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When the time finally came, everyone that was going, at least everyone in the headquarters that is, found their way into Cerulean City, only long enough to get on the bus line to Kitakami. Freth would get on the bus and taking a seat as did the rest of the Snagem passengers. Though as she started to look about, she started to realize that Sub wasn’t on the bus yet. As the clock ticked down and the driver made his announcements, Freth could feel her face just contort into more and more confusion as the Snagem leader was nowhere to be found…until the last second when he made the mad dash through the door. Once Sub finally found himself seated near her, she stared in confusion. “The hell were you doing that didn’t have you wait with the rest of us? And what in the hell did you bring?” Freth asked staring at the Snagem leader’s pack in confusion. “We’re supposed to only be there for two days, right?”

Rather she would get her answers or not, as the bus ride started, she found herself in a rather weird position of not having too much to do on the trip. Looking back through the Violet Book wasn’t really all in her interest anymore, not so much that it isn’t relevant, but more of the matter that she had at this point gone forwards and backwards through the text left behind by the explorer, Heath, and she managed to glean all she could at this point. Never mind that some of what was documented in the book was for the most part confirmed upon her own expedition into Area Zero. Trying to see if there was anything else she could piece together was not likely; she got everything she was going to get. Practicing her psychic abilities was not feasible here either, having to mind the seating rules of the bus and anything around was perhaps too small and too easy for her unless she started picking every last loose object in the bus all at once. Not anything that was going to be smiled upon, more than likely.

Freth got comfortable in her chair and she had to admit she was getting comfortable in it, perhaps to just take a nap. What else was she going to do? The scenery wasn’t exactly intriguing. She did have a book she could partake in, but she wanted to save it for at least a little bit; to make the story last through the trip. She thought of one thing, at the very least. She closed her eyes and started to meditate. It had been stressful the past few weeks. Probably about time to get things in order. Calm down a bit while the opportunity was there.

“You must be honestly bored out of your mind to try meditating on a bus.” Eris spoke up. Freth found herself opening her eyes, but not in the ways she thought she’d do so. She looked around, seeing a long ornate table, a whole assortment of food strewn out down it. A complete feast fit for royalty and guests. The large crystal chandelier that looked as if it hung on effectively nothing. The stained-glass windows that looked like they were suspended in midair. The long fireplace with an ever-burning fire. All of which that was within a white void. Across the table, Freth saw Eris, human just as she did the last time, though not dressed in the village’s training wear, but instead dressed as Freth was now. The difference was, as Eris sat in her chair all the way across the table, she was still wrapped in the crystal chains that Freth bound her in order to reclaim her own body. Freth looked at herself, seeing too that she lacked feathers, a beak, or the talon-like hands that she only slowly grew accustomed to. She was back in her ‘inner palace’ of sorts.

Once Freth realized where she was at, she stared all about her confused. “The last time I was in here, this place was a complete mess.”

“They’re just manifestations. You cleaned the place up on your own as you continued training on your psychic prowess. Though, I’m also surprised you’re back here so soon.” Eris spoke up.

“I…honestly didn’t mean to. I was just trying to do what I was trained to do. I had nothing better to do, really.” Freth said.

“Considering that you’ve been slowly getting more proficient in your psychic abilities, it would be easier for you to get here.” Eris said. “At this point there’s really no cutting this part of you off. It had been a part of you this entire time.”

“Other than you that is.”

“Other than me.” Eris said in agreement.

Freth got up from her chair and started to walk down the side of the table, then finally sat down at a seat near Eris. “Well, since I am here. Let’s talk.” Freth said.

“About…?”

“Anything. Whatever. We got a while before the first rest stop.” Freth said.

“Heh, you still haven’t realized…Freth, in here, those couple of hours could be stretched for days, if not weeks in here.” Eris said.

“Or it can be over immediately before we even start. But as far as I can tell, we got all the time in the world.” Freth said. “We haven’t really sat down really at all since after I got back from Snowpoint. It had been pretty much all business between the two of us. And between psychic training, the stuff in Paldea, and your occasional animosity to Blizzard which…honestly does you no good at this point since you’re here and he can’t hear you at all, I figure…just why not just…relax for a minute.”

“That’s pretty easy to say for you. You’re not the one in chains.” Eris stated. “You still don’t trust me at all, do you?”

