25. Alliance

“Up ahead, that has to be the right place. Right, Susana?”

Haru didn’t look up to see where the charizard was pointing. Everything hurt. Her legs, her head, her belly, even her ego. She’d barely paid attention to where they were walking, only glancing up when addressed to see if they were still on the right path. Otherwise, she tried to ignore the conversations around her. But it was difficult when the explorers spoke in harsh, hushed tones, discussing what to do after they were finished at the old shrine, and how long they could afford to travel after dark before resting.

To her side Nip limped along, his breathing heavy and punctuated with the occasional whine. He seemed determined to focus on the path ahead, ignoring his hostile surroundings save for the occasional swivel of his ear.

It was hard to feel sympathetic. In Haru’s opinion, this was all his fault. If he hadn’t shown up, none of this would have happened. The explorers wouldn’t have turned on her, and she wouldn’t be a prisoner. She’d be able to go home after this. But now? Now she was as good as dead. If the explorers didn’t kill her, the mountain would.

Behind her, the sound of paw steps came to a sudden stop. Haru stopped a few heartbeats later, forcing herself to look up.

Before them, a cavern gaped wide open, carved into a cliff face. Faded carvings decorated its entrance, mostly covered by overgrown vines and moss. Although she couldn’t see it well from her vantage point, she knew there was writing above the entrance reading, “To our Protector, our Lord, Regigagas.”

Susana took a step forward and spun around to face the group. “Okay. I want to finish with this site before sundown, which doesn’t give us much time. Topaz, you stay out here with our guide and prisoner. Everyone else is with me. That includes you, Umbra.”

The mawile scoffed, shaking her head, but said, “Very well.” With Susana in the lead, she and the other explorers disappeared into the yawning cave.

Haru sank to her belly, paws screaming for a break. She was ready to wake up from this nightmare. But her aches reminded her that this was all too real.

A hiss at her side snapped her out of her thoughts. She started to disdainfully turn her attention towards Nip, only to let out an alarmed squeak and scramble back to her feet.

Topaz was no longer a raichu. In his place stood a larger rodent, its fur a dark reddish-orange. Haru scrambled a few precious steps back from the unfamiliar pokemon.

The strange pokemon scoffed, shaking out its fur, then spoke in Topaz’s voice, his tone patronizing. “What? Never seen a gorochu before?”

“N-no!” Haru stuttered. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“That’s because your stupid, backwards raichu never learned to evolve.” Topaz flexed his forepaws, an electric pulse rippling from his cheeks all the way down to his tail. “This p — this place, this continent is so weird.”

Cautiously, Haru took a step forward. “W-what are you talking about?”

The gorochu rolled his eyes, scoffing. “Ugh, how much do I have to spell out for you? Are you really this dense?” He sized up Haru with a smirk. “We’re not from around here, you hillbilly. We came from across the ocean on our Lady’s orders. Took us long enough to get a seafaring vessel going with our mixed bag of knowledge and the frankly paltry resources on the other continent, but here we are.”

“Across the ocean?” Nip asked. “That’s impossible!”

Haru had to agree. They had boats capable of riding the ocean along the coast, sure. But going out to open waters? That was far too dangerous!

And yet, everything presented to Haru thus far suggested these pokemon were capable of more than anyone she knew. Still, there was something she couldn’t wrap her head around. “But… But why? Why are you doing this?”

Topaz opened his mouth to say something more, then suddenly snapped it shut, his expression shifting into a glare. “I’ve said more than enough. I’m not about to get my hide tanned for overspeaking. Besides, what’s it matter to you? You’re as good as dead once this is all over, anyways.”

Before she could question him further he turned away, though the way his ears twitched made it clear he was still listening to her every movement.

He’s right, I’m going to die here, she thought. She’d hardly thought of anything but her demise since the explorers — or whoever they were — turned on her. Topaz wasn’t lying. The chances of surviving this ordeal were slim, whether death came by accident or by the paws of his team.

