Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Chapter Text

The electric glint of lightning striking far above the surface cut through the inky midnight waters. The blinding streak overwhelmed the young serpent’s night vision, but it didn’t really matter at the moment. He could still navigate by the churning of the current. It grew louder and louder as he swam closer, until his vision cleared and he could see it rushing a couple feet past his snout.

He wasn’t a coward! He would prove it! He inched even closer to the current, slowly reaching out a tail tip-

He was swept up with extreme violence, ripped from the calm waters he was in just moments before with an intensity that left him temporarily stunned. After he recovered from his stupor, he tried to swim back out, but the overpowering pull of the raging current was impossible to fight against. He flailed futilely.

A terrified screech pierced the roar of the water. Was it him? No- his mother!

“Mommy!” He screamed with everything he had, so loud that his throat was tearing to shreds from the force. He wanted her to save him- needed her to save him. But his pitiful voice couldn’t cut through the cacaphony.  He was swiftly dragged further and further away from his would-be savior and the only home he ever knew.

Slam!

His head erupted in agony, the pain slicing sharply through the overwhelming terror. It hurt so much! Was he going to…? To..? He struggled to form any coherent thoughts. Everything was getting so fuzzy, fading to darkness, to nothingness, to…

…

“Are we there yet?” The currents ripped at Jet fiercely, and his flippers burned as he struggled to keep up with his mother. This was nothing like the calm, sleepy waters in the bay, and Jet didn’t appreciate the difference. Still, the reef could be a lot more fun than the tiny cove that he and the other finizen calves had been stuck in their entire lives. If they ever got there, that is.

Mom continued to stare out ahead. “Mmm, just a few more leagues I believe, so-”

“What’s that mean?”

“We’ll probably be at Splendent Reef in around an hour.”

Jet groaned. “That’s a long time momma!”

“I know bud. Once we get there, we can find a nice cave so that all you calves can rest a bit.” Mom glanced back at him with an amused smile. “Although, for some odd reason, I feel like you’ll want to swim circles around everyone else once we find one!”

“My flippers are already tired.”

“Then you agree that you’ll go right to sleep without any objections?”

“I didn’t agree to anything!” Jet jerked his eyes to the moonlit backs of the pod members ahead of him.

Mom chuckled. “Well, I suppose we’ll just see what happens when we get there then.”

“I guess so!”

Jet glanced down then looked back up to focus on the long swim. Then he glanced down again, sending some clicks to investigate further. The fuzzy shape of something really weird laying on the seafloor echoed back. He slowed.

His mother glanced back at him with concern. "Jet, I know you're tired. Do you need me to help you swim?" Jet shook his head.

"I see something down there!" Jet swung his head, gesturing at the faint shape outlined in the murky depths. He started to tread water, and pod members began to pass him.

"But you can't slow down bud, we'll get separated from the pod!" Mom swam back to him. "There'll be plenty of new things to see once we get to the reef."

Jet darted for the shape. His mother dove after him. "You don't know what that is! Stay away from it!" Jet ignored his mom and continued down at top speed until…

"I think it's a pokemon! Not an us pokemon though." He halted. He could still only make out a silhouette, but now it was much more defined. It could have been blue, though in the water everything looked blue from far away. He clicked at the shape. The echo revealed a long and thin body, with some sort of ridged spikes on its head. "What do you think it is, momma?"

"What I think is that we need to go back up to the pod!" she said as she caught up. "We shouldn’t interact with any strang…” She gasped. “Why, that looks like a calf!" She dove down to meet the shape, and Jet followed.

At the bottom of the seafloor, he finally saw the pokemon clearly. They were small and cyan with a white belly. Two spikey white fins protruded from both sides of their face, and a small white bump rose from the center of their forehead. They sported another much bigger and oblong bump where their snout should have been. The rest of the body was just a thin and long flukeless tail. The creature appeared to be asleep on the seafloor, their belly up and body folded around a tall rock that stopped them from drifting out with the currents. I wouldn’t want to sleep there. Jet thought with a frown. Looks uncomfortable.

