cryptids-lobelia-garden

[cryptids-lobelia-garden]

woah this character is so cool i wish they were covered in blood their whole body trembling with a look of absolute horror on their face as theyre struggling to breathe in panic

[cryptids-lobelia-garden]

Whumpee hurts their knee.

It’s really not that bad at first. It hurts to bend it, but they can still support weight on it. And they can’t rest it for too long anyway, they have places to be and they don’t have a car, so they walk on it. It doesn’t hurt that much, they’ll leave it alone.

It hurts to bend it, and it’s starting to hurt worse and worse. But they ignore it. They have other things to do, and doctors cost too much. They are starting to get worried though, so they start biking places instead of walking. Biking’s faster, and it’ll hopefully take some of the stress off, right?

Well, now their knee really hurts. They’re limping when they walk. Their entire leg hurts because of how they��ve been favoring it. Their joints aren’t great on the best of days, but this is just ridiculous.

So they go to see a doctor.

They’ve torn their fucking meniscus. Fuck. Well, now what are they supposed to do? They have stuff to do! They don’t have time to be hurt!

(This post brought to you by a very frustrated body owner)

[cryptids-lobelia-garden]

Anyway I’m struggling with Whumpril but I WILL GET THERE I have a few done I just need to edit, warning, tag, and format them for tumblr and they’ll be up eventually. I’m Struggling but I’m Trying My Best ahaha

Edit: I didn’t get there, will try again next year

[cryptids-lobelia-garden]

This probably isn’t original but I’m thinking about a whumper making a whumpee pick between basic necessities

Like. Food, water, warmth, sleep, pick two

[cryptids-lobelia-garden]

AIGHT so. Here’s this. It’s set like. Right after the battle atop Mount Coronet, so the trio are like 15, 16 ish. I’m not SUPER happy with this, but ey, it’s Something. I can play with it later when I get to this scene in their story. Anyway,

Warnings: Ana expresses grief through anger (she doesn’t hurt anyone ofc but she angy), Keyo is in the middle of a pretty bad autistic shutdown over this (hi! The author is actually autistic! Putting that there just in case.), I guess the main warning here is grief over a nasty friendship breakup (the friend tried to kill them). Emotional hurt/comfort

Day 8: Bloodshot

“I can’t believe he would do this!” Ana fumes, pacing back and forth. “I mean, seriously! Who does he think he is!? We trusted him!”

Keyo hums. They haven’t moved from their bed, hidden under their Pokémon. They haven’t really done much but stare at the ceiling, tears slipping down their face.

They’d trusted Volo the most out of the three of them, after all. They’d considered him an older brother, and the betrayal hit them hard.

“And I thought he trusted us too!” Ana steams, kicking at the floor. “It makes no sense! Why would he tell us about that thing he had with that girl and then up and betray us!?”

“Didn’t you say he got quiet after telling you guys that?” Cheri asks. “Maybe he was trying to distance himself by that point?”

Ana freezes. “Oh gods, you’re right,” she says. “..UGH! I HATE him!!!”

Keyo flinches at the sound, and Ana grimaces, whispering a quick “Sorry.”

“Hm.”

“..it just..” She sighs, sitting down, tears pricking at the corners of her eyes. “It doesn’t make sense, it’s.. It’s not fair.”

Cheri frowns as he watches the two. I wish you guys would’ve listened to me. “..I’m sorry,” he murmurs, moving to pull them both close.

“He made sure we had a place to stay when Kamado kicked us out, and we talked about so much- was all of it just fake?” Ana asks.

Cheri frowns and doesn’t give an answer.

He doesn’t know.

Be strong, for them. They need you. Step up.

Cheri pulls them closer. “..at least he gave us a chance to stop him,” he murmurs.

Ana nods, hiding her face in his shoulder. “..I hate him,” she whispers, tears quickly staining Cheri’s sleeve.

Keyo doesn’t say anything, barely moves at all, letting Cheri hold them close. They close their bloodshot eyes, letting out a quiet, shaky sigh.

The three hold onto each other, grief and rage consuming two of them.

“..how did you know?” Ana asks.

Cheri shrugs. “Intuition, I guess? I got really good at figuring out if people are bad people when I evolved,” he murmurs.

Ana nods. “..Next time, we’re listening,” she mumbles.

The sentiment is bittersweet.

[cryptids-lobelia-garden]

IM GETTINF FUCKING CARPAL TUNNEL NOOOOOO ow owie why must the human body be so weak I never asked for this *suffering artist sounds*

[cryptids-lobelia-garden]

Hoooooo boy. I am. SO behind. So tired. BUT!! Here is this! Finally got it edited, now I just need to pop it into Tumblr, fix the formatting bc tumblr doesn’t keep formatting, and there we go!

Anyway, Cheri and his siblings beloved. Also Volo and his Pokémon beloved.

Warnings: Cheri’s not having a good time with the fact he killed someone, guilt, his siblings don’t like Volo (they trust his judgement though), Volo’s pokemon know and understand what happened to him :( (I have no clue what to highlight here or any better way to put it sorry)

