24. In Which Twig Receives Some News

The Future Trio left soon after their abrupt arrival— Twig’s home, vacant as it was, wasn’t well enough equipped to house three extra guests, and they were comfortably confident that Twig wasn’t going to die any time soon. On a strict regimen of oran berries and bed rest, she healed up quickly and well. It was a struggle to keep from losing her mind out of boredom, but she made it out the other side alive… albeit with a newfound appreciation for the fluidity of the spoken word as opposed to the dry text of the one book she owned. 

She should probably get some actual children’s books before she tried to force herself into reading full-on scholarly manuals. At the very least, they’d probably have some nice pictures. That textbook barely had any diagrams in it, and Twig felt the lack of visuals keenly. 

Darkrai made for better company than Twig expected during the process of her healing. Maybe it was just the fact that she now knew him as Ark better than she had as the menace who tried to shroud the world in darkness, or maybe it was the fact that she was actually sleeping through the night now— either way, she enjoyed the conversations they had as she practiced her handwriting in that old notebook she used for kindling and he stitched away at whatever landscape he was embroidering. 

Twig pointedly avoided thinking about how one of the thread-paintings looked oddly like Dark Crater. Darkrai had said that they were just places that came to mind from his travels— he could have doubled back there after losing his memories. It wasn’t anything to worry about. Everything was fine. They were getting along great. She didn’t even mind him being around anymore. Everything was fine.

And then Twig opened a letter from Kip and everything went sideways.

“Are you well?” Darkrai asked from somewhere behind her, sounding miles away despite being just a few feet across the room. 

She didn’t answer, eyes roaming the page again in the hopes she misunderstood her friend’s looping penmanship. It wouldn’t have been the first time. She must have just misread it. She definitely misread it. She—

“Twig. You’re shaking.”

“I’m good! I’m good. Just— uh—” She cleared her throat. “Um. Kip is back home.”

“Is that not good news?”

“It’s great news.”

“You sound worried.”

“I’m not.”

“Hm.” He sounded unconvinced.

“It’s awesome. I’m just… I’m just a little surprised, is all. Those three years went by real fast, y’know?” She let out a weak chuckle. “Hey, we should probably head out to the market. Don’t you need more thread?”

“I suppose certain colors of embroidery floss have been used moreso than others. Are you certain you’re alright, though? You’re almost pale—”

“Yep! Yep, I’m good. I’m great. Let’s go. I could use the exercise.”

Twig’s leg had healed to almost its former state of wholeness, the only remaining sign of her injury being a slight limp or aching pain when she overdid things. She was able to travel to the market and back with no issue. But she found herself trembling all the while as she parsed the stalls for fruits and spices, the pain seeming to rise up anew and overtake her entire body as she tensed every last muscle in her shaking frame. 

Kip was home.

He was home, and he wanted to see her.

He wanted to see her, and she had a Legend attached to her hip who had haunted the poor mudkip’s nightmares for months after their fateful encounter in Dark Crater. 

You never thought this through, did you, Twig? Nice going, genius!

Maybe Darkrai didn’t want to meet Kip so badly anymore. Maybe she could just leave him home for a few days… But what if he remembered something while she was gone? What if Kip wanted to visit her at her new house? Didn’t she plan on moving back in with Kip when he arrived in Treasure Town? She couldn’t do that— she couldn’t exactly move back into Sharpedo Bluff with Darkrai stuffed in a suitcase, could she?

There was no way out of the mess she’d gotten herself into. Kip was going to find out about Darkrai eventually, and she was going to have to explain her reasoning for housing their shared worst nightmare— which meant explaining the return of her memories— which meant she would have to go through the gut-wrenching, stomach-twisting experience of baring the ugliest parts of herself to someone she loved. 

Dusknoir’s words echoed somewhere in the back of her head. “You were a child. You survived things no child should have to. You were not meant to be clever or strong. You were meant to be loved and cared for as you so clearly needed, as a child must be.” She couldn’t bear the dissonance that line awoke in her— somehow it felt like a balm and a poison in one line. A child. You were a child. Child or not, Twig had left her entire bunker to die, and she knew that Kip would take that news harder than she could put into words. 

The trip to the market didn’t last long enough for her to cook up a plan or for Darkrai to forget about her admitting that Kip was back. Sure enough, the first thing he said when they were back through Twig’s front door was about what she said. “I’d still like to meet Kip, if you think it is a possibility.”

“It’s not, Ark.” 

“Is he not in Treasure Town? It’s only a day’s journey.”

“It is, but— look, it’s just not an option for you to meet Kip. Honestly, I don’t even know if I can face him myself. And I can’t tell you why.”

