Chapter Text
Ever since she and Floette came down from that tower, Taunie hadn’t been the same. Paxton could see it in her eyes; the distance they now held being the most profound. She still wore her easygoing smile, and she still spoke with that smooth cadence he grew accustomed to so easily. Yet even with all the sameness and normalcy she showed, he could still pick up the distance in her eyes.
A distance that made him more uneasy than Ange did.
She would be there for most of the day—her eyes alight with the life and wonder Paxton recognized. The shift happened suddenly one evening at dinner, and continued to occur up to that very moment in time.
Except it had been happening way more frequently now than before. So much so, Paxton was sure Lida and Naveen were picking up on it as much as he was.
Taunie had been there all day so far, laughing and chatting and even batting with them as she always did. Paxton admired the way she commanded her Pokémon in battle, and let slip a little hope that maybe, just maybe, there wouldn’t be any shift in her at all that day.
His hope fizzled away like a water move under Desolate Land when dinnertime came around. Taunie had been her usual self throughout the process of making her Hotel Z special: croissant curry. Paxton stood with her in the kitchen, passing her ingredients and spices while she chatted his ear off. He even helped her plate the meal and serve it to their group. She’d been with them up until she’d sat down to eat with them. A few bites in, and Paxton saw it; that shift in her eyes that he dreaded so deeply.
That sparkle of life in her eyes suddenly dimmed, her gaze shifted, and she was suddenly quiet. Paxton felt that pang of unease stab through his stomach, setting his full fork back on the plate. Lida halted mid-sentence about her afternoon at dance practice when she caught the shift in both Taunie and Paxton. Naveen glanced over at the woman beside him, his icy lavender eyes shifting to something Paxton learned was his way of showing concern. It had been hard to read Naveen up until recently.
“Taunie?” Lida spoke first, her throat bobbing visibly as she swallowed hard. “You okay?”
Their leader was silent, seemingly somewhere else at present. That spire of dread only twisted deeper into Paxton’s gut.
“Taun?” He spoke next, his nickname for her spilling out so naturally. “Taunie, answer us.”
Almost as quick as she shifted, Taunie’s eyes blinked, and snapped to focus. She winced slightly in her seat, closing one eye and sinking down in her seat ever so slightly. “Huh?”
“You got all spacy again,” Naveen elaborated. “Are you feeling alright?”
“O-Oh, yeah. I’m fine.” Taunie reassured with a smile. It didn’t take an observant person to notice how forced the smile she wore was. “My heart just feels a little funny and my head a little fuzzy. Perhaps I need some more minerals.” She laughed softly, but each one was strained. Fake.
“I can get you some of my electrolyte drinks.” Lida offered. “I’ve got plenty in the fridge.”
“Yeah, that’d be nice.” Taunie slumped a little more, her eyelids droopy. Her facade fell completely almost immediately. “I think I’m just gonna turn in for the night. Maybe I’ll feel better in the morning after some sleep and remineralizing.”
Lida nodded, standing from her seat and hustling to the kitchen. She returned in minutes with a two pack of the same fruit punch flavored electrolyte drinks in her hands, handing it to Taunie. “Here, just take the pack. I hope it helps you feel better.”
“Me too. Thank you, Lida.” Taunie accepted the drinks from their teammate, making her way to the elevator. Once the trio downstairs heard it ding and rise, they looked to each other.
“I’m really worried about Taunie,” Lida mumbled, picking at the mound of curry and rice on her plate. “She’s been acting weird for weeks.”
“Me too.” Paxton agreed, staring down at his own half eaten meal. “I’ve noticed small shifts in her ever since she and Floette returned from the top of Prism Tower.”
Naveen frowned. “You mean to say she’s been acting wrong for months now, and you didn’t say anything about it?”
“What was I supposed to say?” Paxton defended softly. “That our best friend and leader looked like she was losing her life slowly each day?” He glanced up, seeing the other two had their eyes down on their plates like he had.
“Kinda.”
“Okay, enough,” Lida interjected. “Since we know for how long she’s been wrong for, we can safely make an assumption that something happened to her when communication got cut up in the tower.”
Naveen gazed from his food up at them, Lida following suit shortly after. “You don’t think this could be a side effect of all the Mega Energy that poured from Ange, do you?” He asked.
“It’s a genuine possibility,” Paxton sighed, his eyes dropping to Taunie’s nearly untouched plate of food. “We’ll have to talk with Vinnie to hopefully know more, since AZ’s gone.”
“There’s a chance AZ wouldn’t have known anyway.” Lida frowned. “We’ll check on her in the morning. If she’s still out of it, we go see Vinnie and Jett personally.”
“That sounds like a plan to me.” Naveen agreed.
“I second that.” Paxton nodded. “I’ll clean up for Taun tonight, and I’ll peek in on her before I go to bed if her door’s unlocked.”
“No way, we we’ll help clean up.” Lida said. “But I agree on you checking in on her. She needs it tonight for sure.”
