Young Writers Society

Flurry | A Series of Spills | Day A3, Evening

There was exactly one nice thing about the poison dungeon, which was that its staircases continually descended. It kept a good deal of the heat out, which Flurry appreciated.

The pokemon were another story.

The first floor had been fine. The group ran into a discombobulated budew whose swirly top had begun flowering, but that wasn't too weird.

On the second floor, Flurry had to take out a sparkly yanma because her three fighting type companions insisted she get practice fighting. She figured that only Keldeo was truly of that opinion, that Gabriel just didn't want to fight a pokemon with two type advantages over him, and Riley had wanted to help, but wasn't allowed.

So, many missed snow piles later, they decended to the third floor, where the group was now.

"That was awful," Flurry rasped, gulping moisture from the air. She glared at the riolus, and the temperature dropped a few degrees. "I think I prefer leering at everyone."

Riley and Gabriel, for once agreeing on something, merely shrugged and looked as awkward as possible. Boys.

Keldeo forged ahead and beckoned for the smaller pokemon to follow. "It's good for you, Flurry," he explained.

Though Flurry scurried after, she muttered "chop chop" under her breath. It was a very bad pun, but they deserved it.

For a while, the group trekked through a long hallway. Each side contained door after door with rusted or half-eaten plaques nailed in. Occasionally, a door would be slightly ajar, and Flurry could peek inside, but after the first one showed red stains splattered all around, she decided to just look ahead.

At the end of the hallway stood a set of double doors. As the fighting types worked to pry it open, Flurry examined the intricate carvings that swirled withincut-out panels. There were a few spots where jewels had clearly been inlaid, but no riches gleamed from the doors now.

She was still looking at a carving of Shaymin and some drapion when she heard Riley gasp.

Pulling herself from the handiwork, Flurry waddled towards the boys and peered into the room beyond the door.

She gasped too, and did it far more dramatically.

Beyond the doors lay a humongous lecture hall. A chalkboard of epic proportions covered most of the far wall, and its black surface was littered with chalk dust and faded sketches. The ceiling had once been painted like a Renaissance church dome, and reliefs of the school's headmasters lined the top of the wall. Below, a semicircle of benches and desks wrapped around the room. One larger desk sat at the opposite end, its wood rotted and boiled away.

But the room's craftwork was not the reason for the shock on the party members' faces.

Pokemon, if Flurry could really call them such, floated through the room. Odd liquids had spilled in the air and hung suspended in huge puddles which gave the illusion of solid floors beneath.

No. There really were floors. Invisible ones.

Flurry looked to the boys, who were both gaping in their respective ways, and then at Keldeo.

The unicorn gulped and plastered on a brave face before walking forward. A moment later, he slammed into an invisible wall. He cringed and backed away.

"Owowow."

Everyone turned to Gabriel, but he shook his head. "I can't sense the walls for some reason," he said, "only the pokemon."

Expecting everyone to look at Riley next, Flurry shifted her gaze to the smaller riolu, but it turned out she was the next target.

Trying to look menacing, she bulged her eyes and curled her mouth. "What? You think I can do anything? Ooh, look at me with my pretty snowfla-"

Ah... she was so stupid sometimes.

Sheepishly, Flurry blew snow over the area in front of them. When the move hit solid ground, the first turn of a spiral staircase materialized before them.

"I have to go first, don't I?" she whined.

Climbing the stairs did not take that long, but Flurry found herself panting when they reached the top. Her throat burned from overuse, and she felt water trickling under her dunce-cap-shaped head.

"Remind me," she breathed, "to never freeze so much water vapor ever again."

The group trudged through the invisible floors, skirting the edges of chemical spills and fending off grotesquely altered pokemon.

On the second-to-last floor, there was a slight problem though. The single staircase which led to the final floor was covered in sticky, half-evaporated chemicals, and no one could see any way of avoiding contact.

"Could you freeze them over, Flurry?" asked Riley.

She shook her head. Dropping temperatures a few degrees was manageable, but freezing a puddle of ickiness? That was pushing it.

"We could see which ones react with water first," Gabriel suggested.

In the end, it was Keldeo who took action. He lowered his head to a puddle of shimmery, royal purple and sniffed.

A voice in Flurry's head said something about wafting and lab safety, but she ignored it.

When Keldeo lifted his head, he burst out laughing. "These are the simplest poisons I've seen all day! They just cause status conditions. Flurry, you step through the blue liquid, and Riley, Gabriel, and I will only step in purple or red." He pawed the ground with one hoof, a grin curling on his snout. "Come on!"

Upon reaching the last step (she somehow managed to clear the staircase first) Flurry turned around and watched the boys tiptoe through various drippings of red and purple. Keldeo was most assuredly not smiling anymore, and the riolus did not look like they were having a good time either. Each one of the fighting types had their jaws clenched and their eyes squinted in pain. When they stepped, Flurry could see bright red burns on their feet.

All three boys collapsed at the bottom of the stairs, leaving Flurry feeling rather useless.

"Why couldn't we go through the blue puddles?" Riley coughed, trying to push himself off the floor.

Gabriel was a bit further along with the standing, but as soon as his feet touched the floor, he yelped and fell down again. "Are you kidding, Riley?" he said. "We probably would have frozen."

The comment earned Gabriel a nasty glare from Riley, but Flurry supposed it was right. How else could she have gotten through unscathed?

"Please don't argue," Keldeo croaked. "And Flurry, bring out some pecha, rawst, and oran or sitrus berries."

She obliged and watched as the boys ate. They certainly looked better afterwards, and the red on their feet had dulled so much that she could barely see a tinge. After a few moments of rest, the group collectively decided they could continue.

"I'm going to guess that we go through that door," Riley said, pointing at a small, insignificant door on the chalkboard side of the room. It just so happened to be the only door on that level.

A few words of muttered sarcasm and several steps later, the group arrived at the door. This one was carved too, though not as much; only a small, vaguely S-shaped curl was etched into the center.

"This is where we fight the guardian," Keldeo said.

Flurry half winced, half smiled. "Fun."

Day A4, 9:15 A.M.

Aegeas had slept not so comfortably that night. Though he had wanted to continue onwards throughout the night, so eager was he to find the Shrine of Safety, he had felt it best to not take a chance and decided to sleep where he could find shelter. His choice had been the bough of a tree. It was not comfortable, considering the rough surface and the constant threat of him falling off and landing on the ground. However, he had spent many a year wandering about the land, and had developed the habit of being capable of sleeping just about anywhere if it was available to him. Besides, he had known he could keep his balance, because he had done many other an activity where far more balance than this was required, such as walking a fair distance on a tightrope. Such a thing as sleeping on a tree was possible even in sleep, and he knew it, so he did so with ease. Of course he had cried in his sleep that night – he always did, no matter where he was sleeping.

When he had finally awoken, it did not take him long to bid leave of the tree and walk at a brisk pace in the direction he intended to go – west. It reminded him of something, the direction he was traveling, but he could not exactly identify the memory. Something about “going west,” and another set of words he couldn’t think of. He cared little of the thought, and disposed of it shortly. He walked with an eagerness through the trees, though he did not find a dirt path or any indicators that told him which direction to walk. However, all he needed to do was gaze at the rising sun, and he would know exactly where he wished to head. As such, he traversed a far distance of the beautiful forest, and took joy in the sounds and sensations. Morning dew evaporated in the advancing sunlight, and the shadows of the trees grew ever shorter as the sun rose to take the place of the envious moon, the object that could not have such an effect on the landscape. He traveled between trees, over rocks, and jumped over the small creek or two. Flocks of Pidove raced in the skies above him, their cries joining the chorus of the landscape around him. He walked at a faster pace, both with eagerness and with earnest, and soon found himself swept up in the world around him, the sun becoming less visible in the thicket of trees. This did not concern him though, because he found himself too disturbed by his own memories to be thinking of the world around him.

He still had the anger left in him from what he had learned about the New Order’s actions. The festering sore, it seemed, would not vanish from his sight anytime soon. He still couldn’t have comprehended the idea that the New Order had managed to manipulate, and inflict so much harm, upon a group of peaceful denizens. Luno was such a happy-go-lucky man, such a carefree man, and somebody who knew how to lead his people. It irritated Aegeas as he thought of the ways that the New Order had crafted this false dungeon, attacked and possibly several wounded, if not worse, numerous Clefairy, and implemented a false guardian and legend. Worst of all, and for this Aegeas felt personal responsibility, this had all been instated as a personal revenge against him for his neutrality. He couldn’t imagine any group, or any one, doing such a thing to so many, and producing such harm over a little bout of hatred. He knew at that time, and he still knew at this present time, that he was never going to a member of a side whose sole purpose seemed to be to inflict pain upon others. He had decided, and he stored that decision within his head, that he was to be a member of the Resistance. Perhaps, if not that, someone to be allied with the Resistance. This was as he thought for quite some time, as he traversed the beautiful forest, which was quite a scenic change from the desert he had last seen. The nature and wildlife was abundant, and many a call rang from the trees, filling his heart with joy and happiness. He could not allow the mental weight of what had happened to him the past few days weigh him down, and decided instead to enjoy the world around him, the sights of that world, and the sounds.

Of course, that happened to be right before the explosions.

The deafening shots cascaded from the sky above him, and landed with a ferocious booming noise in front of him. There were three of them in all, and took the shape of massive, rose crystal gemstones. The force of the impact sent Aegeas back a ways, though none of the shots had actually hit him. The explosion sent him falling on the ground, he wincing in momentary pain that coursed through his back where he landed on the sharper pebbles and rocks of the landscape. He landed in an undignified heap, though he quickly made an attempt to right himself. The pain that coursed through him died in an instant, so strong was he and so powerful his efforts to get back on his feet again. In but seconds, he went from being on the ground to standing up once more, and observing the massive craters that lined the ground at his feet. The maneuver he had learned a long time ago, but never expected to be using it so quickly. His features gave no indication to his true feelings, but he was certainly anxious, not having expected such an attack as this. For a second, he stared at the beautiful fragments of gemstones that littered the ground, but heard a voice inside of his head that made him look up.

“Hey!? Who are you, bloke? What’s this all about?”

The voice was obviously British, thought Aegeas, though he couldn’t remember how he knew that. He couldn’t even hear the voice that well, considering how badly the attack had momentarily damaged his ears.

“Now who is this British? First I hear that Noibat mention the fellow, and now it’s you? And who are you?”

The figure descended from her place above the trees, downwards to face Aegeas. A rock wall lay ahead, so Aegeas knew that he could not run in that direction. The trees were too dense to provide any other way to escape, and it was a terrible idea to run in the opposite direction. Anything running in the opposite direction would be a sitting duck if this figure was responsible for the gemstone explosions. The figure could snipe any which way and be devastatingly successful at aiming. Therefore, Aegeas stood firm and wary, knowing that he had no other routes of escape in this particular scenario, and the most he could do, assuming this was a foe, was prepare for a fight. He watched the figure as she descended, trying to identify her. However, that was before he actually saw and identified the figure that descended to greet him, and he stopped in shock and surprise.

The brilliance of her gems, the colors….this was none other than the legendary Diancie! Aegeas stopped any calculations and preparations he had for a future conflict, knowing that such preparation was now rendered useless. He knew Diancie’s allegiances, had been friends with Diancie for a time, and knew that this conversation, and this day, was about to take a lighthearted turn. She was formal, graceful, and friendly, and this meant that she was only attacking out of self-defense – thus, when she identified him, she wouldn’t dare attack him. Therefore, he bowed gracefully, and could see, though he was partially looking at the ground, that she was blushing. It worked like a charm, as he found out soon enough. She blushed, ceased preparing any further gemstone weapons, which Aegeas could see behind her in the form of some of the rose crystal gemstones that she wore on her, and began to speak in her light-hearted British accent.

“Ah, I remember you, darling. I don’t remember anybody else who bows like that. You’re that Dewott, right? What’s his name…”

“Aegeas. Aegeas Dewott. It is nice to see you too, Diancie.” Aegeas ceased his bow and looked straight at her, smiling in the process.

“Now, what I can do for you on this fine day, darling? I didn’t expect to see you here. Unless of course, that means…” She stopped in mid-sentence, the thought working its way through her head. She knew at once, Aegeas realized, what was going on – his reputation always seemed to precede his visits.

“It does mean. I wouldn’t be here for any other reason.”

“Wow, I couldn’t’ve imagined you’d go out of your way to come here. Do you want me to hoist you up, darling?”

“As long as it doesn’t hurt as bad as last time.”

Diancie laughed, and a swarm of diamonds emerged from behind her, likely the crushed remnants of the gemstone weapons that had existed but a second before. Aegeas was amazed – he had remembered when he last saw Diancie, and her ability to perform such an action, which she had never done before, was far less remarkable and successful than it was now. Obviously, she had become far stronger, and had trained far harder, and this gave Aegeas immediate admiration of Diancie. She was far stronger than he could’ve imagined, and so he was eager to see what else she had in store. The diamonds were so tiny, and so insignificant, that they appeared not unlike the dust that bore their name. She heaved them forwards, though she showed no expression, and they surrounded the still Aegeas, who awaited the time when he would be carried into the air by this incredible Diamond Storm. Her eyes were closed, and she was mumbling something. He kept his eyes open, and only stared at the ground ahead of him – it would be a bad idea to look down when the process started, he knew. The storm surrounded him, growing greater in tempo and pace, and he found himself beginning to lift up off the ground by the force of the diamonds. The energy of the wind, combined with the energy of the diamonds, began to levitate him higher and higher into the air, and he began to lift up towards the treetops. Diancie, opening her eyes and admiring her handiwork with a wry smile, levitated with him, and together, they rose into the air. They cleared the canopy, and Aegeas could see the gigantic mountain ranges ahead of him. He smiled and spoke, watching as they ascended higher and higher, the gray and purple peaks snowcapped with white, so big was their height:

“Now isn’t this a sight, Lady Diancie!”