“Haru?”

Why did this have to happen? Why? Why? When did everything all go so wrong? When did her life spiral out of control?

Her eyes darted back and forth until they settled on dark, blue-green fur. Right. Everything spiraled out of control the moment he showed up. Maybe she wouldn’t have come with the explorers if not for her experiences with him.

Her head spun, her breathing shallow. Maybe… Maybe…

“Haru? Haru, you need to snap out of it. This isn’t helping.”

It took her a moment to realize Nip was talking to her. He was staring at her now, gaze inscrutable. If anything, his expression suggested… Worry? Pity, maybe?

Anger swirled in her head, mixing with barely restrained panic to create a volatile cocktail. “This is all your fault!”

“My fault?” Nip recoiled as if struck by claws.

“Yes, your fault! If you hadn’t shown up, then none of this would have happened.”

“You chose to work with those pokemon of your own free will,” he hissed, hackles raised and with a growl in his throat. “I had nothing to do with this.”

Haru ignored him. “Everything’s gone wrong since you came here,” she countered, her voice raising to a shrill squeak. “The egg, then Umbra, then Tempest and Celebi, and now this. If you hadn’t shown up, I’d be on my way home soon! But instead, I’m going to die on this gods-forsaken mountain and no one’s ever going to know what happened!”

Ending her rant with a wail, Haru buried her face in her paws, curling up to block out the world. She took deep, shuddering breaths, his previous words sinking in. Nip had a point. She knew he had a point. But she couldn’t accept it. She couldn’t accept the idea that she’d driven herself to her own demise.

Mom, Dad, Toshi… I’m sorry.

Something hard gently nudged her side. A few heartbeats later, it happened again, this time with more force.

“Hey,” Nip grunted, nudging her a third time. “You’re not dead yet. And that means there’s still hope.”

Slowly, Haru uncurled, staring up at Nip with wet eyes. His expression gave away his annoyance, but his tone was gentle.

“There is still hope,” he repeated, lowering his voice. “If you can just hold on to that, if you can just focus on that little chance of survival, then maybe we can figure something out. That’s how I got by as long as I did.”

Haru blinked in confusion. “Wh… what are you trying to say?”

At first, Nip didn’t reply. He turned his head towards Topaz, ear flicking before he turned back to Haru with a lowered voice. “I’m saying that there’s always a chance we can make it out of this alive. We just need to focus. Just need to be alert and ready to pounce on opportunity. But that opportunity won’t come if you give up.”

Unease plagued Haru’s mind. But the more Nip said, the more her panic dissipated, leaving behind clarity. He… had a point. She wasn’t dead yet. Maybe there was still a chance to escape. But one major obstacle stood at the forefront of her mind.

Keeping her voice low, she asked, “But how? There’s five of them. And I’m not a fast runner.”

Nip took a deep breath, closing his eyes. When he opened them again, the frustrated expression was gone. “You’re right. In normal circumstances, we’d never get away. I’m injured. You’re injured too, but less so. That’s why we have to be prepared for an opportunity to present itself. For an opening where they’re busy or preoccupied.”

He looked to the sky in the direction of the setting sun. “Wherever they think they’re going, it’s going to take a couple of days to get there. Which means we have a couple of days to figure something out. To find a moment when enough of them are distracted so we can make a break for it. For a convenient chance to lose them in dense forest, or down a river, or… something.”

Now that he had mentioned their injuries, Haru felt acutely aware of all her aches and bruises. He spoke a lot of sense, but they’d never get far in this state. Maybe his hope was misplaced.

But at the same time, it was the only hope she had. She’d never get away with just her strength and skill alone. As uneasy as she was at the prospect, she needed his help. He, more than anyone, knew a thing or two about running and hiding and avoiding capture.

“Okay,” she finally said. “It’s worth a shot.”

But if they were going to have any chance of escape, they needed to be as prepared as possible.

