Ch. 8 At the End of the Road Morning came, the Kucheat Town’s fires gone out over the night even as smoke and steam covered the sky. Faith shook her head, her eyes red as she followed Adrian and David through town, getting around closed streets. They passed through plenty of Pokémon wearing badges, though only a few of them seem interested in repairing the destruction. Instead, they stood in front of mass groups of local Pokémon, keeping them from leaving for one reason or another. Faith winced, hearing smashed glass from nearby but no other Pokémon interested in stopping it. “Fourth one already,” David said, walking past a smashed Mawlie statue with ropes around its waist. Adrian shook his head. “Pokémon here are mad, not just because of the destruction, but because of the poor responses. Especially since the leadership here are more interested in keeping its secrets than helping them out.” He turned to the side, spotting a Magnezone arguing with a Sandshrew about leaving while carrying a notebook. “At this rate, either chaos runs the town to the ground, or the leadership finally swallowed their pride.” David nodded as he grunted. “At least we can get out of here, but not before I get a word from my dear Amber.” They walked to the very edge of town, where a building in a shape of a massive Dragonite with two mailbags slung around its chest stood. Various Dragonite flew in and out of it as they entered through the doorway, with Faith sighing. Along the great walls hovered several Dragonite, picking up mail and stuffing them into the mailbags before flying away, their antennae twitching. Near the center of the building, a desk stood where a few Dragonite take or give letters or packages from the Pokémon in line. Faith and Adrian stood near the entrance, not saying a word, while David walked over to the line. Despite the long line, which held thirty Pokémon, the line went down fast, with Pokémon getting or giving their messages a minute after talking with the desk. Several minutes of waiting passed before David reached the desk himself, and he rubbed his hair-mane a bit. “Hello. I am David the Zoroark, owner of Zoroark Wonder Orbs back in Arkanilacum,” He said with a grin. “I am here to see if any messages came from there from Amber the Zoroark.” “Alright, give me one second,” the Dragonite said, and she hovered to the air with her tiny wings. She went to the walls, looking over the letters and packages before picking one up and hovering back over to the desk. “Aright, just give me your signature and paw print, and we’ll be good to go.” David nodded and, with an inked claw, wrote down his signature in a series of scribbles. He cleaned it up before inking his entire hand-paw and pressing it on the paperwork. The Dragonite looked it over and gave out a nod before handing over a brown package. “Here you are. Have a wonderful day.” The Dragonite said, and David left, joining with the others before they left the building. A few minutes passed before they reached the southern gates of Kucheat Town. Various Boltund stopped them before a few Slurpuff sniffed them and their bags out. Then a couple of Luxray looked at them over, each one frowning. A few more minutes passed before they nodded, and the gates opened. They walked out of there, with David sighing as he tugged his package close. With a claw, he sliced open the package and unfolded it, with him blinking. He reached out and pulled out a pair of earrings, one red and the other blue, and pulled them against his chest for a second, with him chuckling. He reached into the package again and pulled out a piece of paper, tossing the empty container up and letting Adrian burn it. He read out the letter, giving out a small smile, and he stuffed it into his hair mane. “What did she say?” Adrian asked, snickering at David’s blush. “She wished me loads of love and luck on this journey,” David answered while rubbing the back of his head. “She figured that I wouldn’t stay put once more even as you two went on another journey and that she’ll take care of things. So don’t worry,” he rubbed Adrian’s head a bit. “We have plenty of back stock for the rest of the season, and besides, she is assisting in this sudden election.” “That’s rather sweet of her,” Adrian said with a nod even as David clipped on the earrings, the blue one on his right ear and the red one on his left. “Not to mention giving you the earrings as well.” “Yeah, though personally, I think she likes to have the earrings like this because of some stuff the anthros left behind,” David said, rubbing his red earring a bit. “She always loves red.” “What do you mean by ‘stuff the anthros left behind?’” Adrian asked as one of his ears folded to the side. “You remember A-Ninetales taking about deities in this ‘multiverse’?” David said, and Adrian nodded. “To explain, there are pamphlets left behind that showcase how the anthros see the universe in a spiritual sense, a great deal of them contradictory with each other. One that struck Amber is the belief that this universe was a mistake born from a fake god. And that, to free ourselves from this fleshly cage, we should take the knowledge of good evil, and, through a fusion of such opposite ideals, we can be as gods. The red and blue earrings are meant to symbolize the opposing opposites that needed to be combined.” “That,” Adrian said with a pause, “doesn’t make any sense. Especially since the true opposite of red is green, and the opposite of blue is orange.” David laughed, patting Adrian’s head once more. “That’s what I told her. I also told her that, even if we can somehow become gods, I didn’t think that some good and evil fusion would be the way, that it’ll be just like combining fire and water. Still, she insisted, and I just let her believe what she wanted. At least she isn’t pushy, and she made it clear that these earrings are more out of love than of faith anyways.” Faith