Exchange

“Excuse me, what?!”

Ah right, he never told Gren the whole human thing, did he?

“Yes, I’m a human. I don’t know who sent me here, I haven’t had any visions or dreams. And yes, I know about Simon being one too. Can we please move on?”

As much as he hated having to repeat himself, Gren’s expression of shock was priceless.

“O-okay…? Well, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of humans having problems with moves. Just like you, they start without knowing them, but once they surge, they can use them without problems.”

“Can you tell me anything else about the other humans? How many have there been?”

“Only a handful, I think we’ve encountered seven, you and Simon included. The most recent was Emmeline, a human-turned Blitzle. I actually got to meet her when I was younger.”

“Wait, she’s still around? Can I talk to her?”

“Sadly, no, she died years ago, before Simon even got here. Of old age, mind you.”

He looked down. “So basically, not a clue as to why I can’t use my moves. Great.”

“This is highly unusual for me too. Not only do we have two humans at the same time, but one of them is unlike anything we’ve ever seen.”

“Are we…” Verm asked. Honestly, Mark had completely forgotten he was there. “Are we in danger, Guildmaster?”

Gren seemed to think their words carefully. “I’m not sure, Verm. I think it’s good if we stay alert, but so far we have no reason to believe anyone is in danger.” They turned to Mark. “And you, please don’t share that you’re human outside of the guild. The last thing we need is more attacks like the ones that go after Simon.”

So not only did nobody have a helpful answer, but to add insult to injury, he was now a potential target for being a human. And he still had no idea how he even got here or what he was supposed to do. 

“Mark?”

“H-huh?” Both Verm and Gren were looking at him with an expression that screamed both concern and fear. It wasn’t until he got out of his mental beating that he noticed he had cried a bit. “S-sorry, I just…”

“No need to apologize.”

“Yeah, bud. Let’s just… let’s get outta here.” Verm helped him up and got out of the room with him. “Are you okay?”

“What do you think? I am literally an alien. Nothing about my time here has made any sense whatsoever, and now I’m getting even more reasons to be scared. At first I didn’t think this would be that bad, but now? It’s getting more and more difficult to find a reason to get out of bed. I’m terrified that if I make a mistake somewhere, I’m going to die.”

“C’mon, don’t be that dramatic.” Verm said, trying to lift the mood, but achieving the opposite.

“Dramatic?! Do I need to remind you Rose is dead? And that I was next?” He was shivering. Shouting, not because of anger, but because he couldn’t control the volume of his voice. “A-and it’s apparently not the first time that happens! How can I be sure I’m not going to be the next target?!”

The ghost stayed silent. Not like he could say anything at this point.

“Can we… Can we check on Simon?”

“Actually, I think I’m going to my room for the night. It’s been a while since I checked on my team and… you also need to rest, even if you don’t want to.”

He was right, on both things. He did feel exhausted, both physically and mentally. But also, spending another night alone felt like torture. With a sigh, he gave in. He couldn’t stay here all night.

“Yeah, okay… Are we going on another mission tomorrow?”

“Probably. We’ll see what’s on the job bulletin board in the morning.”

“Okay. Yeah. Good… Good night.”

The walk home was as slow as always, the town was empty at this hour. Except that for some reason, tonight Mark felt like he was being watched. He assumed the paranoia was getting to him, so he kept going, but this time he made sure to block the door once he got in, just in case.

---

Mark didn’t hesitate the next morning. He woke up earlier than usual, with the sole intention of speaking to Simon. Not only to see how he was going, but also because he needed to vent about this whole thing. But on the way there… that same feeling. Was he actually being followed, or was his fear that strong?

Whatever the case, he made his way into the guild. There was only one team around at the lobby, that’s how early it was. However, he knew the team this time, it was Alphonse and Sanah, talking with the Breloom at the entrance.

“I’m telling you, I don’t know how, but it happened.”

“Well, he better have an excuse as to why he went away for so long.”

“Look, I don’t know the details, I just know that-” Sanah looked at him. “Oh! Hey, Mark!” She made a signal to get closer, so he did.

“What’s up?”

“I just wanted to say thanks on behalf of Dave. He followed your advice and wrote his teammate a letter.”

“And guess what? Tyson actually responded!” Alphonse jumped in. “That was three days ago, he’s actually back!”

“Wait, really? So not only did he get a letter, but he also managed to come back in just a few days? Was he really gone?”

