Distant Dimensions

Upon returning to the Academy and checking the student common area for Icarus, Melrose was greeted by two unfamiliar faces. Within seconds a yellow blur leapt over the couch and grabbed Melrose’s paw, staring upon her with starry eyes and a wide smile as they shook hands. Melrose was allowed no time to process the surprise of another Pikachu being in front of her. “You’re this ‘Melrose’ the Prince has told us so much about!”

“I mentioned her once,” Icarus’s tail flicked.

The Pikachu let go of Melrose’s hand so he could strike a pose, one that he must have thought was cool. He was the only one who thought this. “I am Owin, humble hero of our realm! It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance!”

Melrose smiled back, but was still slightly shaken from his introduction. “It’s very nice to meet more students!” She glanced over at the Axew who was timidly tucking themself away. “And, what’s your name?”

“Oh? Yes, well…” The Axew bowed their head. “I am Xavian Lefevre, of House Lefevre. It’s very nice to meet you, mon amie.” They gave Melrose a faint smile before tucking away again.

Icarus cleared his throat loudly. “Now that we’ve taken care of introductions, might I suggest we go request something to eat?” The Tyrunt spoke sternly, clearly not taking any alternate ideas.

Xavian bowed towards him, “Oui, yes, Your Majesty. That sounds like a splendid idea.” Xavian hurried over to the door so they could open it for the Prince. Icarus grinned while he marched out the door, carrying himself in a dignified manner that Melrose wasn’t quite accustomed to. Maybe she brought out something in the Prince that made him act a little less… like that.

Owin nudged Melrose. “C’mon, my same-species-associate! Let’s fill our bellies!” Owin ran forwards, keeping on his two back feet as he sprinted. Melrose scurried after him, excited to have someone around with as much energy as her.

Once the crew accumulated into the dinning hall, they were all shocked to see another unfamiliar face. This Pokémon was huge, and Melrose knew huge! The large and in-charge Pokémon was dictating the three monkey-butlers, barking orders at them faster than any of the three could keep up with. The Snorlax’s demeanor changed the moment he realized there were children present. “Oh-ho ho? I didn’t know we already had students here! I suppose that’s what I get for running a little behind, non?”

“You must be the Sous Chef, then?” Icarus huffed. “A little behind is an understatement. We may all be early, but you were considerably late compared to the rest of the staff.”

“Haa…” The Snorlax almost frowned, but it quickly fixed itself back into the jolly expression he’d put on for them. “Yes, I’m Chef Gourmand. Don’t let my apparent tardiness fool you into thinking I shall underperform!” He gave a hardy laugh from his belly before wandering back into the kitchen. “By the way, lunch will be ready soon!” The chef called back over his shoulder.

“Huh… how did he know that’s what we came here for?” Owin tilted his head.

“Because it’s obvious.” Xavian shot their friend a look. “It’s the middle of the day. He was likely already making lunch for the staff…”

“Oh. That makes sense, yeah.” Owin rubbed the back of his head.

Icarus was already sitting at his usual spot, and Melrose took hers from the night before. Xavian made their way over to the Prince, bowing once again out of respect. “May I sit next to you, Your Grace?”

“Hmm.” Icarus eyed them over. “I see no reason why not. You have my permission.”

“Thank you, Prince Drakkenburg.” The Axew hopped into the chair next to him and took a deep breath. Melrose wondered if the other students were going to behave like this around Icarus. Sure, he was royalty– but, he was also their peer, wasn’t he?

Owin sat next to Melrose and waved at the waiters as they all came to pour the kids some water. Mint handled the two Pikachus’ glasses, Pepper served Xavian, and Basil waited on the Prince. Melrose tensed up slightly as she watched the water fall into the glass, but was able to relax once she noticed the Pansage was more confident serving Icarus than they were last night. It really felt like she had somehow missed something, though.

“Thank you, Basil.” The Prince nodded in thanks without making eye-contact with the butler.

Melrose huffed quietly. What, is he too good to look at the people serving him? Rude.

Yet, the Pansage smiled. “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

The three monkey Pokémon hurried back to the kitchen. While Melrose was hyperfocusing on Icarus’s interaction with Basil, the Pikachu realized she’d failed to say thanks to her own waiter. A blush snuck its way onto her face, and she could only hope that Mint didn’t think less of her now.

