Borne of Caution

The following morning, after a pleasant evening spent in the Birch home, Lee gathers up his team, mounts up on Corvi, and begins the multi-hour flight back to the Draconid village.

Lee takes a breath through the scarf protecting his face from the biting wind, looking down at the landscape below. To the east, Verdanturf passes by as Corvi lazily yaws to the left, following a waterway into the western mountain range.

'It all seems greener, somehow,' he thinks to himself and smiles. 'Hoenn. What a beautiful place to call home.'

Home.

Just thinking the word before yesterday made his chest tight and put thoughts of happier times in his head. Home used to be the place where his animals lived and where his zoo stood, and the reminder that it was all gone never lost its harshness.

Until today, that is. It's all been put to rest now.

'It's been six months since I died, six months since the whole world came to an end…' Lee watches a formation of Swablu pass below. 'Half a year. It feels like a lifetime ago. I guess, if you really think about it, it was a lifetime ago.'

'Do you regret how things have turned out?'

So lost in his thoughts is he that it takes Lee a moment to realize Ninetales reached out to him. He blinks and thinks over his answer. 'Regret? No. I could never regret where I am today. I can't regret meeting you, or the rest of the team, or Brendan and Zinnia. I think I'll always miss Earth deep down, but sitting and lamenting doesn't bring anything back. Besides, how can I remain unhappy when I have you?'

Ninetales is silent, but he can practically feel her smile. Lee definitely feels the warm tide of pride that wells up within her and spills over into him, banishing the high-altitude cold and coating his skin in the sensation of silky fur. 'You've grown,' she says quietly, each word practically glowing.

'Aasir once said that if you're not growing, you're dying. I think I've had enough of the latter for one lifetime,' Lee jokes.

The fox shudders within her capsule. 'Please, Beloved. Perhaps not joke in such a manner? It's grim.'

Lee pats the ball on his belt, and in doing so, is just in time to feel his phone vibrate in his pocket. 'Jeez, of course I get messaged as I'm thousands of feet in the air.'

Taking his phone from his pocket with a tight grip so as to not lose it to the whipping winds, Lee squints past the sunny glare on the screen to see who could be reaching out to him.

Zinnia: final elder debate happening rn. need you here so fly fast.

Lee's eyes widen. 'I'll be damned. It's about time.' Apprehension gnaws at the zoologist, but he ignores it. Putting his phone away, he reaches up and taps the transmit button on his radio headset. "Corvi? Can you hear me?"

The great raven turns his head slightly, peering back at Lee with a crimson eye.

"Zinnia is wanting us to return ASAP. Let's put the pedal to the floor!" As an afterthought, he adds, "Not so fast that I fly off, please."

Corvi smirks and pulls his wings back, forming a delta shape with his body. He straightens out, and then–!

Lee isn't given time to gasp before Corvi rockets forward, easily tripling his speed and sending Lee's stomach to his toes. The man has to lean his head down and hold his arm in front of his face as a windbreak just to breathe. Hazarding a look forward, Lee sees the beginnings of a sonic cone tickling the tip of Corvi's beak.

'Maybe I should've been more specific and said 'not one notch below supersonic'…'

The man and raven reach the Draconid village in record time, and circle around Zinnia's house for a landing. Coming in low and slow, they're just in time to see Brendan's Breloom perk up from his backyard sunbathing and leisurely head inside the house, probably to inform everyone else of their arrival.

Corviknight spreads his wings and finally touches down, allowing Lee to free his legs from the saddle straps and stumble to the ground. The man hisses and shakes away the pins and needles that run all the way from his toes to his thighs. After the pain subsides, he takes his phone from his pocket and checks the clock. "I'll be damned if that wasn't terrifying, but no one can ever call you slow, Corvi."

The raven smiles smugly, or at least he tries. The way he tries to hide his panting diminishes his smirk, however. The halfhearted smirk transforms into gratitude when Lee reaches into his bag and withdraws an Oran berry, one that Corviknight takes in his beak and swallows whole.

"Enjoy the rest, pal," Lee tells him. He smiles, turning to Zinnia's house. "I think I'm going to need you again soon."

Corviknight answers with an agreeing croak, readjusting his wings and sitting with a relaxed sigh.

Not bothering to put away his flying gear, Lee lowers his scarf and radio headset before letting himself into Zinnia's home. As soon as the screen door slams shut, Zinnia's voice can be heard further within. "Is that you, Dolittle? Come in here!" she calls.

Lee's boots and heavy footfalls make the old floorboards of the house creak as he follows the voice. Rounding the corner to the small kitchen, he finds both Brendan and Zinnia, along with the trio of guests.

The first is the most recognizable, that being Elder Juniper. The elderly woman is sat at the kitchen table sipping at a steaming mug along with the two unknowns and Zinnia, leaving Brendan to lean against the wall.

To Juniper's right is a tall Draconid man with a severe face. His tanned head is bald, and a salt-and-pepper beard covers his square jaw. Much of his body, barring his muscular arms, is covered by tribal hide clothes decorated with marks of red. His narrow, suspicious eyes are locked upon Lee.

Sitting across from the tall man and on Juniper's left is another man, who seems to be the polar opposite of the stern-faced Draconid. His short, side-parted hair is graying at the edges, but the only other signs of age on his smiling face are laugh lines. Like his counterpart, he too wears traditional hide.

"This is the third one, then?" the square-jawed Draconid asks with a rumbly, smoky voice fit for a Dragon. He crosses his thick arms. "Ma hr druknam. I'm not impressed."

"Come now, Taxus." The other man clicks his tongue and shakes his head. "You are aware of what they say. What are the words in Galarian? To judge with eyes alone is folly?"

Juniper sets her mug down. "I believe it's 'do not judge a book by its cover', Elder Danae."

The now-named Danae snaps his fingers with a smile. "Yes, precisely. Worthwhile wisdom regardless of tongue."

The man whom Lee assumes is Elder Taxus rolls his eyes. "They also say that seeing is believing. I see, but I do not believe."

"Elders, please," Zinnia cuts in with poorly-hidden frustration, "you've been arguing for hours. I swear I'm not spitting on tradition for nothing. Lee and Brendan are the real deal, and I need them."

Taxus snorts, not dignifying Zinnia with a reply.

"Indeed, Thelban, indeed." Juniper nods, turning from Zinnia and leveling Lee with a smile. "Naraikvejor Henson, we were not expecting you for some time. Your haste is appreciated."

Lee smiles back and inclines his head, wondering what the strange title means. "Think nothing of it. We did our best not to dawdle considering how important today is."

Juniper nods, raking her eyes across Lee, Brendan, and Zinnia. "For many hours of many days, Elders Danae and Taxus and I have debated. I believe the conclusion is upon us, but something from you is required."

