Arc 1, Chapter 21: Menacing Presence

Amadeus lost track of how long they’d been walking for. Fudo’s body was pretty heavy, even with Haruhi trying her best to use psychic to hold it up, she ended up having to mostly hold him up with her back as well. As a result, they had to move slowly, mostly so they could keep his neck still. The woods were thick, and with the smoke in the sky not appearing to get any closer, it seemed like they’d never find the town they were looking for.

“I can’t believe Fudo would just turn on us like that!” Haruhi grumbled. “Dumas must’ve done something to his mind with that shitty medallion…”

“If Dumas could do something like that, he would’ve used it on us back then,” Amadeus replied. “He did tell me once that he was working for Dumas as a spy, though…”

“Wait, really?” Haruhi asked. “I know Akihiro said that he’s seen Fudo doing things for Dumas, but I didn’t think he was spying on anyone.”

“He’s clearly loyal enough to trust Dumas’ word. He didn’t even think to read our minds…”

Haruhi grunted trying to hold up Fudo. “Well, that’s on us for not suggesting it…”

Amadeus didn’t have a response to that. Instead, he changed the subject. “Where in the world is this town? Didn’t he say it was nearby?”

“I don’t know, but we have to—” Haruhi paused mid-sentence as she seemed to spot something. “HEY! You there!” She said, yelling to a Beartic off in the distance. “He’s hurt! Where’s the town?”

The Beartic seemed to notice them, and ran over. “Ah, Arceus… C’mon, follow me, kids.”

After quite a bit longer of walking, the town came into view. The Beartic guided them to a small building on the outskirts of town, and led them inside.

“Mya! Someone needs a bit of help!”

A Hypno poked her head out from around a doorframe inside. “Oh dear. What happened here?”

“A tree fell on him and he got knocked out!” Haruhi said, a hint of desperation in her voice. “Please, miss! You have to help him!”

“Alright, alright…” Mya, as her name apparently was, picked up Fudo gently with a Psychic. “It doesn’t seem terribly severe at a glance. I’ll get him fixed up. Now then, you two don’t happen to have a place to stay, do you?”

Amadeus breathed a sigh of relief at the notion at Fudo would be alright. “We don’t, as a matter of fact. We’re travelers.” Close enough to the truth, anyway.

“Well, why don’t you spend the night here? I’m sure you two have had quite the day already.” Mya was giving the two of them a suspicious look, but otherwise, her demeanor was friendly.

“You don’t have to do that, miss,” Haruhi insisted.

“No, please, think nothing of it. My couch is yours. In the meantime, I’ll be looking this one over…” Nya walked through a door to the right, bringing Fudo with her. In the process, she’d left Haruhi and Amadeus alone in a stranger’s house.

“Well… what now?” Amadeus whispered to Haruhi.

“We crash on her couch?” Haruhi suggested. “I don’t see many other choices.”

The Beartic spoke, causing them both to jump. Somehow, they’d both forgotten about him. “She’s interested in you two, you know.”

“W-what do you mean?” Amadeus asked, naked nervousness in his voice.

“She sees something in you,” the Beartic responded. “You two aren’t leaving until you know what that is.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Haruhi asked.

“I’m just giving you a warning. It’s nothing terrible, but if you were thinking of leaving anytime soon, you’d better think again.” The Beartic left them, shutting the door as he left.

“That was ominous,” Amadeus observed.

“Oh, relax, he’s just trying to scare us,” Haruhi replied, brushing Amadeus’ concerns off completely. “She probably just has a few questions. Nothing bad.”

“We’re on the run from the law, Haruhi!” Amadeus said in a hushed tone. “We could—”

“Would you stop being paranoid? We didn’t even see a mystery dungeon. We’re tight on cash. We need this. Got it? Unless you wanna pitch a tent outside of town.”

“…Okay,” Amadeus simply said, a twinge defeated.

A minute of wandering around the house later, they located the couch in question. It was small, just barely enough for both of them to fit. Amadeus unceremoniously threw his sleeping bag on top of the couch and wiggled into it, leaving just enough room for Haruhi to squeeze in. The two tried their best to get to sleep, but Mya walked into the room and turned on the lights.

“Ah, were you two about to go to sleep? Apologies.” This didn’t seem to give Mya, pause, however, as she sat down on the armchair next to the couch. “You’ll be pleased to know that your friend’s injuries aren’t very severe. He’ll be better in two days, maybe even less. I’ll have him rest for a few days after that, just to be safe, though.”

