The next morning, Ash dragged Dawn and Verity out of bed. They did try to protest and beg Ash to let them sleep in, wrapping themselves in blanket burritos, but this was Ash we were talking about. When they wrapped themselves up, Ash simply threw them over his shoulders and pulled them out of the room.
A few minutes later, he dropped both girls into chairs at the table.
"Alright, sit tight. Breakfast is almost ready!" Ash announced as he headed back into the kitchen.
"ASH!" Dawn protested, still wrapped in her blanket, "IT'S TOO EARLY!"
"Yeah!" Verity added, barely managing to keep her eyes open, "We literally saved the world yesterday! Can't we have one morning to sleep in?"
"Nope!" Ash called back cheerfully.
"WHY NOT?!"
"Because we have places to be, things to do, and I refuse to waste a perfectly good morning!"
Dawn slowly lifted her head from the table, giving him the most exhausted glare she could manage, "I hate you…"
"No, you don't!" Ash replied.
"Right now, I do!"
"Oh, really? Well then, I guess you don't want this." Ash put a big plate of pancakes onto the table.
Both girls immediately stopped complaining, their eyes locked onto the plate.
Ash set it down in the middle of the table, and the delicious smell of the pancakes filled the room. They were perfectly golden brown, fluffy, and topped with butter and syrup. Knowing Ash's cooking, they were probably some of the best pancakes either girl had ever tasted.
Dawn slowly unwrapped herself from her blanket, her eyes never leaving the plate. Verity did the same, sitting up straight for the first time that morning.
"…Are those pancakes?" Dawn asked, suddenly sounding much more awake.
"No, they're just round pieces of bread that I put tree snot over," Ash replied sarcastically as he headed back into the kitchen for the rest of breakfast. Meanwhile, they saw Pikachu and Vee already eating in the kitchen.
Dawn ignored his comment and immediately reached for a plate. Verity was right behind her.
"Okay, maybe I don't hate you anymore," Dawn admitted as she took her first bite.
Verity nodded enthusiastically, already halfway through her first pancake, "Mhm! Are these blueberry?"
Ash returned with another plate and grinned at them, "Oh? I thought you two wanted to sleep in." He placed this one on the other side of the table, and both girls' Piplups jumped up and started munching.
"We can sleep later!" Dawn declared, already reaching for another pancake.
"Yeah! Breakfast comes first!" Verity agreed.
Ash laughed as he set the remaining food on the table, "Funny how that works."
Dawn gave him a sheepish smile before taking another bite, "Well, it's not our fault you're such a good cook!"
"Exactly!" Verity added, "If you didn't make such delicious food, maybe we'd have stayed in bed!"
Ash raised an eyebrow, "So this is somehow my fault?"
"Obviously!" Dawn replied without missing a beat.
"Wow. And here I thought I was doing you two a favor."
"You are!" Verity assured him, grabbing another pancake, "A very appreciated favor!"
Ash shook his head, chuckling as he sat down with his own plate, "You two are unbelievable."
"Coming from you, that means a lot," Dawn mumbled through a mouthful of pancake.
"Hey! No talking with your mouth full!"
Dawn froze, slowly looking up at him. Verity froze, too. The two girls exchanged a glance before bursting into laughter.
Ash stared at them, completely unimpressed, "Oh, so now you're both awake enough to laugh at me, huh?"
"Yep!" Dawn replied cheerfully.
"Absolutely!" Verity agreed.
Ash sighed and shook his head, though the grin on his face gave away that he wasn't actually annoyed, "Whatever. Just eat up. We have to catch our ship today so we can get to Hearthome."
"Oh yeah," Verity said, chewing thoughtfully, "That's today, huh?"
"Aww, I really wanted to stay in Alamos Town a little longer…" Dawn muttered, but she couldn't keep looking sad with a plate of pancakes in front of her.
Ash rolled his eyes and smirked, "You just wanted to stay around to watch the drama between Alice and Tonio."
"N-No!" Dawn said a little too quickly as she stuffed another piece of pancake into her mouth, her cheeks flushed red.
