Chương 83: 83-Betake

After getting back from their final shift, it was surprisingly simple to pack up most of the way, leaving only the things necessary for the morning out as the rest lay packed next to the door. Unfortunately, despite her slow improvement throughout the day, Tanya's still limited on her use of telekinesis so her attempts at packing are significantly more… restricted than usual.

The 'mon laboriously maneuvers around her bulk and her egg to reach the floor, picks up one item with her thumbless limbs, then puts it into her bag with deliberate, slow, care. Back at the nursery, after being baffled by the impossible dexterity of Caretaker, she'd figured out that her species has a kind of limited magnetic touch telekinesis, normally bound around the tips of their limbs.

She'd tried to weaponise it, but aside from figuring out how to technically'pick up' something with any part of her body it's not all that useful for anything other than its intended purpose. It cannot be extended, it cannot be shaped, and unless she's trying to drag ice around she can't even maneuver what she'd stuck to herself to another point on her body, it just falls off.

For a very brief period she'd been able to climb vertical surfaces, but she'd refined this ability perhaps a week before she'd grown too heavy for it to work, no matter how much effort she'd put into training the skill. There's either some sort of hard cap to the strength of the ability, or growth in strength is so slow further investment in training would be better spent elsewhere.

Still, it's fortunate that whatever biological or aural 'system' this ability is running on it's not impacted by her current aura exhaustion, otherwise she'd be completely incapable of functioning until she recovers. Tanya blinks as she puts the item inside her bag and reaches for another, glancing at the stubby limb then down at her rarely seen feet as she bends down once more.

Has she ever tried to replicate this seemingly incredibly efficient form of short range magnetic telekinesis with her formula based techniques? Surely she's tried at some point but… it's not coming to mind. The 'mon smirks at the thought of being able to walk on walls. Then the more… immediately practical benefits of being able to plant herself in one spot and choose not to be moved has the humor transition to an honest consideration.

If anything these past few days have proven, the ability to just stand still and take the hit is more than valuable enough to be developed further. Mentally pulling up some equations that form half of this strange hybrid system with her aura, Tanya almost starts drawing energy from her core to start testing before she catches herself. She's feeling better this evening even compared to the morning, enough that…

technically she might be able to swing using some telekinesis tonight, but she's not going to put any strain on herself unless absolutely necessary. With any luck she'll be almost completely recovered tomorrow. Putting the final item into the bag and zipping it closed, Tanya throws the pack onto her back to check its sitting right and is then forced to fumble with the strange mess of universal straps designed for the bag to be mounted on any 'mon.

Useful, but the straps seem to be running out of slack, so if she grows any larger she'll have to replace the bag her sisters had gifted to her. … More likely she'll have the straps lengthened, more efficient. With the confirmation that everything seems to be right, the 'mon takes her bag back off and places it next to the door as Amelia walks back from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her head and a grimace.

"You know… I'm gonna miss showers." She says with a sigh, flumping onto her bed next to where the map of the region is sitting splayed out.

"At least we're going downhill."

"And hiking underground seems interesting." Tanya adds, hesitating for a moment before continuing.

"I… don't think I've ever gone caving before. So it'll be a first for me." Amelia looks over at her, first with confusion, then shock." Really? You've never been caving? I would have thought–" She cuts herself off, shaking her head with a pleased smile.

"Well it'll be new for both of us!" Tanya nods with an exhale of air. Their current plan is to keep going north, down the mountain until their route meets up with 113 and 114, where a small town called Fallarbor sits at the intersection. From there travel guides show that technically there's a ferry service that can take them from Fallarbor to Rustboro, however for… cultural reasons taking any form of paid or public transit while on a journey is something to be avoided.

So from Fallarbor they're heading west on 114 until they reach the Meteor Falls cave system where, if all goes to plan, they'll spend at least two days caving south. Fortunately, while more sparsely documented than she would like, there is an already mapped and austensibly safe path through the underground leading them to emerge on route 115, allowing them to make the rest of their way to Rustboro. Tanya has some…

reservations about this plan, considering the fact that neither of them have gone caving and, while technically a route is mapped, it's not an official route. Also her size is likely to become a problem, and while the pokeball effectively removes the problem, she'd still rather not.

"I'll reiterate that hiking over or around the cave system carries less risk." She says.

"As we're both complete novices at underground navigation and the rock would block any distress beacon–""Yes Chasney, I know. But it's not like we're just walking into a random hole in the ground." Amelia sighs, smiling.

"The Meteor Falls cave system is one of the largest and most well documented cave networks in the world, it's a big tourist attraction, they do guided walks from both ends to the falls in the middle, we're just linking them."