Silence. Twig went to work lighting the dark room, having put out all the lights before they left, but found herself hesitating after lighting a single candle. She watched the flame dance and flicker as Darkrai spoke. 

“I understand that you have your reasons,” he began. “You’ve always been fiercely protective in the time I’ve known you. It is in your nature as much as nightmares are in mine. But that does not change the fact that I would still like to meet with this character at some point. Forgive my sentimental language, but it feels as though this is something I have been waiting nearly all my life for. There is something significant about your partner’s arrival that I feel within my core.”

She didn’t respond. Staring into the candle made her eyes sting with tears. 

His voice lowered. “… Is it not disheartening?” He asked. “To know your dearest friend is only a brief journey away, and yet you refuse to reunite with him despite all the years you’ve been apart?”

“I mean, yeah, it feels awful. But how I feel doesn’t change how things are.”

“Perhaps. But it seems to me that you are using the present state of matters to paralyze yourself. You shouldn’t indulge in fear. And given his history, I’m sure Kip would share that sentiment.”

That last line sent a spike of dread through Twig’s heart. “His history?” She hadn’t ever mentioned anything about Kip’s background to Darkrai other than him being her old partner and best friend. He shouldn’t know anything about his past. What was he talking about?

She put on a nervous smile. “H-Hey, um, Ark? What do you mean by—?”

He cut her off, seeming not to notice her stuttering mumbles. “Returning to the previous topic, are you not eager to return to your former role in an exploration team? You have spoken so highly of the experience. You made it sound like the greatest thing the world could offer— I myself have envied Kip’s status as your partner as a result of the praises you’ve sung.”

She couldn’t deny how much she missed exploring alongside Kip. She opened her mouth to answer that he likely wouldn’t be returning to Wigglytuff’s ranks of explorers before what Ark said clicked in her head. She smiled again, genuine this time, and chuckled. “I almost— pfft, Ark, I almost thought you were hinting that you wanted to join my team!” She couldn’t hold back her mirth. “Wow, I really misread the room there—”

“So you finally caught on this time?”

All the laughter bubbling out of her promptly died in her throat. “What?”

He didn’t take it back. He didn’t say he was kidding, or that this was a prank, or that he had suddenly taken up the cruelty he loved to indulge in during his previous life. 

 “Wh— How long has that been a thing?! When did you— Why would you— What?!”

Ark put up his hands in a placating gesture. “It’s been a thing since early on in your housing me. I’ve alluded to the concept numerous times rather than outright asking because… Well, you may judge your own reaction as the reason. It seemed as though your heart would give out if I came to you about it directly.”

That was a fair assessment. Her heart really did feel ready to give out in that moment. “No, not why you didn’t ask me to— I meant— I mean— Oh man. Hold on, I need a second.” She took in a long breath and closed her eyes, trying to collect herself. That was a bombshell if she’d ever heard one. She let out the breath in a slow puff and paused before turning her eyes back to Ark. “I was asking why you would want to join Team Venture. You never voiced an interest in exploration teams before, when you— when you had your memories. I guess I’m just confused by that sudden shift. What changed?”

Ark was silent for a long moment, eyes flicking away from her face and narrowing in a familiar coldness as he considered his answer. He seemed almost like Darkrai at that moment, but then the cold glare was gone, replaced by a strange melancholy. He flexed his hand at his side, bringing it up to clutch lightly at his chest. “I don’t think much has changed at all, surprisingly. It isn’t as if I had a sudden epiphany or change of heart on the subject. The thought of joining Team Venture is… something appealing. I suppose it always has been.” He turned back to her. “Is the opportunity not serendipitous in its presentation? Our abilities are complementary. Kip’s resilience is bolstered by your courage, and your combined strength could benefit from my knack for stratagem.”

Her voice left her inaudibly— barely a mournful squeak. “It’s not that simple, Ark, it’s…”

“No matter what obstacles appeared,” he continued, and her jaws snapped closed in sudden terror, “overcoming them would be entirely possible if we three band together.”

(She was in Dark Crater. She was in Dark Crater, and Kip was collapsed and bleeding out. She needed to get to him. She needed to save him. She needed to—)

“Well?” He asked, innocent. “Your answer, Twig?”

She shook herself, gritting her teeth. This was a coincidence. Only a coincidence. That was all. There was nothing special about it. “No,” she replied, voice tight and bordering on furious. “Sorry, but no.”

He watched her light the rest of the lamps throughout the home in silence. Twig caught a glimpse of his face as she turned to light one beside him and found his gaze narrow, but not unkind. 

“What’s with the weird look, man?”

He tilted his head, then looked away, almost flustered. “Nothing. Just a sense of deja vu, I suppose.”

With that, he fell quiet, and not another word broke the tense silence in their home.