#taz crossover

--

A full day later, the Absol is still following Barry around. It still seems agitated, he thinks, or maybe it’s just the regular kind of youthful energy. In any case, the magic coin that speaks in his voice gave him a place to investigate, so he’s trying to get that over with, and the pup can come with him if it wants.

But as he reaches his destination (a deep-looking cave, set into the mountainside), the Absol gets abruptly very upset. It runs back and forth from him, barking, trying to lead him away from the entrance.

It’s definitely trying to warn him, probably that there’s some danger awaiting inside. Barry frowns, considering. He could just walk away, disobey the coin. But something in his chest gets tight at the thought of leaving any stone unturned in his search for... for... whatever it is he’s looking for. And it’s that very feeling that drove him out here in the first place.

“I’ll be quick,” he tells the Pokémon, to its great dismay. “In and out. It’s real important. Why don’t you, uh. Wait out here, where it’s safe? I’ll be back out in a jiffy.” (He doesn’t want to think he’s going to die in there, but still -- the thought of endangering this practically-a-baby bothers him a lot more than endangering himself.)

But it follows him in anyway, proving just as stubborn as he is when he tries to dissuade it. When it realizes he’s still not going to follow him out, it follows behind more quietly, its stride low and anxious.

They’re pretty deep when the Absol pup suddenly stands straight up, alert, and barks at him. He frowns, opening his mouth to question it, when he feels the thing it sensed coming moments before (days before, if he’s making an honest guess). A tremor wracks the cavern, making him stumble.

A small part of him wants to keep going -- see what he can find in the depths, hope the quake doesn’t worsen. A larger part of him fears for his life, and even more for the pup that’s not going to leave this cave without him.

Cursing, Barry turns and makes a shooing motion as he starts running back in the direction they came. “Alright, let’s get the fuck outta here!”

He realizes quickly that he’s going to outrun the Absol, it’s just so small, so he scoops it into his arms as he passes it. Thankfully, after a moment of confused squirming, it lets itself be carried. It barks as he goes (encouragement? anxiety? he’s not sure), and leans its head towards the turns he needs to take to get out.

And when natural light filters back into his vision, it’s a sheer miracle he keeps his footing as a heavier tremor cracks through the cave. Instinct older than his body tells him he’s not going to make it out. But just because he won’t doesn’t mean--

Barry stops, and with the leftover inertia, he throws the Absol out into the light. He keeps running after that (just in case -- he still wants to survive). He sees it just begin to get back to its feet, desperately twisting around to look at him, and then it

--hurts really fucking bad--

and then it’s dark.

--

Outside, the Absol rises onto its hind legs, pawing at the collapsed boulders now blocking the way into the cave. It howls, and paces, and claws at the rocks, until it falls over itself scrambling back from the unnatural lightning that crackles over the stone.

“I’m-- Hey-- I’m c-- I’m good,” says Barry’s voice. The source of it rises from the rocks-- through the rocks-- cloaked in bright red and dark shadow. “It’s-- It’s me. I’m okay. Are you okay, little guy? I’m-- I am real sorry about, uh, about how that went down.”

The Absol stares at him, shocked, for several seconds. Then it lets out a pleased bark, and runs once around him. He’s... relieved that it actually understands who he is.

“Sorry I didn’t listen when you tried to warn me,” he says, hovering low to offer it a hand to sniff at. “I know what that’s like, uh... Not bein’ listened to, when you know something bad’s about to go down. Right?”

The Absol looks at him, head cocked with interest. Then it starts pacing again, looking just as antsy as it had before the cave. Maybe even moreso.

“But you weren’t followin’ me for two whole days just ‘cause I might go to this one cave at the wrong time, were you?”

It pauses in its pacing to stare at him, its eyes deeply intent -- more than they ought to be at that age. (Maybe it’s just natural for the species.)

“Hey, bud, don’t worry. I’m practically immortal. I can get through just about any natural disaster there is.” And he sure as hell is gonna face another disaster soon, though it’s hardly something he could call natural.

He frowns suddenly, or at least his glowing eyes do the equivalent; the pup’s been anxious and agitated, howling at everyone about impending disaster, but not guiding people anywhere. Not knowing how to escape it. And it latched on to him.

“...You’ve been trying to tell everyone that something’s coming,” Barry says, barely a question. He glances at the sky. “Not soon, but... coming.”

The Absol barks again, eyes wide-- clinging to his words, maybe excited to finally be understood.

“Listen, bud, I-- I know what you’re freaked about. I hear you. And I promise you, with ever fiber of my being, I’m gonna keep it from happening. You don’t gotta worry. Stick to problems you can save people from, and-- it’s gonna work out. I’ll make sure.”

It runs around him, barking even more, and he laughs a little. “...But you’re not just gonna leave it alone, are you?”

Barry knows the feeling. He produces a Pokéball, and it stops in front of him, eyes shining.