Day 7: Hesitation

The Meeting Arc Part 3

~~~~~

It’s been a couple days, and Volo’s been in and out of sleep.

The attack had done a lot of damage. Attacks from any sort of legendary or mythical Pokémon are not something you want to get hit with, even if you’re able to take a few, and Volo is definitely not. He’s a squishy human with a fragile body, and he’s incredibly lucky the.. burn.. poison.. dark attack that pulled all the energy out of where it hit hadn’t gone too deep.

There’s another problem. As much damage as it did to his body, the attack was much more of an attack on Volo’s spirit than anything.

He had managed to pull through with his spirit intact, thank Arceus for that. The theory is that, despite it being a powerful attack by a powerful Pokémon, it hadn’t been unleashed at full power, so Volo had managed to avoid some of the worst effects. But he’s still had to get a lot of rest- his energy had been sapped, and that’s on top of healing from the injury, so he’s been asleep more often than not.

Thankfuly, he’s stable, just exhausted. So the day after they had their chat, Volo got himself on some less mind-altering pain meds. He had forgotten most of the conversation, and the two had mutually silently agreed that Cheri wasn’t going to tell him what had happened and he wasn’t going to ask. When they both were sure Volo would be okay, Cheri got himself reasonably healed by a kind blissey so he wouldn’t have to deal with a Pokémon center that would ask questions or hospital care that isn’t built for him. Then he went to the Pokémon center to pick up their Pokémon, he dropped Volo’s off at the hospital with enough food to last a few days just in case, he stopped by his house to shower, and then he went straight to work in Hearthome City.

He’s.. not really looking forward to it, but he’s got to get home again after work, too.

His siblings will be home, and they need to know about Volo.

Because as much as his instincts say the man is harmless now, as much as he feels he can trust the man, to the point where he wants to protect him..

He wasn’t the only one Volo hurt. In fact, he’d sensed something was off about Volo from the beginning back then, had braced for it, and he was barely hurt at all, where his siblings had both been completely betrayed. So it’s up to them, what happens from here.

And..

They also need to know that Cheri had killed someone.

It’ll come out at some point. Better sooner, rather than later.

“You’re quiet today!” His current client says. He’s not entirely sure who she is, she’s relatively new, but he does talk to most of his clients, so he’s not too surprised she’s realized something’s off. “Sneasel got your tongue?”

“What?” Cheri looks up from doing her eyeliner, then grins. “Oh! No, sorry. I just don’t have much to talk about today.”

That’s a lie, but honestly, what is he supposed to say?

I have a LOT to talk about.

I KILLED a man.

But if I say anything, I’ll get in a HUGE shitstorm.

I’m not 10. I can’t just say I was trying to save the world and have that be all I have to do, no. They’ll investigate much further than they would have if I was ten.

If I’m lucky, they won’t figure out my life’s a lie, they won’t lock me up, and maybe they’ll even drop the charges.

But that’s if I’m REALLY damn lucky.

“Alright! It’s just.. Well.. You seem like you need someone to talk to.”

Cheri puts on a grin as best as he can. “I’m good! Just focusing really hard.” He finishes her makeup. “You’re good to go.”

“Oh- Okay!” Once she’s checked his handiwork in the mirror, she heads out, glancing back with concern. Cheri grins, and she leaves.

As soon as she’s gone, Cheri sighs, slumping in his chair and hiding his face in his hands.

Volo said I wouldn’t have to worry, said it would be taken care of. By who? His secret club?

Speaking of which, what’s with them, anyway? Are they time travelers? They’re probably time travelers, yeah, Volo said they’d bring the legendaries back to different places in time..

If he’s with a group, why’d they send him to deal with Eclipse alone?

Did they know he would get hurt?

Did they care?

..Do they know about the scars I heard the nurses whispering about in the hospital halls..? Maybe those are only rumors, but every rumor has some truth to it somewhere, right?

Cheri frowns, lounging back in his seat and staring up at the ceiling tiles. He’s been painting them over time, making this place his own. His gaze drifts to a tile covered in sunflowers.

..He’s so different. I don’t really know what he was like in Hisui, didn’t hang around much when he was with my siblings.

But I DO know he wasn’t.. well.. like THIS.

He can’t help but think about how Volo flinches at every touch. How in the past, he’d seen his siblings sneak up behind and jump on the guy, and Volo would just laugh, barely any flinch, no ingrained fear at all.

He thinks about how Volo kept insisting it was deserved. The way Volo shrank away from Eclipse, making himself as small as he could.

And yet Volo had considered letting Eclipse take him. Had almost agreed to it.

And Cheri frowns as he thinks about what could have happened if he hadn’t been there.

..That night at the hospital plays again in his mind.

Volo, the man who had always been so confident in himself and his goals, the man who hadn’t been afraid to go against the world, and Cheri had come to admire for that- he had broken down. Had crumpled in Cheri’s arms and sobbed.

Volo, who had once thought himself fit to be god, was now filled with self hatred.

And Cheri can’t help but wonder if it was just Eclipse who caused it, or if the entire club Volo’s in has been like that.

Because if they’re a club of time travelers who bring misplaced legendaries back, if they really sent Volo to protect Arceus from Eclipse..

Maybe they’re a club of time travelers who protect the legendaries, or even timespace in general. Which would explain why Volo’s met them, because he was a threat to the world, and people like that would be interested in someone like him.

It doesn’t explain why Volo’s joined with them now, though. And it doesn’t really explain anything about Volo and Eclipse.

Eclipse was kicked from the club because of whatever he had done to Volo. So maybe the club does have Volo’s best interests in mind, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask the guy-

Wait. Shit. He still has to check with his siblings to see if it’s okay to let Volo stick around.

As much as he’s worried about the guy, his siblings come first. They’re a team, have been from the beginning, and he doesn’t want to bring anyone around them that they don’t want around.

Cheri sighs, putting his supplies away and waving at his receptionist as he heads out.

He walks home on autopilot, mentally putting together what he’s going to say.

Volo’s back. He’s changed. I went with him on a trip to protect Arceus, and I killed a man. He’s in the hospital, I’m worried about him, and if you two are okay with it, I want to keep him around, make sure he’s okay. Something really bad happened to him, and he’s a better person now, but he’s hurt. He’s back, but he’s not evil, not coming after Arceus, and I know he isn’t manipulating me, I didn’t sense anything weird, he’s safe, but he himself is not safe because someone hurt him and he thinks he deserves to be hurt-

Ugh. Is that too much?

..He shakes his head.

..god. I am NOT looking forward to tonight.

He swings by a fast food place to grab some stuff for dinner to sweeten the deal. He hasn’t seen his siblings in a few days, after all- they’ll be confused and worried, especially since he missed his day to make dinner.

He gets home before them, setting the dinner out and sitting in his place at the table, picking at his food and waiting.

Alone with his thoughts for the millionth time today.

Blood dripping on the stone ground.

He takes a bite of his burger to distract himself, letting its taste fill his mouth.

No sauces, no extra ingredients, just meat and bread, he doesn’t feel like getting sick for the next few days. He’s already spent enough time away from work, and that’s just something he does NOT need right now.

Closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths, he lets the burger’s scent fill his nose, ignoring the lingering metallic scent that he just can’t seem to get to leave. Trying to ignore the shrieks that just won’t stop echoing in his mind.

But the man just keeps screaming, agony spilling into the air in waves, blood on the cave walls, on the floor, sticking to Cheri’s skin..

Cheri takes another bite of his burger, though it’s half hearted. He isn’t hungry at all.

With a frustrated sigh, he checks the time, weighing the pros and cons of getting in the shower a second time. They’ll be home soon.. It isn’t worth it, I’ll take a shower AFTER I talk to them.

..Will they still care for me..? Cheri frowns down at his hands on the table. Will they fear me? Probably.

I.. I didn’t know I could kill. Well, I knew I could, I know what I am, but..

I didn’t know I, as a person, can..

He buries his face in his hands.

Breathe. Just breathe.

He stays like that until he hears the door open.

“-and anyway, he’s an adult, he’ll be fine. Maybe we should check and see if Arceus needed him for something?”

“..Would've sent all three,” Keyo murmurs.

“Maybe, but even so, it’d still be good to check-” Ana stops in her tracks as she gets to the kitchen. “Cheri! Oh, thank the gods- Where have you been? You didn’t say anything, you didn’t answer our texts!”

“You guys were texting me??” Cheri checks his pockets in a panic, pulling out his arc phone-

And shit.

It’s on silent. 43 missed messages. 7 missed calls.

“….I am. So sorry. Look, there’s a lot I need to tell you guys-”

“You haven’t slept,” Keyo murmurs, wiping makeup away from his eye.

Cheri grimaces, looking away. “..no. I haven’t in a while. And I can’t just yet, uh..” Deep breaths. In through the nose. Out through the mouth. After a moment, he looks up at the two, frowning a little deeper. “You’ll.. want to sit for this.”

Ana and Keyo glance at each other with concern before sitting down, eyes trained on Cheri.

Waiting for him to explain.

“Okay, so..” Cheri lets out a long sigh through his nose, clasping his hands together in front of him and staring at them. He opens his mouth to speak, then frowns.

Should I really tell them this?

They might never look at me the same again. We’re siblings, but even still, I KILLED someone.

If I tell them, will they fear me? Hate me?

And what about Volo? I already know they don’t like him. I already know what their reactions will be. It might not be safe for him, if I tell them what happened, and I don’t want him to have to leave to who knows where because of them, but..

Well.. They’re my SIBLINGS. And they deserve to know.

So Cheri takes a deep breath. “..I’m just gonna come out with it. Volo’s back, and I killed a man. A different man. Not him.”

They both freeze. Ana blinks a few times. “You what?”

“Volo’s back..” Keyo murmurs, turning away.

Cheri keeps his gaze on his hands clasped together. Doesn’t reach out with his magic, scared of what he’ll find. “..so. I met Volo on the train. The stop was close to the mountain, and he was headed up it to protect Arceus from someone named Eclipse-”

“He what!!??”

“Protect..?”

“Yeah. Protect. So, uh..” Cheri grimaces. “I made him take me with him. He really is different, he uh.. He apologized. But we get to the top of the mountain, and we go to that cave, the one where Beni attacked us? And we wait there, and then this guy jumps out of a portal. He’s shorter than me, but he’s like.. muscular, and he’s got all this crazy tech, right?” The other two nod. “So, he tosses these.. like.. Bright yellow pokeballs. They open, but not like a normal Pokeball, these yellow wires were still wrapped around the legendaries- and he had a bunch of legendaries, Volo said they were from different times- oh, did I mention this guy has this aura of malice? Like. He was ready to hurt someone. He was excited to.” Cheri shakes his head, pushing away the memory and glancing up to make sure they’re still listening.

He can’t tell if their expressions are concern for him or fear of him. He looks back to his hands, eyebrows furrowing, frowning a little deeper.

“..Volo and I got separated in the fight. But, uh.. What happened was, he told me he got pinned against the wall with psychic power, and then he got blasted by Galarian Moltres- oh, I forgot to mention, he is terrified of this Eclipse guy. He shrank back when he saw him. And before the fight, Eclipse was, uh.. trying to take him. I think he was going to torture him or something, the way his aura felt, the way Volo was reacting, he.. said something about Volo redeeming himself? Anyway-” Cheri shakes his head, going quiet.

“..so.. You.. killed Eclipse..?” Ana asks.

“..it’s a blur,” Cheri admits. “Um.. Volo got hit with that attack, and he screamed and there was agony in the air and I was trying to break the bracelet that controlled the Pokeball psychic device things- uh, he was controlling the legendaries with psychic devices that were the yellow pokeballs- anyway, I was trying to break it, but Mesprit hit me with a panic attack, and..” Cheri shakes his head. “I don’t know,” he whispers, staring harder at his hands. “There was so much blood, his- I think I tore his arm off, I..”

Ana and Keyo glance at each other. Ana gets up and leaves- and then she comes back with a shovel.

“In the cave on the way to Cloudcap?” Keyo asks, taking Cheri’s hands in theirs. “We’ll fix this.”

Cheri looks up, finally reaching out-

And oh. Yeah. That’s concern, and maybe a little fear, but mostly understanding, and..

He’s not sure why he expected anything else. Right. We’re a team, no matter what.

He nods. “Volo said I wouldn’t have to worry about it, but.. Thanks, guys.”

Keyo nods. “If you’re sure,” they murmur, leaning on Cheri’s shoulder. Cheri leans back, letting his eyes slip closed. Okay. It’s okay. We’re okay.

“Speaking of Volo..” Ana raises the shovel. “I’ve got half a mind to fucking whack the guy. Where is he?”

Cheri shakes his head. “Hospital- just.. Let him apologize, let him talk for a little bit- listen, he’s different. He’s better, but- Eclipse did something to him, it’s pretty bad.”

“..what’d he do..?” Keyo asks, head tilted to the side.

“I don’t know,” Cheri mutters. “I didn’t look. Didn’t want to invade his privacy, but- I do know Eclipse hurt him, he flinches when people touch him.”

Ana and Keyo glance at each other again, and Ana frowns a little deeper, then sighs, setting down the shovel.

“..he wants to apologize to you guys.”

Keyo looks up, a question in their eyes.

“Yeah, he apologized to me already, it was genuine, too.”

Ana and Keyo glance at each other again, then both nod. “..okay. How’s this gonna work? I’m not sure any of us are comfortable with him knowing where we live, so.”

Cheri nods. “He’s not supposed to leave the hospital until he gets his energy back anyway. So, tomorrow, let’s head to the hospital, we’ll meet up with him, and you all can talk. Is that okay?”

“Yeah,” Keyo murmurs, looking away.

Ana thinks it over for a minute, crossing her arms, tapping her fingers against them. She’s frowning, staring at the ground. “..I’m not gonna be nice to him,” she warns.

“I don’t expect you to. Just don’t hurt him.” He’s had enough of that.

Ana nods. “..anyway..” She frowns a little deeper, looking up. “Eclipse. You said he had a really bad aura, and Volo was protecting Arceus from him?”

“Is he dangerous? Why did Arceus need protection?” Keyo asks.

Cheri shakes his head. “He should be dead now, so not a threat anymore, but he’s a time traveler, so who knows. Anyway, he had the Red Chain, and control of the Lake Spirits.”

Ana’s face morphs into concern. “Did he pull a Team Galactic to get it from them?”

“Probably,” Cheri says. “Volo’s club or group or.. whatever should be able to get them all home, probably already have, so there’s that, at least.”

Keyo tilts their head to the side. “Club?”

“Yeah- so. I’m pretty sure he’s running with a group of time travelers right now? It’s my best guess to explain.. everything about him right now.”

“Well, it makes sense how he’s here, then..” Ana hums in curiosity. “I wonder how that happened? I mean, I.. really can’t see him getting into something like that unless it would get him closer to Arceus.”

Cheri shrugs. “I haven’t figured it out yet. But considering the fact he runs with a group like that and helped with Eclipse, I don't think he’s after Arceus anymore- He himself said he wasn’t, actually, and I didn’t sense a lie.”

“..huh..” Keyo frowns in thought. “Eclipse was also a time traveler? Was he part of the group?”

“Apparently he was kicked out when the group figured out he was doing.. whatever it was to Volo. So.”

“So he decided to attack Arceus and Volo came to stop him, but not to attack Arceus himself?” Ana shakes her head. “That doesn’t make any sense. Well- I guess I could see it if it was a race to get to Arceus first, maybe?”

Cheri shakes his head. “Volo seriously wasn’t in this for Arceus at all.” He frowns, looking down at the table. “I’m.. pretty sure it was some sort of suicide mission, actually.”

Both turn to stare at him. Shock, surprise.

Concern.

“Wait, seriously? Him?” Ana asks, leaning forwards.

“Yeah,” Cheri murmurs. “I don’t know. He was just.. so..” Cheri shakes his head, eyebrows furrowing. “..I think if I hadn’t been there, he would have just.. Let Eclipse take him. To Arceus knows where, to do Arceus knows what.” He shakes his head. “..He’s noticably different. Just trust me on this- when you get there, you guys will be able to tell.”

Keyo frowns, nodding. “..how long has he been in the hospital..?”

“Since the day I’ve been gone. He might be in there for a little while longer, he’s regaining his energy- oh, it’s the Eterna City hospital, by the way.” Cheri stands up. “Speaking of him, I’m going to take a shower and get back to him.” I don’t trust the time traveler group, and I don’t want to come back to a corpse- or worse.

His siblings give him weird looks.

“..are.. you two friends now?” Keyo asks.

“Well.. No? I don’t know.” Cheri shakes his head. “We’re the same. You know? And.. He’s not being untrustworthy, he’s not trying anything, and I just-”

“Hey.” Ana puts a hand on his shoulder. “If you feel like you can trust him, then.. We’ll trust your judgement.” Then she grins. “I’m still not gonna be nice though.”

Cheri grins back. “That’s fair, don’t worry, I don’t expect you guys to.” Then he looks over at Keyo, frowning a little.

They’re fidgeting pretty bad. “..just.. Please tell us if he ever lies,” they murmur.

“I will,” Cheri murmurs back, moving forward to press his forehead against theirs. “Thanks for trusting me.”

They nod, pressing back. “..We’ll come by tomorrow.”

“Alright.” Cheri grins. “I’m gonna take a shower, I’ll see you guys tomorrow, alright?”

“Okay! Stay safe!” Ana calls from where she’s digging around in the closet.

Keyo nods. “Call us if something happens,” they murmur. “Have a good shower.”

“I will.” Cheri waves at them both, then heads upstairs for a shower.

And once he’s scrubbed himself clean yet again, he heads to the store, then back to the hospital.

Volo’s asleep when Cheri arrives, his Pokémon piled on top of him. It doesn���t look very comfortable, but his Togekiss is protecting the injury from having any pressure on it, and they’re all sleeping soundly.

Luca- Volo’s Lucario- looks up as Cheri enters, pushing a pulse of welcoming towards him. Cheri pushes friendliness back, sitting by the bed and handing Luca a treat. “..what happened to your trainer?” Cheri asks. Quietly, not wanting to wake the others.

Luca frowns, looking away for a moment in thought, then back to Cheri.

Pushing forward a few things.

Hopelessness. Fear- no, terror. And pain. SO MUCH pain.

Cheri frowns. “..and Eclipse did this?”

Luca nods, then pushes forward rage. Malice. That same aura Cheri had felt earlier.

Cheri shudders slightly, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. “Right..” He pushes worry. Concern.

Luca looks back at Volo with a frown and pushes it back, along with fear.

“..He’ll be alright,” Cheri murmurs, turning to look at Volo.

..huh. He looks really peaceful right now.

The bottom half of Volo’s face is hidden under the blanket, the left side hidden by his hair, and Cheri huffs a little laugh. He seems so comfortable, nearly completely covered by blanket and Pokémon.

It’s.. almost cute, actually.

..yeah. He’s burying that thought deep in the back of his mind. Not going to look into it.

Resting his head on the side of the bed, Cheri lets out a quiet sigh, watching Toge move up and down with Volo’s breathing.

There were some pin feathers she couldn’t reach on her earlier. She wouldn’t let anyone touch her to fix them.. Looks like Volo must have preened them out when he was awake.

A bit of pollen floats over, and Cheri looks up. Hemlock is staring him down, rose-like hands held up threateningly.

“I’m not here to hurt him, or any of you,” Cheri murmurs, pulling a treat for plant types out of his bag and holding it out. “Here. See? I’m a friend.”

The Roserade stares for a moment, then slowly reaches forward, glaring him down the whole time. Snatching the treat, Hemlock quickly moves back, taking a bite.

It’s better than yesterday, so there’s that. The roserade had chased him out of the room, practically screaming what would be obscenities if he could talk with a protective fury. Which is fair. Cheri had attacked his trainer the last time they’d met. In Hisui, anyway. The reunion a few days ago didn’t really count, they’d all had bigger problems to deal with.

Thankfully, Volo’s other Pokémon had been able to calm him down before he ended up getting them all thrown out.

Hemlock keeps staring at Cheri now, but doesn’t disturb Cheri, nibbling on the treat a little more.

Cheri’s pretty sure he won’t attack him.

He lets Sylvie out of his ball just in case. The sylveon blinks up at him, curling up in his lap with a yawn, and he sighs, leaning back in his chair.

And after a few minutes with no hostility, he finally lets himself drift off to sleep.