"From me?" Lee blinks, wondering what in the world he could possibly have to offer.

"Yes," Taxus asserts, his already narrow eyes thinning into squints. "Disturbing things we have heard, that the unworthy have achieved Zenvokur: achieved Mega Evolution. You carry with you a telepath, yes?" he asks, staring at Lee.

Lee nods back grimly, already seeing where this is going. "You want to see it for yourself?"

"Should you allow it," Elder Danae chimes in. He takes a pokeball from beneath his hide poncho and holds it out in his palm. "Testimony so personal is not a request usual, but… What is the word? Deadlocked, we are. 'Tis one thing to hear danger, but another to know."

Frustration flashes across Zinnia's face as Danae finishes speaking, and Lee doesn't miss it. 'Is she upset that they aren't taking her word for it?' he wonders. 'Or is it something else?' Lee puts the thought aside for now. Despite Danae's unusual wording, Lee gets the gist of what the elder is saying. 'He wants to see memories of the fight with Maxie to validate everything that Zinnia has said. Love?'

'Of course.'

Lee nods his consent, and Danae smiles before hitting the button on his pokeball. In a flash, the small kitchen is a bit more cramped.

'I seem to be running into a lot of rare pokemon recently,' Lee thinks, his eyebrows rising at the sight before him.

Floating at Danae's side is a Sigilyph, a Psychic-type pokemon. The unusual pokemon resembles the top of a totem pole. From its sides sprout a pair of multicolored wings that do not flap despite how the pokemon hovers, and just below those wings is a stubby, acorn-like body bearing two round, blue eyes. From either side of the body sprouts a three-pronged protrusion without an obvious use, and hanging below it is another protrusion the same color as the wings, almost like tail feathers. On the top of the body sits an antenna-like shape, which bears a third, unblinking eye.

Taking that as her cue, Ninetales emerges from her ball in her own flash and is forced to lean into Lee's side, lest she be pushed into the wall.

Danae murmurs something in Spoken Draconid to his Sigilyph, and the pokemon makes a bell-like chime in reply, its eyes glowing.

Ninetales' own eyes glow, and Lee can practically see the memory transferring from her, to Sigilyph, then to Danae. She also takes snippets of Lee's own memory, filling in the blanks after she was struck down.

Maxie's coldhearted declaration of murder.

Camerupt's agonized transformation, and the horrible monster that follows.

The very volcano quaking under Camerupt's rage.

The desperate fight for survival.

Claydol losing control, and Camerupt turning on Maxie with the last of his strength.

It all plays out in an instant, and in that instant, Danae's face transforms into unbridled anguish. The man leaps to his feet and clutches his heart with a curse, sending his chair into the wall and making everybody jump.

"Danae!" Taxus stands, planting his hands on the table. "What did you see?!"

Danae's face is ashen, and he does not answer right away. Hand still clutching his heart, he uses his other shaking hand to pull his chair back to the table, where he sits heavily. His Sigilyph hovers close, and despite how alien the pokemon is, its worry is plain.

"No…" The stricken Elder finally speaks, quiet and breathless. "No. H-how could one pervert the beauty of the zelak? The bond? To stomp so carelessly upon…" He shudders, as if wracked with cold, and can speak no further.

Taxus watches with disbelief as Juniper's face remains forcefully neutral.

After a minute to compose himself, Danae swallows thickly and speaks once more. "It… It is as Thelban Zinnia says. He forced Ascension upon his pokemon." He shivers as he says 'forced'. "Corruption without equal, it is. These visions shall haunt me for weeks to come."

Brendan tries to lighten the atmosphere with a weak chuckle. "Yeah. It was… uh…" Then he thinks better of speaking and goes quiet once more, staring at the floor. He steals a look at Lee, who gives the boy a reassuring smile.

Danae shakes his head and swallows the lump in his throat, color slowly returning to his face. "A travesty, this is. I withdraw all reservations with Thelban Zinnia's requests. To face such an abomination and live is a far greater test than anything we can offer."

'Requests, plural? And what is this talk of a test?' Ninetales takes notice of the wording and relays it to Lee. 'It was my understanding that going to the Meteor Falls stronghold was the only request she had.'

'Maybe there's some special resources in the stronghold that she had to ask for as well?' Lee answers with the mental equivalent of a shrug. Even so, he cannot deny his own curiosity.

His face morphing into disbelief at Danae's words, Taxus sits once more. Steepling his hands, he looks between Juniper's expecting eyes and Danae's slumped form. Gritting his teeth, he finally speaks. "Entrance into Metron'fall krate I can allow, but I will require further meditation for Thelban Zinnia's other demands."

Juniper nods, Zinnia frowns, and Danae's face morphs into a snarl.

"Did you not hear me, Taxus?!" Danae suddenly starts, a Dragon-like growl emanating from his throat. "I have seen it! Thelban and Naraikvejor all speak truth!"

Taxus' eyes harden, and any sympathy held for Danae dies. "Fool! In what world does adding more poison to a poisoned well solve any issues? To allow outsiders within the sacred Metron'fall krate is already generous, and you are well aware of what happened last time they were afforded such honor!"

"Enough!" Juniper silences the argument before it can spiral out of control. She looks between both of her fellow elders, who have their jaws set and lips pulled into thin lines. "We can debate further if we must, but for now, let us see our guests to their new home for the coming weeks."

Neither Taxus nor Danae say anything, but both rise to their feet and make their way toward the back door. Danae lags behind for just a moment in order to return his Sigilyph to its ball.

Juniper rises to her feet with a sigh. She meets Zinnia's eyes briefly, then shuffles past towards the door.

Once her grandmother is out of sight, Zinnia sighs and slumps in her chair. "Ugh! All of this political nonsense is killing me. It feels like they're trying to fight me every step of the way."

"That rough?" Lee asks with an awkward smile.

Zinnia rises to her feet and gives him a flat look. "You don't know the half of it. They showed up here at 7 am just to bicker at my kitchen table and drink all my tea," she says, walking around the table and taking the empty mug Elder Juniper was sipping from. After giving it a brief rinse in the sink, she stuffs it away in a cupboard and turns towards Lee and Brendan. "And he didn't even have the decency to stick around as moral support!" she exclaims, pointing an accusing finger at Brendan.

The boy gives Zinnia an offended look. "I didn't want to get in the way! It's not like I was going to be any help with some kind of tribal political debate, anyway!"

"Feh." Zinnia plants her hands on her hips and looks down at Brendan from over her nose. "You just wanted to go play kissy face with your girlfriend, didn't you?"

Brendan's face lights up a bright pink as he scowls. "Kissy face? What are you, five? I was training with my team while she watched! And girlfriend? No way! I've met Astis, like, twice!"