"The fact they're guided still means it carries some risk." Tanya rebuts, but nods with a sigh." In any case, we've discussed the potential risks as far as we can until we ask for more information on the ground. I'm just trying to moderate expectations in the event we have to find another route." The quite likely event in her opinion, but there's no harm in planning for success, as long as the probable alternatives are considered.

Amelia yawns as she nods, folding the map before getting up from her bed to let Swellow in from outside.

"Ready to head out tomorrow?" She asks, to which the 'mon nods.

"Yep. You– Oh, you put all your… stuff away." He responds, looking around.

"It's weird how quickly humans can pack up and leave." He half mutters after, almost to himself. Tanya tilts her head at the comment.

"Oh? From everything I know about your line's biology I wouldn't think you'd be attached to a particular place either." Swellow twitches, hesitating as he glances up at Tanya with confusion.

"... Uh… I think I understand that? But whenever we start making a nest our nest stays there. If I had a nest and wanted to go somewhere else, I'd just… go there, and make a new one." Tanya nods at the clarification, noticing Amelia's interested side eye from where she's putting the map in her bag, but before the conversation can continue Tanya glances at the alarm clock on the nightstand and purses her lips at the time.

"We'll have to table this conversation till tomorrow, unless we want to start hiking tired." The comment has Amelia quickly stand up, abandoning her curious expression as she throws back the covers and reaches up into the bedside lamp to turn it off.

"Right! Tomorrow!" She says, clicking the lamp twice and plunging them into darkness with the sound of rustling covers.

"Night Chansey, night Swellow."

"Goodnight." Tanya calls back, and one of the few benefits to her current aura strain means that sleep comes quickly. But in those minutes before she drifts off, Tanya considers the true reason she'd agreed to this caving expedition. In the documents her sisters created, the catalyst was a meteorite excavated somewhere very close to Meteor Falls. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. Magma managed to nearly destroy everything with what they found in this area.

She needs to assess the place for herself, for signs of further activity, that Magma might be looking for another meteorite to try again. But it's not just the threat Team Magma poses, the task of equal or greater impotence is to determine whether the government isn't taking the risk seriously enough, and she needs to get herself further involved in ensuring this can never happen again. Because this will never happen again, that is a fact. The only question is what the soldier will have to do to make it a fact.

—-- –_– —-- The following morning is refreshingly absent of chaos, they wake up, Amelia gets dressed as Tanya throws on her bag, and Swellow watches on with his distinct lack of opposable thumbs or telekinesis. Fortunately for Tanya, the bottomless wellspring of energy at her core has almost completely recovered. It never felt like her energy was gone, the entire time she could still feel it, like a pinhole connected to the ocean, but the…

metaphorical 'aperture' that she draws the energy from was strained from drawing too much. But now as her eyes flare purple and the bed is made while the last of their items are packed away, Tanya allows herself the minor pleasure of indulging in the ease of moving things around without her useless little limbs. She'll still try to keep it a bit light for today, but she's almost certain it's not necessary.

With the benefit of telekinesis, by the time Amelia steps out of the bathroom in her hiking clothes she's met with a room that looks almost better than when they found it, save for some minor cracks in the plaster in the corners that they had no part in, and her bag floating next to her." Man telekinesis is useful." She laughs, grabbing the bag from the air.

"... Actually, Chansey, could you try to teach me?" Tanya tilts her head as she telekinetically buckles her own bag onto herself.

"Of course I can try. But I can make no promises." She squints at her partner, trying to estimate how much… magic or aura or whatever energy she can vaguely sense from living things Amelia has, it feels similar in both lives and while most academic papers here call it the "complexity threshold aural interface" once more the respected but controversial writings of Professor Oak has a much simpler title, that being 'soul.'

"You probably have enough raw power for it, but there's a reason humans aren't regularly learning such a useful skill." Tanya knows the reason, but it'd be impolite to state it directly when Amelia is asking for her help. Humans are, biologically, outstandingly weak at energy generation and even worse at controlling it. It's not a bias or judgement, it's a scientific fact that humans are just bad at it. Yet despite that they're… not the dominant species, but certainly the most secure species on the planet.

Goes to show what ingenuity, inquisitiveness, tool use, and cooperation will do for survival. And it's still quite odd to think about humans as an 'other,' now that Tanya's thinking about it. Amelia nods with a shrug.

"Thanks, and no offence to you but I'm not getting my hopes up either." She laughs, talking over her shoulder as she opens the door and steps out.

"I tried for ages to figure it out, but it'd be a nice skill to have… just in case." Amelia's expression wavers slightly before waving for her partner to follow with a shake of the head. Tanya looks at the door, feels inward to the energy swirling in her core, and tries to weigh the risk of straining herself to the annoyance and embarrassment of wedging her full sized body through this damn door again.