~~~~~

(Edited to fix Hemlock’s name)

[cryptids-lobelia-garden]

Hey hey! I’m exhausted TwT BUT this exists, and I had 7 planned and pre-written already, just need to do edits and warnings, SO yay!!! But I also dropped off the face of the earth bc of Fatigue, so that’s great. Whoops. BUT hey I’m trying my best, and I might come in a little late but I do want to finish this and I’m gonna try even if it ends up late ^^ Why win a race when you’re enjoying the flowers on the side of the track?

Anyway. We’re focusing on Cheri for a change! This is probably a few years before Cheri meets Volo again, and a few months after getting back home from Hisui. He’s like 17-18 here, and as his body is maturing, so are his abilities. Which is VERY not fun when one of them is the ability to feel exactly what others are feeling and he doesn’t know how to turn it off. Poor guy :(

Warnings: lashing out at loved ones, emotional hurt/no comfort (despite people being there who very much want to provide comfort), caretaker makes it worse?? Sort of??? Also whumpee being scared to leave their room, not sure if that needs a warning but. Yeah I’m gonna warn on that anyway

6: Dizziness

Ana’s at the door again. “Cheri? You okay in there?”

Concern filters through the air, filling his head, and he lets out a low groan, burying his face under the blanket. “Leave me alone.”

“Please, just tell us what’s wrong.”

Another two sets of feelings joins the mix.

Worry, concern, fear, merging together, and he curls up tighter.

“We want to help,” Keyo murmurs, Sprigs meowing through the door in agreement. “Please let us help.”

So much worry is flooding him and he doesn’t know how to stop it.

The ability is both old and new. Ever since evolving, he had gotten better at reading people, better at understanding their intentions. He’d thought it was intuition at first.

But now he knows.

It was an ability, one that hadn’t yet fully matured.

He still hasn’t fully mastered it yet. Other people’s feelings crash through his body, and he wants to scream.

“You want to help? I’ll tell you what’ll help- go away!! And take Sprigs with you!”

He doesn’t want to be so harsh.

But he’s scared.

Being overwhelmed with his own emotions can mess with his head, knock him off balance, to the point where his other abilities will lash out even if he doesn’t want them to. He’s not sure if it’ll happen with other people’s feelings too.

He’s scared.

Pain, emotional pain as he dismisses the others so harshly, and he chokes back a sob.

He feels so much. He feels so much. It’s dizzying, feeling so many sets of feelings aside from his own.

“..I’m leaving food at the door,” Ana says. “Please come out and tell us what’s wrong when you can.”

And after a few moments, they leave, the intensity of the feelings leaving with them.

But he’s still crying.

Please come back. I just want things to be normal.

They can’t be normal. I can’t turn it off.

I’m so alone, so alone, it’s my own fault, I don’t want to be alone-

I can’t subject them to this. I don’t want to hurt them, I’m so terrified of hurting them.

He curls up tighter, squeezing the pillow to his chest.

I just want to be normal again. I never asked for this.

[cryptids-lobelia-garden]

Lol imagine they use the money they get to buy more immortal whumpees or smthng

Idk I’ve been playing too many tycoon games but like. It’d be funny

whumper who literally just uses an immortal whumpee as an organ farm. like yes we love to see an entrepreneur on the black market! make those profits!

[cryptids-lobelia-garden]

I managed to pull this together in the middle of an Absolutely Horrible work day! Yay! (Writing this is probably part of what got me out of a stress and caffeine induced panic attack) Unfortunately I didn’t get it edited on time to post on time, but Hey! It Exists :D Anyway, people should write more characters having autism shutdowns. It’s very frustrating being barely able/unable to talk (I am autism btw)

Anyway, this one’s very environmental. I feel like the timespace distortions in PLA could have been a LOT more horrifying, and I’m here to deliver! Warnings: animal attack (again), uuuuhh what do you call this.. time and space are being bent and torn around him and it is some sort of cosmic horror or something idk what that term means exactly I just know it’s what comes to mind, but uuuh yeah this one’s kinda tame actually.

All of mine so far have been pretty tame, let’s be honest. I promise I can write other stuff we just haven’t gotten to the Good Stuff I Have Planned yet

Day 5: Reckless

Takes place some time after the battle atop Mount Coronet. (After day 4 of this event, far before day 3, which happened before days 1 and 2)

~~~~~

Volo should have known this would happen when a strange energy started to fill the air. He should’ve known this would happen when sparks started to fly.

He thought he had more time before it did, thought he could pick a few more berries from this tree and run.

He should’ve known better than to test his fate, especially in a distortion that he had indirectly caused. Arceus has a sense of humor, after all, and Volo is no stranger to the cruelty that fate seems to love to bring him.

Scents from past and future flow into the air, and he can hardly breathe, stumbling as the ground morphs and shifts under him. One moment, he’s standing on the grassy hill, and the next, a structure he doesn’t understand appears out of nowhere, trapping him inside.

He scrambles his way out a window and brings his fingers to his mouth, whistling as loud as he can.

But Toge doesn’t come. She can’t hear him in the storm.

I could die here.

The realization sends chills down his spine.

He’s been confronted by his own mortality plenty of times in his life. It’d be a surprise to hear someone hasn’t, really, in a world as dangerous, as cruel as this one. Wild Pokémon attacks that aren’t immediately deadly can still be incredibly dangerous later, after all, and there’s a myriad of other dangers in this world.

Volo happens to be particularly good at getting himself into bad situations, and fate has always seemed to be especially cruel to him. He’s faced death plenty of times.

But it’s never felt so close.

He could run from murderers and wild Pokémon. He managed to strike a deal with Giratina when they met, he learned everything he could forage so he would never starve, he had even escaped the wrath of a particularly powerful zoroark, which is an impressive feat, considering the fact that even the normal zoro put plenty of people on the death toll.

But he can’t run from this. Not when he can’t breathe and the ground itself doesn’t seem to work as it should, flickering in and out of existence at the drop of a hat.

He curses himself for his stupidity as a terrified steelix shrieks, a sound like boulders tumbling down a mountain. It’s moving too quickly to see where it’s going, barreling straight towards Volo.

He just manages to dodge out of the way, ducking and rolling behind a tree- but an electric attack hits him, and he shrieks as his whole body jolts from it, falling to his knees.

It’s hard to move, he’s shaking, his muscles are spasming.

He can’t run.

Paralyzed.

I’m going to die here.

Something falls into his hands, a strange device. Some sort of bracelet, with a thick, flat face.

It lights up as he touches it.

He frantically presses back against the tree as an alpha raichu steps forward, holding the strange device up.

He’s about to move to throw it in desperation-

And then something he touches on it creates a shield of pink and blue energy, surrounding him just as the raichu tries to hit him with a Thunder.

He can breathe.

Volo scrambles to his feet, catching his breath. “Is this- some sort of shield..?” It moves with him as he walks- no? It’s moving with the device.

He scoops it off the ground, shaking his limbs out to try to get the rest of the electric attack out of his system, and he sprints towards the outside of the distortion, carrying the device with him. The ground materializes beneath his feet, holding steady even as it breaks around him, and he thanks fate for finally giving him something good.

Some attack hits the shield, and he yelps as he’s thrown, but he isn’t hurt by anything except his own bad landing. Scrambling back to his feet, he runs the rest of the way out, jumping through to the outside of the bubble of distorted land just as the timespace storm starts to swirl.

Terrified pokemon shriek as they’re swept into it. Volo nearly throws up as he sees human remains inside, swirling with the rest.

And, in a flash, all of it is gone, leaving no sign of what just happened but specks of shimmering pink dust, floating softly to the ground.

He’s in a cold sweat, shaking as he stares at where he was almost swept away. The trio would RUN INTO these. For FUN, to collect the things inside.

What the HELL is wrong with them!?

He takes a few shaky breaths, collapsing to his hands and knees. The device makes a clicking sound as it wraps around his hand, but he pays it no mind for now.

Okay.

Okay, I’m okay. I’m alive. I’m okay.

..I have nobody to blame for that except myself. I shouldn’t have stayed when the storm started to gather. And for what, a few handfuls more of berries? That wasn’t worth the risk!

He stares at the strange device, which has moved to his wrist. There’s numbers on the front, though he’s not sure what they’re for.

It’s a miracle I made it out. And it’s because of this wondrous device..

It’s locked itself around his wrist somehow. He can’t see the locking mechanism- it looks like a clean band, aside from the face. The only sign as to its origin is some strange lettering on the side, though he doesn’t really recognize the characters. He knows he’s seen them somewhere before, though.

With some experimentation, he figures out he can move the device up and down his arm, but he can’t take it off. It’s comfortable no matter where it is, fitting perfectly to his skin, but it won’t go over his hand, despite obviously having the capability of doing so.

Fascinating..

Okay, he’ll deal with that later. He stands, making his way back to the little camp he’s set up.

He’s still feeling a little stiff with the after effects of a fairly mild electric attack paralysis, but he’s not too hurt- he must’ve not been hit too bad, thankfully.

Volo sits at camp, dumping out his bag and counting the supplies he’s managed to gather.

If he finds a way to preserve the food, what he has gathered today will be enough for a few days. So the progress towards what he and his Pokémon need to survive the winter is slow, but it is progressing.

The extra berries he grabbed are enough for two extra meals for Toge, so there’s that, at least.

Was it worth the risk? No, not in the slightest. Not when he can easily gather that safely.

But does it make him feel a little better about it?

Absolutely.

He looks up as a shadow falls over him, quickly moving to catch Toge as she flies into his chest. “Hey!”

She squeaks happily, shaking her bag- and that’s the sound of a bunch of apricorns. He can also see the leaves of a few different edible plants and medicinal herbs sticking out.

Volo smiles, cuddling her close. “Thank you, sweetheart,” he murmurs, burying his face in her feathers with a quiet sigh. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

~~~

PARADOX DETECTED

A young woman leans over to look at the alert, brushing curly red hair out of her eyes. “Oh! Well, that explains where he got his watch.. That is a dangerous paradox, wow. Very lucky it didn’t break anything. Dialga must have helped..” She sighs, tapping a few buttons on her watch and sending a quick message to Management. “..Dragons. I need to figure out how Eclipse got it off so I can update the security systems.. What a bother.”

[cryptids-lobelia-garden]

Heh, so uh, funny story! My job was busier than I expected yesterday (and today) so I thought I’d have more time to do this and I didn’t! BUT FRET NOT, FOR IT WAS MADE ANYWAY! Anyway, I’ve accepted my schedule for uploading these will be irrregular, but I’m gonna do it anyway, I’m having fun inflicting my little guys with The Horrors.

Anyway.

I should probably mention my interpretation of Volo isn’t immortal, he’s just a ball of spite towards the god that abandoned him and he will become a ghost type to make sure Arceus never gets peace if he has to.

Warnings: I don’t like Cogita, uh.. aftermath of Pokemon battle gone wrong? They’re okay (I don’t like killing off characters) but yeah, they were outmatched REALLY badly, so. Animal injury. Also animal attack aftermath (not super bad just exists).

Day 4: Swaying

Volo feels.. empty.

His one chance at reaching his goal was snatched away in an instant by outsiders who had no business poking their noses in this. Giratina’s gone- which is his own fault, he had lashed out at them unfairly.

And to top it all off, all his Pokémon were hurt pretty badly in that fight. They had been outnumbered and outmatched, and by the time Volo had the chance to pull his Pokémon out of that fight, they had already given all the fight they had.

