ARC 2, CHAPTER 2
by zuperZACH“Ah, there you are. I finally found you both.”
“What? Who are you?”
“My name’s Nejire, but that’s not important right now. Right now, I should explain your situation.”
“Well? Then get on with it!”
“I’ll cut to the chase then. There’s a reason you two feel incomplete. And that reason… is because you are.”
“The hell does that mean?”
“I’ll tell you on the way. There’s still one more person we need to find.”
“…Why should I trust you?”
“Well, simple. I was just like you two.”
Zari flopped into one of the hammocks at home. She was still nibbling on a cheri berry that she thankfully found during the day. With it, she felt much better, and could finally relax. In more ways than one.
Stella, though she was winding down, had a lot on her mind. Zari glanced at her, and knew just what she was thinking about.
“Uhm… they were… really nice, huh?” she said to her, just trying to fill the silence.
Stella nodded. “Yeah… I’m glad there’s a rescue team who… likes doing this.”
“Not just one rescue team,” Zari reminded her with a smile. Stella smiled back at the remark.
Then, Stella noticed someone was being awfully quiet. Well, Larei was usually quiet, but this time didn’t feel right to her. She glanced over at him. He was just sitting away from them, staring at the floor.
“Larei?” Stella started, slightly concerned for him. “Are you okay?”
Larei seemingly flinched when he heard her. “O-Oh, uh…” he stuttered. A small pause followed, but not too long. “Y-Yeah, I’m okay.”
“Are you sure?” Zari asked, sensing his hesitation. She could’ve sworn she could feel his emotions, but she wasn’t even trying right now. Maybe that was just her, but that wasn’t her focus right now.
Larei nodded. A piercing silence followed for a moment. “I’m uh… gonna go out for a little bit,” he said. He paused for a moment before ascending the rope that led outside.
Zari swallowed the rest of the berry she was eating, then jumped up. “Larei, wait-“
“Zari.” Stella cut her off before she went too far. “We should give him some space.”
Zari paused in thought. Then, she somberly sighed. “Y-You’re right.”
Originally, Larei was just going to go outside for a breath. But after a bit, he became restless, and decided to take a walk. He didn’t go far from base, just a bit into the forest.
Larei’s mind was racing with many conflicting thoughts. Ever since the last encounter with Tatakai, and what happened after, he did feel better. That part of him that was missing, he felt he had it again. Still though, there was a lot on his mind that was bothering him.
Who was he? Where did he come from? Why was he here? What had happened? All of these questions and more were buzzing around his head like an annoying Zubat. Questions that hebhad no answer for. And that bothered him greatly. If he didn’t know anything about himself, then what was the point in-
“Oh! There you are!” Larei was jostled out of his thoughts by a sudden voice. It wasn’t long before that voice made itself known to him, as a Sylveon approached him.
“H-Hey,” he said, instantly recognizing the nymph in front of him. “A-Aren’t you-“
“Nono, it’s okay!” the Sylveon reassured. “I’m, uh… I’m not that Sylveon.”
“Oh,” Larei sighed. How foolish of him to think that this was the same person who tried to kill them just weeks prior. Just because she was a Sylveon didn’t mean she was related.
There was an awkward silence for a moment before the Sylveon tilted her head. “Don’t… don’t you recognize me?”
“Huh?” Larei leaned back in confusion.
“I’m Nejire!” the Sylveon declared. “Does that ring a bell?”
“Uhh…” Larei tried to think back, but his mind once again drew a blank. “No… it really doesn’t”
Nejire’s ears drooped a bit after hearing this. “Y…You don’t…” A pause. Nejire then sighed, frustratingly. “He doesn’t, he doesn’t recognize me. He doesn’t recognize me!” she mumbled, though the last part came out a bit louder than she thought. She then started… giggling? It was a little unsettling to Larei.
“Uh… a-are you okay?” he asked her.
Nejire immediately straightened up. “Oh! Yes! I’m fine!” she said. Her eye twitched, but Larei didn’t seem to notice. “Nevermind that. I was looking for you.”
“Huh?” Larei was taken aback again. “Why me?”
“Because, I need your help.”
“Oh. Well then, l-let me go get my friends, and we can-“
“NO!” Nejire screamed, making Larei jump. Nejire then cleared her throat before speaking again in her normal tone. “No, I… I just need you.”
“Why just me?”
“Well… it’s a bit hard to explain, but… I can help you if you come with me.”
Larei cocked his head. “Help me with what? I don’t need-“
“Your questions.” Larei froze after she said that. Nejire started circling him calmly as she continued to speak. “You feel incomplete… or at least you used to. Even now though, you still have many questions about yourself. Stuff you feel like you should know, but you don’t.”
Larei just blinked as she concluded. A pause followed before he found the words to respond. “How… how do you know all this about me?”