“Its pretty hard to still knowing that the moment that if I ever do, you can just as easily fight for control over me. And unfortunately for me, that is a battle you know you’re going to win since you had a while to recover since the last time and I have only scratched the surface to my psychic power.” Freth admitted. “Never mind that I get the feeling that you are still wanting to get back to your…acquaintances back in Ultra Space or wherever the hell. You admitted it yourself, at the moment I’m no good to you dead and you’re only agreeing to help out in so much to help me keep Blizzard under wraps. In fact, he’s been trying to keep his mind on his Pokémon in Paldea for instance; he’s been doing fine.”

“Such a peace is still shaky at best.” Eris stated. “When he loses it, it will be sudden, and no one is going to be able to stop him. Not even himself. Frankly, I don’t know why at times why I am humoring this agreement anymore. I’ve probably gone insane now, which is not exactly a good place to be for a psychic. Then again, such a thing is bound to happen when a mind no longer has context to anything tangible. Those fleeting moments that I had in control in your body was almost euphoric, honestly. Could you imagine not being able to smell anything? Touch anything? Anything that you hear is not through your own ears? Or what you see not through your own eyes? And at months at a time? But now, I’m expected to spend the rest of your days like this? If I had known if this was my fate, I probably should have let Hinterbane take me after all.”

“I’d like to say you’re being melodramatic, but unfortunately, I can’t. Because I believe you in that is in fact the case. But you put yourself in that position anyways. To hell with the consequences. Coming to thinking about it, you never did answer my question a while back ago.” Freth then said. “You pushed yourself to match, if not exceed what Blizzard was capable of in order to kill him. Who left you in check? What convinced people that your power wasn’t going to be a threat to say…your Ultra Space allies? To yourself? Where does it stop? I know that when I saw your memories you were fed up as is; you were unstable if you wanted to admit it or not. You weren’t…balanced…I guess. You used your work as a distraction. So you kill Blizzard; you still had to live out…who knows how long before they’d let you go. How much did you rival, perhaps dwarf, those in your pursuit to do so?”

Eris ended up staying silent for a moment as she thought back. “…there were still two others that could stop me. Theoretically.” She said.

“Theoretically?” Freth asked.

“Only in that one for certain could. He probably couldn’t care less about my wellbeing in the grand scheme of things, considering. The other…might be a little compelled to hold back and that would have been his downfall if only because of our history together.”

“I think I know who you are referring to.” She said. “So out of everyone throughout Ultra Space, in your network of worlds that you went in and made yourself involved in, only TWO INDIVIDUALS would had the capability of stopping you.” Freth said.

“You’re in no better of a position, Freth. You’re in perhaps worse. You and Tristen are all what keeps Blizzard reigned in, and it’s not from a position of power.” Eris said to Freth.

“I disagree; its that reason why we are better off. And as far as I can tell…” Freth would then start getting up from her chair and shoved it back to her table. “…if anyone managed to push Blizzard to such a point where he achieved the heights that you fear so much, then something terrible must of happened that would have probably doomed us all anyways. So, what does it matter? We either perish to that or we perish to Blizzard’s collateral. Come what may, Eris.”

Freth would start walking back down the table, now set to make her way out of this inner palace and back into the world of reality. As she started her way down, all Eris could do as she was bound to the chair she was in was just watch. She still resented Freth a fair bit and only remained amicable for the most part so as long as the truce between the two held. A truce that she had no choice but to abide by so long as she was bound. But as Freth walked away, she had a realization about something that she didn’t realize until now. “Freth?” Eris would speak up.

“What?” Freth asked.

Eris wanted to say something, her pride was trying to force her to say a ‘never mind’ and send her on her way. Her solitude within the depths of Freth’s mind however spurned something else within her. She knew she was slowly going insane being confined in solitary with the only ones able to hear her was Freth and the psychics in the team. Her mouth contorted, trying to merely say that ‘never mind’, trying to remain ever vigilant. Strong. Powerful. Everything she trained like hell for. But then, her weakness came forth. “…can you…come back in here again? It feels better than just talking to you through reflective surfaces or thought processes.” She said, turning her head aside, practically feeling shame for asking it, practically imagining Freth was bound to give her all manner of flack for it.