“That’s good…” Amadeus said. He can’t be allowed to go back before we leave here, though… Dumas would come right for us if he knew where we were…

“Now then, I don’t believe I got your names. Who are you three?”

“I’m Haruhi,” Haruhi replied without waiting for Amadeus. “This guy’s Amadeus, and the one you’re treating is Fudo.” She paused, perhaps realizing her mistake. “Uh, if anyone comes looking for us, could you not tell them? We’re kinda… In trouble.”

“Ah. Outlaws, are you?” Amadeus’ heart skipped a beat. “Wonderful. Truly wonderful! Young children, having made a mistake, or perhaps, blamed for someone else’s mistake, fighting for their freedom! How lovely.”

What kind of response is that? Amadeus wondered. “Miss, this is serious.”

“I wish you two the best of luck, in that case. Although I implore you to stay here for a few days. I am… so very curious about you two.” She paused. “Besides, young Fudo needs rest.”

“O-okay?” Amadeus replied, bewildered. He stared at Haruhi, who seemed equally confused. What exactly did we just sign up for? Who is this lady treating Fudo? What is her agenda?

Little did Amadeus know, the answer to those questions would be rather important.

“Well, I don’t want to disrupt your sleep too badly. I will see you two in the morning, yes?” Mya stood up and flicked off the lights. “Good night, you two.”

Amadeus waited until he was absolutely sure Mya was gone before un-tensing. “…What do you think of her?”

“I think all of this is getting to you,” Haruhi replied. “We’ve got a roof over our heads, so let’s be thankful for that.”

“What are we gonna do about Fudo?”

“We sit down and have a conversation with him. Use our memories as proof. Simple, right?”

“I don’t—” Amadeus stopped, unable to finish the sentence. He just couldn’t find the words to express the almost permanent doubt in his mind. The Beartic’s words were a part of it, surely, but there was something else he couldn’t quite place.

There was a long pause. Haruhi pressed her face just a little bit closer to Amadeus’.

“Count for me.”

“What?”

“Just do it.”

“…Alright.” After taking a deep breath, Amadeus started. “One, ten, one hundred, one thousand, ten thousand, one hundred thousand, one million, ten million, one hundred million, one billion, ten billion…”

Admittedly, it did help.

 

---

 

Amadeus found himself nibbling away at some of the bread they’d taken from the hotel the next morning. He couldn’t shake the feeling that something was amiss here. Haruhi, meanwhile, was happily eating the soup Mya had left out for the two of them while she continued to tend to Fudo. Fudo was still unconscious, apparently.

“This is delicious!” Haruhi exclaimed. “You should try it, Amadeus.”

“I’m good, thanks.”

“C’mon, you don’t like soup?”

“…No,” Amadeus admitted.

“Your loss,” Haruhi said, slurping up the rest of her soup. “I want to see where she’s treating him. You coming, or what?”

Maybe I’ll feel a little better if I see Fudo being treated. “Yeah, sure.”

Mya’s house was incredibly cramped, and to some degree, messy. Amadeus found himself barely being able to share the hallway with Haruhi. How in the world does Mya live in here without getting claustrophobia? I already want to leave! Eventually, after opening several closets in a row, none of which seemed interesting, they happened across what appeared to be an empty room with nothing but a stone slab on the wall. The slab was sculpted quite elegantly, with what looked like a pie chart displayed prominently on it.

“Is that the eighteen sector chart?” Haruhi wondered aloud, before walking closer to get a better look. “No way, it totally is.”

“Who carves a chart made to teach type relationships onto a stone slab?” Amadeus asked, somewhat mockingly.

“I dunno…” Haruhi looked around the room for a bit. “Oh hey, there’s a note here.”

Amadeus walked up and read the note.

To anyone reading this,

If you walked into this room because you expected a medical ward, try not to panic. I don’t have enough space in my house to fit medical supplies or to treat patients, so I teleport them somewhere else where I can treat them more easily. I’m probably there if I’m not home. No, you can’t see this place.

—Mya Hypno

“What the heck?” Amadeus asked nobody in particular. “Why didn’t she tell us that and why can’t we go there?”

“Eh, I can see it,” Haruhi said, brushing Amadeus’ concerns off. “Maybe she just needs somewhere quiet. Or spacious. This house is tiny.”