"Come on, Dawn, you're not fooling anyone. We remember what you said when we got here," Verity chuckled.
Ash clasped his hands together and put on an exaggerated expression as he made a poor impression of Dawn's voice, "But Verity, they are like dense anime characters! We can't just stand here making fun of them! We should help!"
Verity immediately burst out laughing, nearly choking on her pancake, "OH MY GOSH, YOU'RE RIGHT!" she managed between giggles, "You were so serious about it, too!"
Dawn's face turned an even deeper shade of red, "I was not! I just...I was just trying to help!" Dawn protested, crossing her arms, "They obviously like each other, but neither of them will do anything about it!"
"Uh-huh," Verity said, nodding with exaggerated seriousness, "And you just happened to be very interested in watching them flirt."
"They weren't even flirting!"
"Exactly!" Ash exclaimed, pointing at her, "And that was apparently a problem you needed to solve."
Verity laughed again, and Ash joined her, the two of them exchanging a high five across the table.
Dawn puffed out her cheeks and glared at both of them, "You two are the worst!"
"Aw, come on," Ash said, still grinning, "We're just teasing you."
"Yeah!" Verity added, "Besides, you were pretty cute when you were trying to play matchmaker."
Dawn's eyes narrowed. Without warning, she reached over and snatched one of the pancakes straight off Ash's plate.
Ash gave a mock gasp. He stared at his now slightly emptier plate, then slowly turned toward Dawn with an expression of utter betrayal, "…You stole my pancake."
Dawn took an exaggerated bite while glaring right back at him, "That's what you get."
Ash pressed a hand against his chest, "After everything we've been through together? After I saved you from falling to your death yesterday? This is how you repay me?"
"Yep."
"I fed you breakfast!"
"And now you're feeding me emotionally damaging memories of your terrible impression!"
"My impression was perfect!"
"It was AWFUL!"
Verity was laughing so hard that she had to put her fork down before she accidentally dropped it.
Ash pointed accusingly at Dawn's stolen pancake, "I hope you know that I'm deeply wounded by this betrayal."
Dawn took another bite, "Good."
He stared at her for another second before shrugging and returning to his breakfast, "Eh, whatever. I would've made you another one if you'd just asked."
Dawn blinked a few times, as if her brain had just crashed, "Wait, really?"
Ash gave her a confused look, "Yeah? It's just a pancake."
Dawn stared at him for a moment before slowly turning back toward her plate. Then, as if deciding that she wasn't about to let him win this exchange, she crossed her arms and resumed pouting.
"Shut up before I make you feed me."
Ash's grin immediately returned, "Oh?" He leaned forward slightly, resting his chin on one hand, "Are you finally declaring your royal decree?"
Dawn's head snapped toward him, "I told you already, I am not a princess!"
"Whatever you say, My Lady~" Ash said, sticking his tongue out.
Dawn grabbed a napkin and threw it at him.
He caught it without looking, "So, do you want chocolate chip this time, or could I make cinnamon? That would take a bit, though."
Dawn immediately perked up, "Chocolate chip!"
"Wow, that was quick."
"You asked a very important question!"
Verity nodded solemnly, "She's right. This is a matter that requires our full attention."
Ash snorted, "Uh-huh. Alright, chocolate chip it is. Anything for my favorite little princess."
"I AM NOT A PRINCESS!"
"Of course not, Your Highness."
Dawn grabbed another napkin, but Ash had already disappeared into the kitchen, laughing to himself.
"I'm going to get him back for that," Dawn muttered.
"Sure you are," Verity replied, picking up another pancake, "Just like how you were going to get him back for stealing your sleep this morning?"
"He didn't steal my sleep! He forcibly removed me from my bed!"
"While carrying you like a sack of potatoes."
Dawn paused, then slowly turned toward her, "…Whose side are you on?"
"Whoever's funniest at the moment."
"Traitor."
Verity grinned and took another bite.
From the kitchen, Ash called out, "I can hear you two, you know!"
