It’s a glancing blow off his back, the angle of his descent convex with the Mimikyu’s claws and it draws five hot, raking slices through the fabric of his shirt and over the hump of his right shoulder blade. He grits his teeth at the sting of it, but it’s nothing compared to pain he’s felt before.

Chuchi is launching towards the Mimikyu and Vatin is close on her heels, and the two of them set upon the shrieking, angry dual-type like rabid dogs, Vatin crunching the gremlin around its chest and shaking it violently.

Onyx looks down at Andres with a confused look, frowning. “You--why--,” he shakes himself, slightly, realizing there are more important things to do right now. He turns on all fours, launching away from Andres to slide in the dirt next to the sleeping child, whom he scoops up and tucks against his chest, lifting him out of the way of the squealing, squawking melee.

“Come on,” he growls, dropping into a crouch to bodily haul Andres up by his bicep and dragging him back if he doesn’t stand.

The Mimikyu is putting up a fight, firing off a shadow ball in Vatin’s face at close range and knocking the Nidoran back, before turning on Chuchi to savage and pummel her with shadowy claws and a wooden tail using play rough. The screaming is rising to a fever pitch.

[attr="class","membot"]andres buenaventura mission: clefable in the feywilde

[attr="class","memboc"]☉

The damage isn't that bad- or maybe its that there's other things to draw his attention right now. But Onyx sputters and then runs from him while the 2 quadrupeds dogpile the Mimikyu. Andres scrambled to his feet, not arguing with Onyx and giving a sharp whistle for the other pokemon to follow.
[break][break]

Chuchi snarls in return, unflinching in the face of the endless pummeling. Her face in the dirt, she bristles waiting for the second it slowed down before using COPYCAT to throw herself at the Mimikyu with a copy of PLAY ROUGH. As she does she barks for the Nidoran to get up and go, readying an escape for herself while Andres and the rest escaped.
[break][break]

At some point, the blonde rights himself to fall in step with Onyx but he's not entirely relived. "Are Mimikyu always that aggressive?!" he asked, breathless as he went through his mental rolodex of pokemon. He'd never encountered something quite so territorial. Mimikyu were...well not harmless but certainly needed provocation to attack.
[break][break]

By this point they're a little lost. Trees and forest going on and on and on as the sounds of battle fade behind him before the flora begins to thin just a little. The giggling is back, but also the warbled sound of taunts. Through their panting, as they thin out, he can hear it. Children, laughing jeering at something. "No way- Rodric's the only one I as told about." he said, blood going cold as he looked at the young boy in Onyx's arms. His eyes swivel out to the path in front of them, searching for any other student that had wandered off.

[break][break]

+ onyx straub [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Chuchi pummels the Mimikyu and Vatin backs off, waiting for her to disengage before covering their trail with toxic spikes to slow any sort of pursuit.

“I don’t know, but this one is,” Onyx said, switching the unconscious child to his other shoulder. “Maybe it has something to do with-- the terrain.”

His fears come back to bite them in the end: they’re lost. None of the paths that they go down look even vaguely familiar, and he has a horrible sensation that the forest has been growing and changing around them even as they go.

“I don’t think those are normal children,” he says, slowing down to match Andres’ pace, as they slowly come to a stop, back to back, in the center of a small grove. Toadstools grow and pop out of the ground as they stand there, the trees around them writhing and warping.

“What’s the plan, here?” he asks, holding the kid with one arm as he rolls Ignis’ Pokeball across his palm and summons the Ponyta at their side, a small comfort in the face of such strangeness. His voice is tight, but not panicked, knowing it's important to keep a calm head... for now.

[attr="class","membot"]andres buenaventura mission: clefable in the feywilde

[attr="class","memboc"]☉

Onyx was right. The world constricts, tightens. It adjusts to their movements and blocks their backwards path. The bramble thickens and grows as they're herded forward, towards the noise. Towards the ultimate joke of it all. [break][break]

"I- I don't know-" the children who are not children because he doesn't anything here coalesce from the shadows before them in the distance. Playing- no running- no. Chasing. Andres feels a headache coming along with a side of chills. "Take care of Rodric-" he said, nervous as the children turn from blurry wisps of color to something more solid.
[break][break]

"He's our priority." They'd come in here looking for him after all. Though maybe this job was better suited for a ranger than anything else. Clearly, because Andres wasn't ready to go back to Galar. He wasn't ready for the memories to come crawling back despite how seamlessly they were taking shape. With one child sprinting past the rest and the others giving chase.