This is getting weirder by the second… “Let’s explore town a little, shall we?”

“Seems like a good idea,” Haruhi agreed. “Better than being in here, that’s for sure.”

The town itself was almost as tiny, as far as towns went. It was just a handful of dirt roads with houses that seemed to double as amenities set up along the sides. Notably, none of the houses seemed any more important than the others.

Perhaps the fact that it was cloudy that day impacted Amadeus’ mood.

“Did we even ask where we are?” Amadeus questioned.

“Good idea,” Haruhi said. She then turned to the nearest resident, a rather overdressed Vulpix. “Hey! Where are we?”

“Outer Meade,” The Vulpix responded, seeming rather annoyed.

“Where’s Inner Meade?” Haruhi immediately asked.

The Vulpix paused for an uncomfortable amount of time. “…Good question,” was the only response they got before the Vulpix trotted off, looking far to high-and-mighty.

Everyone nearby seemed to be staring at either the Vulpix or Amadeus and Haruhi.

“Well,” Amadeus whispered, “That’s not suspicious at all. I definitely don’t want to leave immediately.” He turned to Haruhi. “We should leave immediately.”

Haruhi seemed hesitant. “But Fudo.”

“Who knows what they did to Fudo?” Amadeus asked, barely containing his voice. “He’s a lost cause, we need to run. This is a trap.”

“Dude, you saw a few weird things and you want to bolt? Do you know how much weird shit happens to us on a daily basis?”

“How are you not extremely weirded out by what we’ve seen so far?”

“Dude, stop being paranoid. We need the rest.”

Amadeus took in a deep breath. “Haruhi, we’re leaving. Now.”

“I— Amadeus, really? You were complaining about how tired you were yesterday and how we weren’t going to last out here.”

“We are leaving. Let’s go.”

“…Fine.”

Leaving the town wasn’t exactly difficult owing to it’s tiny size, which made Amadeus feel a tiny bit better. Still, there was a lingering unease about where’d they’d just been. Everything about it had felt like a trap, in his mind. It’s best to just forget. You’re already gone, right?

But you left Fudo behind.

Your fault your fault your fault

“One, ten, one hundred, one thousand, ten thousand, one hundred thousand, one million, ten million, one hundred million, one billion, ten billion, one hundred billion, one trillion—”

“Dude, are you okay?”

“What?”

“Amadeus, we’ve been at this for maybe a few days and you’re already falling apart.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you aren’t. You’ve been really upset and kinda selfish ever since we left.”

What am I supposed to do? All of this is my fault, anyway. “…”

“How many times do I have to tell you that it’s gonna work out for us before it sticks?”

“I don’t know…”

Haruhi turned to face the road. “Come on, we’ve got to—” She immediately paused. “…Who is that?”

“…What?” Amadeus looked down the road, and squinted. Very far off in the distance, there appeared to be a Lucario walking directly towards them. “Just a traveler, maybe?”

Haruhi looked straight at the figure in the distance, having an expression somewhere between confusion and grumpiness. “Whoever that is, they’re looking right at us.”

Amadeus and Haruhi walked towards the figure closely, who was proving to most definitely be a Lucario. Amadeus was just barely able to make out something red around the Lucario’s neck.

“He’s still looking right at us…” Haruhi muttered.

“And he’s walking closer…”

In that moment, the clouds very briefly stopped blocking the sun. As the sunlight fell over the Lucario, an extremely noticeable glint appeared around it’s chest.

Amadeus stopped in his tracks. “Haruhi, didn’t Dumas say something about a Riolu who was with him named Jack?”

“…Yes?”

“We turn around. Now.” Amadeus was not in the mood to figure out what wrath could do, but he was in no mood to find out.

Haruhi stared at Amadeus for a moment, before her eyes went wide. “Yeah, let’s go.”

Amadeus and Haruhi then started running back towards the town through the forest as fast as their legs could carry them. For a short while, Amadeus hoped that they could lose Jack by sticking to the denser parts of the forest.

Then he heard the sound of trees falling down behind him.

He was about to find out what wrath could do whether he wanted to or not.

Haruhi and Amadeus were immediately sent flying by a shockwave, and slammed into the trees in front of them. Amadeus found himself dazed. Briefly, he shook it off and rose to his feet.

