ARC 3, CHAPTER 3

What’s going on… Why is this happening? So many things all at once… and I can’t think straight…

Stella was walking through the forest, alone. She needed some time alone, hopefully to clear her head. Instead, though, it was having the opposite effect. Her mind was swarmed with more and more questions, some of which weren’t even related to the situation at hand. She knew the big problem, and it had to be stopped, but was she really the one to do it? This big question is what led to others, and now Stella was suffocating in them. She was now questioning her own actions as well as the big problem. What could she do?

Finally, Stella decided to stop and sit down in a clearing. Her head hurt too much to walk anymore. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on one thing at a time. And the big question she kept coming back to: What could she do?

“M-Miss Stella? Are you okay?”

Stella must have been sitting there for longer than she expected, as she was jostled by the sudden voice. It was sort of familiar to her, but at the same time, she felt like she had never heard it before. It didn’t sound harmful, but still, Stella went on alert and turned to the voice. Immediately she noticed a pair of blue eyes in the shrubbery.

Stella immediately stood up in a battle-ready pose. “W-Who’s there? I don’t want any trouble.”

The eyes seemed to recoil a little bit, but relaxed soon enough. “O-Oh, I-I’m sorry. I wasn’t looking for any, I swear. I-I just…” A pause. Then, the figure decided to walk forward and reveal themself. It was indeed a familiar face to Stella, but certainly the last familiar face she expected.

“N-Nejire?” Stella stuttered at the Sylveon. “What are you doing here?”

“I was just passing by and… I-I overheard what happened.”

Stella stepped back a step. “H-How much did you hear?”

“I heard enough,” Nejire responded. “I-Is everything okay?”

Stella just sighed after a brief pause. “I-I don’t know… I’m in a tough position right now, a-and I can’t think straight because of it…”

Nejire didn’t really know how to respond to this. But she did want to help; it’d be the least she could do after everything she’s done before.

D-Do you uhm… maybe want to talk about it?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t waste your breath. Talking gets you nowhere,” came another voice. Stella paused and looked around for the third voice that had entered the scene. Now this one she was certain she’d never heard before.

Nejire, however, certainly did.

“Ah, Phobia,” the voice continued. “Or I guess it’s Nejire now, isn’t it? Oh whatever, that doesn’t matter to me. The only thing that matters to me now is you.” Finally, the voice’s owner walked into the scene. An Alolan Ninetales.

“Huh?” Stella asked the newcomer.

“Oh, Stella. As naive as ever, I see.” Stella physically recoiled. How did she know her name? “I see that’s still getting you into trouble as well, as it always did…”

Now Stella was confused. What was this Ninetales talking about? She swore she couldn’t recognize her at all. What was-

Before she could process another thought, Nejire stepped in between the two. “Stella, run,” she said.

“What?” Stella asked.

“Aw, are you scared, still?” the Ninetales said condescendingly.

“No…” Nejire said. “Because things are going to get ugly.”

The Ninetales just chuckled. “Oh Nejire, you couldn’t dream of facing me anymore. You’ve gone soft! Ever since that Latios ‘fixed’ you, you’ve done nothing but cry in every corner you find!”

“Oh, we’ll see who’s crying when I’m done with you!”

“Oh, you do still have some fire in there! So you do want to fight, hm? Even after what happened last time?”

“I’m feeling stronger now! I’ll make sure you don’t see a semblance of light again!”

“Fine then! Bring it on.”

Before making a move, Nejire spoke to Stella again. “Stella, get out of here.”

Stella looked at her worriedly. “B-But-”

Nejire turned to her. “Stella, listen to me. You’re in danger, but you can’t take on Team X… Not yet. You need more allies. Your strength comes in numbers, and the more you have, the better your odds will be. So get as much help as you can.” Nejire paused as she faced her. “You can do this. And if no one else believes in you… then just believe in yourself.”

Stella stood in silence for a brief moment after her speech, almost as if she was caught in headlights. “Now SHOO!” was Nejire’s last words to her. Stella was hesitant, but didn’t take long to obey. She turned and ran off in the other direction and Nejire turned back to face her opponent. Stella didn’t dare to look back at the fight that was about to unfold.

Zari and Larei had gone back to their base after some time had passed. They were just sitting outside near the entrance for the time being. There was still a thick sense of dread around them, not only for the situation, but for their friend as well. And similar to her, they had no idea what to do.

Soon enough, though, they heard quick footsteps approaching them. Turning towards it, they were relieved to see Stella running towards them.

“Stella! There you are!”

“D-Did something happen?” Zari asked, noticing her hustle.

Stella briefly turned back to where she came from. “No, n-nothing bad,” she responded. “I just… ran into an old friend.”

“O-Oh, good… B-But what do we do now? W-We can’t just sit here, right?”

A pause followed before Stella spoke again. “Y-You guys are right… We can’t fight them now… but I can’t just let this go.”

“So then what?” Larei asked.

“We need help,” Stella responded. “If we have more allies, then we have a chance.”

Zari and Larei looked at each other, wondering if she was thinking the same thing they were. Larei voiced this.

“Wait… A-Are you saying?”

Stella nodded. “We need a bigger team.”