He hadn’t made it out unscathed, either. Apparently, Cheri is a zoroark, and he’s also blessed by Arceus, which explains a LOT.

So Volo has a huge set of gashes in his arm that he’s only just managed to wrap tightly enough to stop the bleeding, he’s light headed and he’s almost fallen over a few times in the trek down the mountain, his Pokémon are all hurt pretty badly, and they don’t have a place to stay.

He doesn’t want to go to Cogita. She’s been getting worse as time goes on, and he’s already feeling terrible enough without her quips about.. well..

His entire existence, really.

But he’s sure everyone will know about what happened by the time he gets down the mountain- the siblings had taken off on various flying Pokémon in three different directions. So that takes out both the clans and town, and the Guild, too, since he’s fairly sure Ginter is in town today and will hear of this.

It’s a good thing he had thought to grab his discarded bag. He can at least find a cave or something of the sort, heal his Pokémon, and then..

And then what? There’s nothing else for him here.

Volo takes a deep breath, pushing through the spots in his vision. I don’t care how long it takes.

It could take decades, or even centuries.

I WILL find a way to make this work.

I just need to do more research.

Clouds are starting to gather, threatening rain, and Volo looks up, frowning. It wouldn’t be good to be caught in this, it’s going to be a cold night and he doesn’t want to get sick.. Well. Better hurry, then.

He finds his way to the nearest clear spot, setting down his bag and getting his tent set up as quickly as he can. He has to take time to rest every few minutes, leaning against the nearest tree and catching his breath.

Gods. I’m so cold..

I’ll have to find a Blissey later..

..There HAS to be a way to fix this, right? I’m beaten, but I’m not dead. Giratina’s gone, but there’s other ways to capture a god. I don’t need Giratina’s help, I don’t need anyone, I-

Toge jumps out of her ball, weakly squeaking, and Volo feels his heart drop as he rushes to her side.

“Hey, precious girl,” he murmurs, gently brushing a few of her disheveled feathers back into place. They’re stained with blood and dark-type energy, and he frowns. “Are you okay?”

Another quiet squeak.

“Don’t worry, I’m going to fix this.” He sighs, getting to work finishing setting up the tent. He ignores how standing is starting to put spots in his vision, he needs to get this done before they all get soaked.

It takes a while, and little drops of rain are starting to fall, but once the tent is up, he helps her limp her way inside, letting the others out of their pokeballs too.

They’re all hurt. Luca’s burnt in a few different places from fire and electricity, and Volo’s going to guess he’s lucky if nothing’s broken, with how savagely the bird Pokémon attacked him. Trouble’s shivering, far too cold for a fire type, the rocks in her mane cracked by water and ice. Shark is covered in shimmering wounds, most left by a sylveon. Dried leaf-like skin is flaking off Hemlock, who is burnt even worse than Luca is- even Spiritomb is flickering. Their keystone is, thankfully, intact, but there’s not much power in their disc.

That’s not even mentioning the scratches and bites covering their bodies.

Arceus, I can understand sending people who could defeat me in battle, but why send such strong opponents? Why so many?

This isn’t just a defeat, it’s cruelty.

Luca and Toge are the only ones awake. Luca stands, taking a moment to catch his balance before staggering to Volo’s side. Volo holds his arms open as the lucario falls into him, and he feels a rush of guilt as he pulls him close.

“I’m sorry,” Volo murmurs. “I- I shouldn’t have made you all part of this, I..” He sighs, hiding his face in his free hand. “Gods, I am such a fool. I should have realized those three were sent by Arceus, had Their divine blessing.”

Toge squeaks, pushing her way under his arm and resting there, and Volo sighs, staring at the ground.

I really am a joke in Arceus’s eyes, aren’t I? They didn’t even send an adult to deal with me. They sent children.

Sure, they are good battlers, but even so, they’re still CHILDREN.

Perhaps the fact they were sent was a testament to their strength.

Or maybe it only proves how little Arceus really thinks of me.

Volo starts digging through his bag, pulling out bandages, potions, and revives. Whatever the case, I have more important things to worry about right now. Like making sure my Pokémon survive this.

He starts quickly treating the wounds that need the most immediate attention. He doesn’t have a lot of potions on him, but thankfully, he has enough to fix the majority of the worst damage, and he does that before waking the ones who are still knocked out. Then he gets to work bandaging the rest.

I’m glad I thought to stock up on bandages the last time I got a chance to.

A sudden chill brushes through him, and he unpins his shoulder cape, quickly pulling on his merchant outfit. He might hate the job, but at least the clothes are warm.

It doesn’t help much, but his arms are covered and he’s a little warmer.

He lets out a quiet sigh. “..How are you all doing? Is it cold?”

Most of his Pokémon seem okay now, if maybe a little lightheaded, but Shark and Hemlock are both pretty cold, and they look at him with pleading eyes.

“Right. Here.” Volo holds out their Pokeballs, and the garchomp and roserade hurry to jump in. Tucking those to his chest to hopefully keep them warm, Volo sighs, pulling the other four close.

..I’m going to fix this. We all deserve a better world, and damn what Arceus does, I’m going to find a way to make it.

I’ll find a way to do it if it kills me.

~~~~~

(Edited for Hemlock’s name, nightshade didn’t exist at the time in Japan I think based on my research but hemlock did. Also some formatting fixes.)

[cryptids-lobelia-garden]

OKAY here we are, all caught up! For now. I don’t have any buffer or anything really specific planned for the next few days. Wish me luck. So! This one is set probably like.. three-ish months? Into Volo getting pulled into the agency/under Eclipse’s wing? So yeah, Eclipse hasn’t done anything super serious yet, just messed with his head.

Warnings: ngl I have No Idea what to tag this one.

Whumpee having Issues, that are only being exacerbated by whumper, who isn’t hurting him physically quite yet but he sure isn’t good for Whumpee’s mental or emotional state. Emotional hurt no comfort I guess is what this is. You know when you look back at something really shitty you did and go “…oooohh no.” Yeah it’s that, that’s what this is

Anyway uh. I’m not super happy with how it turned out, this scene is supposed to come in between some other stuff whenever I actually pull everything together, BUT!!!! At least the first draft is written! So I can edit it and string it together with other stuff later!

But yeah, the context this needs is by this point, he’s aware that what he was trying (subjugate Arceus and rewrite history) was never going to work out, and he’s been a little aimless since then, not sure he has a purpose. And this is him kinda finding one!

(Poor guy has a traumatization arc at the same time as his redemption arc 😔 wish him luck he’s gonna need it)

Day 3: Shame

“GIRATINA!! STRIKE THEM DOWN!!!”

Volo sighs as he watches it play out. Again, again.

Four teenagers, twenty four Pokémon, and two gods; one present, one absent.

One teenager blinded by a dream of a world without suffering, the other three fighting for the right to exist.

Six Pokémon against eighteen, and then the playing field is leveled by the help of a god, but still the three teenagers won.

Three siblings, one angry, one upset, one cynical, watching as their flute changes into one that can summon Arceus, and one teenager, alone in the world, angry at the god he’d worshipped for abandoning him in every single time of need. Angry at the god who had helped him for failing.

He had lashed out, and now he was completely and utterly alone.

Three siblings finding their way back to the home they had protected while one teenager grieves the life he never got to live. Three siblings chasing their dreams and meeting their goals while one teenager is lost, stuck with nowhere else to go but away. But he can’t go away, because Hisui is his home. His broken, pain-filled home, full of the memories of his people.

They have everything, and he is left alone.

Three siblings growing up and becoming champions of their region, one teenager finding a strange device and traveling to another time.

To another dimension.

Would things have been different, had I not done all this? Would I have more than just myself, my Pokémon, and Eclipse to rely on?

He scrolls back in time.

Three siblings and one teenager meeting for the first time. A Pokémon battle, and two of the siblings became fast friends with the teenager.

And a few months later, he betrays them for nothing but a chance at a plan that never would have worked in the first place.

“GIRATINA!! STRIKE THEM DOWN!!!”

..He turns his holocomputer off and lays in bed, staring up at the ceiling.

..maybe Eclipse is right. I deserve to hurt for what I put those three through.

We were all teenagers, but I was older. They were 15. I was an adult. I should’ve known better- I tried to KILL them.

And my actions indirectly killed so many more..

He lets his eyes slip closed.

..I’m lucky I have Eclipse. At least he won’t hurt me, despite the fact that I deserve it. Not like so many of the others in this place would.

..I wonder if things would be different, had I called it all off.

I wish I could go back and stop it. But that would only create a paradox involving the Agency itself. It would only make everything worse, might actually break reality as a whole..

He rolls over, curling up on his side and hiding in the plush blankets.

..Maybe, if I hadn’t been born, the world would be better off.

Thousands dead, tens of thousands hurt, and SO MANY displaced throughout time and space.. All because of a dream that could never have worked.

I need to help them. It’s my fault they’re lost, after all.

I can’t bring back the dead.

But I can at least help the living.

[cryptids-lobelia-garden]

Kind of annoying that italics and stuff like that doesn’t transfer from google docs to tumblr…. Or at least it doesn’t on mobile :/

[cryptids-lobelia-garden]

ALRIGHTY here’s day 2! A day late bc my WiFi was absolute Garbage yesterday- it’s fixed now!

Warnings: Drugged whumpee? Sort of? (Hospital pain meds), conditioned whumpee, he is in the hospital, also he’s like. Kinda delirious I think? Idk the meds are messing with his head, also he’s Not Happy about the fact he’s on them, people being suspicious of Caretaker because of scars (whumpee sets the facts straight before anything happens though)

Day 2: Sweat Brain Fog

The Meeting Arc Part 2

~~~~~

It’s too bright.

Volo squeezes his eyes back shut the moment they open with a quiet groan.

The world feels.. weird. He feels weird.

Almost dizzy..?

Thinking feels weird too.. fuzzy..

Yeah. Fuzzy’s a good way to describe how he feels right now. And tired.

So, so very tired..

He wakes up again, squinting against the light.

Oh, I’m somewhere unfamiliar..

Where are my..

Where. Where are they. Where are my Pokémon.

He moves to try to sit up.

Oh, his head’s spinning.

His whole body feels.. heavy.. exhausted..

So exhausted..

Pokémon. Right, he needs to find his Pokémon-

There’s a tube in his arm?

Hospital?

Why am I.. What hospital am I in..

He clumsily pokes at his watch, squinting at the screen, trying to see the time, date, and location.

It’s so blurry..

Okay. Giving up on that.

“Hello?” He calls out. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

Someone pokes his head in. A nurse, probably? “Oh, you’re awake!” The nurse hurries over, gently pushing him back to the bed. “Here, lay back down.”

Each word makes his head swim. He’s tired, everything is fuzzy, and it takes him a minute to figure out what the guy said. “Mmkay.. where are my Pokémon..?”

The nurse frowns. “..There’s a guy in the lobby. He might know, but before we let you talk to him, we have some questions to ask.”

All Volo got out of that was someone’s in the lobby. Something about questions. “..who..?”

“His name is Cheri Jennings.”

Volo lets out a sigh of relief.

Okay. Cheri has his Pokémon. He doesn’t know Cheri very well, but Cheri saved him, right? And whatever Cheri wants with him, he trusts that they’ll be taken care of, for now, at least- if Cheri’s trying to gain his trust, anyway.

They’re okay..

So exhausted..

His eyes slip closed again.

Time passes for him like the blink of an eye, and when he wakes up again, someone else is in the room, checking machines by his bed. She looks over as he moves.

“Hello. Can you understand me?”

“Um..” Volo nods.

He’s a little more awake now. Everything still feels so fuzzy, though. He’s also tired, exhaustion running bone-deep, and he makes no move to get up this time. “..Where am I?”

“Okay.” The lady takes a deep breath. “..You’re in the Eterna City Hospital. You were brought here by Cheri Jennings. He said the two of you were attacked by a strange man with powerful Pokémon, is that right?”

Volo thinks for a moment. Remembering takes so much energy- but he does. “Mmh.. Yes, that’s what happened. We were.. we were fighting someone horrible, and..” He shakes his head. “..I.. got hurt..? And I remember him carrying me..” He shakes his head. “He had ice on his arm, is he okay?”

“He’s okay. ..I have another question.”

Volo nods.

“Was he the one who made the.. well.” The nurse shifts uncomfortably.