When he looked up, Jack was barely a stone’s toss away from them, the ground having cracked underneath his fist. Dumas had described Jack as a bit unsightly and resembling a zombie as a Riolu, but that failed to do the man any sort of justice. His snout and face were nearly one large scar, his limbs appeared stitched together, and his fur was so torn up that it genuinely looked rotten. His scarf was almost a mockery of a wide-eyed young explorer, barely holding itself together, seeming to survive on spite alone. The spikes that would be nearly flawless on a normal Lucario were cracked and falling apart. He was missing part of his aura tassels, and some parts of him seemed to be torn skin. He appeared to be the spitting image of death.

Amadeus was frozen in place.

“W-w-who do you think you are?” Haruhi seemed to force out, completely unable to contain the fear in her voice.

Jack chose not to answer this question. Instead, he calmly stood up and crossed his arms. As he did, Amadeus was able to get a bit of a closer look at his medallion. It depicted a bloody fist crushing a bone. “Yo.”

The almost comically casual greeting managed to trick just enough fear out of Amadeus to give him the capacity to move again. His first act was to back away slowly, although he quickly discovered that there was still a tree behind him.

Jack, surprisingly, continued speaking. “You know, I would’ve thought Amadeus would prefer to come find you himself, but I guess not. Not that I particularly mind stretching my legs, but you’d think he’d get tired of sitting at a desk all day.” Jack shrugged. “Oh well. I guess I’m up here most of the time, anyway.”

“Y-you’re talking about D-Dumas…” Haruhi managed. Amadeus would later give her credit for having the bravery to continue talking in the face of this demon. “This is A-Amadeus.”

“Huh?” Jack said, scratching his neck. “Dumas is a fake name he came up with to avoid being found out on the off chance someone knew him. That guy right there is a mistake that happened because of weird time nonsense.” He waved a paw. “We’re getting off topic, though. I need to give the stupid crystal to Amadeus, so I’m gonna beat the shit out of you two. Probably to death. Got it?” His medallion started to glow blood red.

The calmness with which he said this was somehow even more terrifying to Amadeus.

Haruhi, meanwhile, decided to act as she normally did in such situations.

FWOOOM!

A stream of fire engulfed Jack as Haruhi forcibly dragged Amadeus by the scruff and started running with him, using flame charge as she did. Amadeus might’ve complained about the fact that Flame Charge meant that she was currently on fire as she did this, but he was too full of adrenaline and fear for the pain to even register. Instead, he just did his best to not slow her down.

These efforts would almost immediately prove to be in vain, however.

Amadeus felt a bone slam into his underbelly with such force that he could feel his ribs cracking. The blow forced him and Haruhi into the air almost immediately, where they continued to be for the next several seconds before slamming into the bushes. Fire, it seemed, barely slowed Jack down. Somewhere along the way, Amadeus’ glasses were destroyed.

“That was alright,” Jack said, his tone almost completely calm. “It’s been a while since some random Pokémon hit me with an attack that made me stumble back a little bit like that. Good work, honestly. Not good enough, though.”

In the blink of an eye, Jack was directly over Haruhi. In a single motion, he summoned a bone rush club, and swang it down into her. Though Amadeus’ blurry vision, Haruhi appeared to bounce a little bit from the force of the impact, and the ground seemed to crack beneath her.

“No!”

“Oh, hush, now, you’ll get your turn,” Jack said, seeming to give Amadeus a side eye. “Now just wait and—”

Haruhi, apparently, was still not out for the count. For a brief second, the woods lit up with a brilliant light. A wall of fire erupted between herself and Jack, and while Jack was still recovering, she tackled Amadeus into the bushes, and covered his mouth with her paw. If Amadeus could see more clearly, he would’ve seen the bluish shards of a smashed orb on the ground. This didn’t matter, though, as he immediately felt himself being shoved into the bushes and a paw being pressed over his mouth. He squinted and could barely make out Haruhi’s face right next to him. She did not seem well.

Amadeus wanted to say something, but couldn’t. Haruhi kept her paw over his mouth, and her eyes seemed to be trained on Jack. Jack’s head looked from side to side, as if he was searching for something.

“Clever…” Amadeus heard Jack say loudly. “And cowardly. Not that I can blame you. Now then, which direction did you two little scamps run off in…”

Jack seemed to walk away, but Haruhi barely moved. She seemed to keep her eyes trained on jack until he was well out of Amadeus’ vision, and then more much longer.