'I feel like I'm missing some context here,' Ninetales complains, and Lee can't help but mirror the sentiment.

At Lee's confused face, Zinnia smirks. "While you have been a busy Beedrill buzzing all over Hoenn, little Mister Hero here –" she once again points to the blushing Brendan "– has been schmoozing with the tribal girls. He's got one in particular, Miss Astis Talon, hooked. By the way, kid." She looks at Brendan again. "You're in luck. Astis and her sister Isis are the Draconid Oracle's assistants, so you'll get to see them a few times a week in the falls."

Brendan groans and covers his face with his hands. "She was the one who came to me while we were training over at the outskirts of town! What was I supposed to do? Just be a jerk and tell her to get lost?"

Hiding his amused smile behind his fist, Lee throws the poor boy a bone. "Leave him be, Zinnia. You can pester him later. We've got stuff to do right now."

Zinnia sobers abruptly, reminding Lee about the discussion and eminent revelations on the horizon. "Yeah, we do. Let's get going."

Once Brendan and Zinnia grab their respective traveling bags, they follow Lee and Ninetales outside, where the trio of elders all stand along with their own flying mounts.

With Taxus is a Dragapult who leisurely floats midair, while Danae stands beside a Garchomp with an X-shaped scar on his chest. Behind them, Juniper is settling down upon the shoulders of her droopy-eyed Dragonite.

"Mount up, young ones!" Juniper calls. "We haven't all day!"

Zinnia gives both Lee and Brendan a nudge towards Corviknight, who is standing and giving the trio of dragons nearby a wary glare. "You two take the bird. I'll ride with Granny. Granny will lead the formation, so stay on her 6 o'clock and fly close. We don't want any of the crater nesters to take a potshot at you."

"Real reassuring…" Lee mutters as Zinnia makes tracks towards her grandmother. He looks to his side and gives Brendan a nudge. "You haven't had a proper flight yet, have you?"

Brendan shakes his head. "No. I didn't get enough time to schedule a flying test in Lavaridge before we left," he says, a slight nervous warble to his words. "I guess the volcano escape doesn't count as 'proper'?"

"It's fun when you're not running for your life, trust me," Lee says with a smile, leading them toward Corviknight.

After Ninetales retreats back into her ball, Corviknight crouches and allows Lee, followed by Brendan, to clamber on his back. Two people on a one-rider saddle is a tight fit, forcing Brendan to hug Lee's back to stay secure, but once Lee gives a thumbs up to Juniper and Zinnia, Dragonite spreads his short wings and takes off, Dragapult and Garchomp following shortly after.

Corviknight spreads his wings and follows suit, drawing a startled yelp from Brendan.

The flight takes the group to the southwest, towards a large plateau that nearly touches the clouds. While they fly, Corviknight kindly tries his best to keep the ride smooth for Brendan, who groans with motion sickness.

The closer they get to the plateau, the more inquisitive pokemon swoop by their formation, only to back off at the sight of the three elder dragons escorting the mammoth-sized Corviknight. A bat-like dragon called Noivern passes by, then a wild Altaria, and then two Vibrava who dart by like dragon-flies.

Finally cresting the edge of the plateau, Lee hazards a look down, and has to catch his jaw so he doesn't drop it. 'So that's what Zinnia meant by 'crater nesters'.'

The face of the plateau is pockmarked by craters and divots between patches of greenery, and in those craters, many Dragon-type pokemon, lying in nests of carved stone and shaved wood. The vast majority of the Dragons are nesting pairs of fully grown Salamence, who stare up at them with narrow eyes.

"Holy crap…" Brendan gulps and looks down at all of the dragons glaring up at them. "Look at all of them! This place is dragon pokemon heaven!"

"Might be heaven at first glance, but something tells me it can quickly turn into hell on earth," Lee mutters back. He begins to count the numbers below, and the number rises to nearly fifty before a cloud obscures his vision. 'One Salamence is enough to trash a high-level team solo, and there have to be dozens of them below…'

During his test for his flying license, Lee encountered questions about no-go zones. There were the obvious ones, like military bases, congested airports, places with travel restrictions enacted by Rangers, and this plateau in particular. The test didn't say exactly why this plateau was off limits, but after seeing enough dragons to burn a city to the ground living here, Lee understands why.

Juniper's Dragonite angles down and leads the formation through a cloud towards a great crater in the middle of the plateau, one that seems to dig deep into the bowels of the earth, prompting everyone to follow her. As they descend, none of the Salamence bother to rise and harass them. The closer and closer they get, the more they realize just how enormous the central crater is. It's less of a crater and more of a hole leading to a great cavern beneath the ground.

As soon as they pass the lip of the crater, Lee's breath hitches.

Something in the air has changed.

An ephemeral force, like static yet distinctly not electrical in nature, rolls across his skin and makes goosebumps breakout across his body. His whole body feels lighter for some reason, and alertness crashes into him as if he were dipped in ice water. Below him, Corviknight pauses mid-flap before completing the motion with too much vigor, jostling both of his passengers.

Behind him, Brendan shivers. "Ugh… Did you feel that? Not Corviknight knocking us around, I mean the… The thing in the air?" he finishes unsurely, unable to find the right word.

"Yeah," Lee confirms, furrowing his brows and trying to keep the uncomfortable buzz in his stomach in check. "Just try to stay relaxed. We'll ask Zinnia when we get the chance," he says, swiveling his head and taking in the surroundings.

Indeed, the crater goes far deeper than expected and was merely the entrance to an underground cavern of mind-boggling size. The walls around them stretch for what looks like a half-mile in any direction, shining with luminescent crystals of all different sizes. Even the spots where no crystals grow glitter from the rich minerals embedded within. In some of those bare spots are caves and doorways, some natural, and others with obvious claw marks around their thresholds, leading to who-knows-where deeper within the cavern. From this angle, they're treated to the sight of a Draconid tribesman and his Gabite partner carving out the beginnings of a new doorway.

Upon the ground at the very bottom of the cavern grows hardy greenery. Shrubs, small trees, lichens, and other plants suited to a life of little sunlight stubbornly add color to the cavern. A small handful of grass-types pause their activities to stare up at the formation flying in, and among their number are several Maractus, a Carnivine, and a pair of Shroomish. More than a few lounging dragons, such as a group of Bagon and a Shelgon, also rest under the short trees.

None of that, however, holds a candle to the lake.