Pepper danced back out of the kitchen with a tray full of food. There were four sandwiches, two of them distinguishable by the fine cuts of meat inside. “Only the best for our little Early Birds!” The Pansear sang as she placed the platter down at the center of them all. “Cheese and Veggies for the ‘Chus and grilled Taurus for the Dragons. Enjoy!” She twirled before leaving the room once again.

Icarus almost purred, “Finally, some flesh! I was getting sick of how many berries and salads were being thrown my way.” He waited not even a second longer before digging in, and Xavian followed suit– opting to use their claws instead of slamming their face into the plate like His Majesty.

Melrose started nibbling at her sandwich, but Owin seemed a little perturbed. She looked up at him, getting ready to ask what was wrong as soon as she had swallowed her current bite, but Xavian beat her to it. “Owin, surely you’re used to watching me eat meat by now?”

All three of the other Pokémon were now looking at Owin, which made him stir. “Of course I’m used to it! Why wouldn’t I be?” He laughed nervously before taking a big chomp out of his lunch.

Xavian sighed, “You’ve lived at House Lefevre for months. Father made that amazing seafood banquet for my birthday… You’ve watched blood drip down his jaw.” They took another delicate bite out of their sandwich, but now even Melrose was starting to feel a tad uneasy. “It’s the way of life for predatory Pokémon. Don’t be so rude in front of our Crowned Prince.”

“It’s– I’m not being rude! This is nothing like that one time.”

“Yes, and you have yet to explain to me why eating a feral Taillow from the Lefevre family hunting trip made you cry so hard that I, overwhelmed by guilt, couldn’t stomach bird Pokémon for weeks.”

Owin crossed his arms, sandwich still in hand, and turned away from his friend. A few of the lettuce leaves from Owin’s lunch fell to the floor. “I did explain! I told you it was personal!”

“Ugh, don’t mind him.” Xavian gave Icarus an exasperated look, but the Prince was already back to enjoying his very meaty sandwich.

Melrose gave the other Pikachu a soft pat on the back. Owin glanced at her with puffed out cheeks, but she shot him a sweet smile that appeared to cheer him back up. Everyone went back to eating their lunches, all of them too hungry to bother making any conversation than that.

---

Xander blinked awake once light started to peak around the curtain. The Litten assessed by the sun’s position that it was late into the afternoon, which meant he really needed to get some chores done soon. He stretched his body out and yawned loudly before hopping off his bed and nudging the door open.

The elderly Psychic Pokémon were near the front desk, enjoying each other’s silent company as Gloria organized the bookshelf and Remmy continued to set up the brewing station. The old Hypno glanced down at him with her usual, cheerie-grandma smile. “How was your nap, Xander?”

“Eh, it was alright.” He scratched an itch behind his ear with a back paw. “I don’t remember having any dreams though.”

Remmy burped, and Gloria covered the sound with a loud laugh, “How peculiar! Hope that’s not too troublesome?”

“Nah, it’s fine. Dreams are a mixed bag for me, anyways. I’d rather have no dream over a nightmare.” The Litten stood back up. “So, what would you like for me to do this afternoon, Ma’am?”

“No need to be so formal, hun!” Gloria cackled as she turned towards her spouse. “Did you have something in mind, Love?”

Remmy stopped hiding his face away and floated over to the both of them. “I had a few ideas… but, erm, Gloria told me you don’t know any Fire Type moves…” Xander tucked into himself slightly, which made Remmy frantically wave his nubby hands. “Which is alright! I just had to brainstorm some other ideas until then. Would you mind helping me dust the rooms? It gives me such a nasty cough when I do it.”

“Sure, that doesn’t sound hard at all.” Xander smiled.

“Great, I’ll get the feather duster and some rags… Oh! And, a little mask for your nose., of course.” Remmy floated off, returning quickly with the necessary cleaning supplies. He used Psychic to help Xander tie the cloth over his snout, and the Litten picked the duster up with his mouth. “Righto, kiddo! Let me unlock all the rooms, and you can get to work.”

The Drowsy Munna wasn’t a particularly large inn; it had one downstairs hall of rooms and a singular hall of rooms upstairs. Xander spent the rest of his early evening cleaning up the rooms on the lower hall. Xander thought the guest rooms were decorated rather strangely. It’s as if Remmy and Gloria conspired together to not pick anything that went together, constructing the rooms like distorted scenes. Perhaps they intentionally resembled dreamscapes? Xander couldn’t be sure.