She blushed and replied, though she did not turn to look at the landscape behind her,

“Why is it always you who has to be so formal? But yes, it is a sight, darling. And remember when I used to try the Diamond Storm trick back when you were that wee little Oshawott?” She chuckled.

“Yeah, I still remember the aches,” replied Aegeas, his face grimacing in a fake gesture, which Diancie understood at once. They smiled, and watched as the Diamond Storm ring that encircled Aegeas finally rose about the mountain tops, and they could view the land beneath. The sight was amazing, and Aegeas gasped when he realized the immense beauty of the land of the Shrine of Safety.

The land was a peninsula, bordered on three sides by the massive sea that surrounded much of the land of Terraria. The luscious, wondrous sparkling blue water emitted a radiance of the sun from Aegeas’s viewpoint, and provided a welcoming region of space further illuminated by the region enclosed by the mountains and the sea. The mountains were incredible, stretching high into the sky, and Aegeas could see no place that would provide a reasonable area of travel, thus meaning that it would be virtually impossible to traverse the landscape to the Shrine, unless through other means than walking. He was amazed by the exclusiveness and the reclusiveness of the place, for he felt its beauty was too strong to be enclosed within the walls of nature. He felt the fullest pride, and amazement, at such a sight, and considered himself lucky to have to privilege to be here. They moved over the ancient peaks, and gazed upon the land below. Forests covered much of the region, but they were of a more healthy green than Aegeas had ever seen in a forest before. The trees swayed in the wind, and the chiming that he heard beneath reminded him of the noises that he had heard when….well, it didn’t matter to him at that point in time. Diancie levitated him over the snowcapped peaks, though he did not feel any cold from his high altitude, much to his surprise, and he noticed more of the sights of the land as they descended to a lower altitude. Frankly, neither did he feel out of breath – the beauty of the place seemed to be not only incredible to view, but seemed to provide something about it that revived, and made stronger, those within it. Much of the region was also comprised of beautiful plains, and he could see a lake with crystal clear water at the middle of the region. Diancie lowered him, and together they reached an altitude about fifty feet above the ground, and she shot forward, dragging Aegeas with her.

Aegeas looked down beneath him, though he admittedly regretted it. Beneath was a small forest, and, though most of it was obscured by the canopy of trees, he could see parts that revealed a dirt road beneath him. This dirt road was extensive, and it seemed to head off far in the distance. He quivered for a second, realizing the height and speed at which he was traveling, noticing for once the extremity of the situation he was in. It terrified him, but it also excited him – this was something the likes of which he had never seen before, and was amazed to be here. All around him, the landscape whirled by, and they zoomed above the tops of the trees, observing the land beneath. This pattern continued for some time, until Aegeas gathered the nerve to begin speaking again. At this point, he was still quite nervous, and looking for the opportunity to get on the ground again. He did not let it show in his words.

“Well, Diancie, aren’t you usually the guardian of this place?”

“Yeah, darling. It’s just the fact that most of the Resistance is already here, so I haven’t got much more to do. Besides, it’s always fun when you’re around. You’re just so…respectable, I guess?”

“So that explains why you’re still carrying me forward, eh?”

“Yep, darling, right until you’re right next to the meeting, and then I’ll drop you off and be on my way.”

“Well, I suppose that’s…who’s that?”

Aegeas had noticed the figure first. Diancie slowed down a little bit, so they were momentarily hovering about the treetops. Beneath, partially obscured by the tree cover, was a large figure moving at the dirt path. For a second, Diancie moved slowly forwards to keep up with the pace of the figure beneath, and they were both quiet. Aegeas stared at Diancie, but the way that she kept her eyes closed, Aegeas understood what was going on. Obviously, whoever it was below was an ally, for Diancie seemed to be telepathically communicating with the figure. It was in the way he couldn’t see her moving or talking, but in the way her eyes were closed and seemed to be speaking words almost imperceptibly. He could not catch any words in the conversation, thought that didn’t dismay him. He merely watched and waited, and looked down beneath to see if the figure would identify itself. It did. The head of the figure craned up to look at the two of them, and it was then that Aegeas realized who the figure beneath was. It was a legend, and he knew her to be one of the leaders of the Resistance, so it surprised him slightly that she was out and about wandering the forests of the region. It was Cresselia, and when she saw the two above, Aegeas swore that her eyes were locked on him. For a second, she did not move, and then she paled. At least, he though she did. She zoomed off, and was lost from their vision in an instant. Diancie stopped whispering, and the two of them continued to move forward, albeit at a slower pace.

“Soo….”began Diancie, trying to restore the lost conversation, “That wasn’t expected for sure…”

“Well, it seems my fame has preceded me,” said Aegeas jokingly.

“You’re probably right, darling. I guess it’s the fact that you’d make a powerful ally with the Resistance that got her all riled up. I remember those days…”

Aegeas was silent and pensive.

“…Ah, forget it. I guess it doesn’t matter much anyway. Look, we’re almost here, darling! Let’s get you on the ground.”

Diancie began to lower Aegeas onto the ground with her Diamond Storm sphere. Aegeas had been amazed by this method of transportation, and he was excited to see what else there might be in the setting of the meeting. However, he was also glad to be on the ground – he was never comfortable with heights. The Diamond Storm sphere begun to weaken and break itself apart, and Aegeas landed on the ground from a height about a foot above. The small diamonds whirled and vanished behind Diancie, and Aegeas could see them reform into the rose crystal gemstones he had seen some time earlier. It was only then that Aegeas glimpsed at the surroundings around him, and their beauty. Diancie smiled and followed his gaze through the small glade. The trees were of a lush color, and they surrounded the tiny field, though there was no one else in sight. The green trees were glorious, and they largely enclosed the space, though there were several entrances and exits that appeared available to anyone passing through this small place. The trees appeared more alive than he had ever seen them before, and the grass bent lightly to the wind. Diancie gestured in a direction perpendicular to where Aegeas was standing. Aegeas turned in that direction, and Diancie provided an explanation.

“Beyond that set of trees and bushes over there is the meeting of the Resistance, darling. I advise you go through there, and meet some of the various Pokémon in attendance. I’ll be heading back now. Thank you for this wonderful time!”

Aegeas turned around to wave at Diancie, but she was already in the air, and rapidly ascended before vanishing above the canopy of trees, and from his view. He still waved in the direction that she had left, and turned to where she indicated was the meeting of the Resistance. He was momentarily regretful that he had not seen a trace of the meeting area, considering how distracted he had been in the conversation and the fact that he had been traveling too fast to make out any details, but knew that he was almost at his destination. Eager was he, excited was he, and so he ran forward, running through the bushes and trees, until he arrived at the home of the meeting, and was surprised by what he saw…

A new day had truly come for him…

Day A4 1:00 p.m

"What is WRONG with you!" Ren shouted, frantically dodging the oncoming boulders.

"Ey! I told you, your not supposed to be here! This is my land and I wont have any nasty NO trotting all over it!"

Ren ducked as another boulder just barely missed his shoulder.

"For the last time! I AM NOT WITH THE NO!"

He spun right just as a rock the size of his head careened into the ground.

"Oh and I'm supposed to believe you? Darling you'll have to try better than that!" Diance replied, amusement obvious in her voice.

Ren growled, leaping over another boulder. Suddenly, an idea occurred.

"DO"

A rock zipped by his face.

"YOU"

He dodged another massive projectile.

"KNOW"


"ABSTHPH!"

Diance stopped for a second, cocking her head,

"What?"

A rock had smashed into the poor Blaziken at the last second, sending him and his speech careening into a tree.

Gasping, Ren stumbled to his feet and croaked,

"Do...you know....Absol?"

Absol ducked into view from behind a bush and glanced at the two, then burst out laughing.

Diance immediately rushed over to Ren, spewing apologies and practically hurling berries at him.

"OH MY GOD! I' terribly sorry! I had no IDEA you were that very same Blaziken! If I had known well I would have of course let you in!"

She continued to dither about, healing him and cursing herself for being so trigger happy.

Finally, she stepped back, leaving the Blaziken fully healed but still quite annoyed.

"I guess you're here for the Resistance meeting eh? Don't worry darling, I've got you covered."

And with that, Diance sent them flying.

Ren yelped as he suddenly stood hundreds of feet in the air. Gasping, he looked over the landscape and, despite his surprise, couldn't help but marvel at the verdant hills and the solemn gray mountains, a perfect contrast.

"And you guys live here?" He murmured.

"That's right! Home of the brave!"

"That reminds me of something..." Ren said thoughtfully.

"Well keep at it, because your gonna need to remember a lot more than that during this meeting."

Absol seemed utterly at ease in the air and simply replied, "It seems as if the others have beaten us here. I hope your ready." He ended with a pointed glare at Ren.

Ren frowned, yet decided to stay silent. It seemed Diance did not know of Ren's...other side and telling her did not appeal to be advisable yet he left a hint,

"You realize I'm the one Cresselia says is defiant right?"

Diance blinked, obviously not picking up. Blaziken shrugged and turned back to the scenery.

Soon, they came over the mountains and Ren gazed in awe at what was ahead. A small peninsula jutted out fro the mountain range. Covered in trees, it was a verdant green and was poked with small wooden structures, presumably for the resistance.

The left side of the island was a large cove, sheltering half a dozen boats from the wild sea around it and at the center, a large clearing marked by a stone statue signified The Shrine of Safety.

With a whoop, Diance zoomed down, carrying Ren with her, and together, they arrived.

Bonus Chapter – Hoop dee doo!

Day ??, ??:??

“No respect at all... Pff... baby... Seriously, I'm at least as old as he is!”
Sighing grumpily, Hoopa passed through one of his golden rings and transported himself in yet another of his various dimensional pockets.
“Home, sweet home!”
The second he uttered those words, a swift red figure tried to tackle him as fast as it could. With a sigh, Hoopa rapidly took back his trusty item and disappeared.
Hoopa used Phantom Force!
The djinn reappeared next to its victim and tackled it, a purple aura surrounding him. With a painful cry, the Pokémon lost her balanced and brutally fell down.
“Now you're lying on the cold, hard, ground!” Hoopa sung happily, mocking his poor foe.
He should sing more often. Way to confuse the Pokémon he tortured more easily.
“But seriously, Latias, I'm kinda used to your desperate struggles by now. Gettin' rapidly sick of them.”
The Legendary looked up, a mixture of anger and despair in her eye.
"Let me out! Let me see my brother!”
“D'awww, that's cute! And I'm obviously going to do that now, aren't I?”
“Hoopa, please, this is not right! You must let me out at once! Aren't the members of the New Order also working for peace and prosperity?”
A loud laughter shook the djinn's body. Oh, this session was promising alright.
“Seriously?” he answered, unable to stop cackling. “How innocent are you? I've been toying around with several hostages before you and that's all you have to say? Latias, I'm enjoying this. D'you really think I signed up for peace and prosperity? D'you think I care about others? I mean, I'm the Mischief Pokemon, for Arceus' sake! You might as well ask Darkrai if he likes cute Pichus!”
Hoopa shook his head and two of his rings left their positions.
“Wh-what are you doing?”
“Shh. Not fun if I tell you.”
Hoopa used Thunderwave!
“I learned that one pretty much just for occasions like this,” he admitted as his prey began screaming. One of the rings had moved towards Latias' right wing and had immobilized itself. The second one was right next to Hoopa's arm.
“Perfecto! Let us begin! Ooooooh, I'm so excited for this one. Never got the chance to try it on a winged toy!”
Hoopa's ring approached Latias' wing, and the latter took a horrified expression as she saw it gradually disappear. It was reappearing through the second ring, much to Hoopa's satisfaction.
"DImensional control for the win. Wow, it's actually softer than it looks!" he commented, gently fondling Latias' wing.
"What are you doing?! Stop that!"
"Stop? Are you kiddin' me? You don't even know what the magic trick is, so shut up and watch quietly."
The djinn violently gripped the wing and pulled it, slowly but surely. As he pulled it, the ring around Latias' wing would become smaller and smaller, and so would the ring next to Hoopa. Latias let out a terrified cry as she understood what was happening, but it was too late: the sudden pain that struck her arm made her shout even louder, and she could feel a terrible pressure around her bones.
And suddenly, right before the rupture, Hoopa stopped his motion and and the rings returned to their normal size. A violet, circle-shaped mark was pulsing around the Legendary's wing. Still in pain, Latias gave a questioning look at her tormentor.
"I love that "Why did he stop?" look of yours," commented Hoopa. "Lemme answer that question real quick."
The djinn gripped the wing again and directed it to the ground. A horrible cracking sound resounded in the air, and Latias screamed once more.
"There ya go!" exclaimed Hoopa. "I didn't remove it because it's funnier if you have a completely useless wing still attached to your body. 'Cause you know, it still hurts a lot. And I don't wanna reattach it afterwards, so I'll just keep goin'."
Hoopa crossed his arms.
"I promised him slow dismemberment, though..." he mumbled to himself.
The small Legendary couldn't help but replay the scene in his mind. More than five hours in the arms of that crazy Flaaffy, talking about everything that crossed his and Twinkiel's mind. Without that stupid dragon, he could have handled him without much trouble, but he had lacked the stamina to fight against yet another Pokemon. And frankly, he didn't want to battle him at all back then.
"I had a... fondness for evil characters..."
Hoopa shook his head and focused his attention on Latias again. She was looking at him.
"Sorry, I'm a bit... distracted today."
"I thought you enjoyed torturing people," was her cold answer. "What could possibly be more distracting than that?"
"Oh, nothing important. Just a fun encounter. Humans are such strange creatures," he added mysteriously.
Using one of his rings, the djinn opened a way to one of his various dimensions. A few seconds later, a pile of machines and various items appeared in front of him.
"I was a lot of things in my past life. I know I was a knight at some point. But a tricky one, of course: I liked to inflict lots of status effects with my weapons. Always aimin' for the dude's injuries and makin' him suffer! Heheh... So much fun!"
Hoopa shook his head again. Now wasn't the time to think about that Flaaffy. He didn't eve know what a "knight" was exactly.
"Status effects huh...?" he mumbled nonetheless.
“I had no idea you were mad enough to talk to yourself.”
Hoopa looked down on his captive prey.
“D'you have any idea how lonely it is to be trapped in a bottle, and then breaking free with a huge chunk of your power gone? Of COURSE I'd end up talkin' to myself.”
He took a big fork attached to a red sphere. He then swiftly touched Latias' wounded wing with the sphere.
“By the way,” added Hoopa, smiling almost gently. “It's a Flame Orb. Have fun.”
Latias' eyes widened the very second the Orb took effect: she unleashed a long, guttural cry as the powerful item burned through her feathers all the way to her damaged bones and muscles. Tears of shear pain now covered her face. The burn was quickly progressing, but she couldn't do anything about it.
“Pl-please... No... More...” she moaned pitifully.
“You want more? Awww, but of course, my dear!”
Hoopa used Thunderwave!
The djinn gave Latias a tender gaze as she screamed once more. The electricity coupled with the burn effect of the Flame Orb had created a beautiful symphony of pain, to which Latias was reacting in perfect synchronization. But it wasn't enough. Hoopa had to complete his work.
“Did you know that the Humans created a Trading Card Game of Pokemon battles? Yeah, I used to play that, too. I remember a Weezing that could burn AND poison you at the same time! Gosh, I loved that one. Such a useful effect. You should consider torturing people with such a method!”
Hoopa smiled to himself. Maybe recalling his encounter with the Flaaffy wasn't so bad after all. The mischievous Pokemon took another item from his collection – a knife with a purple orb stuck at the tip of it – and touched Latias' wing with it. Upon making contact with the latter's skin, the Poison Orb immediately released its dangerous venom. Humming happily, Hoopa directed it towards the open wound, and little drops of poison began falling down the wound.

