Nida's mind, against her will, lingered on the roselia as they gathered their belongings and began to journey northwest and around the bay. Ros had died seven years ago, the first link to break in the chain that connected Melina to sanity. Nida had raked her claws through his dust, barely aware of Melina's accusing screams, the fists pounding at her shoulders, the nails digging at her underbelly and the baby crying. They'd fled and left him there, a tiny mound of pulverized charcoal without a headstone. Nida's eyes scanned the barren flatlands they were crossing now, a land once filled with forests and life. She wouldn't be able to recognize the spot.

"Nida, I see a house!" Maya tugged on Nida's claw and pointed into the distance. Along the horizon, the sunlight reflected off a rough, dark shape, piercing through the dusty haze. It was a set of large wooden structures. Parts of the roof and walls were missing, the wood singed and weathered. Gray stone and painted clay littered the site. A small group of purple pokémon appeared from the ruins and began to approach en masse. Their fur was matted with large patches missing.

"That's a house, right, Nida?" Maya said.

Nida's brow furrowed, and she sighed low, remembering where she was. "No, Maya. That was a dojo." She put Maya and Dree behind her as the venonat reached them, all of them pushing one to the forefront.

"What are you doing here?" the pushed venonat said. It gestured with its paw, "What do you want from us?"

"Anything you can spare," Nida said. She held Maya closer. The venonat buzzed amongst themselves. Their large eyes stared at Nida's towering from, and pushed their emissary forward.

"Wuh-we have nothing," the venonat said, "You will leave now."

"Liiiiars," Dree said, peeking out from behind Nida to glare. "Just took out a couple rattata all by themselves."

"You…will leave now," the venonat shook its head.

"What's going on?" Maya came out from behind Nida's leg.

"We don't mean to be in your territory," Nida said, "We'll go now."

Dree popped out as well, "Aww, come on, Needy, you can totally take a few little venonat!"

Nida ignored the ghost. "How far until the border?" she called to the pokémon, "Is there any neutral territory left around here?" But the venonat did not respond. Every eye was fixed on Maya, their antennae swaying. As a group, their feet took a step towards the girl. Nida growled low, and the venonat finally noticed the bared teeth of the beast.

"Please don't make this bloody," she said.

"We did not…we are sorry. This is your meal?" the lead venonat said. He looked at his paws. "It is very beautiful." The other venonat continued to stare.

"Hey!" Maya put her hands on her hips. "I'm not-"

Nida put her paw over Maya's mouth. "Neutral territory. How far?"

The venonat pointed beyond the dojo to a small set of dead trees miles away. He avoided looking at Maya. "Go. We will not bother you. Be there by nightfall, please."

"Come on." Nida grabbed Dree by the hair and Maya by the hand and pulled them towards the checkpoint, still feeling the eyes of the venonat at Maya's back.

"What was that all about?" Dree said.

"Nothing," Nida looked straight ahead, "Let's just get ourselves to those trees, ok?"

"But it was weeeeeird! Same as me, when we first met. Right, Squeak?"

Maya didn't answer, grumbling and intermittently stamping her feet. "I am not food."

"Squeak, you're killing me here." Dree flew in front of Nida, "You at least have to admit, she's like some hypno…kid…thing!"

Nida raised her eyebrow at the ghost pokémon, then snorted.

"I'm serious!"

"The only thing weird about Maya is that she somehow likes you," Nida said. Dree hummed, floating over to rest on Nida's head. The nidoqueen swatted her away. As the sun's final rays lit the desolate world in oranges and reds, they reached the cluster of trees. Long, spindly shadows stretched from their feet eastward to the road ahead of them. They set up camp without a fire, to avoid attention, and ate the leftover krabby meat. Nida took a chance with the flashlight to go over the torn-up map once more, trying to pinpoint other possible territories to avoid. She erased the line she'd drawn on the map and racked her memories, drawing a new path around potential danger zones. Their straight path up the peninsula now looked like a wriggling worm. It would add two more days at least to their travel time. Nida cursed under her breath.