shrugged before turning to the distance, where two massive beings lay on the ground. Even from this distance, they looked small, but their large size became apparent as they approached closer. By the time they were within a hundred feet, both A-Ninetales and Saria stood up, at about twenty feet tall. They soon approached the three, the ground not shaking much when they came. “Good morning,” A-Ninetales said with a nod. “How was your stay at the hotel?” “Eh, went better than I expected,” David answered with a shake of a mane. “The building wasn’t as damaged as the north end of town was.” “Yes,” Faith said, her throat sore, and the others turned to her. “Sorry. Didn’t sleep too well last night. Lights that weren’t flames or even emit that much heat, beds made out of stuffing, metal, and wool, and the entire room as white as it can be just felt off-putting. I don’t wish for anything like that at home.” David squinted at her even as A-Ninetales rubbed his chin a bit. “I don’t blame you,” A-Ninetales said just as David opened his mouth. “You’re so used to how things are back there that anything else just felt off-putting. Though I’m afraid that you’ll have to get used to it once we reach the anthro’s continent.” Faith shuttered even as David sighed, shaking his head. Soon, both A-Ninetales and Saria gave out a stretched paw, and, with a forced grin, Faith hopped onto A-Ninetales’s paw. Then, she turned to the others and opened her mouth, only for Adrian to hop onto Saria’s paw. David turned from side to sigh and, with a shrug, joined Faith. Soon, they were lifted up onto both A-Ninetales and Saria’s heads, and they hopped onto them. But as soon as they landed on them, both massive Pokémon vibrated a bit. After that, they grew in size, with the individual fur becoming much larger to Faith, Adrian, and David. David rubbed one of the strands as it expanded until it stopped, with both A-Ninetales and Saria standing at a hundred and fifty feet tall. Afterward, they turned south, and, with a grace reflected from yesterday, they walked with not even a footprint left behind. One of A-Ninetales’s tails hugged Saria’s tail, and she blushed a bit. Soon, she nosed against A-Ninetales’s cheek, and he blushed as well. Then, they laughed and walked some more. Yet, even as the beautiful view came to them, Faith’s mind was muddled with confusion. She turned her head to Adrian, who wasn’t looking back, and her heart felt a pang of regret. She thought that he should stop holding out for her all this time since he should’ve known that her heart belonged to another. And yet, now that he seemed to leave her side—her head left hot at this point—the pain was like Kyle disappearing years ago. “Is there anything wrong, Faith?” David asked as he patted her head. “Huh?” Faith blinked for a few seconds before she shook her head. “It’s nothing. Just taking in the incoming forest.” David stood silent for a few moments before he said, “It is beautiful.”
# # #
Hours passed as the group traveled southward, the sun already peaked and falling downwards. Forests came into view, with trees reaching as high as A-Ninetales’s neck as he and Saria walked by, making sure not to knock down a single tree. Afterward, they went into fields with grass as tall as their paws, yet springy enough to rise back up after stepping on them. The weather heated up for early autumn weather and yet wetter. By the afternoon, all of them saw the blue sea that stretched for miles. The clouds hovered above and behind them as they approached closer to the ocean. The dirt gave away to A-Ninetales’s and Saria’s paws as the grass receded, with both of them chuckling at this. Finally, the wind blew on their backs, the dirt becoming sand, and they stopped, laying down as the sea crashed against the beach before them. From both sides grew several coconut trees, with several coconuts still hanging onto the tree itself. “I must say, this is an amazing sight,” David said, rubbing his claws against the white sand. “I heard of the beauty of the ocean and the beach, but to see one with my own eyes took my breath away. I’m glad I stay if only to see this.” Saria nodded even as she rubbed her chin. “But I bet you want Amber to see this too, right?” David reached out to his red earring and rubbed it a bit. “I do, but she is needed back home.” “Perhaps, if there’s another time, Amber could see for herself,” A-Ninetales said before he reached to his badge. He pressed it three times, and the green A on it glowed red for several seconds. Then, it turned back into green, and he nodded. He lowered his paw, and he gave a small smile, with Faith, Adrian, and David tilted their heads in confusion. “That was a signal to the anthro’s continent. It’s to let them know that we’re waiting to be picked up, though I expect that it’ll take an hour for the transport ship to arrive.” “In an hour, eh?” David said before shrugging. “We can wait. Besides, that was a long trip you two had. That must’ve been four hundred miles, not counting the hundred fifty-eight miles from yesterday.” A-Ninetales lifted his front right paw upwards and flexed it a little. “I’m used to traveling long distances. Besides, it’s a good way to shed excess growth energy.” Saria laughed as she swayed her scythe-like tail. “Which for you is like shrinking from twenty to nineteen feet.” A-Ninetales rolled his eyes even as Faith looked at his paw. “I do have a question for you two. How did you walk without causing footprints at that size?” Saria smiled and answered, “In short, training. In long, it’s through learning how to manipulate growth energy so that any damages we cause are minimal. Without training, it can cause a strain in our bodies, but that is negligible as we train on it more.” “There are more beneficial uses in learning how to control that energy,” A-Ninetales continued. “Of course, it also depends on the user and how they