Oh. “You saw those..?” Ignoring the sick feeling in his stomach, Volo shakes his head. “N.. no, he didn’t make those.. is he here right now..?”

The nurse nods. “Yes, he’s in the lobby. ..who-”

“It doesn’t matter, but, um.. It wasn’t him, can.. Can you let him in here..? Please?”

The nurse thinks for a moment, then sighs, nodding. “I’ll bring him in.”

Volo nods, eyes slipping closed.

When they open again, Cheri’s asleep by his bed, though Cheri quickly wakes up when Volo moves.

“Hey,” he says, taking Volo’s hands in his.

Volo flinches. He can’t help it, yanking himself away from contact as if another person’s sudden touch is a hot coal.

Most people avoid touching him, pull away quickly once he flinches. But Cheri keeps his hands open.

And Volo reaches forward, letting Cheri hold his hands.

It’s been so, so long since he’s felt a comforting touch.

“..you saved my life,” he murmurs. “..why? What do you have to gain, by having this power over me?”

“What power?” Cheri shakes his head. “What are you talking about??”

“You saved my life,” Volo repeats. “So it now belongs to you.”

“..that’s.. Kinda a fucked way of thinking about it, don’t you think?” Cheri shakes his head, looking away. “Think about it as me repaying an old favor. My siblings and I would’ve been left with next to nothing if you hadn’t helped us when we were banished, you know?”

“..hm.” Volo nods, lightly squeezing Cheri’s hands. “I guess that makes sense. ..still.. Why save me? I don’t deserve it after the rift.” He shakes his head. “I hurt you, didn’t I? Are you trying to hurt me back?”

Cheri blinks a few times. “No? Why would I want that? Look, I know you’ve had it rough for a while, but I can promise you I don’t want to hurt you.” Cheri’s tongue glows as he makes the promise, and then magic wraps around the two of them.

Locking the promise in..?

..Volo looks away.

Then.. it’s true, he really DOESN’T want to hurt me.

“..why..?” Volo asks again. “I’m.. worthless now. There’s nobody left I can save, nothing else I can do to control the damage. I’ve apologized to almost everyone I can, I’ve hurt, I’ve bled, I’ve cried and I’ve broken over it, and now I’m worth nothing.” He lets his eyes slip closed, starting to feel uncomfortable with how much he’s shared, but it’s already out there, he might as well finish the thought. “There’s nothing more I can do but suffer. And I am so tired of suffering for it all. That’s selfish, I know, I don’t deserve death’s release, but I’m tired.”

Oooohhh no. Cheri’s mouth hangs open for a moment. “Volo.. what.. the hell are you talking about?”

Volo shakes his head, pulling Cheri’s hands to his face so he can hide behind them. After a moment, one of Cheri’s hands let go.

Volo’s disappointment is short lived, because Cheri’s hand is in his hair next, gently brushing his bangs back over his left eye.

Oh, right, that exists. He hadn’t even noticed it wasn’t covered. His skin feels.. odd, not very sensitive..

“..hey.. Volo? ..What are you talking about?”

Cheri’s voice is so soft. So gentle, so full of worry, of concern..

Tears start to slip down Volo’s face. “I- I can’t.”

Cheri frowns. “..Is this about Eclipse? What.. what did he do..?”

“..He hurt me,” Volo whispers, hiding behind his hands. “Very badly.”

And he was kind at first too. Held me, took care of me, and I thought he was the one person in the world who hadn’t just wanted to use me.

What a foolish thought.

..he was kind at first, just like this. He said he would protect me, and he did. Nobody else could hurt me but him- this situation feels all too familiar.

But where Eclipse had no right to do what he did..

I DID hurt Cheri and his family.

“..you can too, if that’s what you kept me alive for,” he murmurs. “You must want to, it’s the only thing that makes sense.. You were hurt by me, and now you want your turn to give me my just desserts for it.”

“…Volo… What the fuck.”

Volo peeks between his fingers after a moment- oh. Cheri looks.. genuinely horrified at that idea. “..you.. really don’t want to hurt me? Not at all?”

“Why in the ever-loving fuck would I-” Cheri pulls his hands away, taking a deep breath. Volo flinches, hiding behind his hands again.

When he looks again, Cheri’s just.. staring. There’s a lot of emotions on his face, most of all a deep sadness.

“..He really, really hurt you,” Cheri murmurs.

Volo looks away. “..I know,” he says, trying to laugh even though it isn’t funny-

He’s crying. Why is he crying?

Cheri sighs, moving closer and opening his arms.

Volo hesitates.

If I trust, I’ll only get hurt. This’ll only hurt me in the end.

But after a few moments, Volo moves to Cheri anyway, careful of the medical equipment and pushing through the spots in his vision from sitting up. He’s cautious, slow.

Cheri’s arms wrap around him, and he feels so safe, so protected, and oh, this is worth whatever pain it’ll bring him later. Hiding his face in Cheri’s chest, Volo starts to shake with silent sobs.

“He..” Cheri sighs. “He’ll never hurt you again. Okay? You’re not gonna be hurt again, not by me or anyone else. Not if I have anything to say about it,” Cheri murmurs. “I’ve got you. I’m not going anywhere, you’re okay, you’re gonna be okay.”

“I- I don’t de-eserve to be okay,” Volo sobs out. “I should be hurting. Why aren’t I hurting? I’m-” He pulls back, pulling at his hospital gown, seeing the bandages.

His skin feels weird, and dread starts to pool in his stomach. “I’m.. I’m hurt, why don’t I feel it, why don’t I-”

“Drugs.” Cheri doesn’t move to hold him again, though he keeps his arms open.

Oh. Oh, that explains the.. Everything.. Volo takes a moment to calm himself down.

“Hey..” Cheri moves to tap his shoulder, then thinks better of it, pulling back and making his voice slightly louder. “Hey.” After a few moments, Volo looks up again. “..What if I think you deserve to be okay?”

Volo thinks for a moment. “..You’re wrong.” He’s too tired to think of why.

Cheri shakes his head, opening his mouth to say something else, but then a nurse comes in.

“Hey, you shouldn’t be moving around so much!” Getting Volo to lay back down, the nurse looks over at Cheri. “Why didn’t you tell him to stop?”

Cheri grimaces, pushing back the immediate urge to defend himself. I’m fine, she’s not attacking me. “I didn’t know he couldn’t move. I’m just a visitor.”

“Right. Sorry.” The nurse checks a few things. “Make sure he doesn’t do that again, there’s a few reasons he shouldn’t be moving right now. We’ve tracked the attack back to a very powerful Pokémon, and honestly, he shouldn’t even be awake right now, let alone moving- he’s very lucky, he must’ve been hit with a weaker version of the attack than usual.”

Oh! That’s good news! Cheri nods. “I’ll make sure he holds still.”

“Thank you.” Finishing with her checks, she turns to hurry off. Cheri watches as she leaves, then turns back to Volo, eyes softening as he does. “..So.. Can I get you anything, or..?”

I feel so helpless here.. “..My Pokémon,” Volo murmurs. “Let them out.”

“They’re at the Pokémon center, I don’t have them right now. ..Sorry.” Speaking of which, I need to go pick them up soon..

“Oh..” Well, that’s disappointing, but. At least he knows they’re okay and somewhere safe. He ignores the part of him that screams it’s a lie, the part of him that screams he needs to leave, to go find them.

It’ll only hurt me to trust.

Volo stares at the wall for a few moments.

..He ignores that side of his mind despite his better judgement, reaching for Cheri again. Desperate for a kind touch he hadn’t felt in years.

Cheri scoots closer to Volo, gently resting his hand across Volo’s chest- away from the injury, of course. Volo’s body twitches with an involuntary flinch, but he hums, wrapping his arms around Cheri’s.

Cheri studies Volo’s face for a moment, his yellow eyes staring into Volo’s soul, a look Volo’s quickly become familiar with in the time they’ve spent together. “..Do you cuddle them to sleep, or..?”

Volo nods. “..I.. don’t know if I’ve slept alone a day in my life. I’ve always had.. um.. At least an egg, Toge as an egg..” He shakes his head, humming quietly as Cheri moves a little closer. “..thank you,” he murmurs.

“Don’t mention it.” Cheri rests his chin on the side of the bed, still watching Volo.

Under Cheri’s protective gaze, Volo lets himself relax. “..tell them to.. um.. lower the pain meds.. I hate feeling like this,” Volo mumbles.

“It’s gonna hurt like a bitch,” Cheri warns.

“Please. Please. I.. um..” Volo’s eyelids are heavy, but he opens his eyes anyway, staring at Cheri with a pleading look. “I have to be able to, to think. Please.”

Cheri stares back for a moment, then sighs, eyes softening as he nods. “I’ll.. see what I can do.”

Volo nods, eyes slipping closed again as he breathes a quiet sigh of relief. “Thank you,” he mumbles, relaxing into Cheri’s touch.

“Of course,” Cheri murmurs. “..Get some sleep. You need it.”

Volo nods, and Cheri watches as, slowly, his breathing evens out.

It isn’t long before Cheri’s asleep too.

[cryptids-lobelia-garden]

Lol sorry this is a day late I was honoring the April 1 strike for Palestine and then yesterday my internet was really slow and Tumblr draft edit wouldn’t work

Anyway.

Warnings: idk how these work please lemme know if I need to tag anything else but uh. Manipulative/kinda creepy whumper, a conditioned whumpee and his self destructive/self sacrificial tendencies, caretaker was hurt by whumpee in the past (not in a whump way just in a whumpee tried to destroy the world and caretaker had to stop him way) but he’s grown over the time they’ve been apart and come to understand the whumpee’s actions, uh. This is Pokémon and I’m going with a nuanced take of some of them are sapient and some aren’t and caretaker is very much a Pokémon, also whumpee is a canon character and might act OOC for. Reasons that will hopefully be revealed over the course of this month if I can get this challenge done :D oh also I follow canon VERY loosely bc there’s like three different canons and I’m here to have fun not to police my story writing so uh. Ye

Anyway, there’s also some mind control in there, some frostbite, some.. It’s like a chemical burn sort of, some dissociative panic attack flavored stuff, uh. Animal attack? Oh yeah and dismemberment lol- this one is. A little. Uh. Yeah

Oh and if you see these characters on another account ask that account if it’s me before getting upset bc uh. I have posted abt them on my main before

Anyway. Yeah. Enjoy this, uh. Please don’t judge me I can’t get these freaks out of my head hsjdjdjd