Finally, she gently exhaled. A tiny puff of smoke exited her mouth.

“Holy hell, that was close…” She whispered.

“A-Are you okay?” Amadeus asked.

“Yeah, but keep your voice down. If he spots us again, we’re going to die.”

The rather matter-of-fact way Haruhi chose to word this was unsettling to Amadeus, for lack of a better term. “R-right…”

“Let’s go that way,” Haruhi said, pointing off in what looked to be some random direction. “Hopefully we’ll lose him.”

Amadeus, not sure what else to do, quietly followed Haruhi. He couldn’t see very well at the moment, anyway. He began walking very close to Haruhi.

“…Why are you so close to me?”

“I can’t see very well without my glasses.”

“Oh,” Haruhi said, as if she’d never considered this. “I thought you just wore them because you liked them. That’s what most people wear glasses for, right?”

“What?”

“You always justify things by saying that you like them,” Haruhi tried to explain. “Also, keep your voice down. Seriously.”

“I know, I know…”

“Just— Atch! Shit…” Haruhi quietly muttered, lifting up her right paw.

“What is it now?”

“Glass…” Haruhi muttered, pulling out something with her teeth. “I think this is what’s left of your shades.”

Amadeus squinted at the ground a little, and saw a bunch of shards of glass. Right next to them was a completely broken pair of glass frames.

Amadeus felt tears welling up in his eyes.

“C’mon, let’s walk around it…” Haruhi, said, carefully tip-toeing around.

Amadeus stayed rooted where he was. I’m so useless. I couldn’t do anything back there. If it was just me, we would’ve died…

“Amadeus, c’mon. We gotta move.”

“Right…” Amadues muttered. He decided to give the pile a wide berth, walking all the way around it.

At this point, it occurred to Amadeus that they were both limping, but he chose to ignore that. Instead, he kept close by Haruhi.

“I can’t believe I had to use that orb we got all the way back then…” Haruhi muttered a while later.

“Orb?”

“Remember when I dragged you into a mystery dungeon a few days after we met and we found an orb?”

“Oh, that. Right. I forgot about that.”

“I was gonna sell that, too…” Haruhi muttered. “Those things are valuable. I once got, like, a month’s allowance from selling one to a guy who was passing through town back home. I think I blew it on something stupid…”

“Good thing you didn’t sell it, then, or we would’ve died.”

“Yeah…” Haruhi replied, the seriousness of the situation seemingly drawing her back out of something nostalgic. “How long have we been walking, anyway? You think we lost him?”

“A while, probably…” Amadeus said, his head to the ground. Without his glasses, he figured trying to spot danger was pointless. He’d decided to watch out for strange noises or smells instead. What did that freak smell like again? It was something musty… Gah, if he sneaks up on us, that’s on me…

“…You in pain, too?”

“Yes.”

“Damnit…” Haruhi sighed. “You sure leaving that place was a good idea?”

“Haruhi,” Amadeus started, “I have no clue.”

“I wish you would,” Haruhi grumbled, “Because now we’re going to be limping our way to the next town, assuming we live to see tomorrow. Arceus forbid we find ourselves in a mystery dungeon. Are those marked on that map, by the way?”

“The only things marked on the map are well-known places. I checked this morning. Where we were wasn’t listed.”

Haruhi didn’t respond. She just continued walking along in silence for a while.

Not forever, though. “You think Jack would’ve made it to where we were?”

Amadeus gave it some thought. “Probably. Maybe numbers would’ve helped defeat him, though.”

After a while longer of silence, it seemed their injuries finally started to get to them.

“I need a break…” Haruhi muttered, trotting over to the nearest tree and laying down under it. She then started clutching her ribs with her paw, wincing as she did. “Remind me again why we didn’t bring any Oran or Sitrus berries?”

“We didn’t have any left,” Amadeus replied, regret in his voice. He sat down next to Haruhi. He didn’t mind the fact that they were getting a rest, given his own throbbing pain.

“Of course we didn’t…”

“We can’t help what we don’t have.”

“Well, I’m not gonna let us die because we didn’t have any berries, that’s for sure.”

“Where were you—” Amadeus paused as his nose caught a the smell of someone else. “Wait, I smell someone.”

“Is it Jack?” Haruhi whispered, forcing herself to her feet.