“I love this power, that I found; ate everyone in Ginger Town, no remains when you look around...”
“STOP! PLEASE, STOP!" Latias shouted desperately. "TAKE MY WING IF YOU WANT, BUT I BEG YOU, STOP THIS!”
Latias was Badly Poisoned!
“...And soon you'll burn in my fire, my fire, I'll be the perfect fighter...”
Latias' voice began to crack as her cries of pain intensified. Hoopa closed his eyes, fully appreciating his moment. The symphony was almost complete.
“...I'll be the Champion, when I'm in my Perfect Foooooorm! Power, way over nine thousand, you'll be playing my game, when I'm in Perfect Form...”
The winged Legendary's voice was now deep, utterly bestial. She was mad with pain.
“Liked that song, huh? That one was for another of my favorite villains. Hey, I see the hoop there! Remove it or get shocked!”
Hoopa's teeth shone in the dark.
“Thanks for offering me this moment.” the djinn murmured to himself.
Latias survived the Poison! Latias was hurt by her Burn! Latias was Paralyzed!
The Legendary was breathing heavily on the ground, coughing because of the dust around her. Her eyes were widened, injected with blood. Hoopa silently floated towards Latias and rubbed his cheek against hers. She was trembling. Was it fear? Pain? Apprehension? It didn't matter anymore.
“Shhh, don't be too afraid,” he whispered, a motherly smile on the face. “Y'know, when I was... Perfect, I didn't really need to torture or kill anyone. I could, but I didn't care, because possessing everything I wanted was all that mattered. And it was still the case even after I was Confined. But now... I wouldn't mind a few 'Mons dropping dead in front of me. It feels so good to see others completely powerless before me again.”
Hoopa sighed with delight.
“You're mine. You're all mine. The world is mine to steal. I can do whatever I want with whatever I take, and I'm glad I took you. This first symphony was perfect. Thanks a ton. Latias.”
“What you've gained, Pumpking, is control.”
Hoopa now fully realized how right the Flaaffy was. he had never enjoyed himself in sucha way when he was Unbound. It was... Different.
“You're... completely insane.”
It was all Latias could say.
“Always was”, was Hoopa's swift answer. “Always will. But enough chit-chat!” he suddenly exclaimed, retrieving his joyful demeanor. “I'm only supposed to spend limited time with you anyway, so I'll just go and see if Steely's finished with his experiment. be a good girl in the mean time, alright?”
Hoopa floated away, chuckling.
“I have to find a... Friend of mine. I can't wait.”
“You... You have no friend,” Latias observed, barely able to whisper. “You don't even know the meaning of friendship...”
“Of course I do!” he replied, frowning. Hoopa extended one of his hoops.
“Friendship is like playin' with a toy. You enjoy it for a while and then you dispose of it.”
With a last grin, Hoopa left his dimension and rushed back to the Completely Safe Bunker, eager to see what Registeel had prepared for him.

“Tonight at 7… ocal celebrity agent Jack Gates sues for…. dy of 14 year ol…….. fter his parents tried to cut all ties with…..”

“They’ll be coming soon. I can feel it. The humans Palkia brought. I have no choice. I must kill them. But I will preserve their souls, their hearts, so they will never know harm again. I will keep them safe.”

The Guardian detached itself from Genesect’s body. It looked like it was made completely of shadow, trails of wispy darkness flowing off of it with every movement. The figure itself was hardly discernable, as it seemed to wear a black cloak with the same qualities as its body.

“I know you hate me Darrel. No doubt the others will hate me as well. It’s only natural. The ones that try to bring about the greatest change, be it rooted in good or evil, are always hated. But I’ve come to realize something. People simply hate change. Humans do anyway. But the people of this world… they are different. Though their brief exposure to humanity has already begun to shift them, I believe they can still be of use. The Legendries will finally be given the purpose they so crave. This New Order movement? Merely a controlled experiment. One that I admit has failed. The true New Order, however, will extend far beyond this world, and it will not fail. And you and the other humans that were brought here will be by my side, safe for all eternity. Never again will you know pain or suffering.”

The Guardian again attempted to replay the memory he’d tried to access.

“Tonight at 7. Local celebrity agent Jack Gates sues for custody of 14 year old ………. after his parents tried to cut all ties with him and the film industry. More details to follow.”

The Guardian looked to Bloodmoon.
“Was that you? Were you the boy that man wanted? Or could it perhaps be one of the others? It hardly matters any more does it? That moment has passed, and you’re here now.”

