If it wasn't for the fact that Hot Spot Road was rarely traveled, bystanders would've reported them to the Hearts as mutants roaming the world to be contained—or neutralized. Rhys gulped. That wouldn't do well for Mispy's psyche in particular.
"Th-that's right," Rhys said. "Well. I suppose if that's the case, we should, hmm... If only Nevren was with us. He'd be able to seal those memories like when Owen ran off in his Grassy form."
"I can revert to my normal form, if you wish," Step said. "I do not want to cause any trouble if it is not necessary." The icy Aggron breathed out a slow, frosty breath that permeated the air around them.
Mispy's vines writhed from the cold. She shivered and wrapped around Demitri even tighter, squeezing the air out of him—even though he, too, was cold-blooded. She wouldn't mind fusing with Owen again—at least he had the natural warmth of a Fire Type.
The Haxorus, increasingly more constructed, wheezed, "Mispy... you're... choking me...!"
"S-sorry." The mutant Meganium released Demitri and he slumped against her back.
Step's body lost its transparency and became its normal, gray, steely color. She took one step and stumbled forward, slamming directly into the ground with a loud grunt. "Urngh, how—inconvenient!" she shouted, pushing herself off the ground. Rhys rushed to help on one side, and Mispy brought a few vines back to stabilize the other.
"A-are you okay?" Mispy asked.
"I am much heavier in this form," Step mumbled.
Rhys huffed from below. "Y-you don't... say...!"
He pushed Step onto her feet, where she stabilized herself with her tail and took another step. She wobbled and nearly fell forward again, but a quick jerk of her arms kept her in place.
"Okay. How about you, Adam?" Demitri asked.
"ADAM, and I am already the Normal Type," said the Porygon-Z. "I do not have an alternative form."
"I mean, yeah, but Zena's the Water Type and she has a Water form," Demitri said. "Don't you have some sort of special power?"
"I do."
"Oh. So...?"
"It is not visible."
"Oh. Okay." Demitri and Mispy exchanged a glance, but then shrugged—for Mispy, this manifested as a bunch of her front-facing vines moving upward, parting ways to reveal even more vines beneath.
"Hmm." Rhys eyed Demitri and Mispy. Demitri would pass as normal—he was a bit muscular, but as long as he didn't detach his tusks, he wouldn't draw much attention. Mispy was the problem. "Perhaps we should have brought the Poké Balls in Brandon's factory after all..."
Mispy tried to wrap her vines around themselves to form makeshift legs, but it didn't work as well as she would have hoped. Not only were they too thick to fashion into proper limbs, but they were so abundant that she'd look more like she belonged with Trina's Bug spirits than anything.
"Mispy, you will need to be on your best behavior," Rhys finally said. "All of us are more or less normal in appearance, but your form is heavily modified from the average Meganium. It may frighten the civilians."
Mispy's eyes widened. "B-but, I can't help it!"
"Nor can I," Step said, her steely gaze fixed on Rhys. "My species is naturally intimidating. Am I also banned from this society?"
"N-no, not at all," Rhys said quickly. His tail hid between his legs unconsciously. "We just need to... hrm."
Suddenly, Mispy's body changed shape—from the monstrous vines, to four normal legs, and even a cute little tail that naturally came with a Meganium's pale green body. Rhys stammered, "H-how is—what is—?"
"Not scary," Enet cheered, waving her paws.
"My goodness—that's brilliant, Enet!" Elder said. The Torkoal chuckled to himself for several seconds, the group stopping to marvel at the technique. "Enet's illusions, of course! Were you listening this whole time?"
Enet may have understood a few of Elder's words. "Listen. Yes! Listen. Mispy... scary body. I make... less scary."
Mispy tilted her head. "What do you...?"
"You don't feel your legs, Mispy?" Demitri asked.
"Legs?" Mispy looked down. "Eek—!" As if reacting to a Bug-Type, she flailed her front legs in a panic—Demitri felt something invisible smack against his head, and then another invisible force squeezed his body tight.
"W-wait—vines—! Mispy—vines—!"
"Wh-what?"
"It's just an illusion!" Elder said. "Mispy! You don't have legs! Enet is just making it look as if you have them!"
"Fake!" Enet said.