It smells… sweet? Is that perfume? Pretty sure I would’ve noticed a smell like that back then… “I don’t think so.”

Haruhi started looking around. “Amadeus, stand up. We don’t know who this is.”

“I swear I recognize this smell…” Amadeus muttered. But from where?

“There!” Haruhi said quietly, eyes fixed on some point in the distance Amadeus couldn’t determine. “It’s Mya!”

“Wait, her? The crazy-suspicious healer from the town we were just in?” Amadeus asked. “What’s she doing here?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll take my chances with a known healer over a crazy Lucario murderer any day,” Haruhi chirpily responded. Evidently, she was happy to see her. “Maybe we’ll be safe if she takes us to where she heals people.” Haruhi took in a deep breath. “HEY! MISS!”

Amadeus couldn’t really see much, so he only listened.

“Ah! You two! What are you doing out in the woods?” A voice that could only be Mya responded.

“Come here!” Haruhi yelled, “We need a hand!”

“Ah, ran into trouble on a morning stroll, have we? Let’s—” Mya paused suddenly. “Oh dear, those are some terrible injuries. What happened?” It seemed that the realization of how badly hurt they were drained the whimsy out of her voice. Amadeus heard her running towards them, and then her fuzzy outline made itself apparent to him.

“We got jumped,” Amadeus responded.

“…By whom, might I ask?” Mya said, crouching down to Amadeus’ height. “The town should know if there’s someone dangerous in the area.”

“It was a Lucario,” Haruhi responded quickly. “We barely got away from him, too!”

“…A Lucario?” Mya replied almost cautiously. Amadeus heard her mutter ‘No, it couldn’t be…’ under her breath. “This Lucario that ‘jumped’ you, as you said. They didn’t happen to have a red scarf and a strange-looking medallion, did they?”

No way… “You know this guy?” Amadeus asked in disbelief.

Mya’s reaction was immediate. “Oh, sweet Lada preserve me, he’s back…” Mya looked around nervously. “Alright, you two are going straight to my clinic with young Fudo so you can be safe and receive treatment. Now.”

“What?” Amadeus asked.

“This is not a joke. That man is dangerous, and you must be somewhere safe. We’re going now.” Without waiting for a response, Mya grabbed the two of them and teleported them straight to a room that at least looked like it was a medical practice.

“God damnit, Mya!” A very overdressed Bayleef complained as soon as they arrived. “We’ve already got one outsider in here, you can’t just—”

“Not now, Fiore! I need to talk to the headmaster! Just watch these two for a second!”

“What could’ve possibly—”

“The Lucario. He’s back.”

Immediately, the Bayleef turned white as a sheet. “O-Oh… Yeah, okay, you do that, I’ll be here…” As Mya teleported out of the room, Fiore, as she was apparently called, turned to the duo. “W-Well? Let’s see those injuries, then…”

“Why are you so well dressed?” Haruhi asked. “Did you have a date today, or…?”

“What? Hell no, I— Nevermind, you wouldn’t get it.” The Bayleef leaned closer, and seemed to force a smile. “Let’s get you two patched up, alright?”

“…You’re weird,” Haruhi grumbled, slowly raising her paw so the Bayleef could get a better look at it.

“The fact that you’re lucid enough to say that is good news, honestly…” The Bayleef looked over Haruhi for a while, gently feeling her sides, only stopping to ask where the pain was the worst every now and then. After moving on to Amadeus, and rubbing her chin with a vine, Fiore nodded.

“Alright, you two, come in back, I’ll get you patched up. You’ll be fine in a few hours.”

“In a few hours?” Amadeus asked. “How in the world—”

“We’re pretty good,” was the completely non-satisfactory answer Amadeus got. “Besides, your injuries really aren’t that bad, from what I can tell. Just a whole lot of bruises and scrapes and a handful of broken bones. The fact that you’re still standing without too much trouble is itself a good sign. Now come in back, and just relax…”

Fiore guided the duo into a rather quiet room in the back of the building, or, at least, what Amadeus could only assume was the back of the building. The room itself had a handful of empty hospital-style beds in varying sizes. On one of them, Amadeus spotted Fudo’s hazy outline. Fiore helped Amadeus and Haruhi onto two of the beds, to which Amadeus immediately lay down on his side.

“Erm, try not to lie on your side too much, that seems to be where it’s the worst,” Fiore chided him.