"GOOD!" Dawn yelled back.
"Alright, alright! No need to shout. I'm making your pancakes, not performing surgery!"
"YOU BETTER NOT BURN THEM!"
Ash poked his head around the doorway, looking personally offended, "Dawn, I have never burned a pancake in my life! I actually feel more offended by that than I did when you stole a pancake from my plate."
Dawn's bravado immediately melted away. She lowered her head, "Oh...sorry."
Ash blinked, then chuckled, "Hey, it's fine! I was just messing with you. Now, do you still want chocolate chip pancakes, or have you decided to betray me again?"
Dawn immediately lifted her head, "Chocolate chip, please!"
"Wow. You really don't waste any time, do you?"
"Hey, you offered!"
"Yeah, yeah." Ash shook his head, turning back toward the stove, "Chocolate chip pancakes coming right up!"
Verity watched him for a moment before leaning back in her chair, "You know, sometimes I wonder if you actually enjoy cooking for us or if you just like having an excuse to boss us around."
"Both," Ash answered without hesitation.
Dawn snorted, "At least he's honest."
"Exactly! Besides, if I didn't make sure you two ate properly, you'd probably survive entirely on snacks and whatever food you could convince other people to give you."
"Hey!" Dawn protested.
Verity slowly raised a hand, "I would like to point out that I have absolutely no intention of denying this accusation."
"VERITY!"
"What? He's right!"
Ash laughed as he poured more pancake batter onto the pan, "See? At least one of you is willing to admit it."
Dawn crossed her arms, though the smell of the chocolate chips melting into the batter was already distracting her, "Whatever. I can take care of myself."
"You know, Dawn, I admit you're a great baker. Honestly, you're probably a better baker than me, but you're horrible at cooking, and we both know it."
Dawn opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She wasn't sure if she should be flattered by the compliment or offended by what he said, "…You know what? I'm just going to take that as a compliment."
Verity shook her head, smiling as she watched Ash work, "Honestly, I don't know how you do it. You can go from fighting two Legendary Pokémon to making breakfast like nothing happened."
"Practice," Ash replied, flipping a pancake in the air and catching it perfectly in the pan, "You'd be surprised how often you have to cook after a near-death experience."
Dawn stared at him, "That is absolutely not a normal thing to say."
"Neither is jumping out of a hot-air balloon to catch someone who's falling to their death, but here we are."
Verity immediately went quiet.
Dawn slowly turned toward her, and the moment she saw Ash's smirk, she knew he had noticed.
"Oh, speaking of yesterday…" Ash said casually, reaching for a bowl of chocolate chips, "I was wondering when we were going to talk about that."
Verity narrowed her eyes at him, "Talk about what?"
Ash glanced over his shoulder, his grin growing, "Nothing much. Just the fact that you apparently decided the best way to save Dawn was to throw yourself out of a perfectly good hot-air balloon."
"It was not a perfectly good hot-air balloon!" Verity protested, "It was falling apart!"
"Still had a basket."
"ASH!"
Dawn burst out laughing, nearly dropping her fork, "Oh my gosh, he's got you there!"
"Don't you start!" Verity warned her.
"I'm just saying, you could've at least waited until you had a plan!"
"I DIDN'T HAVE TIME TO MAKE A PLAN!" Verity exclaimed.
"Right, and yet I can't help but think that the Verity we used to know would never have done something so dangerous. Who are you, and what have you done to our beloved friend?" Ash pointed at her with the spatula.
Verity stared at him from across the table, "Oh, shut up! I was trying to save Dawn!"
"By jumping out of a hot-air balloon!"
"It was the fastest way to reach her!"
"Sure, sure. And I suppose you had a plan for what to do after you caught her?"
Verity opened her mouth, then closed it again.
Ash nodded knowingly, "That's what I thought."
"Okay, in my defense, I was under a lot of pressure!" Verity protested.
Dawn leaned against the table, grinning at her, "So, how did it feel to play the hero yesterday?"
"Dawn!"