His mom turned the small snake over, revealing a purpling bruise on the back of their head. "They’re injured," she murmured.

That explained the weird pose. Stream looked a bit similar when she had gotten hurt running into a rock at the cove. Her mom had gotten super freaked out, even though Stream had woken up a couple minutes later.

“What are they?”

“I don’t know. But they shouldn’t be down here alone. And hurt too…”

His mom leaned down and draped the strange pokemon over her back. "Come along Jet," she said, and once Jet was beside her, they swam up extra fast to catch back up with the pod, which made Jet's flippers burn even more.

"What are we going to do with them, momma?"

“I’m not sure. I’ll have to show Flip and the rest of the pod. I suppose we’ll try to find their parents.” His mom gazed into his eyes intensely. “Don’t go swimming off again, you understand me?”

“Ok momma.”

He stared at the strange pokemon slung on his mother’s back. He wouldn’t even think of rushing off, not now that the weird pokemon was here. If Mom didn’t know what they were, then that meant that they were really interesting. Probably even more interesting than the reef! Jet grinned. Today was shaping up to be way more exciting than he ever imagined.

Chapter Text

Nine years later

The glint of lightning cutting through inky water. Thump. The overpowering pull of a raging current impossible to fight against. Thump.  A terrified scream piercing the roar of the water.  Thump. Pain slicing through the overwhelming terror.  Thump.  The agony and fear fading into darkness, then nothingness.

Cyan stared off into the bright sunlit waters ahead of him.  Bubbles floated up in the corner of his vision with each dull thud of his serpentine tail against the cave floor.  It was always that same memory, a nauseating memory that he knew held the key to finding out who he was and where he came from if only he could recall a few more details. He closed his eyes tight, trying to dredge up something else, anything else.

“Hey, you up already?”  Cyan glanced to the back of the cave. Jet stretched and swam up to him with his characteristic energy, despite just waking up. The young finizen stared out at the teal water gleaming outside, squares of filtered light dancing across his sides and eyes.  “Why didn’t you let me know? It looks like a perfect day to explore!”  Cyan hesitantly opened his mouth. It would be really nice to stay in the cave for just a few more minutes.  “Gonna go ask Mom if we can leave!”  Jet darted out of the cave and out of Cyan’s sight.  Cyan closed his mouth with a sigh, and shut his eyes again. He had just settled back in when he heard the sound of fins cutting through bubbling water.

“Hey, you aren’t fallin’ asleep are you?  She said we’re good to go!”

Before Cyan could fully open his eyes again, Jet took off. Maybe this is for the best, Cyan thought. Not like I ever remember anything important anyway. Cyan followed.

As the coral-covered cave system that they came from faded into the waters behind them, Jet swam up towards the surface.  Cyan continued heading towards the reef. He'd be back soon.

A little while later, Jet returned from taking his morning breath. He slotted himself next to Cyan, then looked him directly in the eye. Oh Kyogre. Did I do something wrong?

“You seem kinda off today.  Any reason in particular you were just staring off into space and nodding off?”

Cyan broke the uncomfortable eye contact. “Just thinking.”

“About?”

“Nothing important.”  Cyan plastered what he hoped was a convincing smile on his face.  “Where are we heading?”  Just drop it. Please. The last thing he wanted to do was ruin his friend’s good mood with his troubles.

“The town square I guess.  Mom would get mad if we went anywhere actually fun.”  Cyan couldn’t find it in himself to be upset about that.  Jet’s idea of fun was dark caverns on the outskirts of the reef and deep trenches that the strongest finizen couldn’t dive to the bottom of without running out of breath.   Not anywhere any calf should want to go. “And any of the other pod members would rat us out in a heartbeat if we did anyway.  Spending a day like this sitting in the cave would be such a waste.  At least in the square we have a chance to hear or meet someone interesting.”