[break][break]

+ onyx straub [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Shadows solidify out of the miasmatic background behind the trees, taking the shapes of small children. The giggling that surrounds them weaves in and out of the foliage, sounding more ominous and pressing by the second.

“Why do you say that like you’re about to do something stupid?” Onyx asked, instinctively cupping a hand around the back of the unconscious child’s head, before turning to look over his shoulder and around Andres’ body. “What the fuck is happening. Ignis!”

The Ponyta whirls and a wall of inferno shoots up in the path of the encroaching children, filling the air with the sound of roaring flames. Onyx hopes that will buy them some time. “We should keep running.” But he wasn’t going anywhere without Andres.

[attr="class","membot"]andres buenaventura mission: clefable in the feywilde

[attr="class","memboc"]☉

"I'm not- I- I just-" Andres said the fear creeping into his voice, an old stutter making its way to the surface. Flames create a barrier from the weird children creatures and they seem to be held back, for now. Their attention just as quickly shifts as they dart to flank Andres and Onyx. Voices loud and distorted. Echoes of something real and faded. [break][break]

G̵͍͛̚e̶̠̥̚ṭ̴͙̊̈ ̷̦͐̋i̵͙̖̓t̷̖̑!̶͍͛ ̶͎̄ [break][break]
̸͕́̿
̶̱̫̑̈́F̸̮̞̋̎ö̷̹̰̀l̸̪̀l̶̟̻̋ṍ̷͎w̴̘͝ ̶͍̰͌ĭ̸̝ț̵͠!̴͈̄͌ ̵̥̳̾̚ [break][break]
̶̬̥͊̄
̸̜̙̅H̷͙͋ͅĭ̶͙ť̸ͅ ̴̡͈͂̒ỉ̷̥͓t̴̗̓!̶̙̫̀ ̷̠̈́̚ [break][break]
̷̠́̋
̴̘͖̿̅S̷̳̺͊͝t̴͖̊̽a̵̖̟͒b̷͉͖̄ ̷̡̪̉͠ĩ̵̞͝t̶͍̊!̶͔͈̋ ̶̖̀̐ [break][break]
̵̢̛
̸̲̘̋̆K̵̬̽̾i̶͇͒c̶̠̈́ͅk̸̬͊ ̷͔̰͆i̶̧̮̐̚t̵̡̼͐!̵̛̯ ̴̖̞͛͝ [break][break]
̷̙̏͜

The closer they get the more child like they are. Similar, and not. Mismatches socks, wild hair, and expressions darkened by something more sinister than just children being children. The procure sticks and rocks and throw them at their target. Something darts out of the shadows trying to dodge but one of the 'kids' find purchase. The creature yips, tumbling forward, the bulbous ball of silver fur clear now as some type of pink fog disappeared. "Chuchi?!" he shouted, panicked and voice nearly breaking as he felt memory pierce his heart. [break][break]

The laughing is more distinct. The figures more visible. Chuchi, harassed, a group of kids and pokemon terrorizing her. Feral, angry, protective. And out lagging behind a little brunette boy in glasses, wheezing. Bruised and crying as the Eevee is pushed to her limits and she goes for the throat of a Nickit, throwing it against the body of a sparking Yamper. [break][break]

̵̻̝͂S̵͎̫̄̋t̴̗̭̓o̶͉͛p̸̰̐ ̵̧̮̌͘ì̴͕͘t̷̡̍̚!̵͔̃ͅ ̸͎̅ [break][break]

The straggler makes it but is shoved away, projectiles tossed back. Andres shakes, eyes wide as what looked lie ka poorly set up play was super imposed by the lens of memory. His breathing going shallow, sweat running down his next, and adrenaline spiking. It's more clear than ever, this is just a very real threat, but a sick mimicry of something painful and deeply buried.

[break][break]

+ onyx straub | throwback thursday besty [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

They don’t move like children-- they don’t move like anything normal, constrained by flesh and blood and bone. They’re just shadows, here and there and gone again, the suggestion of motion in a direction and then a complete 360* shift, with a vague, warping sound like speakers blowing.

Onyx has no qualms about punching children, especially not freaky, button-eyed, misshapen ones like this. But they don’t seem to be focusing on him, and for a moment, that gives him hope. He turns away from Ignis’ inferno to grab Andres and tell him to run, again, why aren’t they running, but he’s spun right into--

--it is a memory. One for both of them.

Chuchi yips and cries as even her seemingly unbridled ferocity is brought to heel under the thunder of kid boots and sticks, a mockery of laughter and sneers cutting the air sharper than any blade.

