#pmd:utopia

"Hell yeah!" Cheers a very happy looking pawmot, busting open the front doors of a dilapidated old building. He holds a purple coloured crystal up in the air gleefully. "The Ghost Shard is finally ours!"

From behind him comes a gallade, who promptly shuts the doors behind them politely before turning back to their partner. "We did well. All things considered." They fold their arms and give an amused smile. "Although, Ion, I do seem to remember you almost fainting from fear."

The pawmot's joys evaporate immediately. "H-Hey!" he sputters out. "That cofagrigus wasn't even using its regular coffin! How was I supposed to know it'd just leap out like that?! Why would a cofagrigus even be there in the first place…?"

"I assume at the behest of some particularly impish ghosts," the galade remarks, glancing up at one of said ghosts, heading back towards their home. The phantump waves happily at them. They give a curt nod back. "It did not help that a type infused crystal just happened to be found here, only increasing their antics."

Ion looks at the gem in his paws in contemplation. "Yeah… At least there's only one more of these things left for us to find. Right, Hero?"

Hero hums. "Yes, the Dragon Shard. Indeed…"

They gaze off, lost in thought, as they walk down the dirt trail. The branches of the dead trees of the surrounding forest crackling with the breeze. Ion continues staring at the crystal in his hands, it glimmering a faint purple with the silhouette of a specter fading in and out like the crystal's namesake. He sees his reflection in it with each time it fades out.

"The power of these things is incredible…" He thinks, grip on the shard tightening. "Everytime I see it, I think the same thing… The power to boost one's Energy, the power to change one's Energy. That kind of power is unthinkable. But just a fragment of it is right in front of me… Once they're all gathered, once the Crown is completed… What's going to–"

Before he can finish the thought a horrifying face appears below him, in his own shadow. Its face twisted and its smile wicked. Ion leaps back with a scream, barely keeping his grip on the shard. 

Hero is at his side in an instant. "Ion, are you alright?!"

Ion swallows, gasping for air. "Wh-what the hell was that?!"

A manic cackle breaks through the air as the pawmot's shadow suddenly starts moving, surfacing and forming in the space ahead of them. Eventually it takes the form of a misdreavus, who continued cackling as they took shape.

"Kya ha ha! Oh the look on your face!" They disappear briefly, reappearing as they morph to form a, frankly hilarious, mockery of the pawmot's expression, "Bleh!" They reform again. "Kya ha ha!"

Ion just groans. "You get your jollies in yet?"

The misdreavus giggles before letting out a pleased sigh. "Yeaaaaah! I think I did! Sorry, I just need one more for the road!" They start laughing again. "Just kidding, I'm not sorry at all! Kya ha ha ha!"

"Ugh…" Ion grunts, hugging the shard to his chest. He glances up at his partner and is almost shocked to see the gallade as stoic as ever.

He's 'almost' because, really, barely anything ever fazes them. If one didn't know any better, they would say that the gallade was nearly emotionless. Their face usually stayed in the same expression, and their tone seemed to always be deadpan.

Thankfully, Ion knew better. Like right now, while the gallade's face barely moved, the way their glare intensified on the misdreavus meant they were extremely irritated with them.

"What do you want, Shiki?" They say, their voice harsh.

"Ooooh don't be like that!" Shiki trills, floating causally upside down in the air. "I genuinely wanted to thank you for our little 'mummy' problem, y'know?"

"Well, you're welcome. But, did you have to scare the crap out of me?" Ion asks, glaring at the misdreavus as well.

"Well, no. But you know how we ghosts usually are!" She remarks, floating over to Hero, getting right up in their face.  "Besides, I can't exactly get a good scare from Mx. Large and In Charge here. I already tried when you first came here… several times!"

Hero remains as unflinching as ever, staring level at the mistrevias.

Shiki backs away. "Ah well, at least I got one last one from the scaredy mouse…" Ion sputters in protest but Shiki continues before he can say anything. "It's been a good night."

Her expression softens, giving Hero and Ion the first truly sincere look they've seen from her all night. "Seriously, thanks." She says with a smile.

She then fades away, leaving nothing but the sound of the crackling branches and a cold, bitter breeze. The two look at each other, smiling, before continuing along the path.

After a bit of walking along the trail Ion turns to his friend and tilts his head. "Seriously, did none of her tricks actually scare you tonight?"

Hero gives him a confused glance. "Is that what has been on your mind?"

