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some part of nick feels guilty for dragging her down here.[break][break]

he can be strong-headed and stubborn. it's what his husband hated most about him, once upon a time. always said that he was firmer than a tauros when he really set his mind to something. while such a flaw can be difficult to parse in the moment, nick is both blessed and cursed with hindsight. he can't help but wonder if he's forced yuina into helping him when she really didn't want to.[break][break]

now, down here, the thought aches more than it should. though she's incredibly capable, far more capable than nick could ever hope to be, it has always been natural for him to harbor concern for his peers. it's the doctor in him, still rearing its ugly head after all these years, first in the operation room where surgeons struggled to piece his arm and ribs back together, and now many miles beneath the earth, hoping to keep someone much stronger than him safe from harm.[break][break]

though these thoughts may show in his expression, in the way his eyes trace her face in search of anything that might suggest wariness or exasperation, they are not voiced. it is better to let sleeping dogs lie.[break][break]

instead, he focuses on the task ahead of them, embarked on first by a strange creature nick has never seen before. even despite the worry roiling deep in his chest, nick forces confidence into his voice.[break][break]

"don't worry," he says in the tone of a man desperately trying to keep himself together as much as he's trying to reassure her. "i won't wander."[break][break]

and they're off, setting a careful pace through the wide, open caverns. with gravel crunching beneath their feet, nick takes this chance to ask a question that yet nags him—something yuina must be familiar with by now, given how often nick seems to be asking questions these days.[break][break]

"what other things are you talking about?"

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for every mystery they uncover down here, five more crop up in their place, daring to be unraveled.[break][break]

nick isn't wholly naive—the world is vast and expansive and complicated and he's only ever known a small slice of it—but hearing yuina detail the origins of area zero is staggering.[break][break]

he takes a moment to process, watching omura plod ahead with earth-shaking steps. there's so much he still doesn't know about the world and pokémon and everything in between. it makes him feel small, inconsequential, a tiny blip in the timeline of existence. the sheer volume of new revelations constantly being unearthed is both thrilling and unsettling.[break][break]

and here he is, daring to add to that trove of discoveries by bringing his team along into the fray.[break][break]

nick shakes his head ruefully, amused and dismayed by his own audacity and naïveté.[break][break]

"yeah. i certainly... didn't think all of that through," he chuckles, though the sound lacks his usual warmth.[break][break]

nick doesn't realize he's stopped walking until yuina is several steps ahead of him. he hurries to catch up, ducking his head in sheepish apology.[break][break]

"sorry," he mutters, falling back into stride beside her. "got lost in thought."[break][break]

they descend deeper into the bowels of the earth, their footsteps echoing eerily against the rocks surrounding them, centos and omura leading the way steadily but cautiously. nick trails his fingertips along the wall, tracing the cool bumps of protruding crystals, marvelling at the colors bouncing from them as they reflect what little light seeps through from above.[break][break]

when they finally stop in a vast, crystalline chamber that sparkles like some vast alien fruit that has split to reveal jewels inside instead of pulp, nick is half-tempted to draw his pokemon just so they can see the glowing beauty in front of them too.[break][break]

"does this feel safe?" nick checks with yuina, turning slow circles to take everything in.

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there is a saying he's heard before—a phrase that has travelled through time and distance, whispered into countless ears—that life is unpredictable, that it is in constant fluctuation. nick never truly understood that maxim until now, standing in a realm of crystals and monsters that defy explanation.[break][break]

maybe it is that uncertainty, that instability, that drives humans into obsession. after all, how can one resist chasing what they cannot predict or foresee?[break][break]

nick is abruptly shaken from his reverie by yuina's caution. he nods slowly, brow furrowed, eyes cutting to the shadows nestled amongst the vibrant minerals. as the low sound echoes in the distance, nick suddenly becomes hyperaware of how fragile their presence is. every instinct screams for him to retreat, to find a safe corner and hide until danger passes, but he forces himself to stay still. he had asked for this, after all—asked for the opportunity to seek out knowledge in a place that is teeming with untold stories and secrets.[break][break]

yuina's words only serve to emphasize the precariousness of their situation, and nick grimaces, some combination of disappointment and resignation twisting in his gut. he supposes he should've realized that they wouldn't exactly be safe, given that they're willingly venturing into the literal unknown, but somehow, seeing her confirmation of his suspicion laid out so plainly sends a chill through him.[break][break]

"well," nick sighs, attempting levity in vain. "it wouldn't be an adventure if we didn't have to worry about dying."[break][break]

with that, he tentatively steps further into the chamber, boots crunching gently against the brittle gemstone fragments.

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there is solace to be taken in yuina's assurance. nick knows, logically, that they aren't alone in their struggles, that there are dozens of people—even now, perhaps—venturing into similar realms in hopes of gaining just a smidge of an upper hand against the brutal landscape they live in.[break][break]

as he pushes forward, following yuina's cautious footsteps, nick feels a burgeoning solidarity within him—for the rangers and explorers and adventurers who are risking just as much, who share his sentiment and desire to better their world, their circumstances, despite the risks and unpredictability of it all.[break][break]

yuina leads him down a narrow passage, one of hundreds that seem to spiderweb throughout the crystals. nick's heart pounds a little harder with every crunch of their footfalls, echoing ominously and seeming louder because of the quiet reverence of the space. nick swears he can hear the blood rushing through his veins, the thrumming pulse amplified by the fact that there is nowhere to run if things go south.[break][break]

but he reminds himself, as he has reminded himself so many times before, that he can do this. that he is brave, that he is capable, that he is doing this not for glory or conquest or even survival, but so that maybe, just maybe, he can avoid adding to the devastation that this world has borne for so long.[break][break]

"lead the way," nick replies, swallowing the lump in his throat.[break][break]

after a seemingly endless labyrinth of tunnels, they emerge in a smaller chamber. unlike the vast caverns they'd been walking through, this one is intimate, claustrophobic, its walls encrusted with a thousand tiny, pulsating lights that remind nick of stars, somehow trapped within the minerals. there's a sense of closeness, of warmth despite the chill seeping through the walls, and nick has to physically remind himself to breathe.[break][break]

terastal energy readings are strongest here, the crystals so saturated with it that nick can practically taste it on the air. he inhales deeply, letting the scent of mineral and magic flood his nostrils, tickle down his throat. he can almost imagine how it will feel to hold that much concentrated power in his bare hands.[break][break]

"incredible," he breathes, eyes blown wide with reflections of kaleidoscopic color.[break][break]

entirely unsure of what to do with himself, nick fumbles for a pokeball at his belt, which he releases before him in a burst of light. from the confines therein, a braviary erupts, loyal and proud solomon, standing with his wings tucked at nick's side and leering at the world much like a protective houndoom might.[break][break]

suddenly realizing that he has no idea how this works, only that a pokemon must be 'exposed' to the terastal energy, nick hazards a glance back at yuina. "so, uh... what now?"[break][break]

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