One of the children has dark hair, dark skin, and blue eyes, but when he lifts his face, a shadow obscures his right one, the dark of it slipping off his cheek like liquid ichor.

Onyx swallows. He’s back on a couch under the shadow of a meteor when someone tells him they love him and all he can imagine is the feel of metal crunching against bone, skin splitting in his hand.

You shouldn’t.

Chuchi arches and curls, writhing.

You shouldn’t.

I’m bad for you.

I don’t think you understand.

They’re both caught, adrift, drowning; Onyx’s stomach threatens to reorient itself in his body cavity and he wants to look away before he vomits but he forces himself to look and to see. Because it hadn’t bothered him at the moment, had it? When he’d been doing it?

It was like any old hurt. Any old pain. Look it in the eye. Sear it into your mind. Eventually, it stops hurting.

But when had this started hurting?

As things are reaching a fever pitch there’s a raucous cawing noise from above and an angel drops in on darkened wings. Ziadem lands protectively over Chuchi, scattering the shadow children with broad flaps; her talons come gently around the Eevee and lift her.

Vatin rushes in from the woods, the earth around him warping and shifting with earth power. He carves a valley between Zia, Chuchi, and the shadows; Ignis adds another blast of inferno, and the dark shapes burn away with horrendous, tortured screams, not like children but something otherworldly.

The snap of heat gets Onyx moving. He strides forward, grabbing Andres arm and dragging him-- he’ll apologize later, he can only imagine what kind of memories that is dredging up-- forward. He pushes the unconscious child into his chest and physically wraps Andres’ arms around him, then grabs him at the waist and lifts him, sidesaddle, onto Zia.

“Get out of here!” he says, jumping back so she can lift into the air, Chuchi still held safely in her talons. All he needs now is for Andres to not fall off; the raven teeters in the air to balance him as she struggles to gain height.

He, Vatin, and Ignis turn once more toward the gathering shadows.

[attr="class","membot"]andres buenaventura mission: clefable in the feywilde

[attr="class","memboc"]☉

Shit. Shit, shit, shit! They're not stopping. He can't stop them. He- Andres- Memory Andres- was he even trying!? But even as he says that he hears the distorted crying, the yowling from the fake Andres that intermingles so horribly with Chuchi's defiant barks and screams. He feels himself about to snap. An emotional control- something buried pushing up to the surface that seems to undo everything. All his progress. All his work just gone in an instant as he forgot who he was and fell back into that pathetic little kid all those years ago. [break][break]

"Stop."

[break][break]

His words are choked, almost guttural as his partner suffers. He forgets she's different. He forgets he could save her would a toss of his pokeball. He forgets he's not a little kid anymore. He had years of experience behind him. [break][break]

And as he begins to do something reckless, his steps are interrupted by Ziadem, the fearsome she-beast herself slamming down against the abominations. And if he could think straight he would be in awe at the Corviknight so carefully picking up the Eevee she had clashed with so much.
[break][break]

Vatin backs her up and Onyx's Ignis charges forth as well. The children melt and scream becoming more guttural, more feral. Forms- no illusions melt away to reveal the shapes of an assortment of fairy pokemon. Andres feels a slickening pang of hatred and cold anger flashes through him at the sight. How dare they? [break][break]

Amidst the panicked breathing and tear filled eyes, Andres can't help feel something else bubble up and overflow. Resentment, fury, and bitterness all rise to the surface lie ka sticky black tar. The only thing that stems the negativity is Onyx putting Rodric in his arms. His poor student caught up and trapped in whatever the hell this was. "Wait!" he protested as he adjusted himself on Ziadem's back leaning close to her back. One arm tight around Rodric, the other clutching thick black down. Just like so many months ago. Yet again he's emergency lifting out of something horrible on the Corviknight's back. [break][break]

He's not jumping off of her. That'd be fucking stupid. Not with Rodric, not without. He's too much of a coward. But as the bird pokemon takes off he squeezes his legs tight against her before swiping a pokeball off his waist. It falls, half open to the ground. The burst of light reveals a Stouland that slams onto the ground and pounces with a vicious ICE FANG as Andres shouts for Chulito to help Onyx.

[break][break]

+ onyx straub | throwback thursday besty [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Onyx doesn’t know if he can get out of here without Zia… that had sort of been his back up plan, ran until they found each other (they always did) and then fly away into the sunset. But his glorious heroism had been dismantled by ghosts of the monster he used to be…

…and still was.

He cracked his neck from side to side as an army of Fairy-types emerged from the gloom. He couldn’t hold out here for long, but he could go down swinging.