“Sorry…” Amadeus said, rolling onto his stomach.

“No need to apologize…” Fiore said calmly. “Let’s just get those scrapes and bruises taken care of, shall we?” The Bayleef raised two vines to Amadeus’ temples, immediately making Amadeus feel strangely uncomfortable.

Then what could only be described as the healing hit him.

Amadeus’ pain almost immediately subsided as a wave of relief spread all over his body. He looked down and could literally see his injuries closing in real time. Whatever this Bayleef was doing, it eclipsed anything any previous healer had done to him.

“W-w-what did you—”

“Try to stay still, your bones aren’t fixed yet,” Fiore quickly interrupted. “Now then, let’s get you, too…” She said, walking over to Haruhi. Amadeus couldn’t really see from his bed, but he could tell that Haruhi was looking noticeably better than before.

“What is this?” Haruhi asked, dumbfounded.

“Trade secret, I’m afraid,” Fiore responded. “Now stay very still for the next few hours, alright?”

“O-Okay…” Amadeus said, eyes trained on a spot of the bed in front of him. He could do without the strain not having his glasses was causing his eyes.

“Question,” Fiore started, “Do you have bad eyesight?”

“H-How’d you tell?” Amadeus asked, startled all over again.

“You keep squinting,” Fiore responded. “And there was a cut on her paw pads that I’m pretty sure was caused by broken glass. I could get you a new pair by tomorrow if you let me do an eye exam right now.”

“What do you mean, tomorrow? You can’t make a pair of lenses by tomorrow!”

“I know someone who can,” Fiore responded. “Also a trade secret, by the by. I’ll take your response as a no.”

“…This is nuts!” Haruhi nearly yelled. “Who are you people and why can you just do whatever you want like it’s nothing?”

“Just shut up, alright?” Fiore said, exiting the room.

After a long silence, Haruhi decided to speak.

“Well, now what?”

“We stay still for a few hours and we’re all better, apparently?”

Haruhi paused, perhaps thoughtfully. “…We’re definitely seeing Mya again by the time we leave here.”

“I mean, it’d be pretty weird if we didn’t, given how interested she seemed in us.”

“This is so nerve-wracking!” Haruhi exclaimed frustratedly. “I have a million questions, and I want every single one answered.”

“No kidding…” Amadeus agreed. Where in the world are we? And how do they heal so much better?

A few hours of sitting as still as he could later, Amadeus felt the urge to stretch. When he did, he felt zero pain whatsoever. True to Fiore’s word, he was completely healed.

“So crazy…” he muttered with a stretch. “Hey, Haruhi, try stretching.”

“I’ve been stretching for a while now, you just haven’t been able to tell,” she replied. “Since you can’t see.”

“Fair enough,” Amadeus replied. “You’d think Fudo would be up by now with healing this good.”

“Ah, we can’t quite do anything we please around here,” Mya said, entering the room almost on cue. “Although we are quite good.”

“Mya!” Haruhi exclaimed. “Can you tell us where we are now?”

Mya chuckled. “In a moment. But first, we have a handful of questions of our own. And sincere thanks, for that matter.”

“We?” Amadeus asked. Is she referring to that Fiore person?

“Indeed. The Headmaster wants to speak with you. Not that you know who that is, mind, but I’m sure you’ll warm up to him quickly.” Mya paused. “Ah, I should probably ask how well your injuries from earlier are doing.”

“I feel fine,” Amadeus replied. “Which is absurd, considering how badly Haruhi and I got hurt.”

“I suppose my assistant has outdone herself once again,” Mya noted, as if that was a satisfying explanation. “Although I would still ask that you not push yourself too much.”

“So, where’s this Headmaster guy?” Haruhi asked.

“Taking his sweet time, by the looks of it. Although he may be busy making sure everyone is here and accounted for.”

“You should really have more faith in me, priestess,” A Male Meowstic in a lab coat said as he strolled into the room with a bunch of papers in his paw. “I’m pretty efficient when I need to be.”

“Yet you completely fail to be organized when I let you borrow one of my fusion emeras for a few hours, Elm.”

“You’re still upset about that?”

“I’m not angry with you, just disappointed.”

“I see. In any case, I decided to bring the file we had on that Lucario. That’s why I’m late.”

“And you did not put away the other twelve files you have on you why?”