"What's wrong?" Dree said.

"It's not important. This is just so much more difficult than it -" Nida's ears perked up at the sound of heavy, stamping footsteps in the distance. "Maya, Dree, put everything away. We need to move." Within a few moments they were packed up and on their way, treading farther into the darkness of a cloud-covered sky.

"You should be sooo happy right now," Dree said as she bobbed up and down in front of them. "Without my night vision you wouldn't see a thing!"

"Just be quiet and pay attention," Nida whispered, gripping Maya's hand tighter. "Wait a second." She grabbed the girl and hoisted on her back. The thudding of footsteps was getting closer.

"What's the matter, is just a few nocturnal pokémon about their daily business," Dree said.

"That footstep isn't nocturnal."

"And how would you-"

"I'm sure of it. Move, Dree."

"But where ya goin', sweetheart?" A rough, rumbling voice came from behind them. Nida breathed deep, put Maya down, and turned to face four massive rhydon. They nudged each other and snickered. The laugh was like the sound of rock crumbling down a cave wall just before the roof collapses. She put Maya behind her as the rhydon who spoke approached.

"Well ain't you the pretty mama?" he chuckled. The rhydon swaggered forward. Blood was dripping like spittle out of his mouth. He smelled like freshly spewed stomach acid, mixed with charcoal and soot, and his eyes were bloodshot. "See you got yerself a snack," he said, as Maya strode out from behind Nida's leg, "You doin' alright fer yerself?"

"Maya, stay behind me," Nida said, pulling her back. The three other rhydon began to stumble up to them.

"Aww, we don' mean no harm, honey," the second rhydon said. He was also stained with blood, on his breastplate. "But a sweet gal like yourself shouldn' be out by her lonesome."

"She needs a maaale," the third said.

"An' look, she's got four delicious hunks and a meal fer later right here!" The rhydon began to snicker and hoot.

"Yeah," the first said, "Hows'bout you stay for a while? Come back to our hole?"

Nida couldn't help herself. "And do what exactly?"

"Have a good time, baby! You ain't as pretty as somma the younger mommas back there but you'll do fine." He took a step forward. Nida's scales bristled and oozed poison. She growled, stepping back.

"I wan' first dibs!"

"Now, now, we're all gentlemon here," the first rhydon said, grinning, "We'll flip for first turn."

"Touch me and I rip both horns off," Nida growled, baring her teeth and claws. The rhydon continued to close in.

"Ooh, she's feisty, I love that," the fourth Rhydon snickered.

Nida's head turned from left to right, trying to find an escape route even though she knew her pride wouldn't let her run. She could feel Maya's arms wrapped around her leg and the brush of Dree's body against her tail, both quivering. No, that was her, she was shaking. Why was she shaking?

"Ah, look, she's scared. Come here, honey…"

"Now that's enough!" The roar came from behind the rhydon. Nida's breath caught. A rhyperior pushed the rhydon away, and placed himself in front of Nida. He was a towering nine feet tall, and cleaner than the others. He smiled at her. "I'm sorry for that," he said to her, "Did those idiots bother you?"

"Yeah, thanks," Nida breathed.

"What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Oh, uh, Nida, but we need to go now."

"Well, it's my pleasure to meet you, Nida," the rhyperior said, "Now, lemme just get rid of them for you."

He turned back to the rhydon behind him. "Nida don't want your dirty mugs!" He flashed a smile, brandishing his arms in the air. "She wants the gun show."

Nida's paw went to her face. She pulled at her ears and breathed out. "I don't think you understand." She paused at each word for emphasis. "I don't want to mate with you."

The rhyperior squared its shoulders, staring at her. It narrowed its eyes and scoffed. "Nah, honey, I understand perfect. You're dry and dead now, ain't ya? No one but your king back home is good enough?"

Nida's eyes twitched. Her voice was cold steel. "You don't know anything about me."