Freth was a little surprised she even asked that, but much to Eris’s surprise, Freth would respond. “Sure.” She simply said, walking off and out of her inner palace. Freth would open her eyes, not too sure as to how long that conversation went. She took out her SNAG to check the time then started to look out the windows. Any sign to give her some sort of hint where she was at on the way out of Kanto. If she figured it up right, they were close to the first rest spot. Apparently that short meeting in her mind ate up more time than she realized. The mind was weird…

Rachel gave a nod as Clare introduced themself and their Pokemon. She had to smile at the nickname for the Tandemaus, it really fit, she thought. "Nice to meet you guys, as well," she said, as Rainer chirped from his spot. Clare's comment about M&M being one Pokemon didn't go unnoticed. "Kind of reminds me of Falinks, in a way," she said. "Yes, I joined in Paldea. I guess pushing someone out of the way of a falling boulder is a good way to make a great impression." The bus arrived as she was speaking, and the Mr. Mime that emerged surprised her. Wait, was he driving?

She got her answer when the Psychic/Fairy type announced that he was, indeed, the driver. Yeah, this wasn't weird or anything. The elderly couple approaching startled her for a moment; she hadn't seen them until now. However, seeing that they seemed to be perfectly fine with this was enough to convince Rachel, and she gave a shrug, then produced her SNAG with the QR code for the driver to scan. She sat near the middle, hoping the trip would be relatively uneventful, and had to chuckle as Sub hailed the bus right before it took off. "Figured you'd be the first one here," she said jokingly.

Tsuki shook his head innocently to Odd as they, Lykas and Freth each took a turn describing Snagem’s various attempts at a normal god damn vacation. He counted with his fingers as they added to the pile, himself getting caught on the Dynamax Shadow Metapod, and nodded as mention of the Ziton coming at them again before. “Wow, that Ziton thing REALLY doesn’t like you guys.” He laughed. Ah. And to top it off, several murder attempts and one of them going on a half millenia odyssey through… what the hell was Ultra Space? The trainer looked down at his feet in disbelief.

“Oh wow, we ARE F-“

—-

At Cerulean City…

Having packed his luggage before teleporting to the HQ, Tsuki was already ready for travel so it just became a matter of borrowing the local Claydol for another teleport. Which begged the question: why didn’t they just teleport to Kitakami directly? Either it was locked down with ebonite everywhere (unlikely) or they just thought busses were fun. Which… they were! He hadn’t been on a real roadtrip before this, so his butt was not used to or aware of the hell that was staying in one place for hours at a time during a long drive.

He and his Magby (her sitting on the luggage now) stood by the bus stop and enjoyed the mid day air before the bus finally pulled up. While he wasn’t surprised to see a Pokemon aboard it, Tsuki was surprised to see that Mister Marcel here was their driver. “Ya think Grumps can talk fancy like that?” He whispered to Maggie, who shook her head.

“Mag magby?”

“Pft, rude.” Tsuki responded, flicking her forehead. She blew him a raspberry in turn. Once Mister Marcel opened the doors, they both made their way inside the bus once the QR code on his SNAG had been scanned. He snorted when he saw Sub finally arrive late. Hadn’t he been the one to tell them the time and place? Some people… Tsuki shook his head.

His jaw also dropped at the reveal of how long it’d take to GET to Kitakami. Ten hours?! Ten HOURS?! That was insane. He changed his mind, busses were NOT fun. When the Jynx appeared out of thin air, the would-be channeler in training genuinely jumped up having been caught off guard. His hand swiftly moved to keep his shutter shades fixed to his face even on the bus. Sleeping was definitely off of the table now. But resting? That was already happening- anything was rest compared to whatever the hell training Raiden was putting him through. Spending hours a day sparring with bamboo staffs only to afterwards get chased by a feral Arcanine while collecting things to make an Artifact? Arceus above…

Hell, that wasn’t even including the almost drowning! Again! Why did water seem to hate him so much?! Tsuki was from an island, swimming was something he was practically born into. He should be a natural at swimming.

Unable to help himself, Tsuki peeked his head up and looked around. Everyone seemed to be doing their own thing, it made him want to try out those road trip games he heard about. Turning around (he had sat near the front) with his knees on the chair, he gave his fellow Snagems an open question. “Hey, would you guys rather… sell everything you own or sell one of your organs? It’s a non-vital one, but you don’t get to pick.”

