| May POV |
The plane shook for the third time in a minute. Not turbulence, something deeper. Like the air itself was flinching.
A siren wailed overhead. The co-pilot cursed under his breath, adjusting knobs like they'd do anything against continental-level tectonic tantrums.
Across the cabin, Penny was gripping the armrest like it owed her money.
"So, remind me why you decided to join us again?"
She grits her teeth, mustering all the willpower in her body to not look out the window at the burning skies and crumbling mountains in the distance.
"N-Nemona dragged me here.. Then ditched me to go fly on some thunder bird Pokémon."
"Oh yeah, that's Nue. Rio got him from somewhere, we're still not sure how."
Her eyes widen as if she found a fountain miles deep inside the desert of route 111.
"THAT?S YOUR LUCARIO?!"
How can someone so introverted be so loud, even Trishout winced at that...
"Its more accurate to say I'm his human. We have a complicated relationship."
She blinks. Twice. Like I just told her I was dating Arceus."You're his human?" she echoes, voice cracking like a Skitty in puberty.
Trishout snorts beside me, still lounging in the seat like the apocalypse wasn't currently making rude gestures outside the window. Her tail flicks, smacking the tray table, and I hear Penny jump in her seat.
"You know," I say, tightening my seatbelt as the plane dips again, "I didn't think I'd ever end up riding a tiny death tube through falling ash clouds to chase a guy who accidentally woke up a literal god."
"Accidentally?" Penny asks, the vein in her temple pulsing like it wants to escape.
"I mean," I shrug, "Groudon was underground. Rio was landed on the ground. Now Groudon isn't underground. Coincidence? Maybe. But trouble follows wherever he goes, so if you blame something on him you'd probably be right."
The plane shudders. Everyone screams. Trishout yawns.
I glance past her and catch my dad still half-asleep, arms crossed, muttering something about "worthless seismic data" and "why didn't I retire in Kalos."
Out the window, red lightning dances across the clouds. Like the sky's trying to outdo itself. Every flash silhouettes the broken horizon. A molten fissure splits the land like a scar.
I ignore it. Instead, I watch Penny. She's still staring at me, trying to find whatever brain cell I've clearly misplaced.
She leans forward slowly, squinting like I'm an optical illusion."Wait. If you're here… and Groudon's there… who exactly is fighting it?"
I smile. Sweetly."Oh, knowing him, its probably Rio. And Blaziken. But I think its more likely that she would be on the side-lines, or trying to barbecue one of the scales that fell off after Rio punched Groudon through a mountain."
She blinks again.
The silence lasts just long enough for another tremor to shake the overhead bins.
"They what?"
Her voice breaks halfway through the sentence like her soul just slipped on a banana peel.
"Rio and Blaziken," I repeat, like we're not flying directly into hell's volcano sauna. "They can handle it."
"They're fighting Groudon."
"Technically, they're stalling it until it calms down. Or until Kyogre shows up and they do one of those legendary turf wars. Either way, we're just here to pick up the pieces."
She stares. No blinking this time. Just raw, concentrated 'what the hell' energy radiating off her in waves strong enough to power a Rotom fridge.
"I—How is this normal to you?"
I glance at Trishout. She's now upside down, legs in the air, one clawed foot casually wedged in the air vent like she's trying to form a Tetris piece.
"…You get used to it."
Another flash outside. This one purple. That's new.
Birch finally opens one eye, sees the lightning, sighs like he's aged five years, and closes it again.
"I swear," he mutters. "If this turns out to be a Primal Kyurem variant I'm defecting to the Digimon fandom."
The plane dips again. My stomach forgets it's attached to my body.
I pat Penny on the shoulder. She flinches like I've declared war.
"Relax," I say. "If we crash, Kirlia will probably catch the plane."
"PROBABLY?!"
"If I catch the plane while going at this speed, All of us would be crushed into paste due to the sudden stop of momentum. Should I teleport us to safety instead?"
"You do you Star."
The co-pilot makes a panicked announcement over the intercom. Something about emergency landing. Something else about how 'the runway may be partially submerged.'
I glance at the red-streaked clouds, the roiling sea, and the molten coastline.
Home sweet Hoenn.
Now, to regroup with the three idiots and figure out what are we going to do with his whole situation.
| Rio POV |
The air still tastes of ash and sweat. Combusken sits beside me, her feathers ruffled like she's been through a storm — because she has. The heat lingers, the faint scent of smoke clinging to her like a stubborn cloud.
We don't say much. There's no need. Sometimes silence is the only language that fits.
Our shoulders brush. I don't move away. She doesn't either.
Somewhere deep underground, Groudon rumbles, but here it's quiet.
The door suddenly creaks open.
A flood of light spills in.
"Rio?" May's voice is sharp, almost breathless. Behind her, Star and Penny shuffle in quietly, eyes wide.
May pauses, taking in the scene. The rumpled clothes. The heat lingering between us like a secret neither of us wants to name.
I clear my throat.
"Sup. Took you Torterras long enough to reach us" I say, voice neutral but steady.
Combusken looks away, fingering a torn patch of the blanket under us.
May blinks, then looks away too.
No one says what we're all thinking.
Star exhales, breaking the tension, "Well, you two look... comfortable."
Penny raises an eyebrow.
May's eyes flick between us again.
I give a small shrug.
"Sometimes, you just have to sit and catch your breath."
What's up with them? why are they looking at us like that. Its not like we did anything wrong.
Well, Blaziken woke Groudon up. I just pacified it.
Then I pacified Blaziken after she got a bit too heated and thought she can beat me now that she evolved, but we don't talk about that part.
(To be continued)
MC: What happened in that room?
...
MC: What happened in that room?!
...