"Fake?" Mispy had been bucking in the air, trying to feel the legs that she didn't have. Demitri was dizzy from compression. But when she sank back down—and, more importantly, closed her eyes—she felt that, indeed, she just had vines, vines, and more vines. And she sighed, relieved. She didn't know how she lived with legs for so long—gliding along the ground with the locomotion of her tendrils was so much better.
"Good! I guess now we look normal," Elder said. "Ahh, except..."
All heads turned to Valle, the last of their group to not revert to something more normal in appearance. "You know, Valle, it might be a bit unsettling to see a Pokémon turned to stone. Your statue is too detailed."
"Mm," said Valle. "Well, it is not as if Pokémon turn to stone normally."
"Ahh," Elder hesitated. "I suppose not."
Rhys glanced at Elder, but then looked at Valle again. "Perhaps you should revert to your original form, Valle. Surely you remember it?"
"I will not. I shall be silent in public and will be a statue."
"You're heavy," Enet said. "Not carrying."
"Oho, you may be a strain, even for me, Valle," Elder said. "Please, is it too difficult to return to normal?"
"It... it would be," Valle said. "I have not moved in a very long time."
"You moved!" Enet said, bounding toward him. "Your arm! Remember? And attacked Gawen! And, um..." Enet counted on her claws.
Willow bounced a few times while atop ADAM's head. "Your arm fell off at the Frozen Oceanside."
"I remember this," ADAM said. "But that was not a voluntary movement. The ice ruptured his joints, and he had to re-grow the arm from the rocks of Hot Spot Cave."
"Yes. I hardly count those as movements. Gawen was necessary. But this is not. I am a statue."
"Move!" Enet said, gently patting his back. "Not bad!"
"I... I would rather not."
"Why not?" Enet asked.
Valle didn't answer. A stray blade of grass blew into Valle's stone eye. Enet tilted her head and picked it away, but then asked again.
"Why not?"
"I," Valle said, but then paused. "I don't know if I can. I'm... perhaps I'm afraid to."
"Afraid?"
Valle was quiet again.
"Valle," Willow said, "it's okay to move."
"It—it is not!" Valle suddenly said.
The outburst made Willow shrink to half her size, crawling along ADAM's eyes to hide between the space between his head and body again.
Valle continued. "What I mean is, that is..." He settled down again, and then rotated his entire body around. "This is not something that I wish to speak about."
"Valle!" Enet said impatiently. "Be... normal!"
Rhys and Elder exchanged uneasy glances. They looked at the statue again.
"Valle," Rhys said, "have you truly become so used to being a statue, that the idea of returning to normal frightens you? What do you mean, you can't turn back?"
"Hrmm," Elder said. "I imagine a lot of our Guardians have warped their minds in some small way in their solitude. Even with spirits to entertain them, the body craves interaction. It doesn't help that spirits tend to behave like their hosts, if enough time passes within their realm. Valle must have been dormant for so long that the very idea of moving is frightening to him. As if his world would shatter. Is that right, Valle?"
"I... am... I am stillness," Valle said. "I cannot move. For I am the Guardian of..."
"But why, Valle, when so many Rock Pokémon are capable of movement?" Rhys said carefully, yet firmly. "There is nothing to fear with this warped mentality. You can move, Valle. You can."
"You have already moved before," Elder said. "You can move again. You will be fine."
"It... it is too much."
"Just arm. Come on!" Enet encouraged. "Again! Huh?"
Valle rumbled angrily. "Insolent feral..."
The Zoroark's fur puffed to twice its size. "What'd?!" Her fur sparked with electricity.
"N-now, now, let's calm down for a moment!" Rhys said as ADAM buzzed with anxiety.
"There is no need for infighting," Elder quickly said, trying to diffuse. "We have enough problems as it is, yes?"
Enet hissed at Valle and flicked her claws toward him. The statue vanished in an instant.
"E-Enet!?" Demitri said.
Enet huffed and turned around. "No."
"Enet! Where'd he—oh." Demitri shook his head. "You just... made him invisible."
"Don't want to see."
"W-well... that's as good as anything, I suppose," Rhys said. They could discuss Valle's phobia of movement later. With that final anomaly out of the way, they could walk into the village without making a scene with their mere presence. They saw the Waypoint—a small, metallic tile with a Heart insignia embedded into the ground near the end of the path. Rhys demonstrated first, stepping onto it. He vanished in a flash of light. This was followed by the others.