"What? I'm just asking!" Dawn giggled, "You know, jumping out of a balloon, catching me in midair, saving the day...It was pretty heroic."
Verity's cheeks reddened, "I wasn't trying to be a hero!"
"Really? Because it looked pretty heroic from where I was falling."
"Yeah, well, you weren't exactly in a position to judge!"
"True, I was a little busy screaming for my life." Dawn paused, then smiled sweetly, "But I still think it was really brave of you."
Verity's expression softened for a moment, but Ash immediately ruined it, "Aww, look at that! She's blushing!"
"ASH!"
"What? I'm just appreciating our brave little hero!"
"I'm going to throw something at you!"
"Careful! You might accidentally jump out of another balloon."
Dawn burst out laughing, nearly falling sideways in her chair.
Verity looked between them, her face growing redder by the second, "You know what? This is your fault, Ash!"
Ash turned toward her while carefully flipping another pancake, "My fault? How exactly?"
"Because before I started traveling with you, I would NEVER have done something that stupid!"
Ash paused, spatula in hand, and slowly looked over his shoulder, "…Wow."
"Don't you 'wow' me!"
"No, no, I'm just touched. I've inspired you to become a reckless idiot!"
"THAT IS NOT WHAT I MEANT!"
Dawn slapped the table, laughing, "Oh my gosh! She's right, though! Before she met you, Verity would've been the one telling us not to do anything dangerous!"
"THANK YOU!" Verity exclaimed, pointing at Dawn.
"Now she's the one throwing herself out of a balloon!" Dawn continued.
"DAWN!"
"Hey, I'm just stating the facts!"
Ash nodded thoughtfully as he returned to cooking, "Well, I suppose I should be proud." He wiped an imaginary tear from his eye, "My friends always do say I'm contagious."
Verity felt a vein pulse on her forehead, "I'm going to strangle you with your own headphones."
Ash glanced down at the light blue headphones resting around his neck, "Those are expensive, you know."
"I DON'T CARE!"
"Alright, alright! No need to get violent before breakfast." Ash walked back over with two plates. He put one in front of Dawn and another in front of Verity, "And one more for our little reckless hero."
Verity didn't honor that with a response. She just sighed and finally relaxed back into her chair, "Honestly, though, I still can't believe I did that. I didn't even think about it. One second, Dawn was falling, and the next, I was jumping after her."
Dawn's smile softened, "Well, I'm glad you did."
Verity looked at her.
"I mean it," Dawn continued, "I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't grabbed me. Ash might've caught me eventually, but you didn't know that at the time. You just jumped."
Verity rubbed the back of her head, looking away, "Yeah, well...I couldn't just stand there and watch you fall. I just jumped without thinking."
Ash glanced over his shoulder at them, his expression softening slightly, "That's what friends do, isn't it?" But before they could accuse him of being too mushy, he grinned again, "And for what it's worth, you're right. I would've done the same thing."
He stuck his tongue out.
But this time, Verity just gave him a small smile and chuckled as she started eating again.
Dawn thought about something, then swallowed, "You know, since we're already talking, I wanted to ask: what happened to Baron Alberto? We never really got to see what happened to him after everything went back to normal."
Ash nodded as he took a bite of his breakfast, "Oh, yeah. I went to check on that last night."
Both girls immediately looked at him.
"You did?" Verity asked.
"Yep. I wanted to make sure he was alright after the whole...transformation thing." Ash shrugged, "Good news is, he returned to normal."
Dawn let out a relieved breath, "That's good. I was worried he might've been stuck like that."
"Yeah, well, he wasn't exactly thrilled about the whole experience," Ash said, reaching for his drink, "Can't say I blame him. If I just turned into a Lickilicky, I'd also be pretty...confused? Actually, I don't know how I'd feel. Being a Lickilicky might be cool."
"Right, what's the bad news?" Verity asked.
Ash waved his hand in front of him, "Ehhh, I wouldn't say it's bad news, since it's not a us problem, but the bigger problem for him is that he lost a lot of the public support he used to have. People saw how he acted yesterday."