Vatin buys them space with eruptions of earth power that send pink forms flying. Ignis belches a fire blast at a Mawile that comes too close, and the dual-type screams. The three of them keep backing up, buying enough time for Zia to make her escape.

“Torch all of it,” he tells his Pokemon-- and Andres’, who has joined them-- “burn them out.”

Heaves of toxic goo coat the trees and foliage, making it melt and sizzle as it tries to change. Fire leaps from limb to limb, crowning the wannabe Tangle in a way that Onyx wishes he could the real one, if it held such horrible memories for Andres.

He was a horrible memory for Andres.

Didn’t he often wished he could burn himself?

As Ziadem plunges through the sky, she punches a hole in the bubble of pale shimmer that seems to coat this fairy hellscape. Devoid the power of a child’s nightmares, everything shrivels and fades. The Fairy-types causing mischief shriek and writhe as they make furious dashes for the safety of their withering terrain.

And in the blink of an eye and the sound of a bubble-gum pop, Onyx is standing alone in a burnt-out field.

[attr="class","membot"]andres buenaventura mission: clefable in the feywilde

[attr="class","memboc"]☉

The world changes. The distortion blinks away so suddenly, and he can see the landscape before them for a moment. The way back to Lilycove. The paths and routes that lead away form this brutal terrain. He doesn't dare look back, afraid he may fall and waits for Ziadem to land. When she finally does, Rodric seems to stir and Andres is there waiting for him to wake up. The child screams, wails. Half in horror, half missing terribly the little Mimikyu friend he had made. He calls for it, bouncing from defending the little fairy type to crying in horror at his own situation. Andres stays calm and comforts where he can to calm the boy down. [break][break]

He doesn't leave though, waiting for Onyx to emerge out of the forest. He hated the Glimwood Tangle. He truly would've burnt it all down if he were there. But now...now Onyx knew why he'd been so aggressive and averse to being there. He hoped he would be ok. Andres had buried the memories deep, but seeing them again- seeing Chuchi hurt again? It was an unwanted shock to the system that unearthed old pain. [break][break]

Stuff he would rather not discuss with Onyx. Not when he was the cause of most of it. But he doesn't leave either, waiting for Ziadem to take off into the woods and track her trainer down. [break][break]

The fairies' terrain eventually disappears and they mostly turn tail. One lone Mimikyu is left to fend the last of the intruders off, wailing and crying with its broken costume. It seems to sob loudly in turn with a faint crying from afar. Chulito sniffs in its direction before the oversize puppy stays near Onyx, protectively. He'd been called out to shield, clearly, and this skinny man was probably his target. So he waits, and when the time is ready, accompanies the Rocket back to where his own trainer lies in wait. [break][break]

His face, stained with tears but dry all the same, and a small smile to welcome the party back as he called the parents of the child for pick up. [break][break]

And while he waits for the mother to pick up, his eyes move to Onyx and he offers him a soft, genuine, [break][break]

"thank you."

[break][break]

+ onyx straub | throwback thursday besty [break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Onyx’s nose is full of the acrid smell of burning poison and smoke and forest fire, and his body is struck numb with self-loathing and the dying buzz of adrenaline.

Andres stands in the middle of a sunbeam slicing down through the clouds, pealing off his glimmering blonde hair, illuminating the crying child he holds to his chest as his eyes scan around for… they land on Onyx, and Onyx freezes as though he’s been struck.

He doesn’t want to approach him. Doesn’t deserve to. But he makes his feet move (left, right, left, right) until he’s… not at Andres’ side, but nearer, hoveirng just outside his general airspace, not wanting to pollute it like the toxin he knows he is.

“Don’t,” he says, though his voice is lacking his usual hard edge, and is as painfully soft and genuine as Andres’ is. “Don’t thank me.”

Don’t thank me, don’t touch me, don’t even look at me, ever again. I don’t deserve it.

He swallows, and the whistle that escapes him wavers slightly as Ziadem comes round to pick him up. He recalls his Pokemon and gives Andres a final, tired nod.

“...get home safe,” he says, which isn’t an apology, it isn’t much of anything, really, but he’s not gonna stick around for the police and the paramedics and the parents and whoever else is about to crawl out of the woodwork. He twitches his hand out in a pathetic wave, thinks better of it, and bites back a pained sigh as he swings up onto his raven and takes off, removing the shadow of his presence from the light of Andres’ life.

[attr="class","membot"]andres buenaventura mission: clefable in the feywilde

[attr="class","memboc"]☉