It was nice to see a bit of normalcy in town. Pokémon meandered through the streets in search of an early dinner. Hearts who had finished their missions, easy and hard alike, were tuckered out and ready for a nap. The swing shift of the Hearts was out in search of breakfast before their evening mission.
A few starstruck Pokémon spotted Rhys and waved enthusiastically, and Rhys remembered that he was an Elite Heart. He waved back, and Elder looked back at him, amused.
"I see you still have quite a reputation with the youth," he said. "I'm positive I saw hearts in their eyes."
"Y-yes, well... I suppose I do." Rhys blushed and focused on a random pebble next to a building. His tail brushed against the Torkoal's shell. "Nothing will replace you, Elder."
"Oho, I'm hardly worried, Rhys. Let them admire."
Step rumbled nervously at the sight of so many Pokémon. "This is a dense population," she said. "How do you all eat? I cannot imagine it is very easy."
"Well, it wouldn't be, normally," Rhys said. "But we have developed small farmlands in the outskirts of town, beyond the mountain range. Though, I suppose as the farmland expands, we may run out of habitats to fill before we encroach upon the nearby Dungeons."
"Mm. That is a concern," Step mused. She scanned the buildings again; it had been a while since she had visited here, and it was only for a brief time. She hadn't paid much attention to what it looked like. "What is that strange structure resembling two ovals?"
"Two ovals?" repeated Rhys.
"Yes. Two ovals merging as one. The large, red structure."
"A-ahh, the Heart," Rhys said. "Well. That is the Thousand Hearts Headquarters. That shape? I'm not quite sure why it's called a Heart, since hearts do not normally appear that way. But that is a cultural shape for a heart; it was part of Anam and Nevren's designs a long time ago. Anam wished for a heart theme for his little association."
"I see," Step said. "And Anam. Did he design these things when he was a child?"
Rhys winced. "No, he did not."
"I see. And he is your leader?"
Rhys wished to sink into the ground. "Yes. He is."
"I see."
Step said nothing more.
"Oh!" Enet pointed a claw at the stairs to the Heart, where Nevren was stepping outside. "That's, umm...!"
"That's Alakazam Nevren, Step," said Rhys. "He is also an ex-Hunter, like myself. He spends his days assisting with the daily tasks and management of the Hearts. Every so often, he also handles the more difficult missions, particularly the, er, mutant missions, if they arise. You see, mutants have a tendency to... cause trouble when they stray from Eon's army. It's a constant problem, and from what Nevren told me, it's only gotten worse as they try to hunt down the Guardians."
"You mean, strays of our kind?" Demitri said uncomfortably, shifting his weight.
"Y-yes, well, it isn't as if it is safe for the hostile ones to be around," Rhys said. "I dispatch of them, when needed. I do not know their aura key as I do for you, so—there is not a way for me to... revert them to a calmer state. Instead, Nevren and I have found... safe drop-off locations."
"Drop-off?" Demitri said. "So... so Rim gets them, or something?"
"That's the theory," Rhys murmured. "...It doesn't feel right to kill them. They were led astray. We can't merely..." He thought about Manny and his tendency to kill his mutant opponents. They just became part of his spirit realm. He shuddered.
"But they'd just try to kill us again," Mispy said, "Or they'd hurt others."
"If they're taken care of by Rim and Eon, they should be under control," Rhys said uneasily. "That's—simply how it is."
"Ahh, are you talking about how we handle the Synthetics?" Nevren asked on his approach; there weren't any others around to hear the conversation other than their group. "There is no need to worry, Demitri. These strays seem to happen from time to time, and killing them won't stifle the flow. I'm not very pleased with the fact that they are strays to begin with."
"Y-yeah, no kidding!" Demitri said. "Those things are scary!"
Mispy nodded. "W-well," she said, "we're scary, so..."
"Where is the Goodra?" Step asked.
"Ahh, Anam? He is still inside his office, if you would like to see him. It is a pleasure to meet you. And you are... which Guardian?"
"I am Aggron Step—of Ice."
"Very good to meet you, Aggron Step," Nevren said. "Now then! Would you like to meet our grand leader of the new world?" He chuckled.
Rhys winced. "That's not very funny, Nevren."