Day 1: Limp

Reunited Arc Part 1

~~~~~

It was supposed to just be a normal day off.

Cheri was headed to Celestic City to meet with a historian, to answer questions about Dialga and the Diamond Clan.

He’s taking the train, since he didn’t feel like walking all that way or making any of his Pokémon carry him.

It was supposed to be a normal day, but he sees a familiar face, and he has to do a double take.

Long blond hair, one eye covered, tied in its usual messy bun in the back. A shining silver eye, which is currently focused on a watch on their own wrist. Cheri would’ve guessed that was Cynthia, but he’s a guy, and he’s wearing a form-fitting black turtleneck tank top, a denim jacket over it.

The modern clothes on him are such a foreign sight.

But there’s no mistaking it.

Volo.

Cheri feels his blood freeze near instantly. A few people step away as the space around him begins to grow cold, a breeze of malice brushing through the air.

Volo hasn’t noticed him yet, and Cheri’s debating between just leaving and confronting the man.

Celestic Town is pretty close to Mount Coronet, but Cheri has prior arrangements. If he decides to go after Volo, he might not make it to the city on time, if at all. And someone guards the mountain now after Cyrus, right? So it’s not like Volo will be able to actually get there.

Unless he takes a path that isn’t through the caves. But even then, Arceus will be fine, they’re a god, it’s fine.

Maybe Cheri should just avoid all this and ride a bike to town. He left himself enough time to, after all.

But the train doors close, making Cheri’s choice for him. He can’t just say nothing.

So he steps forward.

“Hey.”

Volo looks up from his watch, eyes wide. “Hello- I’m sorry, am I in your way?” Who is this? He looks familiar..

Cheri shakes no. “You shouldn’t be here.”

Volo stops, staring at the stranger(?) for a moment. He knows me. Who is this? Usually, when people are angry at me in this time, it’s because they’ve mistaken me for Cynthia. But it seems like this one’s here for ME, not her-

His eyes widen. He goes pale. Takes a step back, his voice quiet enough that only the man in front of him hears it. “Cheri.” The one of the siblings I ESPECIALLY did NOT want to run into.

I don’t have time for this! Not now- of all the times I could have run into him, it had to be this last mission?

He pushes his thoughts aside, putting on a grin and trying to act like everything’s fine.

“Haha, it’s fancy seeing you here! What a coincidence!” I can’t do this right now! I’m on a time limit- this is THE WORST possible timing for this to happen, so of course it does.

“What a coincidence indeed,” Cheri says, voice low, taking another step forward as Volo takes a step back.

Volo’s smiling, that same pleasant grin Cheri remembers from all those years ago. But Cheri knows it’s a lie, can sense the fear coming off the man.

“Why are you headed to Mount Coronet? You and I both know you shouldn’t be there.”

“Listen, I can explain, but I don’t have much time- but I am not here for Arceus.” Cheri doesn’t seem convinced, so he keeps talking. “I’m here to protect Arceus, actually, from someone much worse than I am.”

“Hm. A likely story.” Cheri starts reading his emotions a little more.

“I swear on my life, that’s behind me.” Please, please, please please PLEASE believe me. I know you have every reason not to, after what I’ve done, but please just listen.

Cheri hums, thinking this over for a moment.

He doesn’t sense any lies from the man, strangely enough. He lets his magic push forward a little further, sensing for Volo’s intentions.

He doesn’t sense anything to do with Arceus at all, actually. No lies, no deceit.

Interesting..

Volo shivers as he feels a cold chill brushing through him, though the pleasant mask of a smile stays firmly in place. They reach their stop. I need to get away. He turns on his heel. “Well, I’ll be seeing you around-” Cheri’s hand is on his shoulder, and he tenses, breath catching in his throat. Please have mercy. Whatever you’re about to do, just don’t hurt me too badly.

Cheri’s voice is quiet, his expression grim. “You’re on a suicide mission, aren’t you.”

Shock, surprise. He shakes his head, smile growing strained. “Wh- how did you-” Volo clears his throat, turning back to smile at Cheri. “It doesn’t matter. No matter what happens, whether it’s him who dies or me, the problem will be over. And I’m probably not going to die anyway. Why?”

Cheri frowns, thinking that over for a few moments. Him? I’m assuming that’s who he’s saying he’s protecting Arceus from? If Volo dies, doesn’t that mean the problem isn’t technically over? Because we still have someone out there who’s willing to attack Arceus to further a goal. And if Volo, of all people, thinks this guy could KILL him, with Pokémon as powerful as his.. “..I’m coming with you.”

Why? What does he want out of this? “He is dangerous. You shouldn’t come with, he could kill you, and I am not worth it.” How much does he know? How did he know?

“Well, that’s all the more reason for me to come with.” If this guy really is as much of a threat as Volo says he is, I need to make sure this guy doesn’t get anywhere near the creation quartet. The two step off the train, and Cheri crosses his arms, head tilting to the side. “If you’re telling the truth, it sounds like this guy needs to be taken out.”

Volo looks up at Cheri for a second, opening his mouth to argue, and Cheri ignores his own annoyance, interrupting before Volo starts.

“I’ve fought gods. I’ve fought you. I’m sure I can take this guy out just fine.”

Volo frowns. “You should want me dead, you know-”

“No. Nope.” Cheri pinches the bridge of his nose. “Shut up with that, I’m not gonna listen to you talk about yourself like that.” Because as angry as I am at him for everything..

I can’t bring myself to hate him. Can’t bring myself to hate anyone, really, but ESPECIALLY not him.

We’re the same, after all.

Volo shuts his mouth, keeping the surprise off his face. I betrayed him and his siblings. Am I not just speaking truth? “..okay. ..I’ll explain while we walk, but we need to hurry.” I really am not worth it. But.. I doubt I’ll be able to talk him out of this. He always was stubborn, even more so than his sister at times..

What does he want, coming with me on this? Perhaps he’s just making sure I’m telling the truth about not being after Arceus, but then if he knows how dangerous this mission is..

..What should I tell him? What should I leave out? He needs to know at least some of the situation. Maybe if he knows it’s no real threat to anyone except me, he’ll leave the situation be? He knows I deserve this, after all, was on the receiving end of my worst mistake..

Cheri follows the man, who seems to be lost in thought, and he soon gets lost in his own. Who is “he”..? I could look into his fears and see.. no, that’s too invasive. Even for Volo.

..I really don't know much about him, Hisui was so long ago.. And even back then, he tried to avoid being around me as much as he could. He could tell I didn’t trust him. He hung out with Ana and Keyo much more often. But..

He looks up at Volo. Volo looks back, smiling that pleasant smile again. But it’s tense. Almost strained. Cheri gives as reassuring of a smile as he can, but it only seems to make the guy more tense, so Cheri looks away.

I’m pretty sure that this isn’t like him. He manipulated my siblings and I into helping him collect the Plates, avoiding the dangerous work for himself; it isn’t like him to do something so dangerous like this.

Cheri carefully looks at Volo out of the corner of his eye, studying Volo’s face for a moment. His eyes glow as he looks into Volo’s emotions, grimacing when he feels a wave of anxiety and self hatred and quickly stopping, pulling his magic away.

Whoa..

..He doesn’t feel the same. I don’t feel the sense of untrustworthiness I did back then.

I wish I had a hold on my powers then, because I don’t have any idea how different he truly is, I have no clue if that self hatred was there before, but I know for a FACT the anxiety wasn’t. I can see it even without my abilities.

Volo’s looking around at every face as they walk. It’s hard to notice the nerves behind the pleasant smile, but Cheri can tell from how tense he’s holding his shoulders, a tenseness that didn’t exist back in Hisui.

And his eyes are.. darker, somehow, and his breath hitches every so often as people look at him.

And he looks sick. He has eyebags dark enough they almost look like bruises. He’s pale- even more so than he was back then.

He’s still smiling, but something about the smile is even more fake than it used to be; at least in Hisui, the confidence was real.

What happened to take his confidence?

They’re around less people now, and Volo takes a breath, turning to look at the trail. “So!” Volo claps his hands together with a fake chipper attitude. “The man we’re going after.. His name is Eclipse.”

With the name, Cheri notices fear.

Memories.

He doesn’t look into them, that’s invasive, but he can tell they’re there. That’s not good.

“He’s..” Volo thinks for a moment. “..Not a good man.” Then he points into the air, finger wagging as he talks. “And he’s leading me straight into a trap! And he likely knows that I know that it’s a trap. And he also knows that I’m going to come anyway, whether I know it’s a trap or not. But!” Volo turns to Cheri suddenly, pointing at him with a smile. “If I walk into the trap, he’ll stop everything he’s doing. He only wants me. I mean, he also wants to take revenge on- well, that doesn’t matter, but he’ll stop if I give myself to him.”

“If you what?” Cheri’s staring to get genuinely worried, eyebrows furrowing. “Volo, who is this guy?”

“Someone who gave me what I deserve,” Volo says quickly, then he shakes his head. “It really doesn’t matter. Go home, this doesn’t concern you.”

“Arceus is part of it, and you are too, so uh. Yeah. It does concern me, actually.” Damnit, that wasn’t supposed to sound so pointed. I’m WORRIED, about HIM, not about Arceus.

Volo shakes his head. “Really, it’s fine. I’m not here to do anything to Arceus. No plates, no flute, you can check my bag if you want. I’m just here for Eclipse. I’m here to try to take him down, and if that doesn’t work, well.. The problem will be gone either way!”

There’s a sour taste in Cheri’s mouth. Something’s very, very wrong here. “So, what, you’re just gonna let this guy take you and do Arceus knows what?”

“It’s deserved.” Volo smiles at him again, though it’s more strained and looks much more like he’s pleading. “Please, just leave, this is not worth your safety.”

“Nope. No, not happening. I’m coming with you whether you like it or not, you’re not gonna talk me out of it now.” This whole situation.. Whatever’s going on, it really seems like it’s MUCH worse than he deserved. Prison maybe, I could see that. Maybe getting grabbed by a time traveler who could teach him about exactly why what he did was dangerous.

But something tells me someone went way too far.

Volo’s smile grows more strained. “..I was afraid of that,” he murmurs, then he shakes his head. “Well. Hm. ..okay. I.. suppose this might be a good thing. He probably thinks that I’m not coming with backup- I wasn’t planning to, so.” Volo shakes his head, smile fading entirely as he turns back to the trail up Mount Coronet. “Anyway.. He has been collecting legendary and mythical Pokémon from different times and places. We’re not sure what all he has- we know for sure he has Regiice, Azelf, and possibly the other two lake spirits, as well as the Red Chain.”

Who is “we”?? Wait. SHIT. Cheri’s neck snaps he turns to Volo so fast. “He has the red chain?”

Volo, fairly used to ghost-type shenanigans, barely bats an eye. He just nods, a grim look on his face. “And he’s going after Arceus with it.”

“That’s.. not good.” Cheri turns back to the trail, frowning down at it and kicking a few pebbles forward. “But if he takes you, the problem’s over? Why?”

Volo thinks for a moment. “He’s.. very angry with me, and it’s me specifically that he’s after, despite the situation,” he says. Cheri can tell Volo’s verbally stepping around details, so he stays quiet, waiting for Volo to explain. “..I caused him to lose everything he had.”

“..with the rift, or..?”

“Oh, no, not like that.” Volo quickly shakes his head, hands waving. “No, he just..” Volo grimaces, looking away, what Cheri would have been able to see of his face hidden behind his hair. “He.. Well. He did some pretty bad things to me. Which! That was deserved, really, you know I deserved them.” Cheri grimaces. He keeps saying that it’s deserved.. it’s putting a bad taste in my mouth. Before Cheri can say anything, Volo keeps talking. “But when Management saw what he did, they kicked him from-” He shakes his head. “You know, I actually don’t think I’m supposed to talk about that. Forget I said anything about Management.”

“Okay.” So, he was in some secret club or something, and this Eclipse guy hurt him and got kicked out over it. “..the hell you mean ‘it’s deserved’? What did he do?”

Volo’s lips press into a thin line for a moment, then he glances at his watch. “Oh, look at the time!” Volo grimaces as he looks at the cave through the mountain. “We should hurry, let’s leave the path and just climb it, this cave system must be new; I am unfamiliar with it.”

Okay, he’s avoiding the question. Cheri frowns, ignoring the annoyance stewing in his gut and following Volo off the path. Then Eclipse must have done something pretty bad.

Or maybe he’s just a very private person. He avoided questions a lot back in Hisui.

Then again, in Hisui, he had a lot of things to hide.

..What is this club he was in? Some sort of evil team? But if it is, why would they have sent him to PROTECT Arceus from this Eclipse guy?

Given our past, I’d think he was lying if I couldn’t tell. He is so incredibly lucky I have the ability to tell.

“..so. He’s got a bunch of legendaries. Why are they with him?”