The Guardian floated back to Genesect’s deactivated body. He then began to replay another memory. But not any of the humans’. He was watching his own.

~~~~~
Day Negative X

“Do you deny the accusations?” Yveltal asked.

The Guardian was before them, solemnly motionless.

“Oh dear. It seems he’s fallen silence in fear. This is most unfortunate. If he can’t defend himself, then he will simply have to be sentenced as guilty.” Yveltal continued.

“I second that.” Dialga said.

“Why?” The Guardian asked. All eyes turned to him.
“Why is what I did a crime? I helped those that you were all too lazy to help yourselves. I healed the sick, and restored the dying. Disease itself bends to my will. Why can I not use my gifts if you all won’t?”

The Legendries looked to each other.

“A mind as simple as yours can’t comprehend the answer to a question such as that.” Giratina said.
“We warned you, and you deliberately disobeyed our orders. There is only one punishment suiting for your crimes. Oblivion.”

The majority of the gathered Legendries nodded in agreement.

“Stop!” A voice shouted. The Legendries turned to the entrance to the Hall to see Palkia floating in, Mew, Latios, Latias, and Mewtwo with him.

“Palkia? I don’t recall you being summoned to be on this council.” Dialga said, glaring at his brother.

“I don’t recall even being made aware there was a council. And since there was no official declaration, this entire proceeding holds no authority.” Palkia said.

“Which is why “I” hereby call a council into gathering.” Mew said smugly.
“Anyone object?”

Zapdos and the swords of justice raised their appendages, and at a stern look from Cobalion, Keldeo did the same.

“Overuled.” Palkia stated, him and his companions giving them a thumbs down.

“Now, onto the matter at hand.” Palkia said, floating up to his seat. The Legendries with Palkia each took their own seat.

“So, what are the accused’s charges?” Palkia asked.

Yveltal, recovering from his initial surprise, began to list them off.

“Tampering with the balance of nature, and disobeying direct orders from three different Legendries.” Yveltal said.

“Technically, it was one order given by three different Legendries.” Mew said.

“That doesn’t excuse what he’s done!” Darkrai shouted.

“I’m not saying it was official, but what verdict had this council decided on before we arrived?” Mewtwo asked.

“Shut up you fake! You don’t even belong here!” Zapdos screeched at him. Moltres and Articuno looked at him with worry. Mewtwo just ignored Zapdos, clenching down on the darkness in his heart.

“We had agreed to… ahem… Oblivion.” Yveltal said quietly.

“Oblivion you say? Well, as far as I’m concerned, he hasn’t committed genocide or orchestrated any world destruction or takeover plots. Who decided on such a harsh punishment?”

Though no one pointed, everyone’s gaze shifted towards Giratina.

“He has tampered with the balance of Life and Death.” Giratina plainly stated.
“And we were all in agreement. Those of us that voted anyway.” Giratina said, glaring at Articuno, Moltres, and Cresselia.

“Then I propose a new verdict.” Palkia began. He looked down to the Guardian.
“------ , you have violated a sacred law. Though you are new to our world, we did warn you against your action. But as this is your first transgression, and you acted out of compassion for the mortals, your punishment will be lessened. You will relinquish claim on your Legendary artifact, and will be demoted to minor Legendary.”

The Guardian didn’t say or do anything.

“Does anyone go against me on this?” Palkia asked.

Once again, the swords and Zapdos showed their disapproval, but not even Yveltal, Giratina, or Darkrai showed disapproval. They knew they would be outnumbered. It was always better to remain ambiguous during council rather than risk defeat.

“This court is dismissed.” Mewtwo said.

The Legendries began to leave the hall. Some teleported, some opened shadow corridors, and others simply floated out until only the five that had arrived to vouch for the Guardian remained. They floated down from their seats, moving towards him.

“Why? Why try and save me? As I recall, you wanted to kill me.” The Guardian said to Palkia.

“Yes, I did. I admit, I was scared of you. I’m the guardian of space, and of this world. Anything that comes here that I don’t know about frightens me. But that was before you showed your kind spirit. You helped the mortals.” Palkia said, smiling.
“There are a group of us, small as it is, that still use our power to help them. However, we don’t use our power as blatantly as you have. While I was against punishment, I had to give the others something. Otherwise, we might have risked a civil war among Legendries. This world does not need such widespread destruction.” Palkia explained.

The Guardian looked up at Palkia.
“I must give up my artifact. What does that mean?”

“Your power will be significantly reduced. No doubt you will be unable to heal mortals like you used to. You will also be forced to dwell among the mortals. This hall will no longer be your place of refuge. Only during council will you be allowed to return. But don’t worry. The majority of Legendries are considered minor. Some committed crimes to get them reduced to that state, while others just aren’t very powerful. It’s discrimination, but that’s just how it works.” Palkia said to the Guardian. With his face so emotionless, it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

“Don’t worry. I’ll be around to keep an eye on you.” Mew giggled, hugging the Guardian.

“Thank you Mew.” The Guardian said. If his face were capable of emotion, he would have smiled.

And so my power was taken unfairly from me. From then on, I continued to try and help the mortals. But sometimes I failed. I had blame hurled at me, I felt sorrow. Some mortals even accused me of taking the lives of their loved ones. But I never stopped helping them. I was sworn to guard life. And guard it I did. But then came the war…

Day A4: Night
Frostpoint outskirts

Snow, snow, and more snow. Arthur was sick of trudging through it. He’d done nothing but patrol the town border, looking for any suspicious activity. Last night, Arthur thought he saw the Dragonite that had brought him here fly off, but he hadn’t seen if anyone was with him or not.

“Even I’m starting to lose it out here. I could use someone to talk too…”

Arthur continued his circular patrol around the town perimeter. Though he hadn’t seen anything the last twenty times. And he wasn’t expecting anything this time. Or so he thought…
As Arthur came around one of the buildings at the edge of the town, he saw several dark forms moving out in the snow. As he looked, Arthur thought it might have just been some of the village children out playing. But then he realized, it was night. Why would children still be out at this time?

“Something’s not right here…”

Stealth wasn’t his area of expertise, so all he could do was fall flat on the snow, hoping his tan colored shell was white enough to blend in well with the snow. Felicity’s scarf kept the chilling effects of the snow off him as he watched the forms. As they drew closer, he could see that their movements were very stealthy. They clearly didn’t want to be seen. He heard soft chatter amongst their group as they moved even closer. Arthur saw now that there were four of them, all Weavile. They wore red bandannas over their mouths, matching the bandit stereotype almost perfectly. They were going to rob the town.

“Not on my watch they aren’t.” Arthur thought. They were moving right towards him now, too focused on watching everywhere else but his spot. His scarf would protect him from any ice attacks. Weavile were notorious for poor defense, so Arthur would just need to land a single Hammer Arm on each of them.

“Just a little closer…”

Arthur could hear them pretty easily now.

“I’m just saying, Sazandora is the perfect place to strike it rich. Treasure under every square inch of land, easy thieving, plenty of places for hideouts, and if all that fails, there’s always the slave trade.” One said.

“Then you can go there if you want. You’ll melt within the first ten minutes. As for me, I like it here. The people are lazy, and you can rob the same person dozens of times before it becomes too risky. Plus all the guards are too busy guarding inside the town to even bother with the border.” Another retorted.

“So, who are we hitting first? There’s a pretty big house just around on the west side of the town. I bet that place is full of goods. Rubies, Saphires, Emeralds…”

“Catchy. Maybe someone will name something after those gems someday.”

“Hey, what’s that?”

Arthur froze. They must have spotted him.

“That? That’s just a rock. With icicles…”

“Pointing straight up?”



Arthur attacked, rolling up into Rollout. He felt himself hit one of the Weavile directly, and another get knocked aside by the attack.

“What the heck!” One shouted.

Arthur unrolled from the attack, spinning around to face the others. The one he’d run over was K.O.d, but the rest were unharmed, except for the one he’d glanced.

“No! No one does that to my brother!” One of the Weavile shouted, seeing his unconscious teammate.
The rest stood in a threatening manner, waiting for Arthur to move.

“You’d better turn around and leave right now.” Arthur stated, pounding his fist into his palm.

“Who do you think you are?” One of the Weavile smirked.
“We outnumber and out type you.”

“Do you think that’ll really matter? You’re dealing with a trained warrior here.” Arthur continued, letting his muscles loosen up. He knew what move to use next.

“What’s with all this talking? Just kill him!” The one with the injured brother suddenly shouted, running at Arthur. The other two followed behind, their claws all forming different attacks.

“Not the brightest are they?” Arthur thought. They should have tried to stay away and use ranged attacks, but here they were rushing right into him. The first Weavile jumped into the air, meaning to come down on top of him with a Metal Claw. But before it could even land a simple touch, Arthur swung his arm upward in a vicious Hammer Arm. The Weavile went sailing upward several feet, higher than his own jump height. The other two still ran forward towards him, despite having seen what had been done to their comrade.

“Some mon never learn.”

These two didn’t leap into the air, but rather ran right at him, making them even easier targets. Arthur swung another hammer arm at the duo, hoping to clobber them both at once. But the remaining two Weavile weren’t as thick as their fallen comrades. One slid under the hammer arm, slicing at Arthur’s calve while the second one actually grabbed onto his arm, biting with its fangs. Arthur yelled in pain, falling down onto one knee form the blow to his leg. The Weavile quickly retreated from Arthur, fearing a retaliatory attack.

“You’re definitely a trained warrior, I’ll give you that. Just not a very well trained one.” One of the Weavile laughed.

“So what, do we just leave him here?” The other asked.

“Nah. Just throw Ice Shards at him til he faints. Or dies. Then we’ll grab some valuables from the town and come back for our buddies. We’ll be gone before anyone knows what…”

The Weavile stopped. Why was the ground… rumbling?

“W-what are you doing?” The lead Weavile asked Arthur, tensing.

“Who cares, just attack!”

The duo began hurling Ice Shards at Arthur. The small projectiles shattered against him, Felicity’s enchanted scarf making the already weak attack do almost nothing.

“It’s not working! What do we do boss?” The Weavile panicked.

“Run! I don’t want to see what this guy’s about to do!”

The two Weavile took off running, scared of what was to come. But they didn’t get far. All of a sudden, a massive thorned vine erupted out of the ground. Before any of them could react, the vine swiped at them, slamming into the duo and sending them flying. They skidded to a stop several feet away, leaving a trail through the snow.

“Woo, that Frenzy Plant always takes some energy out of me.” Arthur said to himself, standing up. He chuckled a little, but then resorted to groaning in pain. He limped forward, his leg hurting him but not too badly. He’d suffered worse injuries just form training. He picked up the first two Weavile he’d knocked out as he walked towards the last two, setting them all in a sort of pile. He was somewhat glad to hear they were all still breathing. He knew someday he’d have to kill to protect the New Order, but today wouldn’t be that day.

“Freeze!” A voice shouted.
“Hands in the air!”

Arthur sighed, complying. Clearly he was being mistaken for some criminal. Arthur turned towards the voice, seeing a Beartic walking towards him.

“Who are you? What are you doing out here?” He asked. Then his eyes drifted towards the pile of Weavile.

“Great glaciers, what did you do?” The Beartic asked, shocked.

“Don’t worry, they aren’t dead. They were all…”

“Bandits.” The Beartic laughed.
“You’re telling me you just beat the infamous Northern Dread bandits? We’ve been trying to catch these guys for weeks!” The Beartic laughed even louder.

Arthur just stood there, smiling awkwardly.
“Need any help getting them into custody?” He asked.

“No, no. I can take it from here. Good thing Weavile are so light, am I right?”
The Beartic picked up the unconscious Pokémon and slung them over his shoulders, two per arm.

“Come on. There’s someone who I think would like to meet an experienced fighter like you.” The Beartic said, motioning with his head for Arthur to follow.

“Who?” He asked, trying his best to follow without showing he was injured.

“Ms. Cassandra. She’s sort of in charge of us guards.” The Beartic explained.
“And she’s always looking for new fighters to join us.”

Frost

Frost landed at the entrance of the mountain. He stood slowly and looked around for his companions, but found nothing. He must've teleported them somewhere else, he guessed he'd have to practice more in order to make it more precise. Frost entered the Mountain. Inside lay a sprawling courtyard. This seemed to be the center for passage. Around the courtyard, built into the walls, lay arched doorways leading to who knows what. In the middle of the courtyard lay a massive spiral staircase built out of the mountain. Every few feet crystal spikes jutted out of the rock it was built from. Frost floated into the courtyard, wading into the bustling crowd of porters and soldiers, moving the occasional porter out of his path. He neared the staircase, normally, he guessed someone would stop for a while and marvel at the artistry of this crystal staircase, a part of him begged to do just that. Frost shook his head, he was not that weakling he was before, so naïve as to fight for a group set against order and the protection of innocent citizens.

Frost ascended the staircase, vaguely noting the pure glass stairs he floated over. Although he did not care in the slightest, he could tell the architect who had made the stairs was an expert of his craft. Perhaps a legendary had made them. Frost reached the second floor. In front of him sat row after row of doorways. Frost guessed these were dormitories. Looking at them, Frost was reminded of a time in the past, a time when he was human. He let the memory slip, he did not want to remember his past any longer. He continued. At the third floor sat a coliseum made of stone with runes scratched into them. No doubt this had been here before the NO had taken over the mountain. Frost turned to move on, but an ursaring approached him and bowed.

"Welcome to Mt Providence, my master has informed me you would be here, I have been directed to take you to him in Frostpoint, but before that he instructed me to show you the arena." He nodded to the coliseum, " I quote him here, these are the soldiers you will be working with, they represent justice and order and I want him to get a feel for what he's working with before sending him out on missions with them."

He finished, standing up, he looked into Frosts eyes for the first time and, despite his obvious training in keeping his emotions concealed, he paled and looked away. Frost considered what the ursaring's master had said. While he didn't really need to know what he was working with, as Frost was sure he could do the tasks the NO gave him alone, the master had a point, he did need to at least know what he was working with, otherwise what was the point of coming here? Frost nodded at the ursaring. The ursaring gave a bow, and led Frost into the coliseum.

Inside sat rows and rows of bleachers overlooking a circular maze. Inside the maze came shouts and blasts of energy, apparently they'd walked in on a match. Frost watched the blasts, then picked up the energies of their casters. It was a low level match, most likely apprentices or recruits trying to prove their worth. A monferno sprinted towards a wounded grotle, his team, a haunter and a palpitoad fending off desperate attacks from the opposing team to save the grotle. The monferno formed a flame wheel and struck the grotle, setting it ablaze and throwing it back into one of the maze walls. A bell sounded and the monferno's team let out shouts of triumph. The grotle, rolled in pain, still ablaze as chanseys and an azumarill rushed to him. Something in Frost reacted to the pain he saw in the grotle's eyes, he savored it despite the part of him, now so small, so insignificant, that told him to stop, to help the wounded grotle.