"Ohh, just a bit of nostalgia, Rhys," Nevren said dismissively.
"Let's see Anam!" Demitri said. Nevren nodded and stepped aside to let them all in.
The bulky Aggron carefully walked up the stairs, though this proved to be extremely difficult. She didn't trust the flooring, and wobbled once she was nearly to the top. "This is not an ideal place for me."
They steered clear of her path. The last thing they wanted was for their story to end because a half-ton of living rock and metal fell on them. Step was already bigger than the average Aggron; imagining that on top of their bodies briefly reminded Rhys of when Emily subdued him. Sometimes, Rhys wished he could wipe his own memories the way he could for his students.
After an agonizing ascent, Step entered the Heart and stared at the colorful walls suspiciously. "I have always wondered: how did you make such a strange color for the walls? What special rock is so vibrant?"
"It's not rocks, Step," Demitri said. "It's paint! I think they crush up special berries or something and mix it with, um, water, and stuff."
"Paint," repeated the Aggron. "I do not know what that is."
"It's like a coating that you put on rocks and buildings so they can look like something else. See the lines? You can't get lines like those on rocks!"
"Hm." Step eyed the pinks, reds, and purples of the Heart's interior. She observed the dark purple on the ground, and how one of these paths led to a room near the back of the structure. A Decidueye stepped out of this room and locked onto their group. "He appears to be important."
Rhys grunted in affirmative. "That is Decidueye James."
"He's boring!" Willow amended. "But he's Anam's assistant! And Anam is super nice!"
"Hm." Step walked to James and held out her hand. "Decidueye James. I am glad to meet someone of sanity. My name is Aggron Step, of Ice."
"Ah—so you were able to be rescued after all? That's wonderful." James then addressed the others. "We apologize for being so silent toward you the past few days. There was an extraordinary backlog of paperwork to sort through, and it took my, Anam's, and Nevren's combined efforts to sort through it all. We shouldn't leave the Hearts alone like that for long again."
"I don't blame you," Rhys said with a grin. "Well, we just wanted to make certain that everything was all right. May we see Anam, or is he busy?"
"We just finished. He's just taking some time to relax in the pool." James turned around. "Come." He eyed Mispy curiously. "...Why does she look normal?"
Enet waved.
"Ah." James turned and led the way inside.
There, the Goodra was sitting in the middle of the pool in the back of his office with his eyes closed, a dumb smile on his face. The water was thick with slime—it had been too long since his last good, warm soak.
Step crossed her arms skeptically. "This is your leader?"
Anam's right feeler throbbed and he opened his left eye. "Oh! Hi!" When he stood up, it became apparently that his body was swollen from soaking in the water for so long. Where his body ended and the pool water began was unclear. "Hi! Hi! Um—who are you? I'm Goodra Anam! Ghost Guardian!"
"I am Aggron Step—Ice Guardian. It is"—Step searched for the word—"interesting to meet you."
"It's interesting to meet you, too!" He climbed out of the pool; slimy water dripped on the stone ground, darkening the floor. He held out a gooey hand, and for just a second, Step looked trapped.
She hesitantly brought her hand forward and gripped Anam's delicately, worried that her metal body would crush the amorphous, tiny thing if she pressed any harder. His hand had such an incredible amount of give that she could feel her own claws touching through the palm. She let go when she realized this, and Anam tilted his head.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I—I think I stabbed your hand," Step said quickly.
"Oh, it's okay! I'm just jiggly." He held his hand up, revealing no injury.
"A-aren't Goodra still solid creatures? I've met your kind before, and they weren't..."
"I'm a little weird because of the Guardian stuff," Anam said. "It's fun being like this!"
"Fun. Yes. Well." Step shook her head. "I cannot relate, but I will take your word for it, Goodra. I hope my contribution to this group will be useful."
"I bet it will!" Anam nodded. "Oh! Let's go home! I finished everything I had to do here for today. Where's everyone else?"
Valle spoke up. "The others left for—"
James hooted and beat his wings in surprise—Valle had been standing right next to him, invisible due to Enet's illusion. A few loose green and brown feathers scattered on the ground. "V-Valle! Inform me of your presence, the next time, yes?!"