“I had a lecture to give.”

“Which is now surely canceled.”

“Oh, can it, this is serious,” Elm replied, putting the papers down on Fudo’s bed. “Alrighty then, you two. Might I get your names?”

“Amadeus Shinx and Haruhi Fennekin,” Haruhi replied.

“And you two are the friends of Fudo here, who was admitted to this clinic yesterday?”

“That’s correct, sir,” Haruhi replied again.

“So, early this morning, you two decided to leave Outer Meade for… some reason, I don’t really care, and out there, you got ambushed by a certain highly dangerous Lucario. Is that accurate?”

“Well…” Haruhi started, “It wasn’t so much an ambush so much as he charged at us from a distance. We tried to run when we realized who it might be, but—”

“Hold it right there. ‘Who it might be?’ Did you have prior knowledge of this man?”

Haruhi paused for a second, as if she was considering how much to say. She’s gonna tell them everything, isn’t she? Not like we have much of a choice, but still… “The person who got Amadeus and I in this whole mess mentioned a Lucario with a Medallion similar to his. We realized he might’ve sent someone after us when we saw the medallion from afar, which is probably part of why we’re still alive. The Lucario more or less confirmed it himself, no less.”

The Meowstic leaned in just a tiny bit. “…Who? Who is this person that you think the Lucario is connected to?”

There was a long pause. Amadeus, and presumably Haruhi as well, knew the risks of telling someone they didn’t know about Dumas. In the worst case, he might even rat them out to Dumas.

Haruhi, evidently, was a bit of a gambler.

“Dumas Luxray, the Seer of the Guild of Honor. He’s been working behind the Guildmaster’s back in a plot to destroy the city. We tried to expose him, but we were forced to run away when it started to look like he’d escape justice.”

“Hm…” Elm started scratching his chin. “Would you mind if I could read your memories to verify this?”

“Mine,” Haruhi said quickly. “It’ll be easier with me.” Internally, Amadeus thanked Haruhi for respecting his privacy.

“Alright. Just show me the important bits, then. I assume you must know something about telepathy and mind reading?”

“You’ll… have to help me out with that,” Haruhi admitted. “I’m not the best…”

“That’s perfectly alright…” Elm replied, before the room was silent for what felt like an eternity. Amadeus couldn’t even properly read anyone’s expressions thanks to his blurry vision.

Finally, Elm seemed to lean over to Mya to whisper something before addressing the two of them directly.

“I must thank you two for coming forward with this information, although I don’t have many ways to act on it. I can guarantee your safety here for a while, if you like.”

“That would be deeply appreciated, thank you,” Amadeus quickly said. “I’m not sure how you’re going to help, given that Dumas might’ve heard about us being in Outer Meade by now,” He added.

“Oh, you’re in Inner Meade,” Elm said quickly, “And nobody gets in or out of Inner Meade without my notice, and few do without my direct approval. I suppose you two, and by extension, Mya’s patients are an exception to that, but the important part is that Dumas couldn’t get in even if he tried. Just by being here, you’re protected.”

“…Oh, so Inner Meade does exist,” Haruhi said, almost annoyed.

“It sure does!” Elm said with a chuckle. “Although that’s supposed to be a secret. Don’t go around telling other people about it, alright?”

“Agreed,” Amadeus sighed. “Can you tell us why this place is a secret, if you don’t mind?”

“I can, as a matter of fact,” Elm replied. “It is a long and complicated subject, but this place is meant to be a place where certain exceptional young individuals can learn to harness something normal people can’t. That is, an Academy of sorts for the gifted. You’ve already benefited from this talent yourselves, in fact.”

“…That’s what the crazy healing was.”

“Oh, we can do all sorts of things with it,” Elm said almost wistfully. “But explaining it in detail really would require enrolling you, and, well, we’re in the middle of a semester, and I’m not confident you could even learn it.”

“Unless they take the Partner’s Trial,” Mya pointed out.

“Partner’s trial?” Amadeus asked. He’s throwing so much at us so fast…

“Ah, you did say you’d found a good candidate to take that last night, didn’t you?” Elm asked. “That was these two?”

“It was, in fact,” Mya confirmed, turning to the two of them. “Now, you’re under no obligation to accept this challenge, but would you like to show me the strength of your bond?”

“Our… bond?” Little did Amadeus know, this would be the most important decision he’d ever make.