Chapter Text
The trip out of Celestial Woods was thankfully quick and painless. No Pokémon jumped out for the rest of the way, except some mildly angry Metapod that Sidus dispatched quickly. Mona felt slightly faint. The whole day had been an avalanche of new information to take in, a whole new world to explore, and now she may have ruined her place in it. Sidus wouldn't even look at her.
Taking the Pigeot back, Mona attempted to enjoy the flight a bit more. She didn't know if she'd even be in the Syndicate this time tomorrow, so she wanted to enjoy the view while she could. The land stretching out below them basked in the light of the sun, who started to sink into sleep just over the horizon. Sporadic stretches of water below them glistened like gems decorating a green lush robe. Any Pokémon that may be down there were reduced to specks, mites covering a pristine landscape.
Mona dug her face into the Pigeot's soft downy feathers. They enveloped her, covering her in a comforting warmth. The bird smelled like nature, like the peace after a storm or the trees after their first bloom. She wished that they never had to land.
X
They dropped them off back inside the Syndicate walls. Mona and her team thanked them as they took to the skies again to return to the post office, waving back with their huge wings.
Clave led them to the main office before leaving them at the door, signaling them to stay put. Sidus shuffled on his paws. His shoulders were tensed up, along with a look on his face that made him appear like he was going to cry.
"Mona," he looked up at Mona, "I'm sorry I drug you into this. I shouldn't have pressured Ma and Pa into letting you join, just so that I could as well. It put a lot of pressure on you to be perfect. I don't blame you if you want to leave."
Mona looked down at the Vulpix she had known for less than two days, her only friend, and gave him a light shove with a small smile.
"It's ok, Sidus. I haven't exactly been honest to you either. Besides, we'll get better!"
They smiled at each other, Sidus wiping his eyes with his paws.
"Thank you, Mona."
They leaned into each other and waited. Voices floated out of the office, some louder than others. Sidus flinched, when they heard what sounded like Val raise her voice.
"What do you mean they didn't meet your expectations?! My child didn't meet YOUR standards?"
Clave poked his head out the office and waved them inside, his face unreadable.
Val and Daxus sat behind the desk from the day before. Mona now noticed how the desk perfectly fit both of them sitting side by side. She refused to make eye contact with Val, who looked furious with both paws up on the desk to raise herself to her full height. Daxus had a paw on top of hers as if to calm her down. Thesia was standing smugly next to a tired looking Clave.
"Sidus, did you tell us the truth about your friend here?" Daxus said, his voice level and calm.
Sidus gave Mona a sad glance before saying, "No." He looked down at his paws.
Daxus sighed deeply, his head drooping, while Val seemed to glow with anger.
"Sidus! Why in the great Entei's name would you lie about something like that? Clave has already told us the truth about this so-called friend. Did she tell you to lie to us?" Val snapped. Daxus whispered 'breathe' in her ear.
Mona dropped her head onto her chest, feeling slightly scared. Sidus didn't notice her begin to shake when he responded.
"No! It was all my idea and fault; Mona had no idea what I had told you." He raised his head high in defiance. "Don't blame her for my lie!"
He and his mother stared each other down before Daxus interrupted their standoff.
"Mona, is this true?"
She nodded rapidly, her shaking making it hard. The two leaders of the Syndicate looked them both down hard, a slight frown on Daxus' face.
"What are we going to do with you two?" Daxus said, raising paw to his forehead as if to stave off a headache.
"May I offer my opinion?" Clave said, breaking the silence. Both Val and Daxus turned their eyes to the Morgrem. "I would like your permission to personally train these two."
Both Sidus and Mona held their breath. The whole room was now looking at Clave. Thesia fumed as much as she could as an ice type.
"Let me train them for just a week, and then we can send them on another job as a final test. If they fail, they both lose their status as members and the problem is solved," he said calmly, his hands on his chest. "While they were a bit sloppy today, I do believe that the two of them could do great things together if properly trained together."
Sidus took in a sharp gulp of breath and looked over to his parents, eyes wide and hopeful. Val looked like the fire had been snuffed out. She relaxed back behind the desk, her chest still heaving from her anger.
"Train them? After they've both lied to us?" Val said, confused.
"Oh believe me, I will make sure it isn't a joy ride," Clave said with his usual mischievous grin. "I'll put them through fire to rival your own, my dear chief."
He bowed towards her, sweeping his long claws out in an extravagant fashion. Mona felt Sidus stifle a chuckle next to her, and she hid her own grin in her long chest fur.
"My daisy." Val whipped her head to look at Daxus. "This could be just what Sidus needs. Clave is an incredible teacher, and the both of them would benefit from it."
"But..."
"He'll be just fine. Our son can handle anything Clave will throw at him. Besides, this way, we can officially put Mona through the gauntlet to make sure she can take care of our son and herself." Daxus smiled. "Would that ease your worries?"