Beside him, Frost heard a nervous whimper. Approaching them were three figures. An Infernape, obviously the leader of the team, stood in front. Beside him were two others, a Hariyama, and a Gardevoir. They sidled up to the Ursaring, smirks on their faces.

" Well, if it isn't the lordling. Here on your masters orders your highness?" The ursaring shrunk back.

"Yes. As a matter of fact I am! You all better stay away from me this time, or else i'll tell my master you..." He trailed off as the Hariyama began laughing.

"I'm serious I...I." He turned to Frost. A smile began forming on his lips.

"I challenge you to a battle! Me and this guy" He gestured to Frost," versus you three. If we win you will never bother me again." The Infernape and his team looked up at Frost, noticing him for the first time. The fire on the infernape's head flickered for a few moments, but he regained his composure. There was no backing out of this unless he wanted to publicly humiliate himself and the Infernape knew it.

"And what do we get if you win." Ursaring smiled maliciously.

"Whatever you'd like." The infernape took a moment to consider this, the puffed out his chest, the fire on his head climbing higher.

"Fine, we'll beat the living shit out of you, and when we're done you become our servant until your 'master' decides to transfer you." The ursaring paled at this, but agreed and looked at Frost.

"I will not fight for your petty interests." Ursaring grinned.

"What if I told you they ran an illegal slave system." Frost looked to the Infernape and his team and although he hid it quickly, Frost caught a burning rage in his eye.

"I will fight." The Ursaring practically jumped for joy.

"See you in the ring Brutus." Brutus, the infernape, nodded sullenly, too consumed by rage to taunt. The group turned and loped to the other side of the maze. The ursaring walked over to a cricketune who then announced the upcoming fight.

The match started. The Ursaring looked to Frost.

"I can't fight" He said sheepishly. Frost regarded him.

"I will fight by myself." The ursaring smiled and bowed his thanks. Frost was beginning to find this young ursaring quite annoying. A servant did not lead his guest into a fight with three other captains in the NO however bad their crimes were. Frost looked for the infernape and his three other companion's energies. Latching onto that, Frost teleported right into the midst of them, unleashing a torrent of psychic waves on the three opponents. They were quicker than he expected. That, or they had expected this would happen. The infernape dodged in between blasts and leapt at Frost, preparing a flare blitz. The gardevoir appeared on Frosts other side, launching psychic imbued razor leaves at him. The Hariyama went into a crouching position, his body glowing. Frost admired their strategy. Brutus and the gardevoir were distracting him while the Hariyama buffed himself. Unfortunately, they had underestimated Frosts power. Frost teleported behind the gardevoir and unleashed a shadow ball, almost as big as the gardevoir itself, into its back. The blast echoed across the coliseum and the gardevoir crumpled to the floor, its back smoldering purple. Brutus leapt forward, canceling his flare blitz and trying for a fire blast. Frost formed his shield and angled all its power in front of him, blocking the attack. The Hariyama appeared beside him, fist glowing. Frost had underestimated his speed. The Hariyama punched, letting out a burst of power. Frost, seeing no way to dodge it, matched it, directing his energy to his out stretched hand. Another blast, golden on one side and black on the other, erupted out of the coliseum. When the dust settled, the Hariyama lay on the ground, body covered in black flame that ebbed and flowed upon his skin. That left only the Infernape.

"What are you!" Brutus shouted, tears of fear welling in his eyes. Frost looked down on him.

"Know my name. I am all you fear and all you hate. All your nightmares all your memories of anger, I embody them, I consume them, for they are mine to take. I am Frost." Brutus looked at his fallen comrades, then gritted his teeth.

"You are no god!" He shouted, forming another fireblast. Frost latched on to Brutus's aura, angled his shield to block the blast, then, tracking Brutus by his aura, turned and smashed his palm into his face, holding him their in mid air.

"I am no god, I am the devil." With that, Frost used psychic, purple electricity arched from Frost's hand to Brutus's head, causing him to writhe in pain, then fall still, unconscious, not dead. Frost was a being of hatred, but he would not kill his comrades no matter how weak or petty they were. Frost dropped him to the ground, then looked around at the crowd that had gathered on the bleachers. They stood stalk still, the whole coliseum was silent save for the muttering of the medics as they filled the maze.

Once out of the coliseum, he found the ursaring. The bear bowed once again. Frost ignored the gesture.

"Take me to your leader."

Riley and Gabriel pushed open the door with little effort. The door creaked, as if trying to alert whatever lay beyond to their presence. The room was dark, save for a single small, flickering candle on a table against the far wall. Riley shivered. He never enjoyed spooky places, and he instinctively inched closer to Flurry.

"Stay on your toes." muttered Keldeo, as they entered the room,

Gabriel was the first to reach the table. Expecting to find some kind of book or artifact on top, he was surprised to find only the flickering candle.

"Guys," began Riley, his voice shaky, "it's not too late to go back."

"Oh, 'Mon up, will you?" snapped Keldeo and Gabriel at the same time,

Flurry gave Riley a sympathetic look, and moved closer to him, so as to silently comfort him. He smiled at her, and then blushed, remembering the valentine he had so eagerly given her.

Yeah, not one of your brightest ideas, genius.

What are you talking about? Giving her the lotus was your idea!

Oh, shove it. You know you wanted to.

No, I didn't! I don't even like her that way!

Yet.

Will you shut u-

He didn't finish the thought, as a bang resonated through the room. Everybody spun around to find the door they had entered through closed. Riley did a double-take, as he could have sworn he'd seen something move in the darkness.

"Uh, guys," Riley repeated, his fear growing, "I'm not trying to alarm you or anything, but the door-closing-by-itself-and-trapping-people-in-a-dark-room cliché usually means something bad is about to happen."

This time, Gabriel merely shushed him and closed his eyes, scanning for auras. "We aren't alone." he finally said,

"W-who's there?!" shouted Riley, attempting to be brave, but failing miserably, "Come on, we know you're there, so... so stop hiding!"

"Aw, you saw me?" a voice came from far to their left, "I was hoping to give you guys a good jump scare."

Then, as the voice cackled, dark energy was released through the room and candles suspended on the walls were lit with a black flame, illuminating the rest of the chamber. It was not humungous, but was definitely not small, as it contained at least thirty bookcases and three tables with various chemicals in beakers on them.

As the group turned to look at the voice, they let out a unanimous gasp. What they saw before them was possibly the scariest looking Pokémon they'd encountered thus far. A large Mega Gengar slid across the floor silently, moving up to them.

"I'm so thrilled you came! I haven't had guests in years! Tell me, did you go through the marsh to get here?!"

The four Pokémon exchanged confused glances, after which Gabriel answered with an apprehensive: "Yeah..."

"Wow! What effort you must have gone through! Well, it's rude of me not to introduce myself. I am Gengar, but my old pupils always called me Algol."

He extended a ghostly paw to shake with everybody else's, earning more confused looks.

"I'm... sorry, is something wrong?" he asked, noticing their expressions,

"Well, no," began Riley, "we were just expecting a Pokémon with a little more aggres-"

Gabriel clapped a paw to his mouth and replied: "No, nothing at all. You have quite the lovely library here."

"Well, it's not just the library." replied Algol proudly, "I'm sure you've seen the rest of the academy."

"We have," followed Gabriel, "and pardon me for asking, but are you by chance the old headmaster?"

"That's me!" he cackled, "Although all my pupils are gone now. Have been for many years."

"And you decided to stay?" asked Flurry, speaking up for the first time,

"That's right. I just couldn't bear the thought of leaving this place to rot."

Riley thought about kindly reminding Algol of the state of the academy, but decided against it.

"That, and the fact that there's nothing for me out there." continued Algol cheerfully, "Ah, forgive me for not asking before, but after all this effort to get here, you folks must be looking for something. How may I provide assistance? You say the word."

After exchanging glances, Gabriel responded: "Our friend is in danger. The New Order has taken him captive and we wish to make a trade with them; him for the Poison Plate."

Algol's expression darkened: "You came for my Plate?" he asked quietly,

Flurry stepped forward: "Please, help us. They're torturing our friend."

Algol pondered something for a moment before speaking: "Listen you four, I may look all big and scary, but I lost my will to hurt others long ago. It only causes suffering. I would absolutely love to help all of you, but... I simply can't give you the Plate. It's what I've been entrusted with. If I lose it, I lose my life."

"There's nothing you can do for us?" asked Riley,

"I'd offer my assistance in rescuing your friend, but the academy is my home, and I've vowed to never take a side in this terrible war."

Everybody looked at the floor sheepishly. They knew what would come next.

"Just hear me out, you are the only ones to visit me in years. I've seen you exchange looks. You think I've lost my mind. I'm not denying that I have, but maybe it's for the better. I wish only to help people now, and there's no feeling like it. Unfortunately, my solitude has left me with nobody to assist or teach. As a result, I wish to do everything I can for you, and although I can't give up the Plate willingly, I can let you battle me for it."

"But mister," said Flurry respectfully, "won't you die if we take the Plate?"

"I've lived a long life." he smiled sadly, "There's not much more for me to do in this world. And besides, I can see just by looking at you that you all mean well. The Plate would be in good hands with you. So if this is what must be done to rescue your friend, then I am willing to make the sacrifice."

Algol then grinned his mischievous Gengar grin: "But I won't make the battle easy. You have to earn the Plate."

"To be expected." smiled Keldeo,

"Well, I hate to have to end our visit like this, but my friend needs rescuing." said Gabriel, lightly smiling at the old Pokémon,

Your friend? thought Riley, What about us?

"Of course. Shall we begin?" offered Algol,

The four allies nodded and the battle began.



Algol slid back and spread his arms, firing off a powerful dark pulse. Reacting quickly, Gabriel and Keldeo jumped the wave of dark energy, while Riley tackled Flurry to the ground, saving her from instantaneously fainting.

"Hide somewhere." said Riley into Flurry's ear, "I don't want you getting hurt."

Gabiel rushed Algol. He performed a speedy Quick Attack and Keldeo, still by the candle-lit table, duplicated himself with Double Team. Gabriel's speed allowed him to pull off the attack quickly, however, after the attack was completed, the Guardian merely looked at him, unfazed.

"Wha-?" sputtered Gabriel,

"You!" yelled the Keldeo behind him, "Don't be a fool! He's a ghost! Normal type moves take no effect!"

Algol cackled at this: "What are you going to do now, little one?"

Gabriel merely stood there momentarily, eyes closed. "I have you." he finally muttered, before throwing another Quick Attack. This one connected with the ghost, and Algol received a whirlwind of various punches at close quarters. Both Algol and Keldeo were shocked.

"H-how?" sputtered Algol, bruised from the onslaught.

"It's called Foresight." replied Gabriel, "Your ghost type can't help you against m-"

"Gabriel," shouted Riley, who had used a Foresight of his own, "jump!"

With twice the reflexes of a cat, Gabriel sprung into the air, narrowly avoiding a nasty Sucker Punch. Whilst he was in the air, the crowd of Keldeo launched a group Hydro Pump. Algol, slightly surprised, managed to avoid all but one of the Hydro Pumps. He winced as the water impacted him like a thousand knives. Gabriel had now landed on the Guardian's head and faked a kick with Feint, causing the Guardian to swipe upward. Gabriel used the opportunity and Countered with a strength he didn't recognise as his own, driving the Guardian's Shadow Punch into his own face.

The Guardian, having taken quite a bit of damage, groaned in pain and grabbed Gabriel with both ghostly paws. He then proceeded to drive him into the ground with a Payback attack. It nearly knocked Gabriel out, and although he held on with Endure, it was clear he was out of commission for the rest of the battle.

With anger in his eyes, he turned to look at Flurry, who stood frozen next to Riley. (Pun intended.)

"Flurry, run!" yelped Riley, as he pushed them both out of the way of yet another attack, a Night Shade.

Flurry, eager to get away, began to run to the far end of the room, and was surprised to find Algol appear directly in front of her. "Not so fast!" he said, and began casting a spell of Hypnosis over her.

"You are not my ene-" he did not finish the sentence, as Keldeo, having realised what he was trying to do, dropped his Double Team and launched a Focus Blast into Algol's back. Though the attack did no damage, it did interrupt the spell. Flurry now simply stood there, dumbfounded.

Riley immediately ran to Flurry's side once more, and dragged her behind a bookcase, where she wouldn't be hurt as the Guardian tried desperately to impact Keldeo.

"Who are you?!" shouted Algol, confusion and anger in his voice,

Keldeo offered no reply and simply continued dodging the attacks. However, Riley caught a glimpse of his eye and understood what he needed; a distraction.

Riley whistled as loud as he could, and the Guardian turned to see Riley rushing at him. They both knew Riley could do nothing against ghost types, but the sudden movement caught Algol off guard, and as he let his tongue out of his mouth to paralyse Riley with a nasty Lick, the Riolu decided he couldn't allow that to happen. As he approached the Guardian, he attempted Gabriel's Feint attack. He made it look as if he were jumping to punch Algol in the face, while he really slid underneath Algol, dodging the attack and ending up next to Keldeo, who had charged another Hydro Pump.

Without hesitation, Keldeo unleashed the attack. The blast was so powerful, the Guardian was knocked off his ghostly feet. In a rage, Algol slid up to Keldeo faster than Keldeo had duplicated himself moments before, and hit him with a Payback attack that immediately knocked the horned fighter out. A light shone around Keldeo as he was transported out of the Mystery Dungeon, leaving only the near-defeated Gabriel, the useless Riley and the bewildered Flurry.

Algol turned his attention back to Riley and began showering him with a flurry of attacks, the majority of them being Sucker Punches. Riley, unable to attack back, used his speed to dodge every shot, but was quickly exhausting himself.

"Stand still!" yelled Algol, as he finally hit Riley with a Dark Pulse, sending him into the wall. Cornered, Riley was beaten. "Now it's time for you to join your defeated friends." continued the Guardian,

"Correction, Algol:" yelled Gabriel from one of the chemistry tables, holding a beaker of liquid he had concocted using his knowledge of alchemy while the Gengar was distracted, "defeated friend!" At this, he threw the concoction at the Guardian and watched as the green substance seeped into his ghostly skin.

"You!" retaliated Algol, "you're supposed to be done for! What have you done to me?!"

"Riley," Gabriel called, ignoring the question, "hit him with a Quick Attack!"

Riley nodded and slammed into the Guardian at full force, causing him to yelp in pain.

Whatever Gabriel did, that concoction has allowed me to hit this guy. Smart move.

Shut up! You hate Gabriel, remember?!

