Chapter Twelve: Unown Destiny



Terra's POV



I went to sleep with Benga curled up on top of my sleeping bag. Ilima and Gladion slept on either side of me, in case Wes got any ideas. I'm not quite sure what sort of ideas Wes would get, but Gladion certainly has thoughts on them.



"I can't believe I'm in a sleepover with five guys," I muttered under my breath.



And Gladion heard me. "Don't worry about us," he said. "Cap and I are both asexual. He's born that way, I find it preferable to the alternatives."



"Oh." Somehow in Gladion's case I wasn't surprised. "What do you mean, born that wa--"



"Lights out," Ilima announced abruptly, flicking off the lantern. "Everyone go to bed."



A pause.



"He's sensitive about it," Gladion whispered to me under his breath.



"You think?" I whispered back.



I heard a sound that might have been Ilima putting his pillow over his ears.



---



Terra! Terra Allen!



I was pretty sure I was asleep, which is weird because usually when I have dreams, I don't know that I'm dreaming. But the voices persisted.



Terra! Can you hear us? It's us, the Unown!



"Wuh... what?"



We got separated when the dragon man used aura to control our Dragonite. There was a huge battle, and by the time we barely managed to claim our Dragonite back, we'd flown too far away from where we'd lost you. We've been looking for you all this time.



"You mean, even while the giant Gengar and Alakazam were fighting?"



...yes. They sounded apologetic. We weren't able to get that close because Ghost-types are super-effective on Psychic and Warp types.



"Wait, Warp types? What's a Warp type?"



A Pokemon type with powers to bend reality. Your Hoopa is a Warp/Ghost type. Alakazam is a Psychic/Warp type, since it Teleports from a young age. Pokemon like Stantler and Xatu are also of the Warp type. A more accurate term might be Tesseract type, but that was too long to really be useful. We didn't name it, anyway.



"Never heard of that one before," I admitted.



At any rate, during our search we learned a few things that your group needs to know. Oh, we sort of read all your dreams while we dropped by, so that's how we know you need to know them. You don't mind, right?



"Wait, all our dreams?"



Pretty much. First of, Gary will want to know that the people of Pallet Town have been taken to Saffron City for psychic indoctrination and lab experiments. If he freaks out, do NOT let him run off alone to deal with them. Team Rocket has clearly superior firepower and mutant Pokemon on their side, and without his usual team, he'll never stand a chance against them.



I gulped. This didn't sound good at all. "What else?"



The stone that Team Rocket used in your encounter with them is a Miracle Crystal. These crystals are mined from Chargestone Cave and other places, and are used to absorb and redirect electricity. In the right hands, they can be used to heal and recharge Electric-type Pokemon. In the wrong hands, they can be a dangerous weapon.



"I see." Pause. "Any relation to Synergy Stones?"



Possibly. Their molecular structure is similar.



"What about Rayquaza?"



Rayquaza isn't the only legendary Pokemon that Team Rocket has in their clutches. They've been working on a major cloning project with a new, genetically engineered species called Mewtwo. They've been using multiple Mewtwo to track down, capture, and clone other legendaries. They can't produce legendary Pokemon en masse, but even a few super-powered Pokemon can accomplish terrible things in Team Rocket's hands.



I shuddered. "Please tell me they don't have Giratina... please please please..."



They do not. However, the truth just might be worse.



"What?!"



That man you saw, with the red hair. We are unable to gather much information on him -- his aura is shielded from us. But he possesses the power to control even legendary dragon Pokemon, and has tracked down and dominated Giratina with his abilities.



Gulp. "That can't be good, can it?"



Probably not, no. He is no friend of Team Rocket, we know that much. But he is no friend to us either. A few of us are following him in secret, to try to gauge his intentions. But we can't imagine he plans anything good with Giratina.



"Great. Fantastic." I didn't even try to hide my sarcasm. "So there's a psycho with mind-control powers running around as well as Team Rocket. And meanwhile, we're just a bunch of kids up against the world."



I wouldn't write off your new allies just yet, the Unown answered. They just might surprise you.



"Yeah, well, honestly I'm surprised they even know each other, let alone that they showed up in Kanto." I paused. "How did two guys from Alola and a guy from Orre get to Kanto, anyway?"



That, we do not know. You might want to ask them.



"I did. Ilima said why they're here -- to save the world or something -- but didn't tell me how." I paused. "Maybe I should have asked him before we went to bed?"



Well, you were all in a mood after the whole thing with the giant Gengar. But don't worry. All will be revealed in time.



"Why did you send me here, anyway?" I asked. "I mean, I know I asked you to take me with you, but I... I didn't really think it through, all right? It wasn't all that hot an idea, all things considered."



We were looking for a hero. Someone that could stand against the growing darkness and save our world from utter annihilation.



I paused.



Then yelled so hard, I woke up Gladion, Ilima, and myself.



"I'm TWELVE!"



---



"What the hell?" Gladion asks. "What are you talking about?"



"It's just a nightmare," Ilima insists. "Just calm down--"



"No!" I yell. "The Unown think I'm going to save the world from annihilation, and I don't even know what that means!"



My yelling attracts attention from disgruntled ex-sleepers. "Hey, keep it down in there, will ya?" Wes asks. "Yeesh, and ya thought I'd be th' problem?"



"Just calm down," Ilima says evenly. "Calm. Down."



Strangely enough, I do feel calmer. There's something in his voice that says it's okay, it's all going to be okay, I don't need to freak out. And, oddly enough, my mind believes it. My temper slows down, and I take a few deep breaths.



"Okay... hokay," I say, getting a grip on myself. "I had a nightmare, but I don't think it was just a nightmare. Could have been the Unown trying to speak to me, or it could've just been my imagination. We'll talk about it tomorrow."



Wes wrinkles his brow. "Unown?"



"Long story. Tell you in the morning." I shake my head and burrow back into my sleeping bag. "Right now, we need to sleep."



Gary mutters something about how he's already missed too much sleep on night watch and this isn't making this any better, but I ignore him. We'll settle all this tomorrow, I guess.



If I can get any sleep NOW.



---



I stay up for several minutes, or maybe more. Time sort of drags on when you're in the middle of a forest full of Pokemon and trying to get to sleep while the fate of the world seems to rest on your shoulders.



Then I hear the singing.



It seems close, yet far off, and it takes me a moment or two to realize how similar it is to Mew's singing at Jigglypuff's bell. I peer out of my sleeping bag, trying to place where the song is coming from, but something about the song itself makes it difficult to place. It's like the song has a life of its own and is weaving from place to place, without a care in the world.



My eyelids feel heavy. It's hard to stay awake.



Until next time...



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...



...Wait.



How did Ilima know I was having a nightmare?