ARC 2, CHAPTER 3

Tamao was walking into an alleyway. Some red smoke coming from this area caught his eye, and he went to go check it out. In this spot, it was like a thick fog, very unusual. Even more unusual, though, was the sound of footsteps nearby.

“Hey! Is someone there?” he called out. Near immediately, though, he bumped into something, or someone.

“Sup,” said the grinning Zoroark in front of him. The Zoroark immediately slashed at Tamao, but he quickly reacted by jumping backwards.

“Who… Who the hell are you?!” Tamao shouted. He didn’t wait for an answer, though, and immediately lunged toward him for a Night Slash. This proved futile, as the other Zoroark immediately struck him using Sucker Punch.

“Well…” the Zoroark spoke as Tamao recovered from the blow. “I am you!”

“What?” Tamao stood confused. “Quit with the cryptic bullshit and tell me who you are!” Tamao then used U-Turn, bouncing back to get in a better position. The other Zoroark took the super effective hit without even flinching.

“I’m not being cryptic, I’m just telling you how it is!”

“SHUT UP!” Tamao reached his mental limit, and charged in with a rapid volley of Shadow Claws. The Zoroark did his best dodging, but one Night Slash was all it took, and Tamao cut the doppelganger right in half. The fight was over, but something didn’t seem right. Even a Night Slash from him shouldn’t have been that lethal. And there wasn’t even any blood. Tamao thought to himself.

“Huh… that was really easy…” he said. “Too easy…” That’s when Tamao got tackled from behind. He yelped in surprise as he got pinned down by the other Zoroark, who simply grinned.

“You’re right. That was easy,” he said as they both got enveloped in a cloud of red smoke.

“Larei? Larei!” Zari was calling out for her friend frantically. She and Stella had searched for him for most of yesterday evening. Now, today, they still hadn’t made any progress. Where could he have gone?

Stella’s ears perked up as she listened. “Zari, shh. Do you hear that?” Zari piped up, and she heard it too. A distant voice.

“Take a deep breath. We can do this.”

Stella and Zari decided to go investigate.

They soon came across the source of this voice. It was a Sylveon. It seemed somewhat familiar. Could it be… no, there’s no way it was. That wasn’t important, because that wasn’t the only thing they saw.

“Larei! There you are!” Stella squealed as she and Zari ran up to the Greninja.

“Oh, hello! Are these the ‘friends’ that you mentioned, Larei?” Nejire spoke.

“Y-Yeah, we were looking all over for-” Zari started, but was cut off.

“Now, why would you come all the way out here for someone you aren’t even helping?” Nejire said.

“Wha…” Stella stammered. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, I’m not trying to be mean, buuut from what I heard, you haven’t helped poor Larei with his personal problems… even though you said you would.” Zari froze. She remembered saying that she would help him. She was hit in the gut my the truth.

Larei spoke up. “She uh… she’s been helping me with that.”

“Yup! And I’ve done way more than you have!” Nejire triumphantly stated. “What have you done to help, hm?” A bitter silence followed that question. Nejire inwardly smiled, knowing full well her plan was working. “That’s what I thought,” she said after a moment. “Well, we have some more business to take care of, so do me a favor, and just… let me take care of this, okay?”

Stella and Zari didn’t respond, but Nejire knew she already got her answer. “C’mon, Larei! Let’s go meet back with the others.” Nejire casually walked off. Larei hesitated for a moment, and then, looking back at his friends, he followed Nejire without saying a word.

Stella and Zari stared on for a while more, not knowing what to do in the moment. Had they just lost their teammate?

Stella sighed, defeated. “I guess that’s that,” she whispered. “Come on, let’s go home.” Stella began to walk off, but Zari stayed put.

“No,” she said. Stella paused and turned to the Hattrem questioningly. “Something’s not right. How that Sylveon was speaking just… doesn’t sit right with me.” Stella considered her words for a moment, and realized that she was right. “I-I want to follow them,” Zari said after a slight pause.

“A-Are you sure?” Stella asked her friend.

“Larei could be in trouble,” Zari responded. “Let’s just listen in, and see what they’re up to first.”

“O-Okay,” Stella said after another pause. “Let’s not let our guard down.”

“I’M WHOLE AGAIN!!” the Zoroark roared triumphantly as Nejire and Larei approached.

“Welcome back!” Nejire greeted him. “How did it go… Zerin?”

The Zoroark grinned. “Eh, he was all talk. Too much talking! I’m glad we’re rid of him now! The better Zoroark is in!” Nejire giggled at the enthusiasm.

“Well, I guess that that just leaves one of us left!” Nejire turned to the Chandelure in question. “Are you ready, Willo?”

Silence followed. “I’m not going,” Willo replied after a moment.

“Oh? Why not? You know where they are, so-“

“Yeah, but you didn’t say they would be my own sister!” Willo snapped. “I’ve known her my whole life! I just can’t-“

“Willo,” Nejire said sternly. “I know you’re attached to her, but she’s not your sister.” Nejire paused for a moment. “But hey, look at it this way. You’ll be with her forever if you go and do this! Either that… or you just be incomplete for the rest of your life. Both of you will be.”

Willo just silently listened, thinking about all this. Finally, after a long time of thinking, he spoke. “I’ll… I’ll be back,” he said, then he floated off. Nejire just smiled as he went off.

Nearby, Stella and Zari were listening in on this conversation. They were confused, having no idea what this was all about. But they did know one thing. They knew where to go now. Maybe they could get more answers.

“Oh, hey brother!” Willo was happily greeted by another Chandelure. Willo, though, didn’t look as happy.

“Hey… Hey Missy…”

“Hey, it’s been so long, where have you been?” Missy asked.

“Ah… well… just roaming, I guess…”

“Oh, that’s cool! Man, we have so much to catch up on! Let me tell you about it!”

Missy went on talking about herself and what she was doing in life. Truthfully, nothing interesting has happened recently, she was just trying to find things to say to talk to her brother about. Willo, however, wasn’t really paying attention. Too much was on his mind. About what to do. If he even should.

Missy eventually noticed his vacant stare, and became concerned. “Willo?”she asked, getting his attention. “Are you okay, brother?”

Willo hesitated for a good long while. Missy just listened to him until he spoke. Which he eventually did.

“Missy… I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? Sorry for wh-” Before she could finish, Willo dived into her, earning a panicked yelp from her. It wasn’t long before only one Chandelure was in the area. It got up, and just sat there. Contemplating what just happened, tears streaming down its face. Finally, after a long while of this, the Chandelure decided to leave.

Stella and Zari saw this whole interaction. They couldn’t believe what they saw. What just happened? Their previous confusion was now only amplified. They knew something wasn’t right, but they still couldn’t pinpoint what.

There was one other thing they didn’t know, though. And that was that they weren’t the only ones who had watched this happen.