In the center of the cavern, directly below the crater entrance, is a lake of crystal-clear water. Where pokemon are scattered about among the cavern, the lake is devoid of life, leaving the waters undisturbed and mirror-smooth. Down at the bottom of the lakebed is a huge, building-sized boulder with a craggy, metallic silver exterior and a number of craters upon its face. From several of those craters, a breathtaking rainbow light shines. The fantastic rays make the lake glow and shine out of the water to bounce off of the crystalline walls, bringing an almost magical glow to the entire space.

'No wonder it's called the Meteorfall Crater.' Lee can't help but stare. 'It almost feels like I've stepped into another world. Oh, the irony there.' He grips the handholds of Corvi's saddle tightly, half afraid of floating away. Suddenly, Lee realizes he hasn't heard from Ninetales yet despite all the strangeness abound, so he reaches out to her. 'Love? You feeling any of this?'

It takes the fox a moment to collect her thoughts within her ball, and below the surface, Lee can feel the same strange, uncomfortable feelings within her that exist within him. 'I'm fine, Beloved,' she asserts. 'I… I don't quite know what I should be thinking, or feeling. This cave touches a place within me I feel as if I should recognize, yet I don't. I'm excited, yet I don't know why.' If she were outside her ball, Lee is sure her eyes would be narrowed. 'Sidelining the privacy aspect of the cavern for a moment, is this phenomenon perhaps why Zinnia wished to come here?'

Lee reflexively wraps his mind around hers, girding his thoughts and pushing away his own discomfort. 'Maybe. We'll see.'

Ninetales pushes back, eliminating any space between them and taking the edge off of the alien sensations for both of them.

Corviknight touches down with unusual roughness, jostling Lee from his thoughts and forcing him to shake his head to clear it. He's quick to dismount Corviknight and jump to the ground, bending his knees to absorb the impact. Brendan follows shortly after, swiveling his head the entire time.

Ahead of them, Zinnia and the trio of Draconid elders take their time climbing down off of their dragons, and once they've done so, Juniper beckons everyone to come together around her.

Lee takes a deep breath and walks over. 'Arceus, give me strength.'

As he utters those words, it almost feels as if the tingle upon his skin eases before returning.

Once Lee and Brendan, with Corvi protectively bringing up the rear, form up with Zinnia, the elders, and their dragons, Juniper raises a hand to her mouth and clears her throat. "Naraikvejor Birch, Naraikvejor Henson, allow this elder to be the first to welcome you to this sacred place. Countless years it has been since an outsider has seen the Metron'fall Krate, the Meteorfall Crater. Tell me, are you well? You both appear ill."

"I feel weird and jittery," Brendan speaks up first, rubbing his arm. "Like I'm about to be struck by lightning. Is that normal?"

"It is to be expected," Taxus gruffly states. He briefly meets eyes with his Dragapult before returning his attention to Brendan. "Concern yourself not. It shall fade."

The answer satisfies Lee none, and for a split second, he considers blurting his discontent out, but he bites his lip and stops himself at the last second.

Juniper nods along with Taxus' words. "It is as Elder Taxus states. Energies most ancient permeate the very air here, but your discomfort shall pass. Thelban's reasons for bringing you here are many, and the energies are amongst them. We shall discuss at length later."

"Understood, Elder Juniper," Lee says, inclining his head. "Thank you for this opportunity…" Again, he has to withhold the urge to ask more questions, as they nearly sneak past his unusually loose lips. 'Fucking hell. What is this cave doing to me?'

The Elder nods once more. Turning to her Dragonite, she murmurs something in Spoken Draconid, and the great beast lumbers off to a nearby bed of moss upon a flat rock before flopping down for a nap. "Elders Danae and Taxus will inform the Metron'fall caretakers of your arrival, while we will see to your lodgings. Come."

Taxus, Danae, and their pokemon separate off from the group, and after Lee recalls Corviknight for a rest, the elder leads Lee, Zinnia, and Brendan towards a large, mossy hill that overlooks the lake, following a path worn to the ground.

Zinnia slows her pace, slipping between Lee and Brendan. Quietly, she asks, "How are you guys doing? Be real with me. I know this place is making you feel out of sorts."

"I don't like it." Brendan is the first to speak. "It's… I don't know how to describe it. It's like I'm not totally in control of myself." He rubs his arms together, and Lee can see the goosebumps covering them. "It's eerie."

"I'm in much the same boat," Lee murmurs. "I've had to hold my tongue a couple of times already. I've almost blurted out a bunch of questions, and I'm sure I would've been rude about it."

Zinnia nods sharply. "It's the Dragon energy in the air. It's being magnified by the meteorite in the bottom of the lake," she says, casting a glance towards said lake. "It's loosening your inhibitions and trying to bring all the things deep inside you to the surface. Many Draconid can't bear to be here because they're afraid they'll be forced to confront something ugly about themselves." She suddenly throws her arms around Lee and Brendan's shoulders, pulling them both into a short hug. "You guys should be fine; just stay focused, okay?"

The instant that Zinnia touches Lee, a part of him enjoys the contact. A split second later, Lee feels Ninetales trying her absolute hardest to stomp on a flash of jealous rage, and he winces.

"Pokemon with the right drive and mindset grow like crazy down here," Zinnia whispers, releasing Brendan and Lee. "No one is quite sure if it's the dragon-like mental state, the ambient energy, or some combo thereof, but the fact stands that it works. That's one of the reasons I wanted us to spend a few weeks down here. I'll explain everything once we're alone."

Brendan grins in reply. "Well, if there's good training to be had, then it can't be all bad!"

As they come closer to the hill, Lee does a double take as he sees a wooden door in the side of the hill. Scanning the hill more intently, he finds slits in the moss covering the hill that glint as if there is glass beneath. 'Don't tell me they built hobbit houses down here? That's honestly pretty cool.'

Stepping up to the door, Juniper takes a brass skeleton key from her pocket, unlocks the door with a heavy-sounding clunk! and passes the key to Zinnia.

"I will be nearby, dear Granddaughter." Juniper's visage finally softens as Zinnia pockets the large key. "Inform me when a conclusion has been reached."

"I will, Grandma." Zinnia smiles. "Thank you for everything. I know I'm asking a lot."

The elderly woman pats Zinnia on the shoulder, then shuffles past her, and past Lee and Brendan, making her way back towards her Dragonite.

Zinnia sucks in a deep breath and lets it all back out in an explosive exhale. "C'mon, guys," she beckons, pushing the door open. "That whole 'no more secrets' conversation has arrived, and we have to talk before we do anything else."

Without a word, Lee and Brendan follow, and Lee feels his heart begin to speed up. 'This is it. The moment I've been dreading.'

As they step past the threshold, the feeling of static on his skin thankfully leaves Lee, and with it, his scattered thoughts and nagging desires refocus into a continuous train of thought. The strange feeling is not completely gone, but it's far less pronounced. 'The house deadens the Dragon TE outside. Thank goodness. I don't think I would've been able to sleep otherwise. How are you, Nine?'