The pair had finally reached the outermost corner of the square, a euphony of sea life greeting them. Rock formations formed pillars and shallow caves that jutted out of the landscape, coral blocking out the navy rock underneath. Certain caves had signs hung at the top of their mouths to advertise the different stores and services offered by the pokemon that made their livelihoods there. Nearly every color that Cyan could imagine existing in its most vivid form was represented in just the coral alone, let alone the actual inhabitants. Vast lines of 'mons of all different shapes, swimming styles, and sizes weaved in, out, and around the colorful structures as they went about their business, their motions kicking up a slight amount of silt into the water from the sand below. But even with such a grand variety of species, there was never anyone that quite looked like him.

 Jet squinted and darted his gaze around the crowd, considering each pokemon.  “Don’t really see anything out of the ordinary...”

Cyan’s eyes caught on a mantine that was floating a few yards away by the Octillery Shop, engaged in a conversation he couldn’t quite make out. The pokemon’s tail ribboned out in the slight current as he talked to Octillery, who appeared to be listening intently behind the counter.

“Uh, well… what about him?” Cyan flicked his tail in the mantine’s direction.

“Oh, duh! Mantine travel all over everywhere outside of the reef. Can’t believe I missed that!”

“They should all still be off on their migration, thinking about it. Why’s this one back here so-”  

“Truly?!”

Cyan jumped at Octillery’s sudden outburst. Some pokemon stopped in their tracks, startled, while others twisted around or swam closer to see what the commotion was about.  The shopkeeper looked around at the audience that she had acquired, then folded her tentacles together and leaned forward over the counter towards the mantine, murmuring something that Cyan couldn’t catch.  Chatter arose from the pokemon nearest to the shop, and a crowd swiftly formed around the pair.  

Jet dove to get closer to the still-growing cloud of pokemon, Cyan following him into the packed mass.

“I swear it, strangest sight I’ve seen to this day!”  Cyan had to strain his neck around the crowd to see the mantine shake his head.  “Not sure what they even think their business could be all the way down here.”

“How did they even manage to make it there?” a quilfish near the front of the group asked.

The mantine’s eyes narrowed. “They were partially encased in a bubble each, I assume to breathe.  After all, land dwellers can’t survive without air.”

The crowd erupted into a mess of questions, arguing, and exclamations.  

Cyan looked over to his friend.  Jet had an odd gleam in his eye, one that always seemed to pop up when he was on the verge of recklessness.  Cyan’s spiked fins went flat against his head, a sense of unease settling in his chest.  

“Land dwellers!”  an arrokuda cried out as he darted through the reef to meet the crowd.  “There are land dwellers approaching the reef just before Prismatic Pass!”  

If the crowd’s noise was like an eruption before, this was a flat out explosion.

Pokemon bolted both towards and away from where the arrokuda came from, kicking up a huge fog of silt and knocking Cyan around like a current would drag a lone calf.  After he regained his bearings, he swam out of the murk that had been generated by the frenzy. Cyan whipped his head around. Jet was gone, but he knew exactly where he went.  Cyan headed north towards the pass.

Soon he came up on a coral shelf, a light blue bubble-wrapped tail sticking out of the top of it.  Jet was mercifully floating above the crowd this time, peering over the coral to stare at the land dwellers up ahead.

Cyan swam up to meet him, then peeked over his friend's head.

“They look even weirder than you do, Cyan!” Jet teased.  The comment sent a quick jab through his chest, but Jet wasn’t wrong.  Cyan's eyes were instantly drawn to the largest pokemon in the group, a titanic white and pink figure between their companions.  They had tail flukes and flippers, and their blubbery and round shape bore a passing resemblance to the wailmers that occasionally visited the reef. However, the resemblance ended with their thick, stout legs and the fierce spikes protruding from the outside of their mouth and head.  Scars ran down their sides and mouth, a distinct light pink against the rest of their white and grey hide. A bubble floated above their blowhole, and despite their swimming appendages they were walking on the seafloor, kicking up large clouds of sand with each footfall.  