The Litten’s eyes started to water once he finished the last downstairs room, signifying that he needed to be done. The rooms upstairs were going to have to wait, and Xander didn’t want to worry Melrose by being late to dinner. He returned all the cleaning tools to his own room before locating Gloria at the front of the inn again. “Hey, are you cool with me leaving for the rest of the night?”

“You’ve done more than enough for tonight, sweetheart. Go have some fun.” Gloria smiled and waved him away towards the door. Xander bowed his head in thanks before leaving quietly, the Hypno laughing to herself when she noticed the bits of dust clinging to the Litten’s tail.

Xander glanced up at the sky to spot the slowly setting sun. If his walk went uninterrupted, Xander would likely arrive at R.E.D. early. He didn’t want to jinx it by thinking too much about it, though, so he just started walking like it was business as usual.

However, he couldn’t help being distracted by the very large Arcanine across the street clearly interrogating a vendor. Xander pointed his ears towards her; the Litten figured snooping wouldn’t be that rude if it had something to do with him, right?

“Yea, I watched the lil’ pickpocket bump into ’em right there. He swept ‘da coin pouch under his tail, ‘den booked it. Wasn’t any of my business.” The Nuzleaf crossed his arms and leaned against his stall, “tought it was pretty funny though.”

“Hpmh. You have a lot of gall talking to an officer of the law like that, sir.” Jennifer’s ear flicked.

“I tink what you meant to say was ‘Thank You,’ he-heh.” The Nuzleaf gave the Arcanine an even more smug look somehow, which just pissed her off more.

“Can you tell me which way he went after the robbery?”

The Nuzleaf shrugged slightly. “Eh, sure. I watched him run towards da Market Square. But, he like, doubled back once he realized the dumbass Litten hadn’t noticed he’d been robbed.”

Xander’s nose twitched. He’d done enough eavesdropping for one evening. Turning his back on the conversation, Xander returned to his stroll to the Academy. Curiosity was simply not itching at him hard enough to continue listening to that jerkwad.

Still, something was really irking him about their conversation. That Pokémon had watched him get robbed, yet didn’t do anything about it? Was fetching a royal guard really that out of the way for him? Other city Pokémon have been varying levels of kind, so far. What was this guy’s deal? Maybe, he wasn’t the only Pokémon who watched Xander get mugged…

Xander tried to shake the feeling away. If something was really wrong with that guy, Officer Jen would handle it.

It was now Xander’s second time walking down the main path to the grand, fortress-like Red Academy. Going down the road alone felt a bit strange, like every onlooker would see this weirdo-Litten waltzing up to the Academy like a dunce. Thankfully, the shadow above him was not a judgemental Pidgeotto or snooty Unfeazant– it was Headmaster Zephyr. The Dragon Type descended in front of Xander and beamed brightly. “It’s great to see you here and not at that drabby inn!”

Xander’s tail lashed. Why did that rile him up a little bit?

“Melrose gave me a heads-up that you would be making it this evening. Hopefully you don’t mind the table being a little packed! A couple other students and staff arrived this Afternoon, and I maybe went a little overboard when inviting everyone at the castle to sit at dinner with us.” Zephyr laughed as he took back off into the air. “I’m gonna fly in through my office! Adeline can guide you to the Dining Hall!”

Before Xander could even get a word in, Zephyr took flight. The Litten watched him fly towards his tower, sighed into his chest, and walked through the front door of the Academy once again.

Adeline was speaking with a Pokémon Xander didn’t recognize. The Clefairy was looking up at a very valiant green Pokémon clad in various pieces of shining armor. The Pokémon glanced over at Xander, and gave him a reserved smile. “Is that another student?”

Adeline turned to see Xander, giggling. “No! But, I get the feeling you’ll be seeing him a great deal despite that.” The Clefairy motioned for Xander to join them, and he reluctantly walked over to the imposing pair of Pokémon. “Captain Rosaline, this is Xander. He’s a dear friend of that Pikachu you saw earlier, Miss Melrose. Xander, this is Captain Rosaline. She’s our Academy’s Combat Instructor!”

Rosaline nodded, and as Xander inspected her– he realized the name had sounded vaguely familiar. He thought back on it… but his memory failed him. Again.