“They’re not with him willingly,” Volo explains, finding a good spot on a cliffside to start climbing. “He has this device, it’s from the future- Ah! Did I mention he’s from the future? Anyway, he has this device, which is controlling them through technologically created psychic power. They don’t want this, so we need to try to avoid hurting them, so the hoppers can bring them home- they’re from different times, he’s been jumping through time to take them.”

Cheri blinks a few times, head tilting to the side in confusion. “Hoppers?? Jumping through time???” Holy shit, wait, was I accidentally right about a time traveler grabbing him?

I guess it makes sense how he’s here then.

“It’s a very long story.” One I am probably not allowed to tell you. Well.. I might be able to, considering the fact that technically, you’re a time traveler. One chosen by Arceus, no less. But.. I don’t want to drag you into this mess. Not any more than I already have, anyway. Volo shakes his head. “Anyway, we’re not sure what exactly he’s controlling them through, but we believe it’s his bracelet.”

“Gotcha.” Cheri frowns. “So, don’t hurt the legendaries, break his bracelet.”

“Exactly.” Getting to the top of the cliffside, Volo turns around to pull Cheri up, though Cheri waves him off, he doesn’t need the help. “And try not to get hurt yourself.”

Cheri nods, smirking. “Thanks, Sherlock.”

Volo blinks a few times in confusion. “..Sherlock..?”

“It’s a reference- there’s this book-” Cheri shakes his head. “Nevermind.” Noticing a sneasel sneaking up on him, he snarls at it, letting an illusion lash towards it. It squeaks in fear, running off. “Sorry, can’t risk it with dark types.”

“No, that’s fine.” I already knew he wasn’t human anyway, though it’s interesting to see him actually use his abilities.

However, it IS a little frightening.

Was that meant to be a show of power, or was he genuinely just scaring it off?

What exactly does he want with me?

Volo turns, and they keep walking, an uncomfortable silence falling between the two.

“..you know.. I have time.”

Volo looks over at him in confusion.

“For a long story I mean.”

“This isn’t one you want to hear,” Volo quickly says. Please don’t ask again.

Luckily for Volo, Cheri just looks at him for a moment, almost seeming to study him. Volo shudders at the way Cheri seems to be staring straight into his soul.

Then Cheri nods, turning to the next cliffside to climb in silence.

Volo watches him for a moment longer before turning back to climb. ..He doesn’t trust me. I can tell. He might never trust me again, and honestly, that would be warranted.

It’s really unfortunate timing, that this has happened now, of all times. Right now, when I’m doing something important. One last thing before there’s nothing left for me to do, nothing left that I can fix.

..I suppose if I survive this, I can let him and his siblings decide my fate afterwards. Those three were the ones most directly affected by my actions.. Then they’ll get the final decision, if it isn’t made here.

..for now, though.. I can, at the very least, try to give him closure.

“..I.. want to apologize,” Volo mutters.

Cheri turns to look at him, subconsciously checking his intentions, and oh, this is a genuine apology. “Hm?”

“For.. Not only the rift, and pulling you and your siblings from your home, but also for betraying the three of you. ..I hope you know it wasn’t just.. It wasn’t all just manipulation. You three were some of the few people I could genuinely consider friends, had I not been holding you all at arms length.” I might as well be genuine. Maybe in return, he’ll do the same..

No. I shouldn’t hope, I don’t get to hope, but..

It would be nice, if it was something I deserved.

Cheri blinks a few times as he feels the sincerity. Interesting.. “..They’re going to want apologies too, you know. ..thanks, by the way, that.. actually means a lot.” He looks up the mountain, thinking for a moment. “..You really have changed, haven’t you.”

Volo hums, making a so-so gesture. “I’d like to think so.”

“..I forgive you, you know.” Cheri shakes his head. “Honestly, I did a long time ago. What you did was fucked up, don’t get me wrong, and a LOT of people got hurt that shouldn’t have. But.. I dunno.” He shakes his head. “..I can understand your reasoning.” What I learned about him, about his people..

Volo stops, looking over at Cheri with confusion. He forgives me..? Why? It doesn’t make sense to me. What does he have to gain? I don’t know if I should trust this, that might be exactly what he’s aiming for. “Really?” Volo looks up to meet Cheri’s eyes.

Confusion, a hint of fear, and Cheri realizes he should explain. “I wouldn’t ever do the same thing you did, don’t get me wrong. But the world really is full of unnecessary suffering.” Cheri shakes his head. “And.. if I’m right about where you came from, you’ve dealt with a lot of it, right?”

How much does he know about me? And how does he know it? Why does he know it?

Volo doesn’t let his uneasiness show on his face, humming noncommittally. “It doesn’t excuse my actions. I ended up bringing harm to a lot of people.” I don’t deserve forgiveness. “..Thank you, though,” he murmurs.

Cheri studies him for a moment. So, the self loathing is probably from the rift and everything surrounding it, at least partially.. Not sure what the uneasiness is about, but he doesn’t like something about me. It might just be the whole zoroark thing, but it’s been growing, so maybe it’s something I’ve been saying or something? “Don’t mention it.” He looks up, getting to the top of the cliff they’re climbing and offering a hand to pull Volo up, which Volo takes.

They’re about halfway up the mountain now. The air’s growing colder- though Cheri can’t really feel the cold himself, Volo’s pulling his clothes a little tighter around himself.

..conversation topic.. Oh, the plan. “So.. About this Eclipse guy..”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Volo says quickly.

“No, I wasn’t asking what he did, don’t worry.” I don’t want to push him too much, he’s wary. “I just want to know, he’s trying to kill you, right? Do you want him alive, or? If you’re, uh.. taking him out, what’re we doing with him after? What’s the plan?”

“You don’t have to worry about that, he’ll be taken care of either way, and.. alive would be preferred, but if he dies, I.. don’t really care.” Maybe that’s a little harsh.. Well. Maybe I’m allowed to be a little harsh. Volo shakes his head. “However, I would like to be able to capture him and bring him in. I.. have some questions that I want to ask him, with prison bars separating him from me, of course.”

Cheri hums, studying Volo’s expression for a moment, sensing the emotions behind it. Is that.. Pain? Exhaustion?

Concern? ..Overthinking, maybe..?

“..What sorts of questions?”

Volo shakes his head. “..I just.. hm.”

I don’t know how to word this. I want to know why he did it. I want to know why, out of EVERYONE he could have chosen, every timespace criminal he had access to, he chose ME to hurt.

“..I want closure.”

Cheri hums, looking away. “..He might not give you that. Talking to him might make it worse, you know.”

Volo turns to Cheri with a glare, hissing “You know nothing about him, or my situation.”

Cheri’s a little surprised by the sudden anger in the air, though it’s understandable, he doesn’t blame Volo for it. After a moment of thought, trying to figure out what to say, he shrugs. “I might know next to nothing about the situation, but I know trauma when I see it.” He glances over at Volo, letting his eyes flash, a subtle reminder of his abilities. “He hurt you, yeah? On purpose, I’m guessing.”

..Just how much does he know..? And what is he trying to get out of knowing this about me?

He’s right, and it scares me. Does he know because of an ability? Did he look into my fears? Or did he figure it out on his own?

Volo turns away, the silence giving Cheri all the answer he needs.

Shit. It seems like trying to bridge the gap is just making things worse.. Honestly, I should’ve expected this, got too personal too fast.

Well. There’s no point in dropping the conversation at this point. He can try to make me leave, but it’s not gonna work, I need to make sure this Eclipse guy doesn’t fuck with Arceus. And besides..

I’m worried. About Volo, of all people. That’s saying something. “..And he’s trying to kill you even now.. I doubt he’ll give you closure.” Cheri turns away, frowning. “If anything, talking to him might make things worse.” It made it worse when I talked to Keyo’s bio parents, after all. Dickheads will be dickheads, it’ll always hurt to talk to em.

“Perhaps.” Volo shakes his head. My pain shouldn’t matter to you. You can’t actually care, especially not with everything I’ve done to you, so..

It must matter to you because you want me hurt.

“..Let’s talk about something else, shall we?” And if you do somehow care, you shouldn’t get attached to me anyway, you shouldn’t get attached to someone who deserves a bad fate. It’ll only hurt you.

“Hm.” ..yeah. He’s probably done talking now. Cheri looks up the mountain, squinting as the sun hits his eyes. “..Not much further now.”

Volo nods, checking his watch. “The readings said he will appear in the cave that leads to Cloudcap Pass.”

“Alright. So we get to the pass, then go to the cave from there?”

Volo nods. “And then we’ll wait until he arrives.”

“Right.”

They climb in silence until they reach the top, coming out near the destroyed temple. Cheri takes a deep breath, taking in the air.

This place feels as holy as it always did, the presence of the gods closer here than it is anywhere else in the region, and he feels the power of Arceus’s blessing within him shift.

They’re watching.

Volo glances over at the spear pillar, an unreadable expression on his face, and Cheri senses a spike of guilt. Then he turns away from it, wordlessly heading to the cave, a grim determination filling his gut as he lets his Pokémon out.

Cheri lets his own Pokémon out too. He hadn’t been expecting a battle today, but most of his Pokémon are pretty strong anyway, so it should be fine. He’s got Sprigs with him, and Sprigs doesn’t fight, so he was left in his ball. But Cheri has a few with him that do fight, some of the ones that he hasn’t spent much time with recently. Hydra, Eelectra, Zigzag, Tiktok, and Sylvie- his hydreigon, eelektross, linoone, galvantula, and sylveon, respectively- all can fight. And in the worst case scenario, he can fight too.

Recognition. Feeling a pulse of emotional energy towards him, he turns to look at Volo’s Lucario, who’s staring at him with confusion and a little bit of fear. Cheri takes a breath, summoning up feelings of forgiveness, knowing the other Pokémon can read them. After a moment, the Lucario nods, pushing another feeling towards him. Friendliness, a gesture of goodwill. That is SO much better than what I got from his trainer. Cheri smiles, letting the feeling rise in his chest and sending it back, then he looks over at Volo.

Volo looks normal on the outside, but Cheri can tell he’s terrified, can feel the feeling seeping off him even without reaching towards him with his abilities.

“Hey,” Cheri says, resting a hand on Volo’s shoulder.

He nearly pulls away when Volo flinches, but then Volo leans slightly into the kind touch, looking up at him with wide eyes.

He’s touching me. Why is he touching me. I..

Why am I.. not all that scared of it..?

“I’ve got your back. You’re gonna be okay,” Cheri mutters. If you’re gonna die, he’s gotta get through me first.

Volo stares at him for a moment, then nods, his smile becoming a bit more genuine, though there’s sadness in his eyes. Oh. This is genuine kindness?

I should have expected it from Arceus’s chosen.

..I really don’t deserve this. You shouldn’t get attached to me. He opens his mouth to speak, but then his watch starts to blare, an alarm that he quickly moves to silence, expression hardening. “He’s coming,” Volo says, pressing a button on his watch. A hologram pops up, indicating a specific location, and Volo turns it off and takes a step away from there, staring at it, getting low to the ground, ready to dodge at a moment’s notice. Okay. I can do this. All I need is to last long enough to break that bracelet. His Pokémon quickly surround him, protective. Cheri motions for his own to do the same, and they quickly get into battle-ready stances.

The group stands in silence, staring at the spot, waiting with bated breath.

And then a portal opens, and Volo’s garchomp snarls, dashing forward.

“Ah- Shark, wait-!”

But it’s too late. Shark is thrown into the nearest wall, a Mewtwo holding him there. He snarls, kicking at the walls, the ground, trying to escape the psychic grasp, but it’s no use. Should I recall him and let him back out? I don’t know if that would work, don’t know if I could move quickly enough-

“Well, hello there,” someone says.

The voice is unfamiliar to Cheri.

But Volo stiffens even further.

Goosebumps rise on his arms.

Cheri can feel the fear seeping off him as he turns to stare into the portal.

The strange man steps forwards, grinning. “That’s not the friendliest welcome.”

“Eclipse,” Volo mutters, shrinking back. Shrinking back.

What the hell did he do, to make Volo react like that? Cheri looks over to Eclipse, taking in the high-tech bracelets on his arms, the look in his eyes.

He’s immediately hit with the man’s aura as he reaches his powers out, a sense of complete malice washing over him, and his eyes narrow as he braces himself against it, subconsciously baring his teeth.

“I can’t let you near Arceus,” Volo says, taking a step forward despite his fear, his Pokémon moving with him.

Eclipse waves his right hand, and a few more legendaries appear.

Volo stops moving forward. The whole cave is at a standstill.

Cheri notices strange yellow wires around the legendaries’ forms, feels psychic energy coming off of them, and then his eyes narrow as he notices a small yellow bracelet on Eclipse’s wrist. It’s barely noticeable, but it matches the wires. That must be the one.