Cyan shivered with a strange, almost instinctual unease and then looked to the orange and cream pokemon in front of the titan.  They were significantly smaller and more streamlined, but they still had feet and arms, from which protruded small blue fins. They had a similar bubble to their gigantic companion, but it was much smaller and wrapped around their head, distorting their facial features as they moved. They appeared to have a rubbery yellow… something around their neck that trailed down to the bottom of their back, though it was impossible to tell what it was from a distance. Stranger was that the pokemon had two long, pointed tails.  Cyan couldn’t even begin to figure out what sort of function such a thing would serve. And the other…

“Is that a grass type?” Cyan asked. He definitely hoped not. The third pokemon was more ordinary than the other land dwellers- their body shape was serpentine like Cyan’s, which made them seem like a much better fit for the water than their companions.  However, the pokemon was also multiple vivid greens, with yellow highlights.  There were three flat leaves growing out of the edge of their tail, and their neck was surrounded by a collar that curled over into long spirals on either side of the pokemon. Long fangs and golden earrings gleamed through their bubble.  They too chose to sliver across the sea floor instead of swimming, and the pokemon's bubble-distorted head was tilted up, as if they were the most important pokemon in the reef, and all others were beneath them.

“Uh, dunno.  Looks really green regardless.”  Jet grinned. “What if we went and asked them?” 

He knew that Jet would suggest something like that. Cyan wrapped his tail tightly around Jet’s to get a chance to reason with him before the finizen did something impulsive. “We don’t know them, Jet! What if they’re dangerous, or-or they hate children and hurt them?!”  

“Huh?”  Jet glanced back and shook Cyan off with a flick of his tail.  “Why would they hurt any kid in front of all these pokemon?  That would be like the biggest death wish ever!”

“They still look really dangerous!  I really don’t like the look of that really big spikey one, and you wouldn’t pair well against a grass-type.”

“But the grass-type looks the most like y… You know what?” Jet’s face lit up.  “They all look really strange like you do!  Uh, no offense!”

Cyan averted his eyes. Jet never meant any harm with his comments. He hoped. “None taken?” 

“What I’m trying to say is, what if they know what you are, and maybe where you came from, since they obviously aren’t from around here either?  They could even know your pod personally!”

“They seem to come from land though.  I don’t think I do.”  

“But you can breathe above water, right?  And your body shape looks a lot like that one,” Jet pointed to the suspected grass type of the group.  “Who’s, like you just said, obviously from land!”

“I guess... But I still don’t think that-“

“That settles it then!” Jet sped off towards the trio.

Cyan froze in horror, his heart dropping to his stomach. “Wait!” He rushed to follow his reckless friend.

Jet dove down the reef, scattering the sea of pokemon who crowded to see the strangers left and right as he barreled through them.  Cyan was left to quickly maneuver around the startled and, in some cases, aggravated masses that Jet left in his wake, apologizing for both himself and his friend along the way.  

Jet burst from the crowd and intercepted the land trio.  Cyan hung back at the edge of the crowd, his fins trembling.  He was still quite a long way from the land dwellers, but he could see the green serpent startle slightly before staring at Jet from above their upturned nose. Jet had inexplicably decided to position himself directly in front of the spiked titan, who towered above him. They blinked, then turned to the orange double-tailed pokemon.  Double-tail shrugged then motioned to Jet.  Spiked Titan sighed, bubbles erupting out of their enormous mouth.

“Have you seen an azumarill pass through here?”  Despite the distance, Spiked Titan’s voice reverberated throughout the reef, vibrating the edge of Cyan’s fins.  The entire crowd could probably hear that. If she has that powerful of a voice, then a battle with her… Jet responded, though Cyan couldn’t hear what he said.

“That ‘somethin’ else’ will have to wait, kid.  We’ve got something much more pressing to attend to.  Once again, have you seen an azumarill?”  Double-tail might have raised their eyebrows at their companion, though it was tough to make out for certain through the bubble. 

“And why should he bother answering your question?”  a pokemon shouted from within the crowd.  “You’ve intruded into our home, and now you’re making demands of children!”