"Oh yeah? I see you don't eat her," the rhyperior said, pointing to Maya. He gestured for the rhydon to come closer, as the nudged each other like prepubescent males. "Is she yer baby or somethin'? Or are you just a bitter, old, never-been-touched bitch?"

"Oh, come on, Nida," Dree appeared in front of the Rhyperior's nose, "You're not gonna take that, are you?"

The rhyperior sneered, and flicked at Dree, who disappeared. Nida cracked her knuckles in one hand, fingering the air, but did nothing. The rhyperior smiled and waited. Eventually, she sighed.

"Let's just go," she said. She grabbed Maya's hand and turned.

The smile faded, and sound of grating rock came from behind her as the rhyperior mashed its teeth. "Hey, I ain't finished with you!" Nida began to walk towards the east, Maya in tow, as the rhydon grumbled amongst themselves.

Dree appeared beside her, brow furrowed. "You're just letting them go?"

"I'm not gonna waste my time killing them. They're just idiots." Nida said, head low.

"One last question," the rhyperior called out. "Is that whole girl gonna fatten you up for winter, or can we take a limb or two?"

Nida's head spun round. "Is that a threat?"

"Nah, honey, we just don' like that stick up your ass. You gotta learn to share."

Nida's muscles tensed. She turned to Dree and whispered. Dree hummed in agreement, landed on Maya's head, and turned them both invisible.

The rhyperior grabbed a rock from the ground, as the stone in his arm began to shift. "An' bein' fine gentlemon an' all," he continued, "We're gonna help you with that." The rhyperior reeled his arm back. Nida rolled her shoulders out. Her eyes closed and scrunched together, forcing her breath out her nose. She waited for him to fire, Ros's pleading eyes forcing themselves into her mind. Of all the times, it had to be now.

She imagined the piston scraping through the rhyperior's arm to the stone in his hand. She imagined it pressing against the stone's surface, leaving a small scorch mark. She actually heard the crack of the contact between piston and projectile, and the air streaming past the stone as it came to meet her. She opened her eyes.

Nida's arm flew out, glowing white, and made contact with the stone. Cracks and crevices jolted through it, instantaneously crumbling it into pebbles and sand. She stepped through the remaining dust cloud, keeping an eye on her opponents. They didn't move.

"Run that by me again." Her eyes were trained on the rhyperior, who was still mashing his teeth. The rhyperior rushed to pick up another two stones as Nida walked towards him, arms down. He fired both, but Nida spun, stopping them with a swing of her tail, never breaking her stride.

"You threatened Maya's safety," she said. She had gotten close enough to look them in the eyes, eyes that finally registered the chill forming around her horn. "I suggest you run." The rhyperior stood its ground, teeth flashing as he grabbed another stone, but the rhydon fidgeted, looking at each other.

"Whatcha gonna do? Stare us to death?" the rhyperior laughed.

Nida let a growl escape her lips, releasing the icy blast from her horn. Tendrils of blue lightning passed from left to right, hitting each of the rhydon in turn. Ice shot out from their torsos, flash-freezing them in place, one in mid-turn. The rhyperior looked at his posse, then at the ice creeping up his own spine, down his arms and legs and through his pistons. He roared, but the ice muffled it into a groan. Nida let the chill finish its work, and then casually moved in front of the rocky icicle.

"I gave you a chance, I really did," Nida said, "Because… I don't want to do this." She began to pace beyond the rhyperior towards the rhydon, flexing her fingers in swirling patterns above her head. The clouds rumbled as she stopped in front of one rhydon. "But, but if I let you thaw out, and you live, you're just going to come after us." She put her paws on the next rhydon's shoulders, forcing herself to look into his eyes, nodding to herself. "You won't stop."

Nida circled back around, knowing in the back of her mind they probably couldn't even hear her. "Even if you die right now, someone'll find your bodies eventually. I, I can't have that. I'm sorry, I just can't." The clouds were thick enough now, dark and voluminous. Tiny ripples of light danced across them.