'Much better,' the fox sends back, her relief palpable. 'The dampening must be purposeful, as stretching my mind beyond the walls is a chore.'

Stepping deeper into the hillside house, Lee briefly glances around himself, finding the interior dim and smoky. The only sources of light in the room are several candles in a low-set chandelier of wood and bone. Before he's given much of a chance to inspect the rest of the house, Zinnia ushers them towards what looks like a living area, and upon sitting on one of the handmade, wooden chairs, she takes all four of her pokeballs from her belt and tosses them into the air.

Sna-Sn-Sn-Snap!

Each ball opens midair and deposits her pokemon on the ground. A grim-faced Shelgon, the ever-surly Tyrunt, serene Altaria, and finally Goomy, who is quivering. Shelgon moves first, and the rest of the team falls in line behind him, taking positions around Zinnia.

"I'm going to be blunt, guys." Zinnia rests her hands on her knees and gives her pair of human friends a pained face. "I don't really know where to start with this, and… and it's going to impact our friendship. I have to tell you straight up, though, that once you hear what I have to say, it's going to change your lives for the worse. If you don't want any part in it, then you need to speak up now so Granny can escort you back out."

'So that's why Elder Juniper is sticking around outside.' Lee frowns. 'What kind of secret could Zinnia have that would change our lives?' He tries to remember anything about the tiny bit of the Omega Ruby postgame that he played, but what he does remember is blurry and indistinct.

Brendan seems incredulous with Zinnia's words. "What? Back out? You said you needed help from us, so you're getting it!" He pauses and gives Lee a nervous smile. "Not that I speak for the both of us, I'm just saying that – "

"It's fine, Brendan." Lee raises a hand and waves the boy off. "I'm not about to bail either."

Zinnia's face contorts, as if she's not sure whether or not she wants to be frustrated or relieved. "Are you guys sure? A hundred percent? I know for a fact you're not going to like what I have to say."

Lee lets a wry smile rise to his face. "You already went to all the trouble of strong-arming your elders into letting us into your sacred crater, and you said before that you need help with whatever this thing bothering you is. I think both Brendan and I made up our minds before we even got here."

The Dragon tamer smiles wanly. "Thanks, guys. You really are the best. You might want to sit down and let your pokemon out, because this is going to be a long one.

As Lee and Brendan settle themselves on a small sofa across from Zinnia, they both take their pokeballs and release their teams.

'Not Shinx…' Lee passes over her ball with a slight grimace. 'She's still a little too young.'

Corvi is forced to sit and bow his head slightly, and Ninetales telekinetically pulls the low table in the living area aside so she is able to sit in front of Lee, but after only a minute of shuffling around, Lee's team is settled. Octillery sits in front of Corviknight, while a blank-faced Sylveon and narrow-eyed Grovyle flank Ninetales.

Brendan's younger, rowdier bunch takes a little longer, but eventually, Mawile stops glaring at Sylveon and sits, either not noticing or not minding how Marshtomp shuffles closer. Breloom looks bored as can be, while Electrike lays his head on Brendan's knee.

"Are we ready? No last-minute back-outs?" Zinnia asks. When nobody replies, she leans back in her seat and sets a hand on Shelgon. "I guess… I should start way, way back," Zinnia begins, looking up at the candles illuminating the room. "As I told you guys, the position of Lorekeeper was created to ensure that the legacy of the Draconid tribe always survives the test of time. It's the job of the Lorekeeper to both defend the tribe and to survive it should tragedy strike and wipe everyone else out. No one is quite sure when the position was established, but according to ancient Draconid texts, the first Lorekeeper was the first Draconid to…" She hesitates. "The first Lorekeeper was the one who synchronized with the legendary dragon that all Draconids still revere: Rayquaza."

"Rayquaza?" Brendan frowns, his brows coming together in thought. "I think one of my dad's old books has something on Rayquaza. It didn't really mention much other than a couple of sightings and that it's probably Dragon-type."

Zinnia laughs. "Probably a Dragon-type? That's funny. Depending on who you ask, Rayquaza is the Dragon-type. The Draconids have many names for him, like Dragon of Dragons, Keeper of Balance, Guardian Above, but Almighty Who Claims The Sky is the most common. Much like how a Dragon atop a mountain claims everything beneath him as equally as he does the mountaintop, Rayquaza claims everything below the sky. To a dragon, that's a simply preposterous amount of territory to defend, yet Rayquaza has done so for eons and has never been defeated. All who live beneath him exist because of his mercy, and he allows none to make a mess of what belongs to him. That's why Rayquaza is considered the Dragon."

Lee eyeballs his bag in the corner of the room, wishing he had his notebook. He's going to have to interrogate Zinnia later. "Fascinating stuff, Draconid lore. When you say the first Lorekeeper synchronized with Rayquaza, do you mean…?"

"I do." Zinnia nods with a small smile. "Eons ago before recorded history, the legendary pokemon Groudon and Kyogre awakened and sought each other out to kill the other, putting an end to their rivalry once and for all. Their power was unbelievable. The oceans rose and fell, entire continents shifted and moved across the world, it was chaos, and the people and pokemon of the world were caught in the crossfire. It's unknown how many lives were lost."

Gulping, Brendan goes pale, and a stone-faced Marshtomp puts a hand on his arm.

Lee tries to imagine what life must've been like with the land and seas themselves going berserk, and it conjures an image not too far away from the event that led to his own demise. 'Maxie, you son of a bitch, you have no idea what you're playing with.'

"The first Lorekeeper, desperate to save the world, sought out Rayquaza," Zinnia continues her story, heedless of Lee's thoughts. "No one is really sure if the Lorekeeper battled Rayquaza or did something else, but regardless, Rayquaza took notice of the state of the world. Rayquaza then synchronized with the first Lorekeeper and Mega Evolved, rising to a level of power never before seen in the world. Neither Groudon nor Kyogre stood a chance, and Rayquaza forced the fight to end, sending them both back to slumber."

"Wow…" Brendan eats up the story with starry eyes, leaning forward and stroking Electrike's head, making the large pup's tail wag. "A human actually battled together with a legendary pokemon? Like, a capital L legendary?"

"Yep!" Zinnia grins. "And that brings me to the next part of why I need you guys: Magma and Aqua."

That takes the smile right off of Brendan's face. "Lee, you said that Magma was planning to revive Groudon, right?" he asks, turning to the zookeeper. "And that means that Aqua…"

"Is going to try and revive Kygore, yes," Lee grimly confirms.