Spiked Titan glared in the general direction of the shouter, which was thankfully nowhere near Cyan. “Our team is down here to apprehend a dangerous criminal.  I would think that you would see that as a favor we are doing you rather than a favor you are doing us.”  At this response, Double-tail tapped Spiked Titan, and jabbed a thumb upwards towards the surface.  Spiked Titan’s eyes narrowed, but she nodded, and the trio swam up and breached the surface together.  

Thank the great Kyogre. Cyan bolted to Jet.

“Why did you do that?”  Cyan’s voice was much shakier than he wanted it to be. “They could have hurt you!”

“You’re still going on about that?  I mean the big wailmer-ish pokemon was kinda rude, but she wasn’t gonna attack me!”  Jet chuckled, clearly either oblivious or dismissive of the danger he just put himself into. “Besides, I’ve got a pretty good track record with befriending odd pokemon.” 

“That still wasn’t-”

“JET!”  Jet’s eyes widened at his mother’s roar, whipping around as she raced towards him.  

“Uh, hi mom!” 

“Go back to the cave, now!”

“But-”

“No buts!”  Echo motioned sharply for her son to swim beside her.  Jet stared at his mother for a moment, then moved to her side, looking quite sullen. The pair then started swimming in the direction of the cave.  Unsure of what else to do, Cyan followed them back.

…

“I cannot believe that you would be so reckless!” Jet opened his mouth, presumably to retort, but Echo continued on. “No, I can. You pull something nearly every week. But to approach land dwellers like that? They could have hurt you! What in the great depths’ name were you thinking?!”

“But they didn’t!” Jet objected, his outraged voice reverberating back from the cave walls. “And they were from somewhere different. I just wanted to talk to them!”

“The fact that they’re not from the reef is what makes it so dangerous Jet! They don’t have to answer to anyone here. And who knows if they’d ever be punished wherever they came from?”

“Flip and Whirlpool would never let them go if they hurt me or anyone else in the pod.  Palafin never let the wicked go unanswered!”

“But that doesn’t stop you from getting injured! Or worse!”

“So I’m just supposed to watch as they leave? They could have known something about Cyan, and now we’ve missed our chance to learn it!"

Echo glanced at Cyan, and he looked away, pretending to be engrossed in a small divot in the cave floor. She sighed. “Look Jet, I understand you want to help. I really do, but you should have gotten an adult.”

“And miss out on getting to talk to them? I’m fine mom. We were never in any sort of danger!”

“That you noticed! You can’t just go-"

“Echo!” 

The entire room turned their heads to the entrance to figure out who just interrupted the argument. It was… Whirlpool? “Oh thank the great Kyogre! You’re all here!” The palafin looked uncharacteristically frazzled, his wide eyes and relieved words at their mere presence betraying panic despite the attempt at a laidback smile.

“Whirlpool? We just got back.” Echo looked incredibly uneasy. As she should. The buzz of alarm was settling into Cyan’s chest. He had never seen either of the pod’s palafins like this. “What’s wrong?”

“A finneon calf was kidnapped near Splendent Reef. I’m checking up on everyone here, while Flip is gathering everyone who isn’t.”

Echo looked towards Jet, eyes filled with worry, but her son’s gaze was locked on Whirlpool. “Do we know the culprit?” she asked.

“Yes. The parents reported an azumarill. He knocked out the parents, then swiped the kid.”

An azumarill? Wasn't that…

“The land dwellers were asking about an azumarill!” Jet blurted out. He finally looked back at Echo. “That’s what I was talking to them about!”

Whirlpool started. “The land dwellers? You spoke with them?”

“Yeah! They were super-“

“Actually, hold that thought kid. Still got more ‘mons to check up with!” Whirlpool waved a fin as he exited the cave. “Get ready to go to the safecave!” he shouted as he dove down to the next cave entrance.

This was awful.  It was the kind of thing you may hear about happening in the open ocean, where there would be less pokemon to witness such a crime, but not here.  The reef was supposed to be safe. If he and Jet had happened to have stumbled into the wrong place at the wrong time today...

Cyan looked to Echo, fins quivering. She met his eyes and smiled assuredly. “They’ll have it figured out.” But with the way Whirlpool had acted, Cyan wasn't so certain.