(1600 words)
Chapter 21
Fugitives


"...ce... Alice, can you hear me..?"

Alice feels a distantly familiar sensation. They're dreaming again. "Well, look who finally decided to speak up."

"You can hear me." Gardevoir breathes a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad. Finally, we can speak."

"Finally is right. You've got a lot of explaining to do. First up, who the hell are you and why are you in my dreams?"

"I am the Gardevoir from the Ninetales Legend. When I fell to the curse, I became an agent of spirits. And now, I am tasked with the role of watching over you and guiding you."

"So you're not Rose? Then... why me? What so special about me that I need a ghost to stalk me? And why couldn't I hear you before?"

"All of that is because of your role, and your transformation."

Alice freezes, listening intently.

"You are a human from another world, taken here to fulfill a role. But something went wrong during the transportation process, and in the resulting chaos, your memories were sealed and your body was transformed. The effect it left on your mind made speaking with you near-impossible, but you've finally recovered enough to hear me."

"... Huh. Okay. That's a lot, but what do you mean 'something'? Why did I lose my memories?"

"I can only guess. Something must have been happening in your world as you were taken, before we had a chance to speak. Everything went out of control, and you were thrust into this world."

"Wait, you never talked to me? You just... pulled me here without asking, all of a sudden?"

"I'm sorry. I planned to speak with you, to ask you if you were willing to accept this role, but there must have been some extreme emotional distress that disrupted the process..."

"Emotional... distress..?" But what could've-

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!"

The scream again flashes into Alice's mind. It's Rose's scream, they know, but... they can hear a second voice in the scream. Their own voice. A chain around their memories breaks.

"Now Alice, about your role-"

"It was YOU!"

"W-what?"

The dream shakes with the force of Alice's anger. "I never abandoned Rose at all! YOU separated us!"

"A-Alice, please, calm down!"

"She was my partner! My friend! My only family!"

"Alice, your distress, it's breaking the connection-"

"She was all I had AND YOU TOOK ME FROM HER!!"

Alice snaps awake.

They're in a burrow under a bush, and beside them is an empty burrow they dug for Compass. Upon crawling out, they find Compass sitting nearby, eating some fruit.

Each stares at the other. Without the excitement and adrenaline of the night before, they're left awkwardly aware of the past; Alice sees the trusted partner who betrayed them, and Compass sees the violent criminal who tried to stab them.

Compass politely breaks the silence. "Um, g-good morning Thorn. You're up early."

"Yeah. I'm gonna go find some food."

"Okay."

After the pair has breakfast, they head out; they made some good distance last night, but they need to get farther away from Pokemon Square. They head north, hidden under the cover of dense forests and mountains. Along the way, Alice digs up another bone helmet and club. The trip was mostly uneventful, except when the pair was resting in a clearing...

"Compass!" A voice shouts, as a chikorita and an aipom enter the clearing. "Compass the Cyndaquil!"

The pair jump into a battle stance, but before they can say or do anything-

"Are you okay?" Chikorita asks. "Thank goodness we found you."

"You're... here to help?" Compass asks.

"Yes. Now quick, run away! We'll make sure Alice doesn't catch you!"

"What- No, you've got it wrong, Thorn- Alice isn't the human from the legend! That's why I helped them escape."

The aipom tilts their head. "You're the one who blew up the prison wall?"

"Yes? What, did you think that Alice exploded it with their mind powers and then kidnapped me for no reason? Look, I'm telling you they're innocent! They climbed Mt. Freeze and Ninetales said they weren't the human!"

Aipom sighs. "Cyndaquil, we know they were your partner, but you trust them too much. You've seen what they're capable of. This has to be done."

"No, I didn't trust them enough! You don't understand, they're... They..."

"I'm sorry, we know this is hard for you," Chikorita says, "but this is how it it. I can't imagine how it hard it is to accept, but your partner is a bad pokemon. They're dangerous. Please, just come back to Pokemon Square, Leader Beacon is worried sick about you."

"I... I..." Compass bursts into tears, running forward and hugging Chikorita for comfort! "I'm sorry!" they sob. "I don't want this! I don't want to do this!"

Chikorita pats them on the back. "It's okay, it's okay. You don't have to do it. We'll handle Alice, just-" Chikorita suddenly stops, as a punch from Compass knocks the wind out of them.