"Obviously, that's going to put the entire world in danger, and since it's right here in Hoenn, that officially makes it Lorekeeper business," Zinnia sighs. As she takes a moment to gather her thoughts, Goomy slithers up Shelgon's shell and hops into her lap with a quiet plap, looking up at her with wide, black eyes.

Her smile returning slightly, Zinnia pets the little Dragon and resumes. "Originally… I wasn't going to interfere with Magma or Aqua. Heck, I was going to help them, and try to ensure that both Groudon and Kyogre were summoned close to each other. My plan was to let them revive their legendaries, drawing in Rayquaza to deal with them both in one fell swoop and to end the other crisis that's on its way."

The admission that Zinnia was going to let catastrophe strike is forgotten for a moment at the mention of yet another disaster. Lee pins Zinnia in place with a hard stare. "Other crisis? What other crisis?"

Zinnia rubs her forehead with her hand. "'Beware. Beware the hateful intruder. Beware the end of our home. It comes uncomprehending of our plight, and with a shell of earth born to another sun, it will see our home gone and her inhabitants reduced to ash. Only the Almighty Who Claims The Sky and a Champion with the power of Ascension might avert disaster. Save us, Almighty. Save us, Champion.'"

Both Lee and Brendan meet eyes, and each sees the other is just as confused. Lee then strokes Ninetales between her ears. 'Any idea what that is?'

'Obviously some sort of Draconid lore, but what, I can't fathom.' Ninetales frowns.

"That's a prophecy that's been spoken over and over by Draconid seers throughout the ages," Zinnia begins quietly, placing her hand atop Goomy to quell his trembling. "For a long time, no one was really sure what to make of it. It's vague like every cliché prophecy you've ever seen. It sometimes skipped a few generations without being mentioned, but this time was different. It hit our tribe's oracle so hard that she suffered a stroke, and this time, a date was included." She looks up and stares them in the eyes. "'The longest day shall also be the last.'"

"Longest day?" Lee mutters, suppressing the shiver that wants to run down his spine. "The summer solstice? That's about eight months away."

"What exactly is that supposed to happen?" Brendan asks, leaning forward anxiously.

"A meteor." Zinnia points a finger to the ceiling. "The tribe scholars pored over the prophecy, and concluded that it must be a meteor, one being controlled by something and large enough to destroy all of Hoenn at least. The prophecy also clearly states that Rayquaza and his champion of this era are the ones destined to deal with all of this. If they don't…" The unspoken words hang like a guillotine.

Lee can't help it: it feels as if a void has opened up below him. Magma and Aqua were already known elements, and despite the danger they pose, they're a danger presented by humans. Humans that can be stopped. This, though? Less than a single day after he has made peace with all that has passed and declared Hoenn his home? He lets his eyes roam his pokemon.

Ninetales, he doesn't even need to look at. He can feel her dread and see the half-formed plans in her head, plans to whisk him and the others away, trying to find refuge on the other side of the planet.

Corvi's eyes are narrow and his steely feathers are ruffled in agitation. He meets Lee's eyes for a second, and it's plain to see that he is of a similar mind to Ninetales. Lee only needs to say the word, and Corvi will carry him to the end of the earth.

Octillery and Sylveon are both flummoxed, as if they can't believe just what they have heard. One of Sylveon's ribbons snakes its way around Lee's arm to wrap around his wrist, and when Lee's own belief smashes into her like a hammer blow, she shudders, practically going limp. Meanwhile, Octillery stares at Zinnia with open astonishment.

Last and not least, Grovyle… He bites down upon his twig and tries his best to contain himself, but his eyes. They shine with defiance, boldly rejecting the idea that something like a meteor is an insurmountable danger. No. He will not allow such a future to be born! He hisses a low, almost jeering hiss to his teammates, who all turn and stare at him.

"So you all give up so easily?" Lee doesn't need Ninetales' help to understand just what he said.

'Grovyle…' Lee thinks with a smile, 'you really are something else.'

Ninetales herself firms up, turning to Grovyle with a narrow-eyed glare, but she does not retort or let herself fall back into her panic. Beside her, Sylveon, with her ribbon still wrapped around Lee's wrist, perks up enough to lift her head.

"Kwaa ha," Corviknight grumbles at Grovyle, smoothing his feathers. "Gwak." – "You can stop pretending to be cool anytime," he seems to say.

"…" Octillery says nothing, obviously turning inward to think to himself with how he stares at the floor, tentacles crossed.

"Haven't you told anybody about this? Like the Pokemon League?" Lee asks, petting the heart on Ninetales' ear. The silky fur beneath his thumb soothes his nerves as it always does.

Zinnia snorts, giving Lee an incredulous face. "That was literally the first thing I tried. I told the League, the civil government, the Mossdeep Space Center, every rich loony with the money to do something, and everyone else. The Mossdeep Space Center took it seriously at first and looked around for anything that might hit Hoenn around the expected date, but they came up empty-handed." She blows out a sigh. "My best guess? If there is something actually controlling the meteor, then it's purposely avoiding being caught."

'Well, that's wonderful,' Ninetales snarks with only Lee to hear it. 'A doomsday meteor intelligent enough to avoid telescopes, how fun.'

"And that's precisely why I need you guys," Zinnia continues on, looking between Lee and the wide-eyed Brendan. "If this comes down to the wire, then I need talented, goodhearted trainers with me in case Rayquaza doesn't find me worthy of being his partner."

"Stop! Timeout!" Brendan waves his arms, cutting Zinnia off before she can speak further. "You think we could be worthy of all of this? Are you crazy?"

Offense flashes across Zinnia's face. "No, I'm not crazy. You and Lee are two of the best trainers I've ever met, and you both have the pure heart needed for Mega Evolution. I…" She trails off, screwing her face up into a scowl. "I don't think I have what it takes," she grounds out, shame staining each word.

Her words are met with instant disagreement from her pokemon. Shelgon growls and smacks his shell against her knee none too gently, while Altaria trills her disbelief with her musical voice. Tyrunt openly bares his teeth towards Zinnia, and Goomy practically melts into a depressed puddle.

Zinnia scoffs, but can't quite hide the smile that tugs at her face. "Thank you, guys, but I'm serious. I nearly decided to let Magma and Aqua kill Arceus-knows how many people and pokemon just to make my job easier. It doesn't matter how you cut it, that's not pure-hearted."

"But you decided not to, didn't you?" Brendan suddenly speaks up, his face set into a stern expression. "You made the choice to abandon that plan even if it makes things harder for yourself. You did the right thing and I think that makes you pure-hearted!"

"Yeah." Zinnia lets out a mirthless laugh, her face morphing into a grimace. "I ditched that plan because Lee reminded me of my dead best friend, and I thought I could be more like her and be a better Lorekeeper if I learned how he did his thing. Then I went and got pissed off back in Slateport because he wasn't a carbon copy of the person I lost! Does that seem like something good? Something that a legendary pokemon would respect?"