Nida looked back the five faces frozen in place, frozen in fear. "Beg me to stop." Her voice was shaking. "Please."

Her paws balled into fists at her sides. "Fight for it, dammit!"

No response. There would be none. She turned and strode out a few hundred feet, calling out for Dree and Maya to join her. When they finally appeared, she muffled Maya's ears and eyes as best she could with the blanket, and looked back at the slowly thawing pokémon. She told Dree to cover her ears, and lifted her paw and let it drop.

In that instant, the darkness of night was taken over by a different blindness, a piercing white that washed over the land, choking it in light and silence. As it faded, the column of electricity that had fallen at Nida's command revealed miles of craggy terrain, shaking and groaning in protest. The resounding blast then broke through. It impacted against the eardrum like a charging rhyhorn, without purpose or knowledge of its own destruction, rushing to every ear, in every direction. As Nida's ears rung, the sky returned to darkness. Phantom lights flashed before her eyes as they adjusted, blocking the site of the strike from view.

"I need to be sure," she told Dree. Dree nodded, still in shock, and watched her head back to the rhydon.

Now a few feet away, Nida could see nothing but black. The charred earth spread from the center point of the blast like a sunburst, piles of charcoal and ash spreading in waves. Nothing remained of the five frozen bodies, save for five little mounds of charcoal that were already being blown down by the wind that had kicked up.

Nida's paws closed into fists again, her claws pricking the soft flesh underneath them. Unable to contain it, she emptied her lungs, and roared into the darkness. It dried out her throat and throbbed in her temples, pulling energy from her shaking limbs until she'd lost all the air. Dizzy, she swayed from side to side, eventually finding her way out and back to Dree and Maya. The girl and ghost stood still as she approached, both wide-eyed and quiet. Nida ignored them, and grabbed their pack. She looked to the east, where the darkness still loomed, putting Maya on her back, willing herself to keep marching.

"Go to sleep Maya," Nida said.

The small girl's eyes focused on the back of Nida's head, her voice barely a whisper. "Yes, ma'am." Nida flinched at the noun, a word only used when she was punished, and never with Nida.

Maya swallowed, and spoke in the same whisper. "Um, Nida?"

Nida tried to maintain a monotone. "Yes, Maya?"

"Were they dead?"

Nida bit her lip. "They aren't going to hurt you, honey. I'm always going to protect you."

"But are they dead?" The girl's small hands shook Nida's shoulder.

"Yeah," the nidoqueen mumbled.

The child let go of her shoulder. She laid her head on the back of Nida's own, eyes forced closed. Dree waited about a half hour into the walk before speaking, when Maya's soft snores could be heard.

"Can I be honest?" she said.

Nida hesitated, the five mounds of charcoal spinning in her head. "Maybe."

"That…was frickin' awesome."

Nida's face twisted in disgust, darkening. "No. No it was not."

"Yeah, I know, but seriously, you kicked-"

"Please," she said, "Please, just don't."

"Alright, alright," Dree said, swinging in the air closer to Nida, "I just need to know one thing."

Nida hissed, her voice like knives. "You don't need to know anything."

"Hey! I'm guiding you around, helping you out, and I'm curious, sue me." The ghost turned away, tendrils of hair crossed in front of her, but then let them fall and came closer. "I just kinda wanna know who I'm with."

Nida gritted her teeth. "Fine, one question. Shoot."

Dree floated quietly beside her for a few moments, hesitating. Finally, she spoke. "What, um, did he mean when he…you know, called you…"

"Dry?" Nida's mouth dried as she said the word. Dree nodded. Nida thought about it. She ran her paws against her face, letting them clasp and rest over her head, and turned to Dree. "When nidorina evolve into nidoqueen, they become infertile. I evolved pretty early, so I never got the chance to…"

"Have kids?" Dree said.

Nida groaned, "Yes, Dree."

"Oh…I'm sorry," she said.

Nida shook her head. "I have Maya. She's the closest thing I've got."