Dawn rested her chin on her hand, "So people don't trust him anymore?"
"Not like they used to." Ash shrugged, "Some people might forgive him eventually, but others won't. Especially Alice, considering how he treated her."
Verity's expression soured, "He really was awful to her. He kept acting like she belonged to him just because he wanted to marry her."
"Yeah, well, that was his problem in the first place." Ash casually shrugged as he took a bite of his own pancakes, "He thought he could get whatever he wanted just because he was a baron. He wanted Alice, so he kept pursuing her even though she clearly wasn't interested. Then he got caught up in the whole Darkrai mess and made an even bigger fool of himself."
Dawn nodded, "I guess it's hard to feel sorry for him when he was already behaving like that before everything went wrong."
"Exactly. I can sympathize with someone having a bad day, but there's a difference between having a bad day and spending your time treating other people like they're beneath you." Ash shrugged again, "At the end of the day, he can't blame anyone but himself."
Verity nodded firmly, "Good. Maybe he'll finally learn something from all this."
"Maybe." Ash took another bite, "Though, honestly, I wouldn't bet money on it."
Dawn giggled, "You really don't have much faith in him, do you?"
"Hey, I'm an optimist! I believe people can change."
Verity raised an eyebrow, "You literally just said you wouldn't bet money on him changing."
"Those two things aren't mutually exclusive."
"I mean, I guess that's fair." Verity shrugged, then remembered something, "Oh yeah, now, before I forget…"
She slowly turned toward Ash with a small smile on her face. She spoke in a tone that made it very obvious she was trying not to yell, "Why do you have a Darkrai?"
Ash casually took a bite, "You don't know what I did before I got to Sinnoh."
"I mean, yeah, but you have a Legendary that's kinda different," Dawn added.
"Mythical, technically," Ash corrected.
"Fine, Mythical. Still doesn't explain stuff," Verity deadpanned.
"I mean, you guys would have figured it out sooner or later. I'm not really stressing about you finding out, but it's kinda a long story, and we still need to get ready to get to the boat."
"I hate it when you're right. Fine, I'll just try to accept that you have a Mythical in your back pocket at any time. At least it's not as bad as when we saw 'that,'" Verity muttered under her breath, referring to when they saw Ho-Oh.
"Wait, what?" Dawn blinked owlishly, "What's 'that'?" she asked, since, remember, they had never told Dawn the story of how they met.
"Oh yeah, forgot." Ash scratched his chin and shrugged, "Well, if we're sharing stories, we might as well fill you in on the secret."
"Wait, really?" Verity looked over at him, "Are you sure we should tell her?"
"Why not? It's not like it's some big secret that needs to be kept secret, unless…" Ash smirked and rubbed his chin, "You're trying to keep this a secret between only us for bragging rights against Dawn~" Ash teased. He still hadn't forgotten how these two apparently competed to see who knew Ash better.
Verity sputtered and looked away, "Shut up! I don't know what you're talking about. What do I care if you tell her?"
"I feel lost," Dawn admitted.
Ash chuckled, "Alright then, let's fix that. Let me tell you about 'The Rainbow Hero.'"
—
{With Ashtwo}
D was walking down the hall as he looked at the pendant Hiori had given him. In his other hand, he held his phone, where he watched the red dots move around Sinnoh. He almost had a complete map. Once he did, he would make his move on Hunter J and Team Galactic.
After all, with these idiots specifically, if he couldn't land a big blow in one hit, then he might as well not have done anything in the first place. For example, let's say he went after Hunter J's base right now. He didn't know the buyers, he didn't know the clients, and he didn't know where all the stolen money was, along with a lot of other things. The only thing he knew was their locations, and those might not even be all of them.
And then there's Team Galactic. He did not know where Cyrus was at any given moment, and if he attacked a base without being 100% sure he could do what he went there to do, then they would just rebuild, and he wouldn't be able to do it again in the future.
And let's not even mention D's main goal at the moment, and the reason he let Lily get away in the first place: the brainwashing facility.