“Shame I won’t be teaching you this year. You’ve got an energy about you.” Rosaline kneeled slightly and held a hand out, which Xander politely shook with a front paw. “You interested in Exploration at all?”

Not sure of the answer, Xander shrugged his shoulders and laughed the uncertainty away. “Melrose makes it sound really exciting, but I don’t really know if school is for me. Besides, it would only be fun if I could do it with her.”

“No worries, I get ya. I wasn’t great in school, either. It was more my brother’s thing.” She thought back on something fondly for a moment, before Xander could catch her eyes starting to cloud over with worry. The Gallade laughed her own uncertainty away. “Instead, I picked up a spear and trained my butt off! Everyone’s got their own path, so don’t feel obligated to be something you aren’t. Especially not for other people.”

Adeline giggled, “teaching already, Rosaline?” She shook her finger back and forth. “Save the words of wisdom for when the semester starts, won’t you?”

Rosaline blushed a bit as she giggled along with her friend. “I guess you’re right, Addy. I can’t waste all my best material while speaking to an audience of two, especially when neither of them are actually my students!”

Xander cleared his throat. “Think you could take me to the dining hall, Miss Adeline?”

“Of course, darling! We should all get going now, shouldn’t we?” Adeline chirped. “This way, you two!”

Rosaline motioned for Xander to go first as the Clefairy started to walk, and he went ahead and obliged – not wanting to be disrespectful.

The Dining Hall was already full of Pokémon, only two of which Xander recognized. Melrose, of course, who waved him down and called across the room for Xander to sit next to her. The Guildmaster had beat the small group to the hall, though it didn’t seem like he had for long– as he was hovering around the room as opposed to sitting in his chair at the head of the table.

Xander hurried over to Melrose and smiled up at her, hopping up into the chair. “I didn’t get mugged this time, are you impressed?” Xander gave his friend a sarcastic smile, which made Melrose giggle. “It’s pretty hectic in here right now–”

“Yeah, and I don’t even think this is all the staff. It’s far from all the students!” Melrose made a motion towards the three other present classmates. The Tyrunt across the table was giving Xander a rather aggressive look, which made the Litten shuffle from discomfort. “Let me introduce you to everyone!” Melrose pointed at the Tyrunt giving the stink-eye. “That over there is Icarus!”

“Eh-HEM. It’s Prince Icarus Drakkenburg. The Second. Crowned Prince of Adstrum. You’re Melrose’s friend, which is why I assume you have no idea who I am.” He titled his snout upwards and huffed, flaring his nostrils.

“Don’t let that hosh-posh stuff fool you,” Melrose whispered to Xander in amusement. “He’s real easy to rile up. It’s hilarious!” She then pointed to the Axew next to Icarus, who was chatting with another Pikachu. “That’s Xavian! They’re from some sort of Noble House? I don’t really know a lot about the Lords and Ladies of Adstrum. Their friend there is–”

The second Pikachu jumped to his feet upon realizing Xander was there. He stood up in his chair and stanced up into some sort of action pose. “I am Owin! Hero of Thunder! And, I am at your humble service, Xander the Mysterious!” He tucked his head behind one of his paws, which he almost definitely thought looked cool. Though, when Xander gave him an odd look… he faltered.

Melrose blushed. “I may have told him just a little, itty-bitty-bit about you already.”

Xander worried for a moment that she was implying a conversation about the Litten being a human, but her comforting expression eased him slightly. Perhaps Melrose understood Xander’s boundaries more than he originally thought.

“We’re still missing a couple of instructors, and potentially some other staff I wouldn’t know about, but we still have the rest of the week before school actually starts.” Melrose settled back down in her seat.

“Yes, but they really should have been here ages ago.” Xavian sighed while fidgeting with one of their tusks. “It’s customary for the entire staff to be present before the student body, and the Guildmaster was late with his duties– giving the teachers and staff ample time to arrive on schedule.” They frown at the adults who are all off in their own conversation. “I hope nothing bad has happened to them.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it.” Icarus growled quietly. “The Sous Chef arrived today, hardly worried about being tardy. We should not expect this place to be as prestigious as we once believed.” The Prince’s tail flicked, and Xavian responded with a tail twitch of their own.

