[crow]

Everything hurt. There was a bright light until there wasn't, and then...

Get up.

Acheron groaned as he rolled to his feet. Get up. He had to get up. There was no time--- he was consumed by a sense of urgency that pounded through his veins before he even managed to quite remember what it was that he was rushing towards. The only thing he understood was that his mistress was in danger, and that he had to stop it at all costs.

[crow]

But the ground beneath his feet, once he had regained them, wasn't at all what he had expected. Acheron saw for the first time where he was--- saw the grey stone around him, beneath him, the clear expanse of sky above. Not the wood flooring of his mistress's residence, not the beams that crossed the high roof filled with strange shadows.

And not his mistress, either. She was nowhere to be seen. The servants, the strangers, all of them gone. What was this place? Just what had happened to him?

[crow]

Acheron tried his best to remember. He recalled the sense of foreboding that had led up to everything else; as an Absol, he was no stranger to such things. He didn't know what it was, but he had never been the type to doubt his instincts. And when they came for his mistress...

There had been an altercation. That much was clear. The last thing he could recall was jumping forward to take a blow for her, but past that... nothing. Light, and pain, and then... this.

[crow]

As he looked around himself, searching for any clue of the house, he found that he was not as utterly alone as he had thought. He saw a pale yellow shape not far from where he stood, lying prone upon its side. Almost immediately, he was suspicious. He could tell, from shape and scent, that this was another Pokemon. One of those that had been used in the attack...? He didn't know.

He approached slowly, cautiously, hackles raised. He watched it for any sign of movement, lest it be the only warning he received before it launched an ambush.

[crow]

One step, and then another... and then a third. But nothing happened. The shape remained prone, and as Acheron closed in, he could recognize it for what it was: a Ninetails.

Just as he had stopped again to have a closer look, he saw its eyelids twitch, and leaped back to put some distance between them again. A Ninetails could lash out with fire at a moment's notice, and Acheron wasn't confident in his abilities to dodge a strike at that range, not against such a quick opponent.

[crow]

Contrary to Acheron's expectations, the Ninetails roused slowly. It seemed... disoriented, he realized, watching it come to with an air of confusion, glancing about this way and that. So this Pokemon didn't know where she was either. That was some comfort, he supposed. Whatever they had done to send Acheron away had taken some of their own forces with them.

"Speak," said Acheron. "Tell me why your masters have come for the seer."

The Ninetails didn't respond, though it turned to look at him, eyes narrowed as if trying to focus.

[crow]

Whatever it saw, the sight made its eyes go wide. "Speak," Acheron urged again.

"... Acheron?"

Neither the voice nor the words were what he expected, and now it was Acheron's turn to be taken aback. "How do you know my name?" he asked, his tone turning sharp. He was his mistress's only guardian, and associated little with outside Pokemon. Perhaps his name was known; his mistress's reputation was significant. But even if that was the case, he couldn't make sense of the Ninetails' response.

[crow]

What could she think to gain by using his name? To confuse him, to force him to let down his guard...? He paid even closer attention to her movements, but his fighting experience told him that she really wasn't poised to attack. His sixth sense was calm. The danger, such as it was, had apparently passed.

But that brought him no comfort. He didn't know if he had succeeded or failed.

"How..." The Ninetails' brow furrowed, as if she was puzzling something over. "How are you speaking to me?"

[crow]

"What?" said Acheron. He couldn't help it. He really had been surprised this time. If she had chosen to attack him in that moment, she almost certainly would have had the upper hand, so it was fortunate for him that her disoriented manner seemed to be genuine. But that didn't answer any of his questions.

"Acheron," said the Ninetails. "It really is you, isn't it? But what happened? There were men, ad then you jumped in front of me, and..."

She fell silent, while Acheron looked at her, suddenly aghast. No, he thought. No, it couldn't be...

[crow]

Something had occurred to him in that moment, but as soon as the thought flitted through his mind, he found himself desperately hoping that it wasn't true. It couldn't be true. His mistress was a human, and there was no power that could turn a human into a Pokemon. That sort of thing was the stuff of tales, nothing more... wasn't it?

And yet, the things she'd said... He couldn't think of any other explanation, aside from an attempt to trick him into trusting her, perhaps.

[crow]

But to pick such an outlandish ruse would have been a gamble at best, and even if she had been angling for an opening, Acheron was aware that he had given her one by this point, despite his best efforts to prevent it. Why, then, had she not taken advantage of it? Was she playing a longer game?

"What do you want from me?" he asked, still not quite daring to believe it.

"What? No... Acheron, it's me. It's Tomoe. What's the matter with you?"

[crow]

The confusion and the hurt in her voice sounded genuine. Even the way she spoke was strangely reminiscent of Acheron's mistress. Quietly, Acheron sat himself down. His head was beginning to hurt, whether from the strangeness of this revelation or from the attacks he had suffered. He was in no state to be puzzling over such a riddle.

"Why are you looking at me like that, anyway?" she went on. "Well, I suppose it's a little strange that I can hear your voice, but it's probably just another seer thing, isn't it?"

[crow]

She hadn't, he realized, become aware of her own predicament just yet. Weariness tugged at him as he waited for her to notice. He already knew that she wouldn't be happy once she knew. It was only the scale of her displeasure that was a mystery to him.

His mistress, a Pokemon. And the two of them, transported to some strange place he did not know. These rocks, the smell of this place, none of it was familiar. However were they supposed to get home under circumstances like these?

[crow]

And even if they found their way back by whatever efforts Acheron could muster, what then? Would the people of their city accept a Ninetails as their seer? It might have been an even more foolish decision to return if they were ousted, come to that. But if not home, then where else could they go...?

"Come on, Acheron. If you're going to talk, you might as well say something," said Tomoe, exasperated. "What are you being so quiet for?" She rose to her feet, making as if to walk towards him, but then stopped cold in her tracks.

[crow]

She glanced down. Acheron waited, bracing himself. For a moment, there was silence; and then, an ear-splitting scream.

"I'm--- I----" The Ninetails--- his mistress--- stared at her own paws in horror. Whirling, she took in her hindquarters, and the nine silky tails that trailed behind her. "No. What is this?" she said, her breaths already coming fast and shallow as she turned this way and that. "What happened to me?"

"Lady Tomoe," said Acheron, years of duty overcoming his weariness and his own shock, urging him to step in. "Please, calm yourself."