“I’m telling you, Tyson better have a good reason for this.” The Breloom said. “The pain he has caused Dave during all this time can’t be ignored. Hell, weren’t they boyfriends?”

“As I said, I don’t know the details, we’ll ask him when we can.” She turned to Mark again. “Sorry to call you like that, but Dave really appreciates the talk you two had, you know? I had to at least let you know about this.”

“Heh. It’s fine. I’m happy for him.” His tired smile didn’t fool anyone, though. “I was going to check on Simon. I’ll see you later.”

He turned around and left, not wanting to see their concerned faces anymore. Even in a happy event, he was always bringing the mood down with him. Once he made it upstairs, the sight of Simon relaxed him a bit. He was awake, at least.

“Hello.”

“Hi Mark!” Simon’s face was like his own. Putting a smile out of not wanting to worry anyone. And just like himself, he wasn’t fooling anybody. “Are you… are you okay?”

“No, honestly.” He sighed as he slumped against the wall beside Simon’s bed. “Quick question, have you ever had problems using your moves?”

“I mean, at first, yeah. But once I used it for the first time, I could do it without problems. Why? Are you not able to use Retaliate again?”

“Mhm, that’s right…” His tone was annoyed more than anything. “So I’m still as much a liability as always.” 

“Please don’t say that.”

“Why not? I literally am making everything worse. I couldn’t even attack in time before they got Rose. I can’t attack, I can’t do anything by myse-” What he wasn’t expecting was for Simon to extend his paw and slap his face. “W-what the hell, man?!”

“Because you apparently need some sense knocked into you. You did not get Rose killed, Mark. I’m… I’m already struggling to cope with the grief, the last thing I need is for you to blame yourself for what happened, because it’s not true. I’m already lucky enough to even be alive, and that’s thanks to you. So please, stop.”

Mark held his paw at his cheek. His bone helmet made it so the slap (or rather, more of a punch) didn’t hurt as much, but damn, it still stung. He was a bit in shock to have heard what Simon just said, enough to stop for a second and reconsider. “I just… I watched it happen, Simon… It may not be my fault, but holy shit does it feel like it.”

“Believe me, I know… That’s how I felt when her parents died.”

“I’m sorry, Simon. I just want to do more. For you, and for myself. Because I feel like I’m useless right now. What are we even going to do as a team? I don’t want you to do everything by yourself.”

“I can help with that.” A new voice entered the scene. It was the mole that was around yesterday. “I’m new here, heard everything yesterday. I wanted to join a team, and you two seem like you need someone.”

Both Mark and Simon were confused by the sudden intervention. “Do you know them?”

“I mean, they’ve been stuck here with me, but that’s about it.”

“Could you two stop talking like I’m not hearing you? Also, for your information, I left the guild yesterday.”

Something clicked there. “Wait. Were you the one that followed me home?!”

“Guilty as charged. After hearing you were a human too, I kinda needed to make sure you weren’t attacked.”

Simon didn’t look convinced. “Are we sure we want them with us? We don’t know them at all.”

“Well, yeah, but do we know anyone else that’d be willing to join our team? Everyone else already has theirs, so I doubt we will find someone.”

“Again with talking like I don’t exist. My name is Rachel, by the way.”

Simon looked at Mark, wary. “I don’t trust her. But if you think we have no other options…”

He scanned Rachel again. “Okay, I’m giving you a chance. But any funny business, and you’re gaining enemies. Actually, why are you even here in the medical area?”

“I got here a few days ago, I’m not in a team yet, and they don’t have free dorms upstairs, so they’re letting me sleep here.”

“Right… Well, I hope you understand that we’re not letting you sleep in our place.” Simon jumped in. “You may be part of the team right now, but I’m not trusting you enough for that just yet.”

“Understandable. I’m also guessing we’re waiting for you to fully recover to do missions.”

“Correct. It shouldn’t take too long at this point, anyways.”

“Sounds good. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m gonna go get some breakfast.” And so she left.

“I’m trusting you on this, Mark. If you think it’s a good idea, we’re going for it.”

It wasn’t really that he thought that, but rather, that she knew more than she said. Something about her seemed… familiar, somehow. Did he ever see her before? She got to the guild very recently, so definitely not here. Was she somehow connected to him being in this world to begin with?

‘I guess only the future will tell… But I have a bad feeling about this’