I don't hate him, I just don't like him.

Look out!

Riley leaped out of the way as another Sucker Punch came crashing toward him. He then proceeded to unleash a series of Feints, Quick Attacks and Counters, until the Guardian was nearly unconscious. But the battle wasn't over yet.

"I... will not... go out this easily!" yelled Algol to nobody in particular, harnessing energy from the Poison Plate.

Riley used Foresight to try and evade the Dark Pulse, but it was too fast and too powerful. It hit and would have KO'd the Riolu, had he not Endured the blow. But with Gabriel's exhaustion once more getting the better of him and Riley's newfound pain, there appeared to be no way they could win the battle.

"You thought you could defeat me with chemicals?!" spat Algol, his anger at a boiling point, "I am no ordinary Pokémon! You don't deserve this Plate, nor does anyone else! It's mine, and you will pay for yo-" the Guardian's eyes widened and his shoulders slumped forward. He did not finish the sentence before collapsing to the ground.

In his back were three Ice Shards, and behind them were none other than Flurry, breathing heavily. "Don't you dare hurt Riley!" she said, running over to his side.



The battle was over, and because of Flurry's newly discovered move, the four allies had won.

As Flurry helped Riley and Gabriel to their feet, they walked over to the Guardian, who was chuckling softly.

"Yes... yes... you all fought wonderfully." he described, "I apologize if I became a little too aggressive. Sometimes the Gengar in me comes out more than it should. Oh yes, the Plate. Listen you three, and tell this to that four-legged friend of yours too when you leave, I couldn't be happier that you're taking the Plate from me today. You have proven yourselves capable of understanding and controlling it's power, and you wish to do only good things with it. But as a dying man, I ask that you grant me a final wish: do not allow this war to corrupt you. Many lives have been lost and many Pokémon hurt because of it. Back before I taught at this academy, I was like those kind of fire-raisers. I was a bully. I picked on the weak. I ruined lives for the fun of it. But do you know what? Ever since I turned over a new leaf, I've felt happy, even in my solitude. I know in my heart of hearts that I'm doing the right thing now, that I have been ever since the academy opened. You, (and at this he looked at Gabriel,) continue your studies in alchemy. You have a natural talent. All these ancient books here, I give to you. Take good care of them."

At this, Gabriel nodded.

"It's time I left this world." said the Guardian, "Thank you for the greatest day I've had in years."

And at that, Algol turned to stone, leaving naught but the Poison Plate behind.

Flurry | Back to the Snow | Day A4, way too early in the morning

There was a long moment of quiet as Algol turned to stone. The three pokemon were still panting, of course--his speech hadn't take that long--but it was quiet nonetheless.

"So," Flurry began, "who's taking the plate? I'm not."

"Why not?" Riley asked.

"I'm tired." In reality, she just felt bad about striking the final blow. What kind of teammate was she, just waiting until the last second to even try helping? The whole time, she'd just kept running and playing damsel in distress. In fact, the role she'd had made her feel a little distressed.

Ignoring Gabriel's snort and Riley's confusion, Flurry began searching the room for an exit. She could not open the doors they'd come through, and there didn't seem to be any others. No windows either. She wondered if maybe there were stairs under the bookcases or something, but she was suddenly enveloped by light and swept off her knobbly feet.

She fell back to hard ground with a yelp, and landed on her cone head. Since she was carrying the bag, hopefully nothing had been broken or squashed in there.

"Oh," said Riley's voice. "That was it? We just had to take the plate, and we were transported back to the entrance?"

"It would appear so," Gabriel replied. "And we may need to help Flurry stand up. Again." He went on to mutter about only having searched through a small portion of Algol's library.

Thank you, Gabriel, for acting like I am a valuable asset to the team.

As Riley helped Flurry to her feet, they noticed the telltale horn and feathery tail of Keldeo. Flurry also saw several books in Gabriel's grip, but chose to ignore the curious thoughts that pressed her to figure out what they were about.

"You're all back!" Keldeo shouted, breaking into a trot as he neared the smaller pokemon. "It looks like you got the plate then."

Riley held up the Toxic plate for everyone to see, and then handed it to Flurry so she could store it in the bag. Curling her nose (if she actually had one), she stuffed it inside and tried to avoid crushing any berries.

"Good job beating Algol," Keldeo continued. He looked at the floor, an awkward smile on his face. Somehow, Flurry didn't think he was actually happy.

"Listen, I feel kind of bad for leaving you all alone in there, and I know Flurry can't travel quite as fast as you two, so how about I take you three close to civilization, and you can get wherever you're going a bit faster?"

Raising an eyebrow, Gabriel asked if that would entail anything on his end.

The unicorn smirked. "Maybe."

Flurry wasn't sure when, but the bag passed into Gabriel's hands at some point, and he frowned at the inside before carefully arranging the contents and placing the books inside. For once, she wasn't offended by his particularity; she'd do the same with her recordings of Sweeney Todd. Whatever that was.

They left the Academy after that, and regrouped with Keldeo, as he had left sooner. With the soggy ground, and Flurry's own lack of athleticism, it took her a few tries to jump onto the unicorn's back. She shifted around, trying to make room for the boys, but Keldeo's voluminous mane whacked her in the face as he looked at the two.

"How about a race?"

If only Flurry's ice-touch worked in this heat. She'd freeze all three of these fighting-maniacs right this second and beat some sense into them. Even if she wasn't running, she knew a race would strain her health.

Much to her dismay, Gabriel flashed a challenging grin and handed the bag back to her. Riley sent a cautious glance at Flurry before shrugging and assuming the same look.

Boys.

"Ready?" called Keldeo. Flurry felt his muscles shift, and she hurried to grab hold of something.

"Set," said Riley. He and Gabriel had also taken up launch positions, and their stances reminded Flurry of some awful, yet strangely funny memory.

Odd, she was pretty sure that even as a human, she'd never have anything to do with ra--

"Go!"

Hot wind ripped at Flurry's eyes, tearing the water from her eyes. She probably screamed, but it was hard to tell with all the bouncing and yelling. As air streamed past her, she caught snippets of conversation that mostly had to do with Keldeo's losing.

Well duh. He has baggage. One snorunt, a ceramic plate, and several books cannot be a light load.

After the first minute, it seemed that the whole party had slowed down enough for Flurry to open her eyes. She peeled them open slowly, taking it one eye at a time until she was sure it was safe.

When she looked around though... Gosh, it was like she'd hit herself with Astonish (not that she knew how). Trees and vines passed by so fast that Flurry could only catch blurs unless she drew on some human memory and "spotted" like someone turning a pirouette. Alternating patches of sun and shade showered Flurry with hot and warm.

It was incredible. Honestly. Before she even knew it, three syllables slipped out of her mouth, lost to the wind. Flurry swallowed and kept quiet after that, wondering what she'd even said.

They stopped near a field of open reeds, right next to a boardwalk which led to the tourism center.

"You've still got a ways to go," Keldeo explained, craning his neck to watch Flurry hop off his back, "but you should get back to Frontier Town by nightfall. Make sure no one knows what you've got in that bag, alright?"

Flurry murmured an 'alright,' before thanking Keldeo for his help and for letting her ride on his back. The boys thanked him too, and an air of comeraderie floated over them.

As Keldeo turned to leave, he shot Gabriel a grin. "Don't forget about this," he said.

"I won't," Gabriel promised. Then the unicorn disappeared into the darkness of the marsh, his feathery tail waving goodbye.

As Flurry, Riley, and Gabriel turned to follow the boardwalk, a thought struck Flurry's mind. She knew what she'd said back there, during the race. Frowning to herself, she let the boys get a few paces in front and whispered to herself.

"Hen piao... liang?"

Hours later

The race had brought the three pokemon closer to civilization than they'd realized, and it took very little time for them to reach the tourism center and catch the Dodrio back to Frontier Town. From there, hiring a Dragonite to fly them to Frostpoint was easy as pie.

They paid in some form of currency which mysteriously appeared in the bag after the dungeon, and before long, Flurry felt the cold chill of the north flooding through her. It was fabulous, really.

She leaned over the Dragonite's side, watching snowy plains dotted with dark greens and greys pass beneath. They were too far up to see the shack of a portal to the fairy dungeon, and Flurry didn't start seeing the sprinkle of houses that surrounded Frostpoint until the Dragonite began slowing down, but she could still appreciate the quiet softness of a world blanketed by snow.

The Dragonite landed at the same tower that Mister Art had come from, and Flurry breathed in the crisp, winter air. And though she couldn't sense aura, she felt excitement oozing from the riolus. They were one step closer to freeing Xerneas.

Just one problem now: how could Riley and Gabriel get through town without causing a fuss?

Day A4: 13:10

“The music in his ears was literally the Kid's ally. It was blasting through his ears, giving him a burst of satisfying adrenaline. With it, the Kid rushed towards his Foe, trying to punch him, fist pulsing with electricity. But once again, the black armored enemy fell back. The Kid kept punching forward, for he knew the enemy had nowhere to go, and he was right: soon enough, the Foe hit the wall behind him.
“You won't get me this time!”
The Kid jumped as the Foe dashed forward below him. Following his adversary's example, the Kid also dashed and stopped himself before hitting the wall. He was now fully charged. But suddenly, the whole room began trembling: the foe was fully charged as well.
“Ooooooh yes! C'mon, let's do this again, man!
The Kid was surrounded by blue sparks of electricity, an excited grin on the face. Red sparks of electricity circled around the Foe, but he was expressionless.
“Let's do it! VOLTECCER!!”
Both turned into powerful balls of electricity and jumped in mid-air, clashing with one another, to the Kid's utter glee.”
Twinkiel let out a deep and soft chuckle. The Flaaffy's electricity was sparkling all around him, reacting to his insane excitement.
“The Kid and his Foe reverted back to their usual form, but this time the Kid noticed something different. He fell towards his foe and attempted another electric-powered punch. This time, it had worked: the Foe seemed to be paralyzed when in mid-air. The Kid's grin grew larger. He had finally found an exploitable weakness.”
“...No more talkin' though.”
Twinkiel brutally opened his eyes, suddenly aware of the silence around him. The Flaaffy was sitting on a table stuck in the lotus position since the legendaries had left.
Everything became boring the moment Mewtwo used Teleport.
But now, on the other side of the wooden yet somewhat comfortable table Twinkiel was sitting on, everyone was gazing at him.
“I, uh... I was... Meditating. You... You guys have no idea how fun that can be sometimes, haha...”
“Peculiar way for you to meditate, then, young Flaaffy.”
Twinkiel turned his head in the direction of the voice.
“N°502: Dewott. Type: Water. Evolution: LV36. It uses its two shells on its sides as swords and goes into rigorous training to perfect his skill.”
"Well, it's justified," Twinkiel replied, approaching the newcomer. "A good session of meditation always leaves a shiny being so... delightfully enlightened!"
The Flaaffy struck a pose and let his electricity illuminate his body, forcefully amplifying the power of his pun. But the Dewott simply stared, raising an eyebrow.
"Well it looks like modesty is not your best trait."
Twinkiel's light and proud grin faded at the same time, reacting to his disappointment.
"...Dude, you completely missed the joke! I mean seriously, I worked really hard to make it obvious to anyone, even if you've been livin' on top of Mt.Silver for some time! As for your remark," Twinkiel added, quickly retrieving his confident demeanor, "modesty is but a mediocre gift given to the wavering souls! I know who I am and what I can do, and have therefore no reason to hide it!"
The Flaaffy unleashed a mad laughter before suddenly being interrupted by a slap on the cheek. Looking to his side, Twinkiel realized that Spadassya had sneaked behind him once again.
“What?! I was on a roll here!”
"Behave. Properly!" her glare translated.
Right. No madness in front of newcomers.
“Ugh, fine... Pff, you're no fun.”
Twinkiel turned back to a confused Aegeas and rose a hand, smiling more gently.
"The name's Twinkiel Thunderfleece, dedicated rookie of the Resistance! Pleased to meet you. Today is a reunion for bright lights, and I am happy to count you in! May our gleaming blaze enlighten this chaotic world and make it better."
A slight smirk appeared on the Dewott's face as he vigorously shook the Flaaffy's hand.
"Modesty might not be your best trait, but you would surely make an effective jester. I am Aegeas Dewott. Pleased to meet you as well, Twinkiel."
“Ha! Nice rhyme. Do more of those and you'll look like the perfect noble warrior. And before I forget, this is Spadassya, Princess of the Knife's Edge.”
The latter quickly glanced at Twinkiel before bowing.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Aegeas Dewott,” she said with a polite smile.
“Same for me, Lady Spadassya,” the latter replied, with an equally graceful bow.
“Used to manners. Polite. Fancy language.”
“I noticed. Rather calm, too. Diplomatic skills aside, I'm pretty sure he's actually a badass warrior. I can't wait to have a round with this guy.”
Twinkiel smiled to himself. His Inner Echo was back in action.
“Well, it seems like you are a noisy Flaffy indeed.”
The latter looked past Aegeas and saw Absol as well as another Pokemon walking in his direction.
“N°257: Blaziken. Type: Fire/Fighting. Final Evolution. It has incredibly powerful legs that allow it to perform prodigious jumps more than 10 meters high!”
Twinkiel smiled happily as another lost memory struck his mind.
“We have Brasegali in the crew!” he exclaimed, chuckling joyfully. “Oh, how I miss racing with him, you have NO idea!”
The Blaziken frowned, but said nothing.
“What are you blabbering about?” Absol inquired, just as confused as his partner. “It is the first time you meet Ren.”
“Wha? Oh, right. No, sorry, Brasegali's the name of an old friend of mine. He's a Blaziken, too. Not to be racist, but I'd have to have both him and Ren stand here together if I want to see how different they are physically. 'Cause they kinda look the same.”
“Old friend?” Absol repeated, more and more confused. “But it's been a few days since your arrival on this world. How could you have any old friends that are Pokémons?”
Twinkiel smirked once more.
“You really don't have any idea what a human's life is like, that's why you're sayin' that.”
“Ren!”
All heads turned to see Zulu, who flew towards the group, happy to recognize his companion. Moltres, however, seemed inclinded to keep her distances.
“Moltres and Celebi looked everywhere for you, where have you been? And it's been so long! Do you still–”
The Blaziken put hand in front of the Noibat's face, thus requesting his silence.
“I don't want to talk about Moltres, and I don't want to talk about what happened. It's complicated.”
The aggressive and cold tone took Zulu by surprise. Celebi joined the group, pouting.
“Hey! We did looked everywhere to find you, y'know! You could at least show some sympathy after running of on your own with the Plate the way you did!”
“It's true,” added Lugia, gently gazing at the fiery Pokemon. “You shouldn't have been so irresponsible with it.”
“What?” Aegeas truly looked at the Blaziken, apparently shocked. “You ran away from the Resistance with a Sacred Plate in your hand? On your own?”
“Yeah, so?”
Twinkiel sighed. Two newcomers, and already the sparks of a dispute. This was promising.
“Really don't wanna get involved in THAT verbal joust. I need to gather some data anyway.”