"I just can't stop thinking about it!" He blurts. "Like, am I really that much of a scaredy mouse?"

"...I do not think you are. Otherwise, you would have run out on me several times while on this job."

Ion looks down at the crystal again. "I guess that's true."

"Some pokemon are afraid of different things," Hero continues. "Much like a fire type may be afraid of water, a grass type might be afraid of getting shriveled up from too much sunlight."

"Are… you afraid of anything, Hero?"

The gallade pauses to think for a moment, processing the question. Quite a while passes, so much so that Ion is about to tell them to forget about it, but Hero actually responds. "I believe I am."

Ion gasps, breaking out into a teasing grin. "So you are afraid of something!"  He grabs their hand excitedly, tugging at it incessantly. "You gotta tell me!"

The gallade looks at them for a moment, turning away to cough. "I, ah, do not think I will."

"Aw!" The pawmot whines, letting go of Hero's hand. "Why not? You already saw the stuff I'm afraid of today. Why can't you share yours?"

"I believe this is something I should keep to myself, that is all." 

Ion pouts, something that makes Hero's expression soften a bit. They pat their friend on the head and ruffle his fur a bit. "I may tell you someday, my friend. But, today is not that day."

"Fiiiiine," Ion relents, grabbing the hand ruffling his fur and moving it off. "Actually, let's have some fun with this."

Hero narrows their eyes. "Go on…"

"So, we got a bit before HAPPI locates the Dragon Shard, right?" Hero nods. "So, until then, lemme try to find out what your biggest fear is!"

"I… Really do not think you should–"

"Wimpod."

Hero blinks. "What."

"You heard me!" Ion teases, winking at them. "You're just scared, aren't you! That I'll find it."

"I highly doubt you will…"

"Then what's the worry? C'mon let's do this!" Ion shifts the Ghost Shard under one arm and sticks out a paw.

Hero stares at the outstretched paw contemplatively. Finally after a bit, they shrug and take his paw in hand.

They both needed some levity, given what was probably coming up soon anyways.

"Yess!" Ion cheers, pumping his paw in the air. "I'll figure out your greatest fear yet, Hero! Just you wait!"

The pawmot marches joyfully ahead, a pep in his step. 

Hero grimaces behind him. A part of them hopes he doesn't, but another part of them – the part that makes their heart soar whenever they see him first thing in the morning, happily munching on a platter of berries – sort of hopes he does…

Hero chuckles to themself. "Bring it on, Ion."

About a week later, Ion's on the second floor of their little shared house in Post Town, just above his friend's beloved reading chair. Hero had to step out for a moment, apparently Cinccino had gotten some new books in, so that gave Ion ample time to enact the plan the thought of a week prior. He snickers. This was going to be great!

He hears the front door opening and Ion swiftly ducks behind the railing, still keeping his paw over it just enough and clutching his weapon of choice. He hears the footsteps approaching closer and he can feel his smile widen in anticipation. The footsteps stop and Ion can tell by how loud they are that his target is in position, so he drops it.

He can hear the object hit its target with a thump, followed by some confused shuffling. He can't help it now, he starts giggling. The shuffling stops suddenly and Ion hears someone sighing.

Wait, that didn't sound like–

"Ion, what on Earth are you doing?"

Ion pops back up, and instead of Hero, he sees a very exasperated looking flareon.

"S-Sol!" Ion squeaks out. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

The bespectacled flareon narrows his eyes. "I came because I heard Hero was picking up some new novels. I was going to ask if I could borrow them once they were done." Sol flicks his ears, pushing his glasses up. "Now, may I inquire as to what you are doing?"

"Uh–!"

"Because it looks like you are just dropping toy spinarak on whoever decides to visit. Last I checked Day of the Dead was a couple months ago, Ion."

"Ahehehe…" Ion chuckles awkwardly. "I can explain, but do you mind coming up here real quick? And, uh, bring the toy?"

The flareon sighs, picking up the spinarak toy and climbing up the stairs. Approaching Ion, they plop the toy down at his feet and wait expectantly.

Ion rubs the back of his neck. "...Would you believe this is part of a game?"

"Elaborate."

And so he does. He explains the events of last week's mission at Crooked Castle and how they acquired the Ghost Shard. By the time he's done the flareon is looking at him with a mix of confusion and befuddlement. 

"So, you're trying to… scare him?"

Ion nods. "Yeah!"

"For… fun?"

Another nod.