Once the wait staff started to bring out food, the other Pokémon started to settle. Everyone watched as Pepper, Mint, and Basil dressed the table with entrees, sides, and deserts. Xander was focused on the Pansear, twirling and humming as she served the table. She made sure to give him a playful wink as she passed by. Melrose’s cheeks sparked slightly, which accidentally zapped Xander’s whiskers. The Litten squeaked and felt the fur on his back spike out, and Melrose fell into a rushed series of embarrassed apologies.

The Pansage shakily served the older Pokémon. Their tea pouring was rather sloppy, but the talkative staff didn’t seem to mind all that much. When Basil made it to Xavian and Icarus, Xander watched as the Tyrunt whispered something to the nervous monkey. Basil took a deep breath, and continued to pour drinks– now a little calmer.

Once all the food was out, the Snorlax in charge of them bowed. “Enjoy!” He called out loudly before taking his own seat. The three waiters took that as their signal to also sit, and everyone turned towards the now flying Headmaster.

“I’ll try to be quick so we can all dig in, but I’d like to tell you all how excited I am to see most of my lovely staff and so many early students here with me today. Without further adieu, let’s eat!”

Zephyr landed back down into his seat chair and all the Pokémon around Xander began eating. The Litten was starving, but couldn’t help feeling awkward as everyone started serving themselves. Much like the farm, Xander felt completely out of place.

Melrose glanced at Xander and motioned towards the food. Xander outstretched a paw and gripped some of the roasted berries, placing them on his plate. Once he had gathered a few helpings, he started to nibble delicately at the fruit. Aside from maybe Adeline and Xavian, he was the most polite eater at that table.

Everyone around him was chatting amongst themselves once again. Melrose would try to bring Xander into the occasional conversation, and he would respond with a nod or despondent sentence fragment. However, his intrusive thoughts grew loud enough to drown out the surrounding merriment. He really didn’t belong here.

As Xander stared out one of the castle windows, his eyes met with another Pokémon. Xander’s ear twitched as the trespasser slunk back into the shadows. The Litten finished up the small amount of food he put on his plate and gave a small bow, “Excuse me.” He mumbled, mostly to Melrose, as he hoped out of the chair.

“Hang on, where are you going?” Melrose frowned, preparing to get up herself.

“I’ll be right back, I just want to visit the washroom. I really dislike the way leftover food feels on my paws and face.” Xander kept walking away, relying on his fib to calm his friend down.

It seemed to work, because Melrose sat back down. “Alright, you snob! Just don’t keep me waitin’ too long, okay? I wanted to show you around a little bit before you go back to the inn!”

“Mhmm.” Xander gave her an assuring glance before leaving the dining hall. He could feel Icarus’s eyes boring into him, but the feeling eased once he was far out of the Dragon Pokémon’s sightline.

Xander wandered, lost for a minute, before he was able to find the door that led to the courtyard. He sniffed at the air, trying to let his nose locate the familiar scent carried by the wind. His eyes glowed from the sliver of moonlight above, and he found himself easily able to navigate the darkness surrounding him. Despite the knowledge that a foe was ever present, the silence was soothing compared to the bustling dining hall.

Xander’s eyes darted towards a shuffling bush, and his eyes flattened against his head as his tail lashed aggressively. “Come out! I know you’re there…”

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t really trying to stay hidden anymore.”

Just as Xander thought, the silvery Nickit revealed himself. The ear Xander had torn was no longer bleeding, but the partially healed scars still looked pretty nasty. The fox Pokémon snarled quietly, “this is a weird move. Why didn’t you just tell the Headmaster you thought you saw some low-life skulking around?”

“They were having a lovely dinner, I didn’t want to ruin their night.” Xander shrugged his shoulders. He actually didn’t have much of a real answer to the criminal’s question, but that sounded right enough.

“I was somehow wrong about you being a student, right? Even though you’re here with everyone else Academy-Bound, and have this moronic sense of self-justice about you.” The Nickit smirked. “You want to fight me again. I can tell.”

Xander leered at him, “I want my money back.”

“Oh, you mean, this?” The Nickit revealed the pouch, which was now tied around his neck, beneath his cloak. Xander’s eyes widened, and he wasted no time before lunging at the thief. The Nickit used Quick Attack to get out of the way, but didn’t counter attack. “Hah, there’s that temper again. Tell me, was that really necessary?”

Xander wiped off some of the dirt on his face as he turned around. It wasn’t fair. He wanted to use Quick Attack, or Ember, or Something.