"The others left," Valle said, "for Emily, due to an extended mission. An outlaw, Aerodactyl Jerry, attempted to ambush Owen's team in Dark Mist Swamp. However, his impure heart caused Ghrelle, the Guardian of the Poison Orb, to melt his body."
"Melt," James repeated. "Are you certain?"
"I witnessed it myself," Valle said.
"The Aerodactyl," Step said, "was nothing more than a head attached to a Pecha Scarf when we first saw him."
"Goodness," James said. "How horrifying."
"But it's fine," Enet said.
"Yes," Step agreed. "Owen fused with this one." She motioned to Mispy. "And that enhanced her powers, between her healing talent and his Mystic enhancement."
Mispy nodded. "But he started to melt. Again."
Rhys thought back to how helplessly Jerry had begun to melt; it must have been even more terrifying the first time. "He would likely dissolve instantly if he took away that scarf, so going to Emily would be the only way to heal him completely. At least, that is the hope."
Anam nodded. "Well, if we're gonna just wait for them, let's go home! I wanna try one of those hot springs in the cave!"
"Oho, hot springs?" Elder asked. "Goodness, why did you not tell me about this, Rhys? I would go there instantly. I'm still feeling a tad chilly from Step's, er, method of storage."
Step's metallic face could not emote very well, but her eyes held her smirk. "Good."
Anam stomped outside. "Let's go! I'm sick of paperwork!"
"I must agree," James said.
Rhys sighed, relieved. He was glad that their absence was only because of paperwork. He had the most sinking feeling that something had been wrong due to their extended silence—but, from what Rhys could tell, it was just because of some extra paperwork.
"Oh!" Anam suddenly said. "Wait! We forgot something!"
"We did?" Nevren asked.
"Yeah!" Anam said. "I forgot to do my blessings!"
"Ahhhh." Nevren clicked his claws together. "My goodness. I cannot believe I've forgotten. Very well."
"Yeah! You guys should all go back," Anam said. "I'll catch up! This won't take too long."
"Blessings?" Step repeated. "Ah. The same as the enchanted scarves and other items, yes?"
Anam nodded. "We're running low on Reviver Seeds again. You can't get very many from Dungeons naturally, so I boost the supply!"
"How?" Step asked.
"Blessings are my specialty! Mhm! I learned from Mom a long time ago. She was a really important Goodra."
"I see. How interesting," Step said. "Reviver Seeds... they don't do very much, do they? They restore your body, but not very much for your energy to keep fighting."
"Not the big ones! They're harder for me to make, though... They're imbued with healing energy that reacts to weakened auras," Anam said. "They're very important. But they're hard to make. Even with all my power, I can only generate a for the other Hearts. But they're life savers. Literally! We use the tiny ones for training and sparring and easier missions."
"I see," she said again, nodding. "Very well. That is very noble of you, Anam."
"Yes. We will all go for now." Nevren clapped his hands together, floating his spoons above them. "Come! Let's not waste any further time here, yes?"
"Well, aren't you in a rush," Rhys commented. "Are you finally tired of paperwork, Nevren? I thought I'd never see the day."
"I suppose even I can get stir crazy. Come! Let's go. To Hot Spot Cave!"
Rhys nodded, turning for the exit. But then, he sensed it. A presence. So familiar, and yet one that should not be felt here. An Espurr. It was to his left. He quickly turned his head. In the corner of his eye, he saw something purple. But when he looked directly, it was gone. So was Rim's aura.
Rhys looked at Mispy. She was heading down the stairs, oblivious. Perhaps her mind was still occupied. All the others weren't nearly in tune with the aura to sense anything. But an icy pit formed in Rhys' stomach nonetheless. Why would she appear here so brazenly? Her aura felt calm. And then, there had been a spark of panic. And then she vanished. Why would she panic, if she knew that Anam would be there? Surely, he would be trouble for her. Elder was halfway to the stairs when he looked back, giving Rhys a puzzled expression.
Rhys didn't even realize it, but he was now the only one still near Anam's office.
"Rhys?" Anam asked, looking back. "Are you okay? Oh, oh! I know! You want to watch me do a blessing, right?"
"Rhys? Now, why would you want to do that?" Nevren asked. "Come! Let Anam perform his blessings in peace. We can wait for him outside, if we must."