'Where in the world is this all coming from?' Lee looks to one of the covered windows in shock. 'Is the Dragon TE in the air doing this?'

"If Aster saw any of the shit I got up to, she'd be sick," Zinnia growls, pounding her fist on the arm of her chair. "Sick! To this day, I still don't know why she made me the Lorekeeper! I even kept all of this from my two best friends who would walk into the gates of hell like brain-dead idiots if I asked!"

Without warning, Brendan shoots to his feet, making Electrike yelp. "Shut up! Don't talk about yourself like that!" he yells at the top of his lungs, drawing startled looks all around. "You changed your mind and did the right thing! So what if you followed us because Lee reminded you of your friend?! It's okay to be hurt, to be upset! You didn't have to get Lee that Battletent ticket as an apology for yelling at him, yet you did! You didn't have to train with us, or trade stories, or show us through the Valley of Steel, or anything! Yet you did! All that matters is that you did the right thing in the end, so don't talk about yourself like you're a bad person or bad friend, because you're not!" Brendan screams. It's the most vitriol that Lee has ever seen from the boy.

Brendan pants to catch his breath and sits heavily amid shocked eyes. Once his breathing begins to settle, he seems to realize what he did and looks away.

Blinking away her stupefied expression, Zinnia reaches up and rubs her head with a sardonic smile. "Kinda proving my point, but… Thanks, Brendan," she says, her smile growing. She looks over to Lee. "You've been awfully quiet. Anything to add?"

"Nothing that Brendan hasn't already said," Lee mirrors her content smile with one of his own. "Intent and actions are two different things, and you know what they say about actions speaking louder than words," he says, gesturing to the house around them.

Zinnia snorts, then lets out a short laugh, her face utterly delighted. "You guys are the real deal. For even coming this far, I don't think I'll ever be able to thank you enough." She schools her expression, even if her lips still twitch upward somewhat. "So to conclude what I was saying, I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket so if, if," she sends a pointed look towards Brendan, who blushes and looks away again, "I'm not worthy enough, then one of you guys definitely will be. When the time comes, one of us will have to be a big damn hero and help Rayquaza ascend, stopping Hoenn from becoming a smear on the map. Down here in the crater, our pokemon can train up and get the boost we need to not only put a stop to Magma and Aqua, but to fulfill the Draconid prophecy. Sound like a plan?"

"Easy!" Brendan agrees with a smile. Beside him, Marshtomp lets out a croak and jumps to his feet, pumping a fist in the air.

"If you don't want to put all your eggs in one basket…" Lee begins, feeling his wallet in his jacket pocket. In that wallet is where all the important business cards he's collected are, along with their even more important phone numbers. "Then I think the Pokemon League will take the meteor threat much more seriously if I'm the one to tell them."

Zinnia gives Lee a sidelong glance. "What makes you say that?"

Lee licks his lips. 'Here we go. Finally going to let it drop.' He thinks over what he wishes to say as Ninetales leans into his legs, offering him her reassuring warmth. "It all ties into my share of secrets, the ones I've been wanting to tell you all for a long time," he begins, tilting his head back and looking at the candles above.

One of them flickers, nearly going out.

"You know, it's rather ironic," he mutters. "Yesterday, during my day trip to Littleroot, I stopped by the Pokemon Lab to make a memorial," Lee says, returning his eyes to the group before him. "I wanted to put my past life and all the people that aren't around anymore to rest. On the flight back to the Draconid village, I looked down and thought about how great a home Hoenn is. Then Zinnia drops news of the meteor on us." Lee shakes his head. "I'm not about to lose my new home or die for a second time."

Where it takes everyone else a moment to process his words, Sylveon, courtesy of the ribbon she has wrapped around his wrist, snaps her head up to look at him, aghast. Octillery is the next one to recover, and he focuses intently upon Lee's face.

"Die for a second time?" Zinnia narrows her eyes. "What do you mean by that? Are you being poetic or something?"

"No, I'm not." Lee focuses on Zinnia, making her tense up. "Zinnia, I know that you more than anyone else have been wondering how I know all the things I know. About your tribe when we first met, about Mega Evolution, about legendary and mythical pokemon. I've got an explanation for it, but first I need everyone, human and pokemon here, to promise never to repeat anything you're about to hear. You have to take it to your grave."

"That's… That's really severe, Lee," Brendan gulps. "Are you sure?"

Lee gives him a flat look. "I'm dead serious."

"Well, you already know that me and my team can keep a secret, so what's one more?" Zinnia jokes, getting nods from her pokemon.

"If you think it's that serious, then we won't say a thing, either!" Brendan jabs his chest with a thumb.

Lee tries to smile, but it's difficult with the subject he's about to speak of. "There's not a whole lot of explaining to do with what I have to say, but before you say it's unbelievable or anything, know that Ninetales, Grovyle, and Corviknight have all heard everything, and Ninetales can validate it all with telepathy if you need it." He takes a deep breath. "The simplest answer is the best I guess. I'm not from this world."

"Not from this…?" Zinnia double takes. "Hold on, we're going to need more of an explanation than that!"

"I was getting to it!" Lee frowns. "I… wasn't born in this world. My old home is a place without any pokemon."

Brendan nods slowly. "Yeah, you said that a few months ago. The United States place you used to live in, it's like Orre, right?"

"No, it's not 'no wild pokemon' like Orre." Lee shakes his head. "It's 'no pokemon at all.' They didn't exist."

Just like it did for Professor Birch all those months ago, his words instantly confuse everyone. Brendan and Zinnia share a puzzled look while several of the pokemon chatter in low voices. The thought of there being no pokemon at all is seemingly unthinkable.

"I lied about the States being an isolationist region," the zoologist soldiers on, trying his best to get the story over with. "It doesn't exist in this world, and I know I'm in a new world because my old one ended."

One could hear a pin drop despite the carpet covering the floor.

"E-Ended?" Brendan questions, looking intensely uncomfortable.

Lee nods, locking eyes with Ninetales for a moment and wondering how to explain. "I told you I didn't have a home to return to after I told you two I was seeing a therapist, and that wasn't a lie. Without pokemon battling as a proxy for conflicts, wars in my world could get bloody, bloodier than anything any region here has ever experienced." He takes in Brendan and Zinnia's faces. "A lot of nations had stockpiles of missiles, missiles designed to fly all the way across the world and burn entire cities to the ground. The missiles used nuclear material as their explosive, meaning a huge blast and toxic radioactivity afterward. If the explosion itself didn't kill you, then the radiation poisoning would, along with everything around the epicenter for years to come," Lee says, trying to gently pry Sylveon's ribbon off his hand.