“Well…” Nejire returned to her original position and stopped walking. “Because I was just like you.”
“W-What?”
“I felt the same about myself. And, well, the reasons for it… are the same for both of us.” Larei was struck silent. Nejire let this sink in for a moment before continuing. “If you come and help me, I can help you. Your questions will be answered, and you’ll feel complete again.”
Larei thought this over. A few red flags popped up, and he wasn’t so sure. “I-I dunno,” he responded.
“Oh, c’mon!” Nejire said. “You’re in the same situation I was. I want to help you. You can have a better life! Or…” Nejire turned her body to the side. “…you can go back and sulk over this for the rest of your life… your choice.”
Silence permeated. Larei wasn’t sure if this was a good idea. Leaving his friends and going with someone he just met? It was risky, but as he thought about it more, he started to think it wasn’t a bad idea either. He wouldn’t be gone for long, and if there was a chance this actually would make him feel better…
“Alright,” he said after a while. “Let’s do it.”
“Great! Let’s go!” Nejire turned to walk off.
“Now?” Larei spat out. “But I should go tell-“
“C’mon, we have friends waiting for us. And they’re like us too, so lets not keep them waiting.”
Larei just swallowed his words and followed her. He didn’t have much of a choice here, it seemed.
They weren’t walking for long until they came across the ‘friends’ Nejire mentioned.
“Ayhey! There they are!” a Zoroark said as he spotted them.
“Is this the last person you were looking for?” the Chandelure next to him said.
“Yup,” Nejire responded. “Everyone say hii!~”
“Uh… hi?” the Chandelure responded.
“Hi… uhm,” Larei scratched the back of his head. “I’m Larei.” Well this took an awkward turn.
The awkward silence was broken by Nejire laughing, suddenly. “Ahh, nevermind. Let’s just… get down to business.”
“What, uh… what exactly is this all about?” Larei asked.
” Well, you and I already did this… but as for you two,” Nejire turned towards the other two pokémon. “You are still incomplete.”
“HEY.” the Zoroark strode towards her, making Larei jump back a bit. “Who’re you callin-“
“Cool it, Kitsu,” Nejire said, not even flinching. “I mean that in the most literal sense.”
“…What does that mean?” the Chandelure asked.
“Well, this might sound hard to believe,” Nejire explained. “But you see, the four of us got split into two parts.”
“What?” Larei said in disbelief.
“It’s true,” Nejire confirmed. “That’s why we didn’t have any memories. The splitting cut them off.”
“So what? Is this just a gathering of half people then?” the Chandelure grumbled.
“No, Willo, of course not,” Nejire said. “Larei and I already fused back with our other halves. But you and Kitsu? I know where your other halves are.”
“You do?!” Kitsu shouted. “Well shit, let’s go get them!”
Nejire giggled. “I like your enthusiasm, but don’t you think you should know who and where they are first?”
“Well-” Kitsu started, but froze as he thought about it. “But I-” He paused again. “…Okay, I guess you’ve got a point.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll get to them right away! Here’s the plan,” Nejire hopped in between her companions and turned towards the fox and lamp. “I’ll lead you to your other halves, and I’ll let you have your way with them! And as for you, Larei…” Nejire turned to the frog. “We’ve got our own business to take care of.”
“What… What kind of business?”
“I said I was gonna help you. So that’s what we’ll do!” Nejire smiled at him, sweetly. Larei paused for a moment, but he returned the smile back. Though something about Nejire’s smile was… off. Oh well, it was probably nothing.
“Well then, are we all ready?” Nejire asked the group.
“Aw hell yes! I wanna be fucking complete again!”
“Alright, Kitsu,” Nejire giggled. “We’ll do you first.”
“Larei?” Zari peeked out of the stump they called home. It had been a few hours since Larei went outside, and she started getting concerned about him. She crawled out of the hole and looked around.
“Larei? A-Are you there?” the Hattrem quietly called. There was no answer. “Larei?” she called, louder. Nothing. Zari walked around the area, and there wasn’t a single trace of the ninja anywhere. Zari’s concern turned into worry.
“Stella, Larei’s gone!” she called as she approached the base again.
“What?” came Stella’s voice from inside. She poked her head out of the stump and looked around. “What do you mean gone?”
“H-He’s not out here. H-He’s missing!”
“O-Oh dear.” Stella hopped out alongside her, looking around once more. Just like Zari, she saw no signs of him. “We should go find him!”
“B-But Stella, it’s getting dark.”
“What if he’s in trouble?” Stella looked at her friend. “We can’t waste any time!”
Stella’s irrational thinking had gotten them into trouble before, but this time, Stella’s thinking made perfect sense. It didn’t take long for Zari to nod her head. “You’re right, let’s go!”
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