Twisting, she reached around to grab a strap on her bag with her teeth, pulling it around where she could easily access it. She reached inside with grabby paws, scooping out four oran berries. One was kept for herself, while the other three were rolled towards Nip.

“I can’t make proper medicine out of these,” she whispered, “but they should still help some if you eat them.”

Nip stared at the berries, squinting, before shifting to remind Haru that his arms were still tightly bound behind him. Right. That was a problem now, and it could cause more later. She was positive she could chew through them, but not with Topaz watching. Not while he snuck suspicious glances their way, tail sparking threateningly.

With a sigh, Haru reached out to pull the berries back to her side, using her teeth and paws to tear apart the thick skin. Then she passed the mostly intact flesh back. This time, Nip leaned down, wincing, to grab it with his teeth, popping the whole thing in his mouth to chew as best he could. Haru peeled two more berries before starting on her own.

As she watched the sneasel eat, she noticed that Nip’s focus shifted from her to their surroundings, his ear swiveling at every sound.

“How are you handling this?” she couldn’t help but ask. “Aren’t you scared?”

“Terrified,” Nip corrected. Now that he mentioned it, Haru realized the fur at the back of his neck was standing on end. And yet, he was somehow managing to remain the rational one between them.

“I lived the last three cycles of my life in constant fear,” Nip continued. “And I learned that giving up doesn’t make things better. If you want to survive you have to fight back.”

“Fight back…” Haru considered his words for a moment, studying the grass beneath her paws. She glanced back up, words tumbling out of her mouth without thinking. “Is that how you’ve justified your crueler actions?”

“Haru, please.” Nip’s expression turned stricken, and there was an edge of desperation to his tone. “If we want to get out of this alive, we have to work together. Bickering doesn’t help. Can’t this wait until we’re out of danger?”

Nip made a good point. Embarrassment turned Haru’s face hot. She decided to change the subject and instead focused on a different thought plaguing her mind.

“This mountain is dangerous enough in the best of times,” she mumbled, tracing patterns in the dirt. Now that they weren’t talking about escape, she didn’t bother keeping quiet enough to avoid Topaz’s listening ear. “I lost my grandpa to the mountain…”

Nip looked like he wanted to say something. But before he could, Susana reappeared, now without her disguise.

“We need you at the shrine, Haru,” the zoroark said, her tone cloying. “Topaz, keep an eye on the other one, will you?”

Haru cautiously climbed to her paws, picking her way across the overgrown path. She didn’t want to go. Why would Susana need her? Had they changed their minds and decided to kill her here? Or maybe she was overthinking this, and they were actually going to let her go?

Light filtered into the cave, but it couldn’t penetrate far. With the sun setting on the other side of the mountain, most of this area was cast in shadow.

But that didn’t stop Susana. As they entered, she scooped up a short torch that had been planted at the entrance. She gestured for Haru to lead the way.

Dirt and dust coated every inch of the chamber, tinting everything with reddish grime. The shapes of carvings flickered in and out of view within the torchlight, depicting many of the stories of Regigigas that Haru still remembered from her childhood. Some of them, however, had been coated by slimy lichen, blotting out parts of the pictures or text.

Here and there, the rotting remnants of wooden furniture and structures still remained. Nature had reclaimed the shrine fast; if Haru remembered correctly, it had only been about fifteen cycles since the shrine in the village was completed.

Near the back of the chamber stood a statue of Regigigas, carved from stone and just small enough to fit inside. Haru remembered hearing that it was carved out of the cave itself. Small bits of metal made up the eyes and markings on the statue, gleaming in the light of the fire. At the base was a stone basin. At one time, it would have been filled with water — a representation of Regice to complete the trio — but with the disuse of the shrine, it now lay barren.

Haru came to a sudden stop as she caught sight of the rest of the false explorers. They, too, had undergone transformations like Topaz. Skorch’s transformation was almost unnoticeable, with only the loss of a horn. But the second head on Remer where his tail should have been felt uncanny.