Don't act too surprised. It had been obvious to Ash that Cyrus was using brainwashing methods to make all the grunts loyal to him. It was common cult procedure: first, they isolate the person from society; then they use all sorts of methods to reconstruct the person's identity and make them join a hive mind. The last step is something similar to a trauma bond, making it hard for people to walk away.
Cyrus, however, had managed to do something that amounted to true brainwashing, where their only goal was to serve him. They didn't even get names, and if they got caught, they were thrown out of the hive mind. D knew this thanks to the Advanced-level Grunt. After he was captured, he lost all his memories.
Now, he didn't know if the Admins were also brainwashed, but that was one of the things he needed to find out. After all, if he could reverse the brainwashing, he could get the Admins on his side and have them betray Cyrus. Not to mention, there was still the Team Meteor stuff.
So yeah, until D had everything he needed, he couldn't strike. But that time was approaching.
As he was walking, lost in thought, a hand slipped around his shoulder, and he heard a familiar voice, "Yo, bro! How you been?" Jay said in his ear.
D quickly turned off his phone and closed the pendant, putting it around his neck. Then he looked back, "Jay," he said with a nod.
Then he saw the rest of his squad walking behind Jay and gave them a nod. Most of them had at least some subtlety, but not Annie. She immediately closed the distance and looked at the pendant around D's neck.
"Ohh, that's pretty! Where did you get that? Or have you always had it and we just never noticed? Oh, what's in it?" she asked rapidly.
Oakley immediately grabbed Annie by the hair and pulled her back, "Annie, how many times do we have to talk about this?"
"Oww, but Oakley, what if he has a picture of you in there? Wouldn't you like to know?" Annie said, mainly making something up because she wanted her sister to stop pulling her hair.
And hey, it seemed to work because Oakley froze, letting Annie escape. Then she turned away and coughed, "Don't be ridiculous, Annie."
Enid huffed, but she did look over at D's neck, "But I am curious. Show us what's in there," she said, then realized she might be sounding too pushy, so she quickly added, "O-only if you want to, of course. You don't have to."
Domino looked over at her and gave her a slow clap. It was half sarcastic and half a "congratulations," while Helina also wanted to know but wasn't going to ask.
D looked between them for a moment.
Honestly, he didn't really care. It wasn't as though the pendant contained any classified information, and he didn't see any harm in showing them.
"Sure."
He lifted the pendant, opened it, and turned it so everyone could see the small photograph inside.
The girls immediately leaned in, practically holding their breath as they looked at the picture.
Then they saw who was in it.
A young girl.
The tension in their expressions eased slightly, though Annie continued studying the photograph with interest.
"Aww, she's cute!" she exclaimed. Then she looked up at D, "So, if you're looking for her, how old is she now? Is she your little sister?"
D shook his head, "No. I'm an only child."
"Oh." Annie tilted her head, "Then how old is she?"
D shrugged, "I don't know. I never asked. This picture was taken five years ago, though."
For a moment, the girls said nothing. Then, slowly, their expressions changed. Oakley's eyes widened slightly. Domino raised an eyebrow. Enid looked away, suddenly seeming very interested in the floor, while Helina's gaze flicked between D and the pendant. Helina looked down, kicking her feet slightly, and even Jay blinked owlishly.
They all put the pieces together in their heads, except they put them together wrong. They thought that this girl must have been D's childhood friend, or perhaps even his childhood sweetheart, and that something had happened to separate them. Now, years later, he was searching for her, carrying her picture close to his heart. And the fact that he didn't know her age? Well, wasn't it just good advice to never ask a woman her age?
D, completely unaware of the story they had just invented in their heads, calmly closed the pendant and tucked it back beneath his shirt, "Anyway, that's pretty much it."
The silence that followed was suspiciously long.
D looked at them, "What?"
"Nothing," Oakley replied a little too quickly.
"Absolutely nothing!" Enid added, looking away.
"Yep, nothing," Domino added as she grabbed a handkerchief and bit down on it.