Compass shoves Chikorita to the ground and shoots a blast of flame at Aipom, knocking them down with a cry of pain. "W-what?!" Aipom gasps, clutching their burn.

"Leave!" Compass shouts. "Go away!"

"B-but Cyndaquil, why are you-"

"If you threaten my partner, I won't hold back. I refuse to make the same mistake twice. Now I suggest you do the same, and don't make the mistake of threatening Thorn again!"

Compass stays on guard as the hunters leave. When they're finally out of sight, Compass sighs with relief.

"Damn," Alice says. "Last time I saw you act that aggressive was when that ariados threatened that machop."

"Well, what can I say? I can't afford to hold back when someone's in danger."

The pair moves on, and the rest of the trip is uneventful, aside from a few territorial wild pokemon. The sun sets, and they settle down in a nice cave, hidden from view. Their dinner is the random nuts and berries they gathered along the way.

Compass looks at Alice, who eats the meal as though it's normal. They're reminded of how long Alice has been living out in the wilds... how long they've been attacking rescue teams. "Alice, you... um... You're not dangerous, are you?"

"Eh, I think I'm pretty dangerous. My new club might not be sharp, but I'm still good in a fight-"

"No, I mean... You won't... hurt people anymore, will you?"

Alice remembers their fight with Compass. How they thought nothing, felt nothing, as they raised their blade. How just a moment later, they might have- "No. No, I'm done with that. Alice the Human is gone. Now I'm just... I don't even know who I am. I don't remember enough to be Alice, and I can't just go back to being Thorn. I guess I'm-" Alice's stomach growls. "... hungry," they shrug, and get back to eating.

Compass pokes at the scavenged meal, already missing the pancakes and pie back home. "... Do you think we'll ever be able to go back?"

"I dunno... Even besides the whole Ninetales thing, it's pretty hard to come back from... how many charges of assault with a deadly weapon?"

"Seven." Compass hates how easily they answer. The cave falls silent for a while as the pair eats. "... I'm scared. What if the world really does end? What if even if we clear your name, there's no home to go back to? Is there even anything we can do..?"

... Well, Alice had to tell them at some point. They take a sharp inhale. "I met Gardevoir in my dreams last night."

"Y-you did?! So Gardevoir might know a way to restore the world's balance! But, wait, did you never hear from Gardevoir while you were... um... alone?"

"No. Something about emotional distress breaking the connection? And yeah, I was... not doing great mentally. Even last night, I kinda screwed it up by getting angry, long story, but I'll try again tonight."

Compass sighs. "What a relief... So, you haven't been able to hear Gardevoir ever since... you had to run away... I'm so sorry, if I had just-"

"Seriously, stop. You've apologized a million times and it's never once made me feel better."

"Yeah, I know. Sorry. Wait, shoot, I did it again! I swear that wasn't on purpose! I'm so-"

"Stop. Were you about to apologize for apologizing for apologizing?"

"... Yeah, I was. Sorry-" Compass puts their hands over their mouth.

Alice smiles. "Okay it's stopped being annoying and now it's just funny. Get some sleep, you don't do so well after sunset."

"Yeah, good idea." Finishing their meal, Compass lies on the dirt with their bag as a pillow. It's very uncomfortable, but they managed it last night. The thing that's really keeping them awake is the same reason they keep apologizing... They sit up and turn to Alice. "Alice?"

"Yeah?"

"Are... Are we partners?"

... Alice looks at Compass. At the one who betrayed them. Who sent them into the wilds, fighting for their life. Who got them thrown into a prison cell, waiting for death... Who broke the law and threw away their comfy life to save Alice. Trustworthy partners are already rare, but a partner willing to break you out of prison? "Yeah. We're partners."

Compass relaxes. "Thank you for giving me another chance."

After that, the night is quiet; Compass falls asleep, and Alice stands watch until they get tired. Their differing sleep schedules make keeping watch easy. Eventually, they grow sleepy, and settle down for the night...



"...ic... Alice, can you hear me?"

"Yeah."

"Thank goodness. After last night, I thought there might be some lingering-"

"Anger, yeah, there is. Let's cut to the chase. Is there a way for us to restore the world's balance?"

"Yes. That is the role you were called here to perform."




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