And Umbra didn’t seem phased by their true forms at all. If anything, she seemed bored. Perhaps frustrated.

“Don’t just stand there,” Susana huffed, giving Haru a nudge with her foot. “You have work to do.”

Haru stumbled forward with a squeak. “What do you want from me?” she demanded in a shaky voice. “What can I do that you can’t?”

Susana approached a wall to their right. She tapped her claws against an image of Regigigas shaping a mountain. Or, to be more specific, against old, faded writing beneath it.

“Can you read this?”

Haru took a few careful steps forward, squinting in the dark. Her head ached, perhaps from trying to make out the small shapes in the dark. It looked like it was written in the antiquated writing style her village used before the modern incorporated territories standardized written language, forcing them to switch for trade purposes. Instead of a series of dots and dashes, the dots were stacked in bunches of three rows and two columns. Her grandfather had thought it important for her to learn.

And so our Lord came to form Mount Domo
That which He would call Home for ages to come
We rejoiced for his proximity
We prayed for his protection

“I don’t know what it says,” Haru lied, turning to Susana. “We don’t use that form of writing anymore. It died out over a lifetime ago.”

Silence fell over the room. Haru held her breath. Then, suddenly, pain exploded in her head and she felt a force seize her and lift her inches into the air. She let out a loud yelp, flailing, her senses blurred.

“She’s lying,” Remer — his second, darker head — hissed. “She’s telling a partial truth. I heard the words echo in her head.”

Realization struck Haru. He’d been listening the whole time. Had he been listening before, too? How hadn’t she noticed? Was he that advanced?

Was that why they suggested finding someone else to bring them here? Was that why she jumped to the conclusion of Toshi? Had he been subtly influencing her thoughts or manipulating her the whole time?

She focused, remembering the basics of warding off a psychic’s powers. She took a deep breath and cleared her mind, then focused on the visual image of spikes and thorns, of fire, of all things unpleasant.

Get out of my head!

The girafarig recoiled and dropped Haru. For just a heartbeat, Haru felt proud of herself. Then Susana loomed over her and all feelings of accomplishment gave way to fear.

“Is that so, Remer? I’m disappointed in you, Haru. Did you really think you could hide things from us? Do I need to remind you of the position you’re in?” As she spoke, dark, wispy tendrils swirled around her jaws.

Haru shrank back. “N…no, of course not.” An image of Nip flashed in her mind. She quickly forced it down, focusing on the zoroark’s jaws instead. She couldn’t afford to let them hear any thoughts of escape. Nip would be safe, but any moment she thought of escape without diligence was a chance Remer could read her mind.

“Well then,” Susana growled. She reached down to spin Haru around so that she was facing the wall again. “Read.”

Haru took a deep breath, trying not to tremble with fear. She repeated the words she’d thought before, phrasing familiar from her childhood.

Susana bobbed her head. “Good. On to the next.”

The two of them made their way around the chamber, Susana providing light as Haru read the passages out loud. Passages about the creation of the continent. Passages about lands far beyond the ocean, far out of reach, with warnings to never go here. Passages about the war of the gods. Passages about the followers of Regigigas, hidden away from battle until they couldn’t hide anymore. And passages about Mount Domo, and the mystery dungeon near the peak, where legends said Regigigas lived.

“Is all this really necessary?” Umbra growled when Haru was about halfway done. She leaned against the wall, arms crossed across her chest. “This seems like a waste of time.”

“Far from it,” Skorch replied, her tail swishing. She was now on the ground, using her good arm and a piece of charcoal to scrawl in an unfamiliar script. “Even if we don’t use this information to track down Regigigas now, it will be even more worth it later, when the others arrive.”

The others. Haru had forgotten about that. And now, with new context, horrors swirled in her mind.

It wasn’t just her in danger. It was her entire village.

She had to get out of there.

She had to survive.

She had to warn everyone.

But for the moment, she pushed her thoughts out of her head. For now, she needed to focus on what was in front of her, to focus on surviving this day.