We were well past the point where the map the archaeologists had given me was useful.

  “I didn’t even know the ruins were this big.” I grumbled, stuffing the map into my jacket pocket. “They didn’t seem this big earlier.”

  Either I was more lost than I could ever have thought, the map was completely wrong, or there was something else going on here in the Solaceon Ruins.

  There was simply no other way to explain how we’d spent the past couple of hours completely lost, with neither the map nor Jira’s instincts able to help us out.

  I’d recalled her, simply because the poor little Larvitar had been getting increasingly upset over the fact that she hadn’t been able to lead us to the surface.

  At first it had been a mild irritation for her, but as time passed and we got no closer to the entrance she had clearly become more and more frustrated.

  “It’s okay girl.” I’d said, stroking her scaled head. “You did your best. It’s not your fault.”

  She didn’t seem like she believed me, but went back into her Poké Ball nonetheless.

  Venus was also getting antsy, but I wasn’t entirely sure why.

  It wasn’t the fact that we were in a cave - ever since her evolution she had been a lot more comfortable with caves and dark places.

  No, it was something else. She kept looking over her shoulder, sniffing the air and bristling her hair.

  There was something in the Ruins with us, and I was pretty sure she was picking up the Unown that I knew were here.

  But they hadn’t shown themselves, which was making me a bit nervous.

  We should have reached the entrance by now, even just by fumbling around in circles, and the fact that we hadn’t was putting me on edge.

  Something was either messing with our heads, unlikely given the fact that Venus was a Dark-type, or was actually messing with the Ruins themselves.

  I didn’t know which one worried me more.

  I stopped mid stride, and looked over at the wall.

  “... Venus.” I said, and her head whipped around. “Does this mural look familiar to you?”

  She cocked her head, ears flopping over.

  “Yeah, I swear that’s the same one we passed by a little bit ago. The one with the weird dinosaur on it.”

  I reached out and traced the shape of the figure in question. It was so stylized as to be unrecognizable, but…

  “I put a chalk mark right here.” My fingers lingered on the open mouth of the dinosaur. “I thought it was funny, like a Hyper Beam.”

  Moving the flashlight closer, I took a harder look at the mural. Nothing.

  “Right? I’m not going crazy? This is the same mural…”

  Ice water flowed down the back of my neck as I stepped away, looking around me in confusion and looming horror.

  “Have we been going in circles this entire time?”

  That should have been impossible. I’d been making marks constantly: my piece of chalk was beginning to get a little worn down by now.

  But unless there were numerous murals, all exactly the same, my marks would have been… what?

  Erased?

  I fumbled with the map, pulling it out. In the dim glow of the flashlight, my eyes traced the routes the archaeologists had plotted. There were a few that looped around the structure, but by all logic I should have come across an exit by now.

  Unless… something was messing with my head.

  How much of the past couple hours had been an illusion?

  Was it the Unown? Can they even do something like this? In the games Unown only learn Hidden Power but-

  This wasn’t the games. Time and time again I’d learned that lesson. Besides, even if they only knew Hidden Power they were still Psychic-types, and that meant they had at least some kind of preternatural ability.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  I tried to swallow nervously, but my mouth was too dry.

  But why?

  According to all the legends and the archaeologists, the Pokémon here in the Ruins had never bothered anybody before. They led a quiet existence, spooking people just by their presence, but they had never actually done anything malicious.

  I’d never heard any stories about something like this happening.

  A light glimmered in the darkness.

  “Venus.” I said softly, and her ears perked up. “Something’s been messing with us. And there’s a light down the tunnel. I don’t know who or what is doing this but stay on guard, okay?”

  She growled, deep in her throat.

  “Good girl.”

  We slowly started making our way forwards, the light in the tunnel getting a little bit brighter with each step. My palms were slick with sweat as I clutched the flashlight tighter, and Venus’ rings were glowing with golden light.

  The light arrived more quickly than it should have: one step I was still in the hallway, and the next I was… someplace else.