Sol raises a brow. "And you think Hero, neigh fearless leader of your Gold Ranked Team Valiant… is afraid of spiders?"

"W-well it sounds a bit silly when you put it like that…" the pawmot stammers.

"Because it is. Ion, do you think if Hero does have a fear, like they claim, that it'd be something as common and simple as spiders?"

"It-It's one of the most common fears…?" 

Sol slaps a palm to their face. "Ion… I swear you two are going to be the death of m-!"

Ion slaps a paw to the flareon's muzzle before he can continue. "Wait, I hear something!" The pawmot ducks behind the railing again, giving a pleading look to Sol. Sol deflates in defeat, sinking behind the railing with Ion. He mouths a "thank you" at him. Sol just rolls his eyes.

They both hear the door creak open, and Ion picks up the spinarak toy. As Ion hears the footsteps grow close like before, he drops it. It lands with a thump again but unfortunately for Ion, he doesn't hear Hero scream in terror, but instead gives a tired sigh much like Sol had.

"Told you," Sol says bluntly. Ion glares at him, before he pops back up from his hiding spot. 

"It was worth a try!"

Hero gives him an amused look from below. "Spiders… Really?"

"Not you too!"

On cue, the flareon stands up as well. "Good afternoon, Hero."

The gallade's eyes light up in surprise. "Oh, hello, Sol. I assume you are here about the books?" 

Sol nods, then proceeds to walk back downstairs. "Indeed. I was wondering if…."

Ion folds his arms and scowls. It seems this wasn't going to be as easy as he thought.

It was time to ask around. Maybe someone in town or Paradise had some ideas…

"Mr. Swanna?" Ion starts as he plops down on the bar seat. "Are you afraid of anything?"

Swanna stops polishing the glass in his wing, giving Ion a confused look. "Odd question. But, regardless, hmmm…" He puts his free wing to his beak in thought. "I can't think of one for myself, but my mother is afraid of storms."

"Really?" Ion doesn't have many memories of the former cafe owner, but he couldn't imagine her being scared of that sort of thing.

"Quite so!" Swanna affirms. "She told me that, back when she was a wee ducklett just learning to fly, she and her flock got caught in a particularly nasty one. According to her, they very nearly didn't make it back home."

"Huh…" 

"She didn't let such a thing stop her though! If she even felt like a storm was coming while in flight, she would land and take shelter somewhere, instead of risking the rest of the journey. Of course when she took ownership of the cafe, she didn't have to do so as much."

If Hero was afraid of storms, Ion would have figured that out long before now. His face scrunches in thought.

"May I ask why you need to know this?" Swanna inquires.

"It's just for some research I'm doing, don't worry about it."

A smile forms on the bird's beak. "Then I won't. May I offer you a drink?"

"Yes, please," the pawmot replies. He's going to need it at this rate…

Over the course of the next week, Ion asks several of the locals. But, sadly, most of them give similar answers. Spiders, water, darkness, heights… Nothing that Ion wouldn't have noticed about Hero at this point.

However, that's not to say he didn't get a few interesting ones to try out…

Ion once again ducks behind the railing, smirking. Hearing the door open, he waits for a bit before raising the sharp object in his paw and…

POP

A long silence follows, before Ion hears, "Good try."

Ion tosses the leftover remains of the balloon aside. "Dammit!"

"Also, I think it is hard to hide from someone with aura sensing like myself."

"...Dammit!"

The next day, Hero walks up to the front door of their house, opening the door only to see a cartoonized, life sized, Mr. Mime doll in the entrance way. Its cheeks were painted white and sported a big red nose in the middle of its face. Hero pokes said nose and it makes a high pitched squeaking noise. The gallade stares at it for a moment longer before turning to the nearby bush.

"You are getting more creative with these, I can say that."

Ion pops out with a shout. "Oh, c'mon!"

Hero looks at the doll again. "How… exactly did you get this anyways?"

Ion laughs nervously, and Hero narrows their eyes. 

"You did not spend our team funds on it."

"It's a rental!"

"Hey, Hero! Come here for a sec! I'm having trouble deciding what scarf to wear for today's missions."

Hero notices the setup right away, but decides to humor their partner. They approach with some caution, however. "What about a Pecha Scarf?"

"Well, you see…" Ion trails off, before launching a Quick Attack to get behind the gallade, shoves his friend into the closet and locks it from the outside. The pawmot feels a bit guilty for it, but the millisecond he senses Hero is actually scared, he'll unlock it immediately. 