At his feet, the fairy is shaking, and steadfastly refusing to let go. The harder he yanks, the harder she grips. He eventually reaches for her pokeball, only to find that another one of her ribbons has wrapped around the capsule and mummified it, making it useless.

Sighing, Lee resumes. "The technology for detecting these missiles is far faster and more capable than any kind of counter-missile, and from that came a concept called mutually assured destruction, shortened to M.A.D. If one nation detected an incoming missile, they would loose their entire stockpile on the world and turn it into a zero-sum game. For a long time, that fear stayed everyone's hand."

"… You're telling us because that's what happened," Zinnia realizes, her voice little higher than a whisper. Her jaw drops. "Arceus, Lee…"

"One day while I was at work in my zoo, for a reason that is a mystery to me, someone fired the first shot. Everyone's phones all blew up with alerts, and the TV in the break room where I stood suddenly cut out and displayed a nationwide emergency message. We only got a few minutes of warning that one of the bombs was going to hit the city nearby, and considering it was the middle of the day, all of the zoo guests panicked and tried to escape at once. The chaos clogged in the parking lot, more or less sealing everyone's fate." Lee reaches up and rubs his scars with a frown.

The trio of lines tingle with a phantom heat.

"One of the bombs landed close, very close, close enough that the light from the blinds was enough to flash burn my face." Lee lowers his hand. "Everything after that is a blur, but…" He pauses and pulls at Sylveon's ribbon once more. "Sylvy, please, you need to let go. You aren't going to like what I have to say."

The fairy looks up at him with a defiant glare despite how her eyes prickle with tears, and Lee matches it with a stare that is considerably more gentle.

"I'm serious, Sylveon," Lee says as soothingly as he can. "Please let go."

She bares her teeth, but slowly complies, the ribbon around Lee's wrist unraveling.

"Thank you." He smiles, then returns to what he was saying. "Everything after the blast was a blur, but I remember, in no uncertain terms, that I burned to death."

Sylveon suddenly retches, and then vomits on the floor. She just barely catches herself from falling into her own sick, and can't stop the ugly sobs that suddenly rip through her body and echo off the walls.

Lee's eyes shoot down towards her, and to his frustration, he sees a third ribbon snaking up his pant leg and resting against his shin.

"Damn it," Lee hisses through his teeth before he leans down and plants a hand across the fairy's withers, rubbing circles in her back. She also doesn't resist as he wipes her mouth clean with his jacket sleeve. In her psychometric distress, Sylveon's grip loosens on her ball, allowing Lee to snatch it once he's rubbed the worst of her hiccuping sobs away.

"Sylvy, You're taking a rest." Lee does his best to keep his voice gentle, but his words are unmistakably an order. He points the pokeball in his hand at the trembling Sylveon. "We'll have a one-on-one about all of this later. Return."

Before she can protest, Sylveon is sucked back into her ball.

"Jeez," Lee grunts, shrinking the pokeball into its travel form and stuffing it in his pocket. Looking at the mess on the floor, he makes to rise so he can get a towel or something, but before he can, the stain glows purple and lifts out of the carpet of its own accord. Then it floats over to a trashcan in the corner of the room before dropping down inside.

"Thanks, Love." Lee smiles towards Ninetales, then returns his attention to Zinnia, Brendan, and their pokemon.

The entire room is nothing but horrified faces. Even the most unflappable members of the entire party like Breloom and Shelgon stare at Lee with dropped jaws.

"Then…" Lee pushes forward before the awkward atmosphere trips him up too much. "Then I inexplicably woke up on the edge of Littleroot with Ninetales, then Vulpix's pokeball in my pocket. I can only chalk it up to divine intervention. For what reason? I have no idea."

"S-So when I met you for the first time, that was right after…" Brendan trails off and looks away, unable to finish.

"Right after everything happened? Yeah." Lee looks away from the menagerie of petrified faces. "As for how I know all the things I know? While pokemon weren't real in my old home, they were popular in children's fiction. Comics, TV shows, video games, that kind of thing, and I never quite outgrew pokemon," he says with a wistful smile. He then quickly sobers. "If I ever seemed distant at the start of our journey, I want to say sorry for that. It took time to stop seeing you guys as fictional characters and look at you as real people, and that was shitty of me no matter how you try to frame it."

Zinnia tries to say something, but no sound leaves her mouth.

He shakes his head. "I know a lot of things that normal people don't because I watched it from a fourth-person perspective, or played through it in a game. I don't know every little thing, so that's why my knowledge seems so scattered," Lee concludes, leaning back into the sofa. While a bit tired and somewhat frustrated after Sylveon's shenanigans, he finds that he is not as exhausted as he expected. "That's why I said I should repeat your warning to the League for you. I can get it up to Steven Stone directly, and he'll take it seriously. I've given him enough breadcrumbs to know that I and the info I give is good."

Zinnia rests her head in her hand. "Holy shit…" she murmurs. "And here I thought what I had to say was going to be the biggest bomb today. News, I mean! Not bomb! Shit!" she hastily corrects herself, her face mortified. "Ech. Arceus, Lee. That was… That was something."

"But you're okay now, right?" Brendan asks out of the blue, turning to look at Lee with melancholy that doesn't belong on such a young face. "You're not… Upset with how you can't…"

"Go home?" Lee finishes for him, smiling thinly. "I told you, Brendan, I have nothing to go home to. Besides, Hoenn is my home now. I can't, or rather won't leave you all behind. I've put all the ghosts clinging to me to rest, along with Lee the average zookeeper. I'm Lee the pokemon trainer, now." He lets his smile grow into a grin. "I wouldn't mind having another zoo in the future, though."

Without warning, Ninetales partially rears up and drapes herself across Lee's lap, startling him, but he quickly smiles and wraps her in a hug.

The fox smiles in return, nuzzling her head beneath his chin. Wordless adoration flows from her, and Lee matches it, turning the gap between their minds into a churning whirlpool of affection.

"Lee?"

The man cracks open an eye and tilts his head to see past the fox ears in his face. "What's up, Brendan?"

"You said you played pokemon games and saw the TV shows, right?" Brendan asks with a grin. "Was I ever in any of them?"

Lee lets out an exasperated sigh. "Let's not go down that Bunnelby hole."

Just outside the door of the hillside hut, a gnarled hand poised to knock slowly lowers, and the owner thinks over the things they've heard through the wooden barrier.

A tale of horror, death, rebirth, and newfound belonging. Thoughts and feelings scatter every which way within the eavesdropper. Some dots connect, while others make no sense.

The near-interloper turns and walks away, speaking not a single word to anyone else for the rest of the day.

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