“LOOK GUYS, A DISTRACTION!” Twinkiel suddenly shouted. “Well, I dunno about you, but now I REALLY want to explore this place until I find another one of these. If you're lookin' to talk to me, send me an SMS and maybe I'll answer back. Bye! ~You can find the top! That's what I tell them! They all think I'm insane in the cerebellum~...”
Ignoring the united confusion of his companions, the Flaaffy put his hands behind his back and strode away fabulously.

******

The Flaaffy had been walking around the Shrine of Safety for quite a few minutes. The construction was surrounded by nature, both visible in the outside view and near every wall, every room every other parts of the place he had seen. Plants, bushes and leaves were literally inside of the walls, giving said walls a unique shape. Twinkiel felt like he was in some kind of special garden. Even the smell was highly enjoyable. Simple, natural and... Pure. Yes, that was the word. He had never felt so close to nature in an artificial environment.
“Looks like you did find a distraction after all.”
Twinkiel smiled. He wasn't even surprised to recognize that voice.
“Of course I did. But what took you so long?”
Spadassya caught up with the Flaaffy's slow pace, smiling.
“Had to ask the permission to “find my bodyguard and avoid him causing any form of trouble” first. That and properly present myself to the two new guests.”
“And surviving your Father's grumpy glare,” added Twinkiel.
“And surviving my Father's murderous glare,” confirmed Spadassya.
They shared a knowing smile before being interrupted by a WHOOP sound that Twinkiel instantly recognized.
“Smash Bros Melee. Teleport sound effect.”
“HE'S HERE? OHMYGOD!”
“What do you two think you're doing here?” Mewtwo inquired with a calm voice, slowly gliding towards the duet. His didn't have his cloak this time, which meant that Twinkiel could fully admire one of the most powerful Pokemon ever to exist in flesh and bone. How could other humans find him ugly? Sure, he was... Svelte, to say the least, but the grace and apparent nonchalance of his movements was simply magnificent to witness.
“C'mon, man. No squealing, gotta act cool this time. And no stuttering! either!”
Twinkiel took a very deep breath, earning himself a concerned look from Spadassya.
“Greetings once again, 'Mazing 'Mon.”
“Ugh, not the best nickname.”
“...Unfitting nicknames aside, I merely wanted to visit this beautiful place, and Spadassya over here just joined my joyful wander. Care to be our guide?”
Mewtwo's purple eyes focused on the Flaaffy, and the latter was certain that he could read his mind like an open book.
“You're not lying, but you're also hiding something from me. And we cannot establish a functional bond if you hide your intentions here. What is your other reason?”
Twinkiel's fake smile faded. Okay, this situation was more serious than he had expected.
“Oh. I see. I guess there's a reason why you're such a badass Psychic, huh. You want me to be honest? Alright, then.
"I wish to observe and analyze. I have absolutely NO bad intentions regarding this place, and I don't think I'd steal anything from the people who basically saved my life. I'd probably be stopped in a second, anyway. Point is... I like to absorb information. Anything and everything is my source of inspiration, and I wish to fill said source with as much data as possible. Then, I can use it the way I desire. Which is the best way to fill my own being with the satisfaction it needs. That is all.”
Mewtwo nodded.
“Who are you?”
“The name's–”
“No. I said: Who are you?”
Twinkiel stared blankly, realizing that he had no witty answer to this simple yet difficult question.
“But no answer is still an answer.”
“...I don't know. I don't know who I am.”
Spadassya approached Twinkiel, softly putting her paw on his shoulder.
“If you don't know who you are,” Mewtwo continued, “it means that you cannot understand yourself. You can fill your being with as much satisfaction as you want, but you will never be able to fill it with the most essential data of all. And that, Flaaffy, is the data concerning your own self.”
“It doesn't matter,” was Twinkiel's answer, “because I can forge my own character. When I arrived in this world, I had to lie, fight, torture and destroy. I enjoyed every single part of my journey so far, and if I had to do it again, I wouldn't hesitate. Because now, it's part of me. And it definitely filled my being with the satisfaction I needed.”
“Quite the demonic resolve,” commented Mewtwo, gliding closer. “What makes you think you belong here then? What makes us sure that your lust for personal satisfaction won't turn against us one day? After all, one human already betrayed us. And so far, you seem quite similar to Hoopa.”
Another grin enlightened Twinkiel's face at the mention of his Pumpking.
“Good point well made. But there's one big difference between Hoopa and me. He's a Pokemon who once suffered because of humans. I, on the other hand, am an actual human. Considering the way you've been created and the other experiences you had, you probably realized how versatile humans can be, right? 'Cause that's pretty much the reason why I totally belong here.”
Mewtwo once again nodded, showing no apparent emotion.
“Then what would be the difference between you and this Frost?”
Twinkiel locked his gaze into Mewtwo. His uneasiness was finally gone.
“He is normal, and I am insane,” he simply answered. “I don't function the way normal humans do. I can't be corrupted the way normal humans can. Although I have my own, selfish resolves, I've seen enough now to know where my allegiance goes.”
Twinkiel walked towards his idol, cackling lightly. Electricity was gathering all around him, reacting to his rising passion.

“I am cruel to my enemies and enjoy their tiniest of sufferings. I am mild to my allies and enjoy their smallest of smiles. I am a mad strategist with no pity. I am a reckless fighter thrilled by the thought of combat. I am a dramatic jester and an attentive listener. I provoke laughter as much as I create pain. I am an angel and a demon. I am a Pokemon with the depraved soul of a human being. I fight for the peace of the world, yet I like to see it suffer.”
His electricity following the movement, the Flaaffy opened his arms, as if to embrace his Legendary interlocutor.
“That, Mewtwo, is the definition of my being. I am a devilish lamb. And my name is Twinkiel Thunderfleece!”
A demented, uncontrolled laughter shook the Flaaffy's entire being. He almost fell to his knees, unable to calm his erratic breathing.
“Calm down. Calm... Down...”
“You are allied with insanity.”
“No, no! Happy thought, happy thought!”
Spadassya's paw once again touched the Flaaffy's shoulder, braving the chaotic electric sparks.
“Spadassya. No. Cannot hurt.”
Twinkiel took a deep breath. His electricity finally went back inside his trembling body. When he looked up, the Flaaffy saw that the Psychic Legendary hadn't moved. Spadassya had however approached once more, concerned despite the obvious frightened light in her eye.
“You are indeed a special case, Twinkiel Thunderfleece,” he said with a comprehensive smile. “I do not know the details of your human life, but it seems to have deeply affected you. However, I must put that aside and tell you to turn back. Not everyone has arrived yet, and it would be easier for all of us if you didn't decide to go where you please before the meeting begins.”
“Please, Legendary Mewtwo,” Spadassya intervened. “May we at least enjoy a little moment of solitude? It won't last long. I... I simply do not wish to leave him in this state.”
“Of course. But please, hurry.”
Mewtwo nodded once more before disappeared with his signature WHOOP sound. Twinkiel gazed at the Servine next to him.
“...Oh, right, you're still here. Y'know, this is the part when you run back to your friends and tell them all how freakin' crazy I actually am. I don't mind, y'know. You can leave and–”
“No!” she firmly replied, frowning. “Don't you dare tell me what to do. And you know what? Before we go back, I'll teach you how to write with Runic Paws. Screw the bet, you're coming with me. Come on.”
Despite the Flaaffy's protestations, she took him by the hand and forcefully dragged him back from the corridor they came from until she reached a balcony and several wooden benches to admire the view.
“Perfect! Let's begin your first lesson. Be good, listen, or else a Leaf Blade-powered slap. Do I make myself clear?”
Twinkiel's appalled expression was gradually replaced by a simple, grateful smile. Spadassya blushed, uneasy.
“Sh-shut up! Don't look at me! Take a piece of wood, I'll show you the symbol. Hurry up!”
Twinkiel obliged, awaiting Spadassya's instruction like an innocent pupil.
"...You are allied with Insanity."
"Yeah. ALLIED. Insanity doesn't control me. I'm allied with it. But I'm the main body. And my name's Twinkiel Thunderfleece!"

Day A4, 1:12 P.M.

Aegeas was standing by those seated at the table. In this natural environment, he found it hard to sit down, his eyes constantly darting about to see structure after structure. He had noticed none of them before, and for good reason – these buildings were covered in greenery, and were almost masked by the surrounding environment. The entire place was about as natural as anyone could imagine such an artificial area to be, and he was perplexed by the nature of the place. The statue of the legend of legends, Arceus, was incredible. The golden ring gleamed in the light of the sun, and the stone statue appeared almost alive as a result. Aegeas had to remind himself that the statue was not real when he first glanced upon it, and instead paid attention to the other aspects of his surroundings. He was amazed by the entirety of the place, and surprised by what he saw around him.

He had been standing beside the table for a brief time, listening to the conversation being crafted there. The Flaaffy who had been there earlier had proven to be truly fascinating, though more boastful than modest. However, the conversation was amusing, though Aegeas did not understand the joke. Aegeas never had much of a sense of a humor. He did understand the Mt. Silver reference, and was not sure whether or not to take offense – he was reclusive, but not that reclusive. Aegeas moved aside the thought. The Blaziken who came afterwards was equally enthralling. Aegeas couldn’t believe that any Pokémon had the power and ability to escape the entire Resistance with one of the Sacred Plates of Arceus. But this Blaziken had done it, and that impressed Aegeas immensely. Obviously, he was in a place with a group of powerful strangers, and he was ecstatic to be in the midst of them.

Hmm? He thought. Something…a memory, yes, a memory, was awakening in his head. He could only think of one more thing before he was entirely engaged in the entirety of the memory:
Is this my own memory?

======================
One hill out of all the others. One little, indiscriminant hill, part of the series that provided for a landscape full of bumps. To an observer from a distance, they all blended together into one cohesive protrusion from the earth. Too short to be a mountain, but too tall to not be noticeable, taking up the space of the plain resting in between the valley. They’d possibly formed from a tributary of the river that once ran through the region, though the tributary had likely vanished longer before then, leaving Mother Nature to do the remaining work of smoothing the land and making it appealing. That one hill, however, held something special. It defined that hill as important, incredible, and fascinating, and rose it in prominence above all others. It towered above them as a king with his subjects, and the figure pawing its way up the hill could not help but admire the scenery around him. It truly was beautiful. He shook the thought away – he had a purpose; something he needed to do, and it concerned the one thing that made this hill great.

He pawed his way up the smooth stone steps that marked the path to the top of the small hill. There was an establishment at the top, and he could see the small house that greeted him up ahead. Within was the one he was seeking – he could sense him. This one was the one he was looking for, the one that defined the landscape, and, with his architecture, crafted a beautiful home that provided for the scenery. The figure continued, his heat sense detecting the heat of the one. The one was beside the house, not within it, and the figure could see the traces of a path leading towards an enclosure on the other side of the house from where he stood.

All that barred his way was the wooden fence. The figure was now at the top of the hill, looking at the quaint house that distinguished the place. The fence was simple enough, comprising of a wooden crossbar stretching horizontally across vertical posts, all nailed together and stretching the perimeter of the house. The wood was understandable, though the figure wondered where anyone could find wood in as barren a place as this. However, to the figure, the thing was unknown. He had never seen such a shape as those of the iron nails before, and he pawed nervously at the edges of the fence, wondering his next action. The words, too, he was unfamiliar with – he had never heard of a fence or a nail before, but the words had popped suddenly into his head. He smiled momentarily, realizing that this was the product of his momentary unknowing psychic intrusion into the one that lived in the area. His nervous face turned smug. He leaped forward with a sudden thrust, clearing the fence from his position, and landed on the other end unscathed. He looked behind him, but found it hard to see with his nine tails swishing about, disturbing his view. He stared blankly and continued forward.

The area of the house was simple. The entire thing was comprised of adobe bricks laid together in an organized manner, then overlaid with stones to give the place a more aesthetically-pleasing appearance. An old wooden door lay ahead of him, and it creaked slightly in the breeze that came through the area, though it remained shut and firm. The door had no windows or any indicator of what was within, so the figure decided against attempting to look inside. The path that he had noticed earlier, the one that lead to the back of the house, was comprised of a cobblestone walkway, also with great attention to detail in its manufacturing. The same walkway also curved and led to both the entrance of the house and the way that he had come. He looked at his surroundings for some time, slightly intrigued by the sloping shape of the roof above, and turned to his left, walking along the cobblestone walkway. The area behind him held nothing of interest – while the left side of the house was comprised of a simple garden, the right side had no garden nor did it contain anything of interest, ending at the point at which the right side of the house ended.

The figure continued forward, wary and trying to stay within the walkway. The grass swayed in the wind. He crossed underneath an iron archway, and was surprised to see the smoothness and the clarity of the iron. It was not rusted, and appeared well-cut and polished. Whoever had carved such a piece was obviously a master blacksmith, the figure mused, before he crossed underneath a second, larger archway, also of the same craftsmanship. The pathway curved, leading parallel to the fence that marked the left side of the property. There were no flowers nor weeds – only grass, shifting and swaying to the wind. Ahead lay another curve in the path, this one leading to the area behind the house. The figure saw green leaves – trees. He walked forward along this path, admiring the reds and oranges of the setting sun. The light was beginning to fade by the minute, and the figure hurried along, hoping to complete his task before the night rested its head upon the land. He passed underneath a third archway, this one larger than either of its predecessors, and the greatest of all of them. At the end of this path, there was another curve. But before the figure was able to traverse this curve, and reach the back of the house, a voice spoke.

“I know you are there.”

The figure slowed down, pacing with the quietest steps he could muster, and reached the curve of the path. He was surprised – the one had been able to identify them, though the figure had always prided himself on his ability to hide from others and did his best to remain quiet in most scenarios he was caught in. The one had been able to hear his footsteps – obviously, though the figure, this was someone powerful indeed. The figure walked forward, finally reaching his destination.