Before he could question them any further, however, a sharp ping sounded from their communicators. They all received it and pulled them out to check. The message read:
"All available members are to report to Matori. A mission requires their immediate attention."
Jay sighed, "Well, there goes our free time."
"Right, I'll go on ahead. You guys get anything you need," D said as he turned to leave. But immediately, they followed him, not giving him a moment to question them or protest.
D sighed, but he went along with it anyway. He had better things to worry about.
—
{Flashback: 5 years ago}
Lily, Hiori, and the little Riolu were playing together in the field. Today, they had decided to play hide-and-seek. They quickly played rock-paper-scissors to decide who would be the seeker, and Hiori ended up losing.
Lily giggled as she ran across the field, her little Riolu following close behind her. Hiori was a short distance away, covering her eyes while counting down from ten. Then Lily and Riolu went in different directions to hide.
"…Eight, nine, ten! Ready or not, here I come!" Hiori shouted, turning around and looking across the field, "Lily? Riolu? Where are you?"
Lily clapped a hand over her mouth to stop herself from laughing. She had already decided where she was going to hide. There was a forest not too far from the field, and inside it was a hollowed-out tree that she had discovered a while ago. It was the perfect hiding spot!
Besides, she wasn't scared of getting lost. If Hiori couldn't find Lily after a while, Riolu could just use its Aura to track her down. There was no way Lily could stay hidden forever!
With that thought in mind, she quietly made her way toward the forest, occasionally glancing behind her to make sure Hiori wasn't following. Once she was sure the coast was clear, she hurried between the trees, giggling to herself as she imagined Hiori's face when she finally found her.
Meanwhile, Hiori searched around the field, checking behind bushes and trees while calling Lily's name.
Back in the forest, Lily finally reached her hiding spot. She squeezed into the hollowed-out tree, settling herself comfortably inside before peeking out through the opening.
"Hehehe! Hiori's never gonna find me here!" she whispered to herself.
She was just about to settle in and wait when something caught her attention: voices.
Lily tilted her head and looked through the trees. A short distance away, she could see several people standing together. They were wearing strange clothes, and the most noticeable thing about them was their bright cyan hair.
Lily blinked, confused. She had never seen anyone like them before, "Who are they?" she whispered.
Curiosity got the better of her. Slowly, she climbed out of the tree and began approaching them, careful not to make too much noise. Perhaps they were visitors? Maybe they were lost and needed help?
She was still trying to figure out what to say when a shadow suddenly appeared behind her.
Before Lily could turn around, someone grabbed her from behind. A hand clamped over her mouth, muffling the startled scream that escaped her, while another person quickly pulled a bag over her head.
"Mmph?! MMMMMMPH!"
Lily kicked and struggled, desperately trying to get free, but the person holding her was much stronger. She tried to call for Hiori, for Riolu, for anyone who might hear her, but the hand over her mouth kept her from making a sound.
"Got her!" one of the men announced.
"Good. Make sure she doesn't get away."
"Understood."
The people with cyan hair turned toward them. One of them approached, briefly inspecting Lily before nodding, "Take her back to the facility. The boss will want to know we've secured the target."
Lily struggled harder at the word target, but it did nothing. The people holding her simply tightened their grip and began carrying her away from the forest.
She didn't understand what was happening. She didn't know who these people were, where they were taking her, or why they had grabbed her.
All she knew was that she wanted to go home, "Mmmph! MMMMMMPH!"
Her cries grew weaker as she continued struggling. One of the grunts muttered something about her being noisy before a sharp pain struck the back of her head. Then everything went dark.
—
When Lily finally opened her eyes again, the first thing she noticed was the cold floor beneath her. The second was the cage.
She was sitting inside a metal cage, its bars stretching from the floor to a ceiling that seemed much too high. The room around her was dimly lit, with rows of cages lining the walls. Some were occupied by people, while others sat empty.
Lily stared at her surroundings, unable to understand what she was seeing, "…Huh?"
She slowly pushed herself upright, rubbing the back of her head. Her body felt heavy, and her head hurt. For a moment, she wondered whether she was still dreaming.