Val glared at him, until the hard shell melted to a calmer one.
"Very well Clave, have it your way. Your training will have to be punishment enough for these two." She shot Mona a sharp glare as well. "The two of you will start tomorrow. We'll see if you keep those rings."
"Thank you Clave, Ma, and Pa! We won't let you down!"
His parents cracked a smile as Sidus jumped to his feet with a huge smile. He elbowed Mona, giggling at their success, but a familiar lump formed in her chest.
I hope we don't.
X
The sun had disappeared by the time Mona and Sidus returned to their room. Clave left them after the exchange in the office to go return the scarf to the waiting client. He warned them that a good night's sleep would be needed if they wanted to make it through tomorrow, before walking away with a cackle.
Dinner consisted of apples and leftover berries from the dining hall. They were one of the last teams to eat there, and they received a fair amount of interested looks from the cooks giving out food. Only once they were back in their room did either of them speak.
"Well, I guess we managed to squeak out of that situation, didn't we?" Sidus said with a slightly crooked grin. He rolled onto his back in the middle of the rug.
"Yeah, I guess so."
He looked at her upside down, the smile melting away.
"Mona, I've been wanting to ask you about what you said in town."
They locked eyes. Red to red.
"I want to know the truth about you Mona, especially if we are going to be together in the long run." He rolled over to his stomach, his eyes never leaving her face. "Who are you?"
Looking into his sincere face, Mona hesitated. Her only friend. She felt that same stress creep through her veins as she considered what she said next.
"I am not a Pokémon Sidus. I don't know why but I don't belong here." She expected him to call her insane, or laugh, but he merely looked intently at her. "The only thing I know about myself is that I woke up in the field you and your parents found me in, and that I am now an Absol named Mona."
She tried to break out a smile at those last words, but her face wouldn't respond. Sidus only saw a pained look on his partner. She sniffed deeply and tail instinctively pulling in close under her paws.
"All I remember is a bright light and then nothing."
Sidus crept over to sit next to her.
"I'll help you get your memories back!"
Mona snapped to look at him, unshod tears glistening in her eyes.
"Why? You barely know me, Sidus. You shouldn't be concerning yourself with an amnesiac Pokémon that you barely know.
"And why not?" He whacked her with his tails. "You have been nothing but patient and nice to me! And you got me here to where I am! I'd still be 'training' with Ma if not for you! She doesn't even let me do anything on my own, all my fights have to be with her holding back on me." He bared his teeth in his grin. "Now we'll be training with the best. I owe all of this to you whether you like it or not."
He wrapped her in a hug before she could react. She stumbled and almost fell under his weight. He leaned into her face, opposite her huge scythe horn.
"We are in this together. We'll go on adventures and find out the truth about you. Like I said when we met, you aren't alone anymore."
She froze before her emotions overwhelmed her. For the first time since waking up as an Absol, she cried freely into the arms of someone she could trust.
X
Mona once again found herself in the white void. Her own breaths echoing into oblivion. She immediately recognized the place and reared her head to cut herself again to escape.
WAIT!
She stopped just inches from her paws. The blue mist was back. It floated just feet from her, the air around it crackling with energy.
"What do you want from me? Don't you think I'm dealing with enough when I'm awake?" Mona snapped. She still didn't know what to think of the thing. She did her best to stifle thoughts of it in her waking hours.
You have it rough? Ha! I had it far harder than you when I started my journey here.
A black paw escaped from the mist to make a large gesture around itself.
You have it easy, human.
"My name is Mona!"
She didn't feel any of the anxiety she usually felt talking around this rude puff of smoke. She glared at it as it laughed at her.
Mona? I'm sorry but your 'friend' is pretty sh*tty at coming up with names.
It sneered at the mention of Sidus and laughed some more.
"I'm not going to put up with you."
She reared her head again, preparing to end the dream when it darted forward and grabbed her horn. It forcefully pulled her face to face at its center. She squirmed to no avail. A deep guttural growl echoed all around her.
I am no dream that you can't just brush away you idiot.
She stiffened.
See how well that 'friend' will help you. They always betray us in the end. You'll see.
It pulled her closer to reveal two blood red eyes glaring out of the blue.
And I can't wait to be there to see it.
She screamed as a pair of jaws materialized under the eyes and ripped her throat out.
X
Mona awoke to the moon shining out of the pitch-black sky above and through their window. It was full that night. She watched it as her body slowly stopped shaking. Sidus hadn't noticed her violent awakening and still snored practically on top of her shoulders. He wasn't tiny by any means, but he was small enough to use her as a pillow. She smiled at him, pushing the mist's words out of her head. She may have told him about her amnesia, but this secret was best kept to herself. She settled her head on her paws and tried and failed to drift off quickly.
She looked back to the stars like she had the night before and tried to find patterns in them. She imagined starry Pokémon flying above them as they slept. She finally drifted off to the thought of a starry dragon sleeping on the moon.