It was hard for Darts to miss the constant withering glances and exasperation coming off of the Solgaleo hybrid. Despite her best efforts the huffs, glares, and eyerolls were all increased in proportion with her mass and transformation, so something about the gravity of all three made them shine hotly like a high noon sun. So that meant that sitting together was out of the question there. As Darts clambered onto the bus he glanced back and forth, his red eyes partially obscured by his 'new' sunglasses. At some point before everyone had packed up their stuff he had broken the shades attempting to get them to fit around his crest and decided some repairs were in order, a twisted spool of silver duct tape holding the two sets of cheap lenses together, forming a connection over where his nose would have been had it not been deep inside the helmet. He wasn't even sure if he had a nose anymore, even though his olfactory senses were working perfectly fine. Either way, with his manufactured set of headgear dangling over his ruby reds and needing some space from Crystal and Cera he was going to need to find another group of people to sit with.

He moved down the aisle, eyes continuing to rove across the various members settling in, talking, laughing. He sighed. His constant absences from the group lately and over the past couple of years had taken a toll on the gambler's ability to fit in. He still was Team Snagem through and through, but between gallivanting off on Master Missions, special assignments from Sub, and plain not being available he had missed a lot of time talking with and interacting with his other teammates. Even when he did interact, it was rare for more than a 'hey, how are you' and a pat on the back. It came with the territory, he supposed, being one of the strongest hybrids in Snagem. Usually when the group was all together including him they were in the midst of life-and-death situations that didn't leave a lot of time for small talk. They had fought wars together, bled together, lost loved ones together. But just like in the armed services that didn't mean you were best friends, getting together for barbecues on the weekend and beers on a Friday. When your family grew up and your siblings moved out that didn't mean you knew every single thing about them, for better or for worse. And their little dysfunctional family had grown up, spread their wings in their own ways. He had tight links with the people in the Dragon Clan, but he wasn't always living there day to day and had no intention of abandoning his obligations with Snagem even if he became a full-fledged member.

Couples and individual families of their own that had sprouted up in the passing of years, like Terashi and Keiko or even Odd and Lykas back in HQ made for a poor spot for the hybrid to jump in and insert himself into their dynamic. Freth and Blizzard had always made sure there was a spot at the table for him so to speak, but he always felt guilty for taking their attention from their son - right, wrong, or otherwise Tristen needed their focus more than he did. The Galarian Articuno hybrid looked deep in thought anyhow, better to not jostle her too heavily. He knew from personal experience learning Calm Mind how important meditation could be. He passed her row without comment.

He skated past Crystal's row in the middle of the bus, his sunglasses protecting him from the worst of the solar radiation pointed his way, and finally decided on making himself comfortable a couple seats over from the sleeping Monique, across the aisle from Clare. He looks at her for a couple moments, considering engaging the Nihilego hybrid in conversation. But about what? Martial arts and meditation? Dragon-type Pokemon? Exploitability and game theory optimal play in poker? As Darts reached into his bag of possible conversation topics, he was very quickly coming up short and with a startling conclusion: he was boring as hell. He was meditating nightly, sticking to a workout routine that would make Bruce Lee himself blush, and was probably in a better spot mentally than he had been in years. But everything about where he was and where he was going was very straight-laced and business-like. Dragon Clan business. Dealing with hybridization business. Sub secret mission business. He hadn't lost his zip in conversation, and most of what he was doing and handling, to an outsider, was really quite fascinating, sure. Could he even call himself a gambler anymore? The last time he could even remember logistically wagering anything was fighting in the Under Colosseum a few years back, taking on challengers there alongside Drake (Darts Editorial Note: see Dragon Master Mission 4) and risking life and limb to become the Under King. Scrapping in dirty filth pits and wagering fingers on breakfast, that used to be his life. Now he was honoring tradition and riding busses, and still didn't even have anything to talk about. He settles for silence for a while, musing the problem that had landed on his plate as the Zoroark hybrid slept nearby. Until a voice broke the silence in the trip.



Hmm... not that long ago, the Giratina hybrid would have slapped his kidneys up on the table for an extra round of roulette, but his recent soul-searching had him reconsidering this question from the newest recruit semi-seriously. "I think... I don't have much I own... and the stuff I do have at this point is rare and precious so I'd like to keep it, I think." He answers, after a slight pause. His jacket wriggles a bit as if to say 'thank-you for not selling me', and he adds: "Although, I don't know what organs are... in here anymore." Prodding his chest as he does so, thoughtfully. "They might take my gall bladder, it might turn out that's been replaced by a glorbensplittle that produces Ghost-type energy. Not essential, but certainly not something I'm looking to lose. Is my jacket an organ?" Turns out he had a lot more questions than answers, but he was interested in what everyone else had to say. "What about the rest of you?" Maybe prompting the group together was the best way to get everyone talking, interacting. He thought Tsuki might be on to something here.