Then she noticed the people in the other cages. There were so many of them. Some were sitting quietly, staring at the floor with blank expressions. Others stood motionless, their eyes unfocused, as though they couldn't even remember why they were there. A few looked frightened, while others seemed completely unaware of their surroundings.
Lily swallowed nervously, "H-hello?" she called out.
Nobody answered.
She tried again, a little louder, "Um...excuse me? Can someone tell me where I am?"
Still, most of the people around her didn't respond. One man in a nearby cage slowly turned his head toward her, stared for a few seconds, and then looked away again without saying a word.
Lily's lower lip began to tremble. She looked around desperately, hoping to see a familiar face. Maybe Hiori was here. Maybe Riolu had somehow followed her. Maybe this was all some horrible mistake, and someone would come to take her home any second now.
But neither Hiori nor Riolu was anywhere to be seen. Instead, her gaze eventually settled on a cage in the corner. Inside sat a girl with red hair.
Unlike most of the others, the girl seemed to have more mental strength. She was sitting with her back against the wall, her arms resting across her knees. Her expression was tired, and there was a guarded look in her eyes, but she was at least looking around instead of staring blankly into nothing.
The little girl hesitated before slowly crawling toward the bars of her own cage, trying to get a better look.
The red-haired girl noticed her movement and turned her head. Their eyes met. Lily immediately shrank back a little, uncertain whether she should say anything. But the other girl offered her a small, reassuring smile.
"Hey," she called softly, "It's okay. You don't have to be scared of me."
Lily sniffled, "W-where am I?"
The red-haired girl glanced around the room before looking back at her. Her smile faltered slightly, but she tried to keep her voice gentle, "Somewhere we really don't want to be."
Lily's eyes began watering, "I wanna go home…"
"I know." The girl shifted closer to the bars of her cage, "I want to go home, too."
"Then...then why can't we?"
The girl fell silent for a moment. It was a question she had asked herself countless times since arriving here. She wished she had a better answer, something that would make the little girl feel safe, but she wasn't going to lie to her.
"Because the people who brought us here won't let us," she admitted quietly, "But that doesn't mean we'll be here forever, okay?"
Lily looked at her uncertainly, "R-really?"
The girl nodded, trying to sound more confident than she felt, "Really. We just have to keep going until we find a way out."
Lily sniffled again, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand, "I...I don't know how."
"That's okay. You don't have to figure everything out right now." The red-haired girl gave her another small smile, "Just take a deep breath, alright? In...and out."
Lily hesitated, then tried to follow her instructions. Her breathing was still shaky, but after a few attempts, she began to calm down a little.
"That's it," the girl encouraged, "You're doing fine."
For the first time since waking up, Lily felt as though she wasn't completely alone.
The girl glanced toward the other cages, then back at Lily, "What's your name?"
"L-Lily…"
"Lily," she repeated, nodding, "That's a nice name."
Lily managed a tiny smile, though tears still clung to her eyelashes.
The girl shifted closer to the bars and held out her hand as far as she could reach, "It's nice to meet you, Lily. My name is Scar—"
—
Lily's eyes snapped open. She bolted upright in bed, gasping for air as she frantically looked around the room. Her hands gripped the sheets, and her heart hammered against her chest as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. For several seconds, she couldn't do anything but breathe. In...and out.
Lily lowered her hand and stared at the floor, her breathing gradually settling. Before, she hadn't even had dreams or nightmares, but lately, something had been different. She had started dreaming again, and these so-called dreams had been getting more realistic recently, showing her things she didn't remember.
And it had all started after that strange encounter with D. Ever since that day, little things had been happening. Sometimes, she would hear a voice in her head that didn't seem to belong to her. Other times, she would catch herself questioning things she had never questioned before: the people around her, the orders she was expected to follow, even the memories she had always accepted as her own.
She put her hands over her face. She didn't know what was going on anymore, but little did anyone know that the brainwashing in her mind was slowly beginning to crack.