Ahead of the figure were a series of trees. The trees were planted within the earth that was not encased beneath cobblestone. They lined the areas to his left and right, being organized in rigid pairs separated by the cobblestone walkway. They appeared of a moderate age, being neither too young nor too old, and rose a fair height, obscuring much of the area from view through most other angles of observation. Obviously, the one sitting in meditation in front of him had devoted a lot of effort into making sure that the space was protected from the outside world. The trees did not extend the height of the house, however – this explained why he had not seen them before. The row of trees extended towards the background, where they stopped a fair distance before hitting the walls of the house. This little area prevented the house from being a simple square shape, making it a great hidden spot, as two of the walls of the house prevented anyone from observing the space. Where the row of trees ended, the cobblestone walkway expanded, taking up the total width between the fence and the house, and continued forward until it ran into the wall of the house. In the middle of this walkway expansion, there was one the figure had been looking for. The graceful one; the immortal warrior, the one betrothed to sorrow. He was a Dewott, sitting in a meditative pose. The Dewott’s eyes were closed, not attempting to look at the figure who pawed the ground nervously.

“What brings you this way?” said the Dewott in an emotionless tone, his mouth hardly moving. The figure wondered if the Dewott was sensing the vibrations of the earth – it was not uncommon a technique for detection, though it was hard to learn. However, it was about the only way the figure could imagine a non-psychic being having the capacity to sense one that was.

The figure closed his eyes, and opened them again. His eyes were now glowing a deep crimson, and when he spoke, it was with the rhythmic tones he had learned from his once-living master. The seer, the foreteller, the predictor of the future. The figure had fallen into a psychic lapse. His species had many powers, and one of their greatest and most renowned was their ability to see into the future and predict the lives of others, whether or not they knew those others at all. Their tails, after all, were blessed with supernatural powers. This particular case was important – it was to herald the future, to herald the future of this one, and to help that one on his path to the saving of the world. That had been the figure’s purpose in coming to this place, and the figure expressed it in song.

“Fate has sent you to me,
Nothing more. It seeks he
Who dare listens to destiny
To hear words of the future’s might.”

The Dewott sat silently, contemplating this. Finally, he spoke, musing to himself as he did: “Who are you to be caught in the crosshairs of fate and destiny?”

Said the figure,
“The apprentice of the herald,
I am Silver, son of Emerald,
Blessed with the ancient gift of life
We alike bear immortality and strife.”

The Dewott, like before, sat still and did not reply for some time. The figure was still stuck in the psychic lapse, and did not attempt to continue. Being not conscious, the figure could not respond, but, through training, Silver’s master had taught the psychic part of him to engage in this foretelling, and talk in this particular manner of speech. It was not to respond unless spoken to and asked a question related to its predictions – it was not to speak in prose, and it was to use the knowledge it contained. Finally, after a brief time, the sun beginning to vanish from the sky, the Dewott responded, saying, “You are not immortal. You are a Ninetales, and, from your name, of a color not typical of your species. Your species members may live for a thousand years, but they are not immortal. Nonetheless, I am fascinated by you. Perhaps I can trust your word. I am Aegeas Dewott, and I am pleased to see you.”

Aegeas did not bother to open his eyes. Silver did not bother to speak. As a result of this, Aegeas grimaced for a second. This was a combination of suspicion and surprise, and the king known as silence reigned supreme for another time. Aegeas sighed, and asked the question that he felt was going to bring him the most appropriate answer:

“Why have you come?”

Silver smiled. At least the psychic side of him did. Silver walked forward, heading towards Aegeas, and began to speak in the rhythmic tone that had been his calling card this entire conversation.

“Aegeas, the noble warrior,
A hero divine though older
Than your prime. Sorrow,
Is enamored of your morrow,
And weep you do,
For the loss of those you knew.

Once upon this world, but you a wee child,
Naïve and far too easily riled.
Grew you did and the memories you filed,
Kept you alive as in pain you toiled.

Victory became your birthright,
Though grief your ultimate firefight,
Of the many lost around you,
Those who betrayed under a veil of seeming true.

The inquires, the questions, you ran away,
For all you knew defied your saddened way.
When at last your echoed name rang upon,
Empty ears too far trodden on.

You left in haste, and here lies you today.”

Silver reached Aegeas, and Aegeas could feel a strange warmth emanating in front of himself. This was the clue the hero needed to identify the fact that perhaps the one standing in front of him was not in a normal state of mind, for such a heat signature could only be produced by psychic exertion, and a great amount of it. This explained Silver’s lack of speech previously, save for certain questions Silver answered at once. Aegeas sighed, and the faintest tear fell down his face. Memories were the last thing he wanted to hear at this time, and mistakes were the last thing he wished to see at this time, when he would rather be without the pain that was his existence. He was left to brood with his thoughts, and felt angry and sad, choosing not to move until he learned more of Silver’s words and calmed the feelings within him. Silver stopped smiling, and began to circle Aegeas, speaking a second volume of verses.

“The hero of ancients,
Admired and well-known,
Took to his penchants,
For he’d now been well-grown.

A house he built upon a hill.
With a blacksmith’s forge,
Did he impose on the land his will,
Though in his heart lay a deep gorge.

And he lies here today,
In silent mysterious repose.
Though he never may,
Find the energy within him that grows,
And yearns for life,
He may never again worry of strife.”

There was silence once more. Silver sat in front of Aegeas. Aegeas was conflicted by this latest set of verses. Like before, all it communicated was the painful memories he wished he could forget. He wanted to speak, move away; do something to let this madness cease progress and escape the torment he was undergoing. Nonetheless, it was the last line that left his expression blank and prevented him from doing anything, his emotions bottled up once more within him. “He may never again worry of strife.” It was cryptic and chilling. What could such a thing mean, he wondered? “Will I…..,” he thought, before ending it. He chose to let Silver continue in order to find the clarity of Silver’s words. Somehow, it appeared that Silver had been reading his mind, for Silver once again circled Aegeas and spoke another line of verses:

“The future in the past foretold,
Live may you yet, though it cannot be guaranteed.
For it is the one who sent me, that I have told,
Who grasps the cold hand of death and does heed,
The will of time and its many streams.
And I cannot wrench the news from the hands of Fate.

This I must say, for I have come a thousand miles to stand here,
Fated you are to another adventure,
Where the sounds of life and death will clang at your ears,
And surely you will slip from the throne of your tenure.

Seek the counsel of your noble allies,
For a side in this coming war you must chose.
Be valiant and friendly, in teamwork not lies,
And perhaps you will live against the oncoming powerful ruse.

Listen to the words of all that you hear,
Impart wisdom on your enemies,
Make the axe the olive branch, make respect from fear,
Do not set fire to the budding trees.

Maybe there is a chance, if all be with you,
That you see another, not quite different at all
Listen, perhaps you should, to the words that crawl,
Perhaps you will have a family too.”

======================

The memory died after that, and Aegeas could not think of it anymore. It had vanished entirely; it was gone. Aegeas was confused, understanding that he was thinking of something a moment before, but he had no idea as to its identity. He felt like it was incredibly important, but had faded away as though it were but a passing thought. He was perplexed, but thought that nobody else had noticed him in whatever time had elapsed during this replay of a memory, and relaxed.

“Umm….your eyes….they were glowing crimson….”

“Yeah, and you were mumbling something. It sounded like a song, almost.”

Aegeas looked around him. Everyone was still at the table, but they were all staring at him. He was momentarily confused, for he was still at the same position beside the table. That’s when the words hit him, and he froze. The memory flashed by in his head once more. He looked at his hands absentmindedly, trying to extract as much of the memory as he could, and replied,

“They were….I was?”

“Is that…..normal?” said another voice from the table. Aegeas wasn’t paying attention – he was still staring at his hands, and trying to piece together as much of the memory as he possibly could, but all to no avail. His expression turned into that of frustration.

“No,” replied Aegeas simply. There was only one thing about that memory he had extracted. Actually, two things. First and foremost, that memory was not entirely his own. Part of it belonged to him, and was certainly composed of his own thoughts and emotions. However, the other half belonged to the other person with him in that memory – Silver, the seer. Aegeas was infuriated by what he thought of next – obviously, Silver had passed on his own memories to Aegeas, and sealed the memories of both of them, and of the prediction, to be awakened at a time such as this. Aegeas was annoyed, and wanted to remember more of the memory. He turned and began running, running into the crowd and away from the statue. He needed a private place to collect his thoughts. As he ran away, a series of the lyrics played in his head over and over again, and he realized the truth of Silver’s prophecy:

“Seek the counsel of your noble allies,
For a side in this coming war you must chose.”

Day Negative X

“They’re here!” A Breloom shouted from his post. About four dozen Pokemon, comprised of Dark and Ghost types, were advancing towards the village. A large flag was held by one, showing the insignia of Giratina.

“Warriors, prepare for combat. Everyone else, get to the tunnels! We’ll be able to hold them long enough for you to get away!”

The villagers began to run for a cave near the small mountain the village was built by, while those that could fight separated themselves from the group and moved towards the village’s short, tree trunk wall.

“We’ll only be able to hold them off for maybe ten minutes at most.” A Monferno said to the Breloom.

“I know. But that’s better than no time at all.”

The group of warriors turned to look at the advancing army.

“I… I can’t do this!” A Staraptor shouted.
“I don’t want to die!”

He turned, taking off and beginning to fly away.

“Get back here you coward! We need air support!”

The Staraptor didn’t get far though when he suddenly froze in midair. An unseen force began to drag him back towards the group.

“What the…” The Breloom muttered.

“No one will lose their life today.” A voice said. The group turned towards its source to see a brown cloaked figure standing behind them. It was the village healer.

“Healer, what are you still doing here? You were supposed to have left with the others.” The Breloom questioned.

“Always with the stereotypes. As a Healer, my duty is to protect life. Whether that’s by using my power to heal them or kill those that would destroy life is irrelevant.”

“You can fight?” The Monferno asked.

“Of course. In fact, I believe it would be much more efficient if you were to go to the tunnels yourself and inform our villagers they may return. The enemy should be vanquished by the time they arrive.”

The warriors looked to each other.
“Are… you sure?” The Staraptor asked.

“Yes. I was considering having you stay around to fight with me as punishment for attempted cowardice, but I don’t need such a coward on my side.” The figure lashed.
“Unless you seek to redeem yourself?”

The Staraptor looked at the healer. Someone who had saved his and many other’s lives was going to risk his life, and here he was just shivering in fear.

“I… I don’t know. I don’t want to die.”

“Is a death worth it if you save many lives in the process? I believe so. And I will guard you as best I can in battle.” The Healer assured.

“A-alright. I’ll fight.” The Staraptor said, straightening up.

“Good. Just stay behind me. Everyone else, you may go.”

The warriors just stood there for a few seconds, but a glance from the Healer from under his hood sent them moving.

“Please, don’t let me die.” The Staraptor begged.

“How many years of age are you?” The Healer asked.

“S-s-sixteen Mr. Healer sir.” The Staraptor answered.

“I will ensure you survive this battle, but on one condition. After this, you will go forth into the world and help others as I have. Whether through healing, or fighting for them, or any other matter of tasks be they big or small, you must ensure the survival of the light of creation, which is life.”

The Staraptor nodded, stunned by how the Healer was talking. He’d always been so silent.

“What species are you?” The Staraptor asked.

“I doubt my telling you would help you visualize what I look like. I am… unique to say the least.”

The miniscule army was drawing closer. Their only goal was to destroy the village, kill its inhabitants, and steal any supplies worth stealing.

“Fly above. Dive bomb any stragglers that attempt to escape.” The Healer ordered. The Staraptor immediately flew upward, the enemy troops not paying him much attention. But as they drew nearer, the wooden gate to the village swung open. A cloaked figure walked forward, the gate swinging shut behind him as if by magic.

“In the name of Giratina, Lady of Death, Lord of Darkness, and the abyss itself, we claim this village and all within it as ours!” The Leader, a Bisharp, shouted.

“Giratina and its ambiguous nature has always baffled me.” The Healer thought.
“Tell me, why not let the inhabitants go? They would surely be willing to lend supplies.”

“They will be needed for the army. When we march on the Hall of Origin, our numbers will cover all the land for miles.” The Bisharp continued.

“Wasteful!” The Healer suddenly shouted, his voice quivering rage. He then pulled back the hood of his cloak.
“Wasteful fools, all of you! Throwing away innocent lives? Have you no sense of right? You’re all nothing but Heartless!”

“What… are you?” The Bisharp asked, his arm glowing in a Shadow Claw. The Pokemon in front of him was unlike anything he’d ever seen.

“I am the Guardian of Life. You come here bringing death. You have used the life you were given unwisely. And now… it’s forfeit.”



The Healer, or rather the Guardian, thrust his hands out to the side. A Saber of purple psychic energy appeared in it while multiple beams of the same energy began to float around him. And high above all this, a psychic shield formed around the Staraptor.

“Charge!” The Bisharp shouted. He and his miniscule army charged forward, advancing towards the Guardian. The Guardian directed the beams he’d summoned in a line in front of him, firing them forward. They effortlessly slaughtered anyone they hit as they completely fried the minds of whoever they hit. But more survived than he had hoped. The Guardian felt his energy reserves fall after that attack. His blade didn’t require as much energy though. He’d have to rely on it.

“Fools, all of you!”

The Guardian suddenly blinked out of existence, reappearing amidst the crowd. Before anyone could react, he swiped his blade around him and attacked three more, a Chandelure, a Tyranitar, and a Bannett. Though his blade cut through them, they left no visible mark. They only did internal damage.

“Guard!”

The light behind the Guardian hardened into a solid barrier, mostly protecting his back from the enemy. He lunged forward, his blades flying in a blur of light.

“Your life is forfeit!”

With the barrier up, the crowd behind him was pushing to get around its not very significant length and join the fray. But suddenly, the Staraptor dove down from above, swiping at them with his claws. Some of them tried to attack back, but the Guardian’s psychic shield protected him. Meanwhile, the Guardian was cutting through their ranks with ease, but his blade didn’t do near as much damage as it should. He had to hit one opponent at least five times before they went down. At least he had amazing speed. Before long, only the Bisharp and six others remained.

“No sense in retreating. If he doesn’t kill us, Giratina will.” The Bisharp said to his remaining troops.

“No way! We’re out of here!” A Haunter shouted, turning and floating quickly away.

“Guard!”

A barrier was brought up, the Haunter slamming into it. The Guardian teