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Paxton’s blood was thrumming with adrenaline left over from his showdown with Ange. Team MZ had succeeded, had saved Lumiose from it—unscathed, no less! Well, mostly unscathed. Taunie, Naveen, and Lida had sustained minor cuts and bruises, but Paxton…
Well, back-to-back battles against such strong Pokemon had taken a small toll on him, and he was a little worse for wear than he initially realized. Nothing too bad, as far as he could tell, but still a little more than trivial scrapes. He wasn’t in pain, thankfully, and he was still mobile—okay, maybe he couldn’t say mobile with absolute certainty, because he hadn’t actually tried to move since Taunie left, but… He still could. Probably.
His legs wobbled slightly, but they still cooperated with him when he began to walk toward the nearest clothing stores. His body felt like it was made of jelly, and like it wasn’t his, just… a body he was piloting. More than a few times, he had to fight the urge to dodge roll every time he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. A side effect of the adrenaline, he told himself—his body was still in survival mode.
Taunie, with Floette still cradled in her arms, had refused to leave when he told her to go on back to the hotel without him. His head was fuzzy, like it’d been wrapped in cotton, and the thought of doing anything but wandering made Paxton feel… odd. So, he conjured an innocent smile and explained he just wanted to do a little shopping before heading back. Despite the fact that he wasn’t sure if any clothing shops would be open, Taunie acquiesced and left him to his own devices.
Sometime later, he found himself surrounded by clothing stores, some closed, some surprisingly open. Though he didn’t really know where he was district-wise—maybe on the northern side of Lumiose…? Regardless, he kept moving. The stores passed by and were eventually replaced with cookie cutter buildings and bright green walls. It’s not like he found anything he wanted to buy, anyway. Most of the good stores weren’t open.
He barely made it a few steps before his legs nearly gave out from under him and he collided with a wall, bringing attention to just how horrible his shoulder felt. Soon every part of him ached, and he briefly considered bringing out one of his Pokémon—no, no, they needed a break. They’d done enough for the day.
Eventually, he managed to stabilize himself enough to stumble upon familiar buildings. Relief flooded through him as he trudged the streets. He’d be home soon, safe and sound and—
Paxton didn’t remember opening the door, nor did he remember stepping foot inside the hotel. But suddenly he was standing in front of his friends, who were looking at him like he was a walking corpse. Taunie gasped.
“Hey,” he said weakly, “is something wrong?” He tried to ignore how speaking made his throat feel like he’d swallowed poison mixed with glass. Whatever adrenaline had been left over from the battle had left, leaving… something in its wake. Exhaustion, terror… Maybe he was a little worse than he initially thought.
The stinging in his arm sent a distant shock through him, and he realized he’d been clutching damp, cold fabric. Something rose in his decimated throat.
Like alarm bells, every injury began ringing full force, demanding attention and recompense, and all he could do was stand there as his mouth opened and shut uselessly. He knew he was in pain, but he couldn’t respond to it, couldn’t consciously acknowledge it. He was shaking, he was horrified and nauseous and in pain, in so much pain—
Maybe it was his exhaustion, or the overwhelming pain, or even the mounting fear, but Paxton could scarcely register the screams of his friends as the world dissolved around him.
Ange’s roar pierced his ears, and it took everything in him to not cover them. He had to stay strong. For Taunie, for Floette, and for Lumiose. He ran for the tower, but flowers sprouted from the ground, blocking his entrance. They opened their horrible, gaping maws and fired. Paxton barely had the time to hide behind debris before he was consumed by blinding light and scorching heat.
Panic shot through him. Zygarde was supposed to be here, where was it—
A cacophony of screeches and cries tore though the air, and with it came a slew of Mega Evolved Pokemon.
His blood ran cold when he realized he couldn’t escape this. The Pokémon moved closer, he could feel it. Could feel the way they laughed at him, mocked him. They didn’t attack, wanting to prolong his suffering, until all at once they were on him. Biting, scratching, burning, and Paxton ran. He ran far past the hellspawn flowers, but he couldn’t escape the Pokémon.
They chittered and jeered, now in front of him. One stood at the front. An Absol, staring directly into his eyes. He could see the seething hatred, the contempt, burned into its eyes.
It was his Absol.
He’d failed it.
He was supposed to protect it, to train it to be the best possible version of itself, but he failed. He couldn’t live up to the promise he made, and now it wanted revenge.
Zygarde wasn’t coming to help.
Absol lunged.
Every muscle in his body protested at the sudden movement, but his racing heart demanded he move. Something thudded against the floor. Tears sprang to Paxton’s eyes as he hugged his knees to his chest. He felt something pressing against his shoulders, trapping him in place. Panic only intensified as he realized that left him trapped. He couldn’t move, no matter how hard he tried his arms wouldn’t unwrap from his legs that refused to unfold and let him run—
“—axton..?”
The Pokémon were back, his poor Absol—
A choked noise left him, and he did the only thing he could: he hid. Covered his head like a coward, and hoped it would be quick.
“—axton!? Paxton!”
The killing blow never came, only a hand on his shoulder, shaking him roughly. He curled in on himself, awareness trickling in slowly. It started with the realization that he was in a corner, then he felt the floor underneath him. Then, he truly registered the hands on his shoulder, and realized the voice calling out to him was—
“Taunie,” he sobbed.
“Hey, just calm down, okay? Everything’s gonna be alright, I promise.”
All he could do was shake his head as another sob left him. The fear was still fresh, regardless of the faded nightmare, and he was starting to hurt. Arceus, he hurt.
“Um…” he could hear the worry in Taunie’s voice.
“Nightmare,” he tried, now lucid enough to acknowledge what had actually happened.
“I figured,” Taunie said, plopping down against the wall, right next to him. This close, Paxton could feel her leg brushing lightly against his. It grounded him, if only a little, and he closed his eyes before taking an unsteady breath. The tears hadn’t stopped, though his sobbing had been reduced to quiet huffs. Still there, but not as all-consuming as it had been moments ago.
He whimpered, hiding his face in his knees.
“Hey, hey,” Taunie soothed, “it’s… it’s gonna be okay…” She put a gentle hand on his shoulder, and when he didn’t tense she pulled him into an awkward hug, made more difficult by Paxton being tightly huddled in the corner. Now that he wasn’t in full blown panic mode, he realized Taunie was cold, like she’d been outside before this.
“What time is it?” he mumbled, turning his head to look at her. Her face was flushed, and her eyes darted frantically around the room.
When she spoke, her voice was thick, “It’s… uh… around two thirty. You passed out after you got back.” Taunie’s voice was flat, almost rehearsed. “You were in bad shape, we patched you up as best we could. I don’t think anything’s broken, but I can imagine that it hurts.”
“It does,” he warbled, “so bad. I’m exhausted.”
“I know. We all are, but I think out of all of us you deserve a rest the most.”
Paxton went to protest, but Taunie held up a finger.
“Don’t. You were the one running around and fighting all those mega evolved Pokémon. You were the one who fought Ange. You should rest.”
“So should you,” Paxton croaked, and once again Taunie got that panicked look in her eyes.
“I uh… I have something I need to take care of.” She pressed her lips together, arm trembling where it hugged Paxton. “Just go back to sleep if you can. Please.” She was almost begging now.
“What’s happening,” Paxton said. Getting the whole truth out of her wasn’t going to happen, Taunie was too secretive. He could at least get some information out of her, though.
“Nothing. There’s no danger.”
At least he could rule that out. “Why were you outside?”
“That’s not important right now. Paxton, I promise you no one’s in danger of getting hurt. The city’s safe. We just… need to figure some things out.”
“We?”
“Never mind that! Just don’t worry about it.”
“Please tell me you’re not doing something irresponsible.”
Taunie sighed, eyes trained on the ground. “I’m not. I’ll tell you tomorrow,” she whispered, sounding defeated. “Just… get some sleep. Please.” Her voice broke faintly, and Paxton wanted nothing more than to help. But he had to trust Taunie on this, after everything that had just happened. If she said there was no danger, then he believed her.
“I’ll try.” He wiped his eyes roughly, suddenly aware of how heavy they felt. The image of his Absol flashed in his mind, and his hand went to his belt. He still had his Pokémon on him, and in a moment Absol was out of its ball, looking at him with soft, knowing eyes. It nuzzled into his hand, as if to say ‘I’m still here, it wasn’t real’.
The thought made his eyes water all over again.
“I think I’ll be okay,” he said to Taunie, running his hands through Absol’s soft fur. “Thank you for checking on me.”
“No problem.” Taunie gave him a strained smile and stood. Instead of heading toward the door, she held out a hand for Paxton. “Let me help you up.”
He took her hand gratefully. It was much harder to stand than he would’ve thought, but Taunie helped him over to his bed. Absol, despite its larger size, joined him the second he was under the covers. The bed dipped down under its weight, but it was comforting.
“Well… good night, Paxton. And thank you, seriously,” Taunie whispered, halfway out the door. He didn’t get the chance to respond before her footsteps were fading down the hallway.
Ignoring his screaming shoulder, his hand once again found itself in Absol’s fur, petting absentmindedly as he listened to the sounds coming from downstairs. He hadn’t noticed them before—he wasn’t even sure if they were there earlier—but now they filled the silence. The thudding, the quiet voices, the even quieter crying.
A sick feeling crept up his throat. He didn’t want to think about what those noises might mean, or Taunie’s insistence that he not get involved…
He didn’t think he would get much sleep after all.