“Don’t look so glum, kitty. I actually brought it with me so I could give it back.” The Nickit grabbed the pouch and pulled it off of him, holding it out to Xander with one paw. Xander didn’t stop leering at him, which made the bandit laugh. “C’mon, I’m being serious. It’s all yours… I just have a teeny-tiny request to ask you in return.” The shiny Nickit smirked mischievously.

“I don’t do favors for pick-pockets.” Xander snarled. “I’d rather tear the pouch out of your limp paws after I smack you down.”

“Don’t make me blush,” The outlaw teased. “Aren’t you even just a little bit curious as to what I want you to do for me?”

Xander glanced off to the side, “you can tell it to me since you’re so eager, but I know it won’t change my answer from a resounding no.”

“Just hear me out,” The Nickit set the money down on the ground. “My boss requested I scout the Academy so we can pull a heist. The school is holding quite the treasure in it right now… worth millions. Actually, it’s probably worth way more than even that. Boss told me to offer up your own money as barter… but, I’d be willing to share an even bigger part of the prize with you. If you followed through, that is.”

The Nickit removed a large, blue orb from his hood. It reflected the starry night above through its glassy surface, and Xander found himself rather mystified by it. “This is a Slumber Orb. For our heist to go as planned, we need you to place this under the pillow of a certain student’s room. It’ll knock ’em out, even if we make a whole bunch of noise.”

Xander pulled his gaze away from the Slumber Orb and unsheathed his claws, trying to fein menace. “You can’t tempt me with riches.”

“I can’t, huh? Do you even know what that much money can do? That sort of fortune could get you anywhere, let you do anything… even repair a rundown inn…” He gave Xander a malicious smirk. “Or, save any ol’ business, of course. That was merely an example.”

Xander’s tail lashed again. It was bad news that this crook knew where he was staying.

“If you don’t comply, my boss might be compelled to run them further into the ground. But, who knows?”

There it was. Xander hunched down and pounced towards the cocky outlaw, but was suddenly pounded in the side by a powerful kick. The Litten was sent hurtling into a bundle of hedges, and was now staring at an upside-down Nidorina.

“Such a tragedy… I really didn’t want it to come to this.” The Nickit smiled using his voice, clearly enjoying the sight of Xander. “I kind of like you. I think you would make a great member of Team Outlier.” A trace of sincerity laced the Nickit’s words as a glamorous Cinccino also revealed herself, and Xander now realized it was one versus three. Xander could handle the Nickit, but who knew how strong these other Pokémon were.

“Enough with the stupid monologue, Lune.” The Nidorina growled. “Let’s rough this weakling up!”

“With pleasure.” Lune purred, swiping the pouch of Pokécoins back into his hidden bag. His paws started to glow as the fox Pokémon used Hone Claws, and Xander was unable to stop him from gaining the stat buffs once the Nidorina gave him another swift kick to the face.

Xander was sent tumbling once again through the garden, but this time he was able to scramble to his feet. These crooks fought dirty, so he was going to need to fight dirtier. As the Nidorina rushed towards him, Xander grabbed a pawful of soil and chucked it at her face. The Nidorina yelled in shock from the surprise maneuver, trying to get the dirt out of her eyes before Xander could get the upper hand on her.

The Litten suddenly pushed the Nidorina, knocking her over during the confusion, but was left no time to do much else as a star-shaped projectile suddenly hit him in the gut. Winded, but still amped to fight, Xander tried to leap over the second Swift– but it merely followed him up into the air and slammed his body once more. Lune was about to slam Xander with a powered up Quick Attack, and the poor Litten resigned himself to an unstoppable knock out.

That was, until, a rock came flying out of nowhere.

The Ancient Power surged right into Lune, making the fox yelp pathetically. The Cinccino gasped as she turned towards Prince Icarus, who had more floating stones at the ready. “There’s the Prince! If we just grab him now, then we won’t even need to perform the heis–”

The Cinccino was hit in the side of the head with an Ancient Power, and Icarus’s fangs started to glow with a bright fire. Xander watched in both jealousy and amazement as the Tyrunt leaped into combat, chomping his Fire Fang down hard on the Cinccino’s tail. She wailed in pain, yanking her singed tail away, before scurrying off in a panic. “Never mind, never mind– I’m OUT OF HERE.”