With the three of them working together, the dining room and kitchen were tidy in no time. Paxton still decided to clean up a bit more around the lobby after Lida and Naveen retired for the night, his mind racing a mile a minute. The idle cleaning and tending to the hotel proved to be enough to calm the Rapidash racing in his brain.
Paxton was used to late nights. After all, nighttime was the time the Z-A Royale occurred, and he often needed points towards a Challenger’s Ticket in order to rank up. Late nights became a norm for him. Even still, he could feel the dry burn of his eyes and the gradual change in gravity for his limbs as the night went on. At around two that morning, Paxton knew it was time to put away the rag and cleaning spray, and make his way up to bed.
He barely registered the elevator ride up to the second floor. He dragged his feet down the short hall, pausing at room 202, his room. His eyes trailed leftward down the dim hall to room 201. With a soft sigh and a gathering of will, he turned and walked as quietly as possible toward the door of Taunie’s room. He tried the knob, pleased to find it unlocked, and peeked inside.
Inky blackness met Paxton’s eyes as he inched open the door. Faint moonlight ebbed through drawn curtains, casting gentle light down on the sleeping form of Taunie in the bed. Even in the darkness, he could see the gentle rise and fall of her breath, and hear the quiet sound of her snoring into the night. A small smile graced his lips, and his hope that she would be alright reignited in his soul.
Paxton closed the door as slowly and quietly as he could, creeping back down the hall to room 202. He slipped inside without any hassle, threw off his top layers, and crawled into bed in only his boxers. His exhaustion pulled him into a deep slumber, sustained until the shrill beeping of his alarm clock sounded off at around eight that next morning.
Paxton squinted and sat up, batting at his phone to silence the alarm. His eyes still burned from sleep, and his limbs felt like they were made of cinder. He stretched with a loud yawn, making his way into the small bathroom provided.
Steam and hot water were enough to wake Paxton from his trance and give him strength to get downstairs for some breakfast. He brushed his teeth and washed himself clean, not even bothering to remain wrapped in his towel to fetch his clothes from his duffel. He tugged on a clean set of clothes and topped it off with the Team MZ jacket Taunie had given him, walking out into the hallway once his shoes were on and laced.
He wasn’t out in the hallway for five seconds before Lida grabbed ahold of his arm and pulled him over to the door of room 201. Paxton yelped, stumbling a little before getting stabilized by his friends. “Lida? Naveen? What’s going on?”
“We’re gonna check on Taunie.” Lida said very pointedly. “Normally she’s up and cooking by now, but neither of us have seen hide nor hair of her since dinner last night at seven.”
“And after her state last night, we deserve the right to be worried.” Naveen added.
“I checked in on her last night, and she seemed fine.” Paxton explained. “But I get where you’re coming from. It’s unusual for her to sleep in so late.”
“Right? So we figured we’d grab you when you came stumbling out and we’d all go peek in on her.” Lida explained. She turned to the door and rapped her knuckles on the surface. “Taunie? Hey, it’s Lida. Paxton and Naveen are here too. How’re you feeling this morning?”
Silence followed her words. Paxton could feel his gut tightening as that dread crept back in.
“Taunie?” Lida tried again, a little louder. Her words were, again, met with silence. “Okay, we’re coming in.” Lida had the door open with one swift twist of her wrist. She let the wood swing open before entering with the boys close behind.
Taunie’s room was, to put it plainly, a mess. Empty cups of coffee from the Nouveau Café trucks sat littered on her desk alongside wrappers from various snacks. Books and papers were strewn on the floor, likely knocked there from when Taunie had crawled in bed. Her six Poké Balls containing her team sat on her desk as well, on the keyboard of an open laptop. Both drinks Lida had given her were open and completely empty on the table at her bedside.
Paxton approached the bed first, seeing the lump under the comforter and her blonde and strawberry hair strewn across the pillows. Does her hair seem shorter today?
“Hey, sleepy bones,” he spoke softly, but not too quiet. He kept the same playful lilt to his voice that he did whenever they would banter back and forth. “It’s almost nine. We’ve gotta get up and get the day going.” Paxton rested his hand on the body under the covers and gently shook. A groan came from the person beneath, a sign of waking.
However Paxton didn’t recall Taunie’s voice being so masculine.
“C’mon, we’ve got some errands to run today.” Paxton continued. “You wanted to go survey Wild Zone Twenty again to ensure the Pokémon there are completely safe from the remnants of Mega Energy.”
“And you wanted to try out a different recipe for the curry tonight, remember? You spoke about it yesterday morning.” Lida added. Paxton gave the body another gentle shake.
The body beneath the blankets seemed to rouse from slumber, swatting back at Paxton’s hand aimlessly. “Okay, okay, I’m getting up.”
Paxton froze, eyes widening as he gazed down at the person in the bed. Who sat up from the sheets wasn’t Taunie or even a female at all, but rather someone who looked like he could be her brother. His hair was messy from sleep—or perhaps that’s just how it looked—and he had the same deep sapphire eyes that held the same spark of life that Taunie’s did. He looked exactly like her, all down to his gender and the clothes he wore.
Paxton stumbled back, eyes wide as he exclaimed, “You aren’t Taunie!”