“You know what I want,” Eclipse says. Volo’s Pokémon growl, protectively moving between the two. “All you need to do is come quietly, and all this can end. You know you deserve what’ll happen to you. It’ll save the world, even; it’ll finally redeem you, to prevent the same thing you did from happening again.”

And his grin widens, the malice surrounding im grows stronger.

“Don’t you want that?”

The manipulation leaves a bad taste in Cheri’s mouth, but he looks over at Volo, waiting to see how the interaction plays out.

“..I..” I do deserve it, but I still have my Pokémon to take care of. I don’t want to leave them behind, but if this doesn’t work, if I attack him and it ends up being for nothing, will he hurt them as retaliation for my actions?

..If I just go with, I won’t have to worry. They will be at least a little safer. The land may be different in this time, but it’s still their home region, and I trust they’ll be able to take care of themselves if needed, but..

“Are you going to return the legendaries to where you got them if I do?”

Volo’s pokemon make sounds of protests, but he holds up a hand to keep them quiet.

“Of course. I only needed them for this, after all.”

Okay. Fuck this. Cheri steps forward suddenly. “He isn’t going anywhere with you,” Cheri spits, moving between the two himself.

“And who are you? His new toy?” Eclipse sneers. “He’ll only betray you, you know; he’s betrayed everyone he’s ever gotten close to. He’ll manipulate you and then throw you aside, like he always has.”

Cheri feels the way Volo shrinks back, feels the guilt pooling off the man, and he snarls. Gods. Why does every powerful man I meet have to be SUCH a DICK? “Shut the fuck up. You think I don’t know the risks? I’m one of the guys he betrayed, and you’re still wrong for treating him like this.”

Eclipse raises an eyebrow, a spark of curiosity in his eye. “Oh really?” He tilts his head to the side. “Haven’t you noticed he’s better now? Haven’t you noticed he’s not going to try anything anymore? That change is because of me. Really, the world is better off with him in my hands-”

Cheri rushes forward. He’s reaching for the bracelet on Eclipse’s wrist, aiming to break it, and the other Pokémon in the cave rush forwards with him.

Within seconds, Mewtwo flings a bunch of their Pokémon out of the cave. Zigzag, Hydra, and Volo’s Spiritomb are frozen in a huge block of ice that Cheri narrowly avoids himself. Galarian Moltres flies past him as he dodges another blast of ice. There’s something glowing electric blue over there, but Cherry doesn’t see what it is before another ice blast blocks his vision.

Cheri can’t see Volo, but he knows Volo has Sylvie and his lucario with him, so he focuses on dodging Regiice’s attacks. With an angry scream, fire blasts from his throat, knocking Regiice out cold. One last blast of ice manages to catch his arm, and Cheri yelps as frostbite sets in-

Volo screams, a sound that reeks of agony, a bloodcurdling sound that makes Cheri’s heart drop, and he turns to Eclipse, letting his true form show, ten feet of pure protective rage aiming for Eclipse’s wrist-

Mesprit. Blast of emotion. Panic.

Frenzy.

Magic rushing in his ears. Time blurring together. Screaming, sounds so far away.

Blood flying through the air. An arm, mangled human arm, on the ground, blood pooling, blood in his mouth, between his teeth, on his hands, broken bracelet, mutilated flesh.

He tries to breathe. Everything sounds underwater, the world spinning, spinning, out of his control.

Out of control.

Out of control.

Out of control, he’s out of control-

Ribbon around his arm. A sense of calm pushes the panic away. He’s left on the ground, gasping, catching his breath, residual shakes leaving him exhausted, shifting back to his human form on instinct.

He looks up after a few moments, looking up at Sylvie, who’s staring at him with wide, terrified eyes.

“h.. Hey, buddy,” Cheri murmurs, gently scratching the top of Sylvie’s head. “You okay?”

Sylvie makes a sound, butting his head against Cheri’s chest before pulling away and dashing around the chunk of ice.

Cheri recalls the Pokémon who are still stuck in the ice, then stands on shaky legs, hurrying after Sylvie- Oh no.

Volo’s on the ground.

Cheri can’t tell if he’s conscious or not.

He rushes to Volo’s side, his uninjured hand hovering over the man, trying to figure out what’s wrong-

“Cheri,” a weak voice, and Cheri looks up at Volo’s face.

Contorted with agony. He reaches out with his magic to see where the pain is, burning blasts through his side. He pulls back.

“Is- is he gone?” Volo asks.

“Yeah, I- I think I got him, I think he’s gone,” Cheri mutters, rolling Volo over despite Volo’s cry of pain.

His shirt’s stained black in a large spot on his side. Cherry pulls it up to see a huge burn. It’s.. odd, though, it’s not a normal burn. The area around is stained black, but it isn’t charred, nothing is charred. It almost looks more like a poison than anything.

Cheri can feel the dark-type energy coming off it, sapping his own energy, and he takes a shaking breath through his mouth, trying to will away the feeling as he scoops Volo up. Volo lets out a pained sound at being moved. “Sorry,” Cheri mutters with a grimace, trying to ignore how hard it is to move his hand, how numb his arm is. Once he’s sure Volo is securely in his arms despite that, he gets Volo’s Spiritomb in its ball, then runs out of the cave.

“‘S fine, deserved,” Volo mutters, eyes slipping shut as he leans into Cheri. Cheri takes Volo’s pokeballs and recalls the injured Pokémon he finds scattered around the outside of the cave. “Can.. can you take care of them for me..?”

It’s all Cheri can do to not scream, shakes running through his entire body. “Shut up. Don’t do this shit, you’re not dying on me.” I came here to protect you, and by Arceus, I’m gonna do it.

Volo laughs, an exhausted, mirthless sound, even as a tear slips down his cheek. “It’s okay,” he whispers. “It’s okay. I deserve this. It’s okay.”

“Shut up!” Shit, I’m being a little harsh. Gods. Fuck. “Sorry, actually, don’t shut up. But stop that. You don’t deserve it.” As he talks, Cheri quickly recalls the rest of their pokemon, then he gets back to running down the mountain, not even bothering going through the caves, he knows where he’s going. He shifts back to his true form so he can jump down cliffs and land it, jumping over tree roots and fallen logs, trying his best not to jostle Volo too much.

Volo’s taking shuddering breaths, silent tears slipping down his cheeks, but he doesn’t complain at all. Self hatred, agony, and a sense of utter hopelessness is coming off of him, all of it is mixed with acceptance.

He genuinely believes he deserves this, Cheri realizes, a sick feeling building in his gut. Fucking hell.

“Why’re you doing this?” Volo murmurs, looking up into Cheri’s eyes. “You can’t seriously want to help me. What’s your motive? ”

“Is it so hard to believe I could genuinely like helping people?” Cheri spits.

He was aware of the way his voice echoes in this form, but Volo flinches at the sound.

And it reminds him that, yes, it is.

He isn’t human, after all. He isn’t even living.

He’s a vengeful spirit.

And sure, he chooses not to indulge that side of himself.

But how is Volo supposed to know that?

“Sorry, sorry,” Volo murmurs, breath hitching slightly as Cheri jumps down a cliff. Blood starts to drip down his side, and Cheri internally curses.

“It’s fine,” Cheri says, setting Volo down and tearing off pieces of his own shirt to start packing the wound and make a quick makeshift bandage. “Talk about something, anything, just.. Just keep talking.”

Volo winces in pain. “..You know the Pokémon that got me? Galarian Moltres?” He looks away, eyes unfocused. “Some say it burns your very spirit away.” He laughs, though the laugh turns into coughs. “I must be very lucky that mine’s still intact, ahaha- Ow!”

“Sorry.” Having tied the makeshift bandage tight, he quickly scoops Volo back up. “What else about galarian Moltres do you know? Any interesting legends? Anything?”

“G-galar was never really my focus,” he mutters, taking a few steadying breaths- they’re shallow, it hurts him to breathe. “I’m just..” He lets out a quiet wheeze, resting his head against Cheri’s shoulder.

There’s exhaustion radiating off him, Cheri realizes, and Cheri gets running again.

“Don’t go to sleep, I don’t know what happens if you do,” he mutters.

“Mmh..” Volo shakes his head. “Trying..”

“Good. Keep talking.” Cheri takes a shaky breath. “What about normal Moltres? Any cool legends?”

“..they’ll dive into volcanoes to heal themselves,” Volo mumbles. “And they.. bring an early spring, to cold places..” His eyes slip closed.

Cheri nods. “You know the Indigo League Flame is said to have been lit with their flames?”

“Oh yeah.. I.. I remember that.. s.. Sorry, I can’t..” Volo goes limp in his arms.

“Hey, Volo, keep talking! Volo!!” Not sensing anything from the guy at all, Cheri grimaces. “SHIT!!!” Cheri moves faster, shifting back as they get to the bottom of the mountain, not wanting to be seen by anyone who doesn’t already know in any form outside of a human one.

shit shit Shit SHIT SHIT!!! Cheri bursts out of the trees, running into Eterna City, dodging around people as he heads to the nearest hospital.

He rushes into the emergency room. “We need a doctor, now!” It comes out louder than he meant it, almost echoing, though for some reason, it’s hard to hear himself anyway.

Everything feels so far away as the emergency room suddenly turns into a rush, a stretcher coming out to take Volo away. People ask what happened, and he explains as best as he can, telling them Volo got hit with a powerful dark-type attack that sapped his energy, leaving out the legendaries and the reason for the blood staining his hands and teeth.

He.. doesn’t entirely know why that’s there. He has a faint idea, but he blocks that out on purpose.

He can process that later, he can process that he probably killed a man another day.

The doctors are concerned about it, though, so he tells them it’s from the one who attacked the two of them, and they accept that answer, bringing him back soon after for his frostbitten arm.

Time seems to stretch to forever as his injury is treated, but when he’s finally left alone, allowed to leave, it feels like no time’s passed at all. He leaves the hospital, heading straight for the Pokémon center to drop off his and Volo’s Pokémon.

Relax. Just breathe, Cheri. Just relax.

Breathe.

He takes deep breaths as he walks, wrapping his arms around himself and closing his eyes, sensing people’s feelings to determine where they are so he can avoid them.

Thankfully, he makes it to the Pokémon center without an issue, setting down the pokeballs on the nurse’s desk.

“Those six are unregistered, he- he made their balls himself,” he explains, trying to ignore the shake in his voice.

The nurse scans the pokeballs. “They look registered to me..”

Sure enough, they are registered, under a Volo Discere.

“Huh.. interesting,” Cheri mutters. Did he always have a last name? I know Volo means to want. What’s Discere..? “Okay, nevermind, then. Um- I’ve gotta go, he’s hurt. Can you take care of them while I’m gone?”

“Of course, but- Wait-!” She looks up in worry as he leaves, but he doesn’t have time to chat, making his way back to the hospital.

I need to see if he’s okay.

He heads to the nearest waiting room. Someone passes by in the hall, he recognizes her as the nurse who treated him.

“Hey!” He rushes over, catching her attention. “Volo, uh, Discere- is he okay?”

“Huh? Are.. you asking about the one you came in with?” She gives a weirdly strained smile. “They’re still fixing him up, but it’s looking like he’ll pull through.”

“Okay.. okay.” Cheri lets out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

She nods, rushing off, and he finally lets himself relax.

Okay.

Okay, we’re okay.

Not sure what she was freaking out about, but it should be fine..

..they’ll come to me if anything happens with him, right..? I’m probably not on his emergency contacts- he probably doesn’t have those, actually- but I AM the one who brought him here..

WOULD he have emergency contacts?? His Pokémon are registered, so maybe???

Cheri sighs, sitting in one of the chairs, leaning back with his hands clasped together behind his head. He lets his eyes slip closed, taking a few deep breaths.

Whatever the case, if he needs me, if he asks for me, I’ll be here.

After a few moments, the exhaustion of the day catches up to him.

And finally, he slips into sleep, all his day’s plans forgotten.

[cryptids-lobelia-garden]

I hate tumblr.

It won’t let me edit my thing in drafts :/

Oki doki, time to go to AO3. *sighs.*

[cryptids-lobelia-garden]

I did this to myself by accident actually, last summer.

Got in a fight with some people, and i was really upset, so I needed to get out of the house and away from them as fast as possible. Didn’t have time to go find my shoes because I didn’t want to be anywhere near those two.

So I rushed out the door barefoot. Took a walk around the block to cool off.

The ground was hot, I could feel it, but I was too angry to care- I have a tendency to ignore that sort of thing when I’m angry enough. It’s a problem that I need to fix.

Anyway, I only walked for like fifteen minutes, and the bottoms of my feet were blistered for the next week. I think the only reason it wasn’t worse is because I was trying my hardest to at least stick to the shade. It hurt to walk for the next few days.

There’s a lot you can do with this. The fact they’re out walking barefoot on the hot ground makes me think this could be some kinda escape attempt on their part, so if it hurts to walk, that could make their situation a thousand times worse. It’s also pretty easy to accidentally break a blister on the foot when you walk around barefoot a lot, in my experience anyway, and that could mean a pretty nasty infection for your character. Make the situation a MILLION times worse. Even if it isn’t an escape attempt, burns on the feet are ASS, this is a good prompt.

Whumpee who's been barefoot for so long they don't even notice right away when their feet are getting burnt on the super hot pavement