“What!? But, it’s still three against two, get back here you cowar–” The Nidorina’s snarling was interrupted by an Ancient Power to the back. She whipped around to face the Prince, but his movements were somehow even faster than before. The brigand’s poisonous spikes on her back started to glow as she launched a Poison Sting, but it practically deflected off of Icarus’s scales. Flustered, she readied another series of Double Kicks, but Icarus used Bite on her leg as she stuck it out. It must have hurt, because the Nidorina’s eyes watered from the pain. “Shit– Shit– Let go! Let go of me!”

Icarus did just that, but immediately used Roar to send the Nidorina flying. The Poison Type was sent smashing into the metal fence of the garden before she hurriedly climbed it to flee with her associate.

Finally, Icarus turned towards Lune– whose nose was bleeding. Xander thought that was strange, given that the Nickit was never struck in the face.

“The Academy staff may be inefficient at protecting our grounds from convicts, but I’m not!” The Prince snarled loudly. “Shall I make an example of you as well, or will you go crawling back to your disgusting crevice with your little friends?”

Lune remained motionless, though he eventually glanced back at Xander and took a step back. The Nickit’s bleeding nose twitched slightly.

“Well? Get going!” Icarus snarled again.

Lune looked back up at the Tyrunt before him and bowed his head quietly before scampering into the shadows. He twisted his head to peak behind him at the two Pokémon, then dropped something as he rushed out of sight.

After a brief moment of pause, Xander took a deep breath. “Thank you. I was in some serious trouble there.”

“Yes, and you wouldn’t have been if you didn’t go wandering off alone. Isn’t there an expression about cats and curiosity?” Icarus huffed.

“Curiosity killed the cat?” Xander laughed slightly, “actually, there’s a lesser known second part of that phrase.”

“Really? And, what might that be?”

“But satisfaction brought it back.” Xander gave the Prince a coy smile, and the Dragon glanced off to the side.

“Huh, I actually didn’t know that.” He shook his head. “Whatever, that’s completely irrelevant to the fact that you put yourself in serious danger for no reason.” Icarus glanced over at where Lune ran off to, spotting whatever it is the thief dropped. The Tyrunt tilted his head, walking over to pick up the satchel. “Interesting. There appears to be money in this.”

Xander perked up. “Really? May I see? That very thief stole money from me yesterday.”

“Knock yourself out. I have all the funds I could ever ask for. Whatever is in this is surely pocket change to one such as myself.” Icarus handed Xander the sack, which was the same one Zephyr had given him the day before. The Litten purred happily to himself, but was Lune really so roughed up that he left this behind? Xander didn’t have enough emotional energy to consider any alternate possibilities aside from dumb luck.

“Try to straighten out your fur. At least, I’m assuming you didn’t want anyone to know of this encounter?” Icarus gave Xander the now all too familiar judgemental look.

Xander felt a little called out by the Prince’s correct assumption, but tried to retaliate with a deliberate inquiry. “Why did you even follow me?”

Icarus answered fast, as if he had rehearsed this. “Melrose may have been fooled by your juvenile ‘I have to use the restroom’ slip, but I could see the face you made while looking out the window behind me.” A touch of anger intercepted his tone. “Melrose has been worried sick about you, yet you still poke your muzzle into danger when you actively had the power to avoid it? It fell onto me to ensure you didn’t get hurt.”

Xander paused, “What, for her sake?”

Icarus also paused, but he returned the question with a glare this time around. “Let us return to the dining hall, shall we? The longer we are gone, the more suspicious they will be.”

“Yeah, right.” Xander tried to shake all the debris from his fur as the two Pokémon walked back towards the Academy interior.

---

Aster ran a hand across several of his mystical tomes and books. It was much easier for him to locate the manuscript he was searching for with a finger tracing the first letter of every visible title. His focus was robbed by a large clatter of falling metal tools, and Aster sighed as he turned around.

The Cosmog was chirping excitedly as it chased after the Unown, who were all trying their best to make sure the little cluster of stardust didn’t get herself hurt. Aster cleared his throat, which made the Cosmog stop in her tracks. “Celeste, what did I say about playing tag?”

“Mmm…” Its glittering form flickered slightly as it looked down at the floor. “Not… to?”

“Precisely. I have too many valuables in here for you to behave like a brute.” Aster used Psychic from across the room to fix the arcane devices it had knocked to the floor. “Maybe someday you can play tag, but that day is not today. Why don’t you play something else? Something less…” He rubbed at his forehead, “destructive.”