It takes less than two seconds before she starts drawing up the still truly astronomical amounts of power needed to shrink herself down, watching with some satisfaction as the world grows larger around her with a low stretching sound. She only releases the minimise after they've returned the room key and left the hotel for the last time, Amelia giving the man a smiling wave goodbye before turning to look up at her partner as they walk away.

"Oh yea. Chansey, could you… I dunno, I guess warn me if people are trying to be nice to me for the hair?" She asks, gesturing at her hair set in a loose traveling bun.

"I feel… I guess I don't feel bad for this guy because apparently he's trying to scam people, but… well… you get it right?" Tanya does not, but to abide by this request she doesn't need to, so she nods.

"Sure. If I notice someone giving you preferential treatment for your heritage I'll warn you." Her partner smiles.

"Thanks. Now let's go say our goodbyes and get out of this town!" —-- The first thing Tanya notices when they get to the pokecenter is that a pair of workmen are installing new doors, which is nice, and when they step between them into the center she sees the local Head Nurse manning the counter with a professional expression that doesn't slip even as she locks eyes with Amelia. The trainer talks first, breaking eye contact and rubbing one arm.

"Well… I'm out of here." She says, slightly awkwardly.

"Thanks for having me, I really think I learned a lot here." The nurse huffs a breath through her nose.

"I appreciate the sentiment." She says neutrally before pressing a button on the desk telephone, and her next words are echoed all around the room by the ceiling mounted speakers that normally play looped calming music.

"Nurse Ambrette to the front." Amelia blinks in surprise.

"Wait, I didn't know the phones could do that." The Head Nurse's lips quirk into a small smirk.

"Still more to learn then." She hums.

"Unfortunately for her, Chansey is at a house call right now, so I'll have to send your regards." The trainer makes a small disappointed noise then shrugs.

"Aw. Ah well. Thank's Nurse Jo–""Amelia." The woman interrupts with a stern tone.

"I'm not in charge of you anymore. It's not Nurse Joy to you." Amelia looks confused, then notices the tiny perk in the elder Joy's lips, then laughs as the door opens and Ambrette pokes her head into the room.

"Oh you're leaving today, I forgot! See ya! Good luck!" Amelia waves back with a smile.

"Thanks! Bye Aunt Lilly, bye Nurse Joy!" With that she then turns on her heel and speeds back outside, Tanya following shortly on her heels. The girl is… very good at goodbyes, much better than her, emotive yet succinct. Tanya could never figure out goodbyes. Just after they leave the center, what her partner said processes and the 'mon looks back down at her partner."'Nurse Joy?'" She quotes, answered by Amelia waving the implied question away with an embarrassed expression.

"I was… kinda rude to her in my head a few times for the whole… not being family thing." She says.

"I tried to keep it inside but I think she noticed and– Gosh this makes me look bad doesn't it?" Tanya huffs in amusement at the slightly rambling admission of… racism? Racism seems inaccurate, but there are certainly enough Joys for them to qualify as a race, but it still seems odd"Everyone has biases. As long as you don't let it impact your professional or personal relationships I don't think it's all that important."

"Yea… and it kinda did, but even if it didn't I'd still feel bad." She agrees with a wobble of the hand.

"I'll work on it. But for now… where are we going?" Tanya glances at the sun to get a rough bearing.

"Trailhead is to the north, right?" She asks, to which Amelia shakes her head, glancing up at the sun as well.

"More east northeast, so…" She trails off, spinning on her heel as she comes to an intersection and points.

"We go this way!" Tanya glances at the sun again, then looks down another road she's reasonably sure will lead them to the trailhead. But Amelia has gotten better at navigating, and she'd studied the map more thoroughly both last night and this morning… In the end, to avoid losing sight of her partner, the 'mon turns and follows behind, and as she walks she twitches in surprise as she hears the flutter of feathers before feeling Swellow's talons land on top of her head.

It's clear the avian is aware of how Tanya feels about this, as she can feel him shuffle his talons on top of her head with an anxious hum.

"When Amelia's jogging I can't sit on her shoulder anymore…" He chirps, trying to sound contrite.

"But since you're… um… do you think I could… I don't weigh much so…" Tanya cuts him off with a quiet rumbling exhale. This is absurd. She lacks the creativity to have even imagined something like this happening in any life, even in this one, for all its strangeness. …But it is true he doesn't weigh much. … Tanya searches for a good reason to refuse for a few more moments before releasing another, more exasperated rumbling sigh that almost has Swellow fly away before she can speak.

"Fine. But I will not be dealing with bird dander, so I will not find any bird dander on me, are we clear?" She can feel the hasty nod before he even says anything, so she picks up the speed to catch up to her partner before he has the chance to and she can change her mind.