lavals walked in a circle around it, each tap of her cane echoing off the walls. “In case you’re wondering, this rock cannot do much on its own. It’s only a rock, at the end of the day. But the true nature of that black mist… well, if a regular Pokemon were to acquire it, they may just go mad with the power. The Queen is just one such case. A terrible one, of course.”

The Meloetta turned to the Dewott. “In order to break a bond between something and, well, anomaly energy, you only can follow two ways. One is to destroy whoever or whatever is possessed. Beating them within an inch of their life, maybe, if the bond isn’t strong enough. But in most cases, death is required.” She sighed. “The Queen must face justice for her crimes. And it’s far too generous to give her an easy way out. That’s where option two comes in.”

George held out the incomplete Azure Flute with both of his hands. “Which is?”

Lavals’ smirk turned into a smile. “Follow me. And focus on the rock,” she said, raising her own flute. “I’ll sing first, then I’ll show you the melody on my flute.”

First, she sang a rapid, tightly packed, almost chaotic bundle of notes, her throat vibrating as she did. It sounded impossible for anyone to sing, yet The Meloetta managed. Afterwards came a high note, followed by a lower note.

They sounded divine and emotive, even when leaving her operatic voice for what it was. Then came the same two notes, sung in the same manner. And after that, Lavals repeated the first of the two notes, and followed it with a far higher note this time. High in the clouds. Final.

She raised the flute to her lips, and repeated the same melody. First, the bundle. Her fingers moved rapidly to hit all of the notes. Then came the high, and low. High, and low. High, final. Then she nodded.

“Go ahead, try it. And don’t overthink it. Just keep the rock in mind… and long to break the spell on it.”

George breathed in deep, then sighed it out. “Alright… here goes.”

After several fumbled beginnings, the Dewott understood what Lavals meant. Music wasn’t something you ‘learned’.

It was something you felt.

First came the bundle, the chaos and disbelief sounding far clearer. Then came the high, and low. High, and low. High, and final.

Suddenly, a yellow glow permeated through the Azure Flute, each hole flashing a light in rapid succession. And right as the glowing began, the rock shook as if the earth was splitting open, the forces binding it together falling apart. Bright yellows bubbled to the surface, punching holes into the dark mist. Shining, tearing, breaking free; with a thunderous snap, light conquered the dark, leaving a mere rock in its wake.

George took a deep breath, still holding the flute with both hands. With a sloppy performance of the exact same notes, the rock had been turned back to normal. He still sensed a slight disturbance, but nothing big enough to raise any red flags. With an exhale, he turned towards Lavals, his ears standing upright.

“So, what just happened?”

Lavals bowed, using her cane for support. “That, my friend, was the Song of the Creator. It’s an age-old melody, one said to have deep connections to the one that created Eravate. When performed by someone truly special, with the Azure Flute in their hands, it can pull on the Creator’s strength,” she explained, before flashing a smile. “Well? Do you believe, Othersider?”

“Believe?” George looked over his shoulder towards the rock. With the dark essence gone, it really looked silly laying on top of a pedestal. “I mean, my eyes work fine. I don’t have to believe, I just know.”

Lavals grinned like she’d landed the deal of the century, almost creepily so. “Great, great! I’m glad to see you’ve got a bright head on those shoulders, y’know. You really deserve the best.”

“Thanks?” said George while letting go of the flute. ‘Don’t know where that came from, but oh well.’

Fixing up her hair one last time to the tune of a casual melody, the Meloetta put her hands on her sides. “In any case! You should practise the melody some more in your own time, see what else you can do! Or at least, try and get the hang of it. You’re still somewhat rusty, and with the flute being in the state it is right now, we really cannot afford to have things go wrong. It might just reduce the potency of the song.”

The Dewott ’s eyes narrowed. “Uh-huh… How do you know it’ll get weaker, though?”

Lavals shrugged. “It’s a guess. For all I know, we’ll be perfectly fine. But it’s better not to risk it, no?”

“Mhm,” George grunted. “Right… I’ll get to that, then. Unless you want to keep me around-”

The Meloetta shook her head. “Oh no, do as you please. I trust you can take the rest from here, yes?”

George nodded. “Absolutely. You won’t regret putting your faith in me, I assure you.”

She patted him on the shoulder last time, flicking a hand past one of his whiskers. “Don’t worry. Life’s always full of surprises. And remember, as artists… we don’t make mistakes. We just have happy accidents!”

To that, George smirked. ‘I should remember that one.’

The session coming to an end as fast as it started, George headed back to his room straight away; he did consider stopping along the way for a treat, but left that thought in his mind. Hunger didn’t come on command, after all.

Upon returning, Blitzer was still there, surprised to see George walk through the door.

“Oh hey! Didn’t expect to see you back here this early.”

The Dewott scoffed, twitching his whiskers back and forth in the process. “Are you complaining about it?”

“Naah, of course not!” Blitzer smiled. “Just thought you’d be out longer. You said it’s been rough learning to play the flute, right?”

“About as nasty a gut punch as Skal’s got,” George replied. “But I’m managing. Got to learn this today.”

He played the melody Lavals had taught him… though this time, nothing happened. Not even the tiniest glow from the Azure Flute. Given how off time he’d played each note, that wasn’t exactly a surprise. He sheepishly eyed the Charmeleon, who was covering up his snout behind two claws.

“I… have some practice to catch up on.”

“Oh, you’ll get there eventually. Don’t you worry!”

Though times were jolly, just a few days remained until that fateful day would come. The decisive strike that would defeat the Crest once and for all. No amount of laughing could take George’s mind off of that.

And far above, the words of that dark voice in his dreams cast a shade on any positive feelings he had, ridiculous as its notions were.

It wasn’t the first time he’d been cast out.