  Not just someplace else in the ruins, but someplace outside.

  Which… should have been impossible.

  I gawked up at the trees stretching all around me, vibrant green grass under my feet, and a beautiful blue sky overhead.

  It was a lovely view, but the problem was that the area around the Solaceon Ruins had been leveled out and cleared years ago so nothing would interfere with the excavation.

  Venus squawked, and I turned to see that there were no ruins behind us. Just a stone doorframe sitting in the middle of a clearing.

  A wave of vertigo washed over me, and I turned around again to find a pedestal sitting in the center of the clearing, a vaguely fuzzy shape sitting on top of it.

  Pushing through my dizziness, I tried to walk forwards. Each step only got worse, a constant buzzing in the back of my skull that ratcheted up in intensity with every movement.

  And then I was at the pedestal, sweat pouring down my face and back.

  “...Huh?” I mumbled, swaying unsteadily on my feet.

  I looked down at Venus, who was looking back up at me unperturbed. She didn’t even look like she had suffered at all.

  My attention was dragged back to the pedestal, which had a pink slab of stone mounted on it, flanked by two jars that had thin wisps of smoke coming out of the holes in the top.

  It smelled of incense, which was only adding to my headache and dizziness.

  An awfully familiar pink slab of stone.

  My headache multiplied as I stared down at what could only be the Mind Plate.

  The pink slab of stone was far too innocuous to be as important as it was.

  It was a simple piece of rock, with a plain surface facing me. If I was to turn it over though, I knew it would have an engraving on it.

  No wonder the Unown like the Solaceon Ruins. I thought, massaging my temples. It’s a Psychic-type plate, and their typing is pure Psychic. They must be drawn to it or something.

  Which was vaguely concerning the more I thought about it. If the Mind Plate really was a beacon of Psychic power - and judging my how my head was pounding for no reason it likely was - then how much of my decisions over the past few days were actually my own?

  Had I come to the Solaceon Ruins because I wanted to? Or had I been drawn to the Ruins because of the Mind Plate?

  My vision wavered, and I felt sick.

  I reached out my hand, the Mind Plate just a few inches away and-

  /^\

  /^\

  I blinked and groaned as the sun beamed down on me.

  “Ugh. Remind me not to spend so much time in a cave.” I told Venus, rubbing my eyes.

  My little Umbreon looked around in confusion, letting out a suspicious yowl.

  “No, I’m fine. Just a headache. It’s… it’s the light. That’s all.”

  At least, I’m pretty sure it was. What else could it have been?

  “Shame about the Ruins though. I would've liked to find at least something down there. Ah well, I guess we can’t win ‘em all every time, right?”

  Venus was looking increasingly worried, so I leaned down and scratched underneath her chin, which seemed to help a little bit.

  When I stood up, I brushed my hands off on my pants, only to frown as a little bit of white dust was left on them.

  “Hm? Chalk?” I lifted my fingers up, and sure enough, there was some chalk powder on them.

  “Weird… I didn’t think I used any chalk down there.”

  Sure enough, in one of my pockets there was a piece of white chalk, with one of the ends rounded from use.

  I stared at it for a long moment, then shrugged, and put it back in my bag.

  “Huh, weird. Oh well, let’s get back to the researchers and tell them we didn’t find anything. Then I think some food is in order. How do you feel about seafood?”

  Venus still looked anxious for some reason, but she followed me towards the small shack the archaeologists had set up.

  “And then I’m thinking we should get a move on. Now that we’ve explored the ruins, it’s not like there’s a lot here in Solaceon Town, right? Maybe we’ll spend one last night here, then make our way up to Celestic Town?

  “Oh, and maybe we can do something about that Legend Plate. I’d like to finally get it out of my bag.”

  I frowned, slowing down for a moment.

  It felt like… I was forgetting something.

  Was I forgetting something?

  No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t figure out what it was.

  Eventually I shrugged, and started walking.

  After all, like they say: If you can’t remember what it was, it probably wasn’t important.