"Actually," Rhys said, "I think it would be a good idea for me to see this. I'm curious if there is a way to replicate it." Rhys eyed Nevren slowly. The icy pit in his stomach faded into something denser.
"Rhys," Nevren said, "are you feeling well? It isn't as if this blessing would be anything new."
"I don't think we should leave Anam alone, Nevren," Rhys said.
"Huh? What?" Anam asked, turning toward Rhys. "What's wrong? Everything's fine, Rhys! I've done these blessings so many times!"
Rhys suddenly vanished from view. Anam jumped in surprise and swiveled his head, flinging slime from the ends of his feelers.
"Eep—!"
Rhys was right in front of Rim, who had appeared a split-second earlier. Extreme Speed was truly invaluable, but now, Rhys used an even stronger weapon against Rim—a stare. "Why are you here?"
Rim couldn't make eye contact. She gazed intensely at the ground with her wide, purple eyes.
"This is the second time. As if you were waiting. Why?"
Rim trembled.
"Rim," Nevren said lowly. "Do not think you can catch us off guard."
After a short pause, Rim spun around and disappeared again.
Anam fiddled with his slimy fingers. "That was scary..."
"Hmm," Nevren said. "It's a good thing you remained behind, Rhys."
Elder sighed. "What would Rim have tried to do? Attack you?"
"I suppose she was sent by Eon," Nevren said, shaking his head. "Unfortunately, he is not very happy with our arrangement with Anam. He is a bit of a thorn in Eon's side, after all."
"Ahh." Elder puffed out a small plume of white smoke. "That's very true. Hmm—we should be careful about her appearance, Rhys. She isn't good against multiple, powerful fighters like you all."
"Hrm. I still do not know her true strength," Rhys hummed. "Ever since she acquired the Psychic Orb, that is."
"I'm not sure, either," Elder said. "But she and Eon trained every day."
Rhys huffed. "Wonderful," he said, but then gave Nevren a small jab to the side. "Nothing we can't handle, I suppose. With how many Orbs we have on our side, including Trina incoming—with some luck—I think we're almost ready to take Eon directly."
Anam excused himself into the room next to his office; it was dark inside, so it was difficult to see its contents. Rhys had been there before—it was lined with unenchanted seeds, scarves, and other useful Dungeon equipment.
Nevren nodded. "After the Hunters, it will just be the Trinity."
Rhys winced. "One problem at a time."
Nevren sighed. "I suppose that much is true. One at a time. After five hundred years, Rhys. Can you believe it?"
Rhys laughed. "I can't!"
One of Nevren's many devices suddenly made a beeping noise. He looked down. "Ah, a Hecto is nearby," he remarked. "Perhaps this one is touring the town?"
"You have a tracker for Hecto?" Rhys asked curiously.
"Ah, yes, it was something I've decided to carry with me. Very useful device. I have it tuned to many of our friends, in fact. I used Hecto for testing, as usual." Nevren pulled out the device from the satchel on his hip—another square tablet with a light-based interface in the front. "Nifty, isn't it? If Hecto happens to be nearby, I'll know, and I can give him updates on anything worrisome."
"Ahh, that is useful."
"Well, it used to be," Nevren said. "Then I invented the communicators. Using Hecto as a messenger has become less useful. At least he can behave as worldwide surveillance—for the areas he visits, at least. Since we're in Kilo Village most of the time, it's rare for him to visit. Perhaps he's craving one of Ludicolo Café's smoothies again."
"I wouldn't doubt it." Rhys chuckled. "Ah, Nevren, perhaps we should stop by there and get something."
"Oh, that sounds wonderful," Elder piped up. "I personally enjoy their Cheri smoothies, oho..."
A bright glow emanated from the room next to Anam's office. They turned their heads, seeing the Goodra emerge, puffing as if he'd sprinted around the whole village crater.
"Phew. All done!"
"Goodness, that was fast," Elder said.
"Then let's return home." Rhys couldn't help it—his tail wagged on the way down the stairs. Everything was finally falling into place. They had more than half of the Orbs. He was finally with Elder again, in person. Owen and the rest of the Alloy were stable and sane.
All was well.
Walking beside Nevren, the Goodra stumbled in his steps. The Alakazam glanced at Anam. Gooey tears streamed down his otherwise normal, smiling face. Nevren's eyes glowed for just one second. The tears ceased.