Pokémon Mars

Chapter 57: The Getaway

As Nyx's eyes fell from the moon to her tattoos, Volo became vaguely aware of the conversation between the guards. They were scientists once. They excitedly discussed how they witnessed history in the making as they felt the ground trembling and saw the new moon up in the sky. Volo was vaguely curious. That was exactly the kind of thing that used to intrigue him. He wondered if Nyx, wherever she was, looked up at the new moon like he looked at the sky in her tattoos. He smiled. Of course she would be admiring Romulus. She was Pluto's daughter. Pluto loved the Moon.

The guards weren't paying attention. As long as Volo didn't annoy them, they forgot he existed. All that mattered were the hands of the clock ticking to the end of their shift. Volo moved the loose tile. The first photo he saw was one of Muirne holding Nyx and Styx.

297 years ago, he swore that no matter how many centuries it took him, he would meet Arceus and conquer it. What he was really saying was that no matter what it took, he would create a better world. Back then, he couldn't accept that Arceus chose Akari or that because of her actions, the world did improve. He also couldn't see that his own actions, whether morally right or wrong, were the catalyst. 31 years ago, he lost to Khalid and saw it all clearly. One man couldn't change the world. Akari, alone, didn't change the world. Akari, Volo and many others, human and Pokémon alike, changed the world. There were many names and excuses for how his ambitions manifested, from pure evil to mental illness, but what he really wanted was for no-one else to suffer like he did and on a more selfish level, what Sonnet wanted: to feel like he belonged enough to be loved.

He looked from the photos to the faded tattoo on his own wrist. It was half of a heart, containing Kantonian characters that said 'forever.' His wife's body had long decomposed in the soil of the Earth, but her wrist once bore the other half of the heart. He glanced at the guards. They chattered away. Volo had never spoken a word of Seri, but he understood it at this point. He gathered the photos and stowed them in the spacesuit's backpack. He picked up the loose tile.

The guards didn't notice him creeping up on them. No-one ever did. Before the conscious guard could register that his colleague randomly collapsed, he was whacked with the tile. Volo sent out Primo's Metagross. It was as strong as Sonnet promised it was. The bars were ripped out.

Volo snatched the spare keys on the wall. He threw the guards in an empty cell. He glanced at the rota and clock. There were four hours and 36 minutes until their shift ended, so he had four hours and 36 minutes until someone chased him. He pulled on the stolen spacesuit. Pretending to be Wish was risky in itself, but it was much safer than showing his own face. He returned Metagross and ran.

He didn't head straight to the exit. The corridors were quiet. Volo saw no-one else on the way to the kitchen. He took several bottles. Then he hurried to the farm where Pokémon were kept. It was late. The farmers were asleep. Volo asked the mother Butterfree to fill the bottles of Sleep Powder. A tour group were about to leave the dining room after their guide and chef finished their speech about food in the 'Origin Village.' They were the first victims of Sleep Powder. Metagross levitated them to the prison. Volo stole the driver's keys and ID while Nihilego and Metagross throw them all into another empty cell. Then he returned the Pokémon and ran off to the dormitories. The other guards were already asleep. Volo shoved Sleep Powder up their nostrils just in case. They went to the prison next.

Sonnet did him a favour, so he owed Sonnet one. He knocked on Venera's door. As he expected, there was a bag filled with her few possessions on the bed. She was pale, as if she was about to faint at the sight of Wish's spacesuit, but she scowled and held out a scratched Master Ball that Volo recognised. It contained the Lunala that took Poppy and her friends to Mars, which was the very same Lunala that brought Volo the future, though it wasn't in a Master Ball back then. He caught it in an ancient Poké Ball.