gain that energy, like Saria’s Mega Stone versus my Flash Fire. For example, if I cannot store energy into my badge anymore, I can also compress it within myself, willing myself to shrink, but it can cause an overcharge.” “An overcharge?” Faith asked, her left ear folding to the side. “You remember using that powerful Flamethrower attack on Jirachi?” A-Ninetales asked and waited until she nodded. “That’s one of the results of an overcharge. Basically, our bodies became far stronger, tougher, faster, but that energy cannot be contained for long. If you try, you will explode.” Faith shuddered as David rubbed his chin. “But what you’re also saying is that to avoid exploding, you need to either expend that extra energy or let it grow you back up again.” “Correct,” A-Ninetales answered as he rubbed his chin. “Some can contain it far better than others. But the ones who have the best chance of compressing that energy for long periods are those who have a high level of control.” “Which, given that you walk without leaving a paw print, is a sign that you do,” David said, and A-Ninetales nodded. “Interesting. But what about Saria? What benefits does she have for learning high level of this growth energy control?” “For starters, it can allow me to lengthen my time being large since the bigger I get, and especially if I Mega Evolve, the more energy I expend,” Saria explained as she rubbed her chest. “I’m also hoping that it’ll allow me to increase my max size, though none came from it.” “You don’t have to worry,” A-Ninetales said, rubbing her chin and neck. “Even if you want to tower over me, you don’t have to stress yourself doing so.” Saria rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t help but blush and laugh a bit. Soon, all of the other Pokémon laughed before Faith, Adrian, and David went out to the beach itself. David winced a bit, the sand burning even as the other two looked back at him in confusion. A-Ninetales chuckled a bit and relaxed, only to give out a yap when a massive thud came on top of him. He turned upwards and grinned, Saria having grown to two hundred and fifty feet tall and with her rubbing his cheek a bit.
# # #
“So, they’re waiting there for now,” Kyle said, his appendages, chest, and arms wrapped in bandages. He lay next to a tree, where Maya sat next to him while still wearing her bandages, both a mile north. Her device attached to her leg whirled even as she sighed. “Think they’ll spot us?” “They won’t at long as my machine is running,” Maya answered, rubbing against it even as it heated up a bit. She winched as Kyle pressed against the tree, trying to pull himself up. “I know that you’re stubborn, but you should just lay down and rest. Even after a day’s rest, I still feel sore, and I bet you feel worse than I do.” “I know, but I won’t give up on this,” Kyle said, a growl in his voice. “Not when I’m so close.” Maya gritted her teeth while clenching her paws together. “Kyle, what are you talking about?” Kyle glared at Maya, who scowled in return. “I don’t have to explain myself. Especially since you think too little.” “Yes, because *ordering* me to kidnap a Vulpix against my own will, *reveal* that your ‘master’ is after that Ninetales only to suddenly attack an Absol just to *murder* a Flareon is *so much bigger* than simply destroying a town!” Kyle clutched his fist, Aura clouds pouring out from it, as he growled. He gritted his teeth for a few seconds, with some electric sparks emitting from his tail and appendages, for a few seconds. His expression held for a few seconds before he sighed, letting himself side down as the Aura and electricity faded. “You’re right. I let my desire clouded my judgment,” Kyle said, turning away from the stunned Maya. “Instead of capturing either A-Ninetales or Faith, I attacked Adrian and fell in their trap in the process. It’s something that I should’ve done in my master’s place, but my heart misled me.” “Your heart,” Maya said as she turned away as well. “Was Faith someone you love? I didn’t think you were capable of love.” “Don’t mock me,” Kyle answered while rubbing against his purple Ninetales mask. “But yes, she is. When I looked into her eyes, they reminded me of the one time and place where I was happy until it was taken away. Leaving me alone in this Arceus-forsaken world. She brought me back to those days, and I cherish it.” He shook his head. “But I couldn’t stay as long as anthros remain.” “And Adrian,” Maya said, lifting up her red claws, “he is a rival for Faith’s heart, isn’t he?” “So was David and a bunch of others, but Adrian was the most stubborn. I,” Kyle paused as he closed his eyes, “I *hoped* that I discouraged him by the time I left. But it seemed that I was mistaken since he evolved into a Flareon. That,” electricity popped out from his tail, singeing the tree in the process, “I cannot forgive or forget.” Maya turned downwards, more confused before she shook her head. “In any case,” Kyle said as he pulled out the long ash-gray rod with a green button on it. “I will call for him, and he should come this time. Then, even if we cannot fight, he will win against all of them at once.” He pushed the button, and a purple light shot upwards, the clouds swirling around it in the progress. They both looked upwards, waiting for a sign. Maya shook a bit, trying to suppress a laugh while Kyle grunted, laying back. “Think he’ll respond this time?” Maya asked, feeling her rib cracking from not laughing. “He—” Kyle said, but a purple light shot downwards, hitting his head in the process. His eyes rolled back, and he fell to the side, his body limp. Maya blinked, getting up even as her bones ached from the sudden movement, and she poked his side. No response. Her eyes widened, shaking his body, but not even a single resisted nudge came. Her heart quickened, though A-Ninetales and Saria had not noticed them, their backs against them. “Kyle?”