They pull up to the rest stop just as soon as he vocalizes the question, the pneumatic brakes of the bus hissing as it rumbles to a stop. He turns to the sleeping Dark-type next to him and shakes her lightly, trying not to spook her with his golden gauntlets-for-hands. "Hey, Monique right...?" He had a vague echo of a memory, like most of them did when it came to things in Hisui, of her name from when they had teamed up there. "We're at the first stop, I think."

It taken a lot of convincing and talking with the bus driver to be even allowed to attempt what she had spent the last fifteen minutes trying to do. Outside, propped against the bus station, was a massive case the size of refrigerator. The transportation for her newest iteration on her hammer. And also, an absolute nightmare for stuffing underneath into the luggage area of a bus. So there was Leslie, physically in the depths of the bus as she rearranged everyone else's luggage with her smaller hammer tucked inside with her. Why did she need the smaller hammer? Certainly wasn't her occasionally adjusting a luggage piece's position to be more permanent than it might agree to otherwise. (But seriously, how did some of these people pack so much stuff? It wasn't like they were moving out for a month.)

But she had done it, there was now an actual space she could slot the big hammer into here and the last call was just going off. Preparing to crawl out and grab her hammer, she would hear someone shouting that they were coming. And before she could even react, a bag would come flying into the luggage compartment and slam into her head. The impact sent her reeling but it wasn't enough to stop her from crawling out to do her mission. What WAS, however, was the shock of the impact loosening her carefully constructed luggage Terri's and her first step to venture outside sending the entire works falling on top of her.

So there she was, entombed into the luggage. Arms pinned to her sides. Already plotting for how loud she would have to shout once this rickshaw actually stopped at a rest stop to be able to be heard.

Aile's eyebrows would raise in surprise, not expecting Aden to even be here, much less sit next to her. Not after what happened in Paldea. "Ah, uh.. Thanks," she'd finally spit out, not sure what else to say. "Ah... they just... kind of gravitated that way, after a few days." She gave a meek shrug of her shoulders, notably trying to keep her left arm as far away from Aden as she could. "Need to find a good nail polish that'll match it, for my other fingernails. That way it isn't as conspicuous as it is now. ...How have you been, Aden? After... everything." To her knowledge, Reno was the only one as of current that knew that she saw the time rewinding, and she wasn't going to bring that up to Aden of all people. Maybe Sub or Sol right now, but not Aden. So, being vague about it was about as far as she'd go with describing it.

The gentle tapping on her shoulder, coupled with the noise and vibrations made by the brakes, made the dozing Monique look at her seatmate. Tall, big, huge jacket, gleaming gold in the sun...

"Gwuh..." It took her a bit to come to and get a good look at the occupant. Frankly, she'd been so engrossed in reading that pamphlet that she'd never noticed who was sitting next to her.

"T...Thanks. It's... Darts, right?" She squinted at him, a jumble of memories trying to untangle itself, as he got out, making room for Monique to get off and make use of her legs for the first time in hours. A massive jacket, flapping on a windy day, almost as if it had a life of its own. And fire. Cursed fire. Marowak fire.

The last time she'd felt like she had memories this jumbled, they were unjammed in her Stakataka encounter. But this was different. There was nobody like Darts in New Po, let alone Flower City. An outfit like that would never fly under King Faba. And Darts was definitely a Snagem. So why did she have such a memory about Kalama and him? And why was she remembering this less clearly than her childhood or when the Dome burst? Do I need to go back to the Dimensional Research Lab and get my brain looked at? After all, she had been told memory issues were more prevalent in Fallers. If there were card-carrying members, Monique and Kalama were among them.

Monique, not even noticing someone had sent her a message, walked out, almost chasing Darts as they got out to the service area.

"...Does Marowak fire mean anything to you?"

After asking it, she finally opened that SNAG notification and read Tsuki's question. If only he knew how many organs I could have sacrificed in Ultra Space! she thought to herself.