Celeste frowned and looked around the room for something else to do. She floated over to a stack of papers, pulling one out from the middle, and grabbed a pen that was laying on the floor. The Cosmog giggled as it started to draw.

Aster smiled, “there you go. That’s a significantly calmer childhood activity. Now then, where was I…” Aster turned back towards the bookshelf. “Ah, here we are.”

The Gardevoir used Psychic to pull the book out of the shelf, bringing it with him over to one of his many desks in the Observatory. “Forgotten Realms and Distant Dimensions, a classic among astrologists and the like. Celeste, my little moon drop, can you come here for a second?”

Celeste looked up from her drawing, “Can… uhh… float me?” She giggled. “Float, floated!”

Aster sighed, “It’s ‘levitated,’ dear. If you say it properly, then I’ll levitate you over to me.”

Celeste puffed out its cheeks. “Aster… Can you… Levitia… lev… leverate…” She growled.

“It’s okay, Celeste, just say it slowly.”

“…Lev…itate?”

“Yes, good girl.” Aster picked the little Cosmog up using Psychic, setting her carefully on the desk ahead of him. “I wanted to show you a few things in this book, so pay attention.” Aster flipped through the pages, and Celeste watched as the limited pictures appeared and disappeared. “I told you before that you were from space, which, simply put, is anywhere that isn’t the planet you live on now.”

“Like, the sky!”

“Hmm, yes, I suppose to a child that would be the easiest way to explain that. However, you aren’t just from the sky– you, Celeste, are from another plane of existence all together.”

Celeste nodded her head, but she clearly had no idea what Aster was talking about. The Gardevoir couldn’t be frustrated with her, as she was doing very well for an infant. Aster could hardly imagine what being a parent for a non-legendary Pokémon would be like, but it sounded dreadful.

“You shouldn’t pretend to know, starshine. If someone tells you something, and you don’t understand, the correct thing to do is ask them to explain.” Aster gave the Cosmog a slight smile. “Would you like for me to explain what I was talking about?”

The Cosmog nodded its head, which produced a jingling noise. Aster levitated the piece of paper Celeste was drawing on and flipped it over, using a pen to draw a diagram. He drew a line, “this is the plane of existence we live in. It has this planet, but it also has everything around this planet. Does that make sense?”

Celeste nodded her head again, which prompted Aster to draw another line– this once was above the first. “This plane isn’t the only one that exists. In fact, there are a great many.” Aster drew another line below the first. “Now, some of these realms are connected to others. Since they all exist, all it takes is one way or another to connect them for the realms to start to blur.” The Gardevoir connected the top and middle lines with a short vertical line. “I was able to fetch you from this line–” He pointed to the above line, “by using a portal.” Aster pointed at the vertical line.

“Portal…” Celeste glanced up at the contraption she remembered bursting out of.

Aster flipped back through the book and opened to one of the few pages with an illustration, that one being a diagram of a human being. “Long ago, Legendary Pokémon would bring beings from other worlds to save us from catastrophes. Some of those beings would go home, but others would stay and continue to improve our communities. A great deal of our technological advancements wouldn’t have been possible without them.”

“And, they look…?” Celeste pointed at the picture.

“I actually wouldn’t know for certain, but that is what we suppose they look like… based on the humans’ description of, well, themselves. I’ve never seen one myself,” Aster looked off to the side, smiling to himself. “But, I would like to. Apparently, humans can bring out the innate potential in Pokémon! It’s extremely fascinating to me, and I would do anything to see that phenomenon in real time.”

Celeste glanced back at the drawing Aster made of all the lines. She giggled and grabbed the pen so she could start drawing again. “These lines look… book-shelfy!”

Aster watched as his adopted apprentice distracted itself with frivolous nonsense. He shook his head quietly before sitting down to read his book, scanning paragraphs for what he thought might be present in its pages. Retrieving Cosmog was only the first step to restoring the Adstrum he envisioned, but there were faintly any records of what Adstrum was like all that time ago. History always started with the lineage of their false king.

The Prime Minister searched through the sections, finding a page decorated with gears and an ancient interpretation of the Legendary Dialga. The smile returned to his face as he read. The way to the truth was not by traveling through space and dimensions, but was instead paved by time. If there was anyone who held the answers he seeked, the power Aster needed to create a new history…

It was Celebi.

-END OF ACT ONE-