He ends up not needing to, as a Psycho Cut tears through the door like a hot knife through butter, revealing a slightly annoyed gallade. They hold out their hand, revealing a Pecha Scarf.

"Were you looking for this?"

Ion huffs. He should have seen that coming. Seems like the funds from today's missions are going towards a new closet.

The beginning of next week has Ion bursting through the front doors of Paradise Headquarters, making the current sole occupant of the building jump in fright.

"What the fu-!"

"Linebeck, I need to know what you're afraid of!" Ion blurts, then pauses. "Wait, never mind, that was a stupid question."

The dark-type samurott leers at him, ignoring the jab. "What do you want, pipsqueak?"

"I wanna find out what Hero's afraid of, so I've been going around asking around the city!" The pawmot's ears sag. "But I haven't had any luck so far… This is the last place I can think to ask."

Linebeck gives him a quizzical look. "Why do you…? Know what, never mind. I don't want to know."

Ion sighs. "I know you tend to be scared of, well, mostly everything. But, if you could choose at least one thing that terrifies you the most, what would it be?"

"Look, I may be afraid of danger, pipsqueak, but my days of running from it are long over by now." Linebeck raises a flipper to his chin in thought. "That said, if I have to choose one thing that'd make me lose it…" After a bit, Ion notices the samurott give a full body shiver. "...tentacles."

Ion's face scrunches in bafflement. "Tentacles…?"

Linebeck grimaces. "It's a long story, from back in my world. And one I don't care to share either."

"Huh…" Ion didn't think the leader of Paradise would have a weakness as odd as that, but he really can't judge. Despite all odds, and the samurott's tendency to avoid danger at any turn, this is still the same human-turned pokemon that stopped the Bittercold. 

The door opens just then, revealing a very cheerful looking snivy, travel bag in tow. "Dad, I bought– Oh!" The snivy sets the bag down. "Hi, Ion! What brings you here?"

"Hey, Ciela," he greets the snivy with a wave. "I was just asking ol 'Beck here what he's scared of."

Ciela snickers. "Was the answer 'anything?'"

Linebeck glares at her, but Ion can tell it's not genuine. "I can hear you over here, runt."

The snivy just continues to giggle, shutting the door behind her.

"Ciela, are you scared of anything?" In hindsight, Ion thinks it's a stupid thing to ask the girl. This is the same snivy that climbed all the way up to the Bittercold, oxygen deprived and heart being eaten away at by its negative energy, but was still able to stare at it dead in its non-existent eyes in sheer defiance, with all the hope in the world in her heart. Even after being told that she lost the ability to evolve due to her prolonged exposure to its influence, she barely batted an eye at it, saying she was fine as long as she was by Linebeck's – by her adopted father's – side.

Still, Ciela answers the question right away, with no hesitation. "Being alone."

Ion didn't expect that answer, and so quickly at that. "What?"

"I hatched on my own," she explains. "I grew up on my own, had to learn on my own…. Make money on my own, all so I could accomplish my dream. That no one else would be alone. I managed fine, but after meeting Dad, I realized just how lonely I was back then. I was just too focused on my dream to realize how sad I actually was." She looks down. "I don't want to go through that again."

Linebeck's expression softens. "Kid…" the old samurott gets up from his seat to trudge over and pick the snivy up in a hug. "You won't end up like that again. Not as long as I'm around to help it."

Ciela's smile widens as she tightens her grip on Linebeck. "Thank you," she whispers into his flipper.

Ion can't help but smile at the heartwarming moment. He might not have gotten any answer he could really use to scare Hero with, but it was fine. He had plenty of time…

Well, until he didn't…

Ion stares at the notice on the bulletin board in dismay. "That's it, huh?"

"Dragon Shard's Location Revealed: The Peak of Wyvern Hill! HAPPI Calling All Teams to Aid in Search! Reward: 1,000,000 Poké"

Hero closes their eyes. "It seems to be, yes…" 

"Haha, I never managed to find your fear, did I?" Ion laughs weakly. 

The gallade stares at him with an unreadable expression. "You did not."

A heavy silence follows. The final type shard… The final piece to create the Crown HAPPI was so desperate to make. This was a long time coming, they both knew, but still… They both had a really bad feeling about this. Shit was going to hit the fan, and they had to start preparing immediately. 

"One last guess."

Ion head snaps up to Hero, eyes wide. "What?"

"One last chance to find out what I am afraid of."

Ion hums, deep in thought before saying, "Water."

Hero smirks. "No–"

"Blood."

"That is two guess–"

"Snakes!" 

"Three gue–"

"Tentacles!"

"Four–" Hero pauses. "Wait, what?"

"Long story," Ion handwaves. "Crowds?"

Hero sighs, "Ion–"

"Floods?"

"Ion, I–"

"Open spaces? Needles? Being forgotten? Stairs? Death? Pain?"

The rest of Hero's patience finally wears thin, and finally they snap. "My greatest fear is losing you!"

Ion pumps his fist in the air. "Yes, I knew–!" Hero's words sink into the pawmot and he completely freezes, looking up at his friend, eyes blown wide. "...Wh-what…?"

Hero lets out a breath, letting all the tension out of their system. "I… am afraid of losing you, Ion."

Ion can feel himself grow warm under his fur. "I-I don't understand. What do you mean?"

Hero swallows and, to Ion, they almost look… nervous? "Ever since I woke up in that dungeon, with no memory to speak of, no place to go… You have been a constant in my life." They grab his paw and Ion suddenly forgets how to breathe. "You led me out of that cave, and into the light. That light has remained at my side ever since."

"H-Hero. I…" Ion tries to choke out but the words get caught in his throat.

"This mission, whatever is coming next…" they continue. "It scares me to no end, only because the possibility that I could lose you is real and I do not know how I would deal with that."

The pawmot feels eyes getting watery now. "Hero, I…" Ion swallows the lump that formed in his throat. "I feel the same way. I-I don't want to lose you either, Hero!"

Hero lets out a relieved breath. "I am glad, Ion." They tighten the grip on his paw ever so slightly and Ion feels as hot as a magcargo's magma. "But, what I know more than anything is that, no matter what happens today, tomorrow, or ten years from now… With you by my side, no matter my fears, I can accomplish anything."

Hero lets go of his paw to rummage through the bag at their side, and Ion has to resist the urge to grab it back and hold it tight and never let it go– "I got you something. I knew this day was coming, and I wanted to show my appreciation for you. Before it might become too late to do so."

They pull out a red cloak with a hood attached to it, the fabric attaching it adorned with gold stitching, sewn together neatly with precision and care.

Ion gawks at it. "Th-that's…!"

"A Reunion Cape," they answer for him. "I had Cinccino start making it last week."

Ion tilts his head. "L-Last week? When did you…" It hits him right then. "Wait, then…! Those books were–!"

"Borrowed from Sol," they finish with a smirk. "He was there that day to ask for them back, not to borrow them from myself."

"Y-you…!"

"I know it might not be a normal thing you'd wear, but I want you to have it nonetheless…" Hero holds it out to him. "That way, if you ever lose me, or if I lose you… you'll come right back."

Ion grabs it, clutching it close to his chest. "Are you kidding, Hero? I-I love it!" He chokes out, through gleeful tears. "Here, I'll put it on right now!"

Ion throws the cloak over himself, arms sliding through the sleeves with ease. He lifts the hood over his head and his ears slide perfectly through carefully placed holes on it. He stares up at Hero with a wide grin. "Welllll?" He trills. "How do I look?"

The gallade's eyes go wide and Ion swears he sees Hero go a bit red for a moment. Then, Hero leans down and cups the pawmot's chin with one of their hands.

"Wonderful."

Ion gaps at him, heat immediately surging to his face. "U-uhhh," He stutters in a stupor, eyes blown wide.

The two remain like that for what seems to be like the whole day… But eventually they both become aware of various pokemon entering the plaza, some of them casting curious glances in their direction. Hero quickly draws back, much to Ion's disappointment. "We should… start getting ready," They manage to say, avoiding eye contact with Ion.

Ion looks away in a similar manner, gazing up at the bulletin board notice with feigned interest. "Y-yeah, uh, totally. Sure."

Hero nods, then turns to walk to the main square. Ion reluctantly follows behind them.

"I should have said something more…" He thinks regretfully. "I should have told them then. How much they mean to me as well. How I…"

Ion's thoughts trail off, recalling the moment where the gallade cupped his chin. How close they were in that moment, so close he could feel Hero's breath tickling his fur. He remembers wanting to grab the hand and pull them in closer, wanting to make his true feelings known to the gallade without room for doubt.

Ion shakes his head. No point in thinking about that now. He would make sure to let him know in the future. Because they would have a future. After all… He tugs on his Reunion Cape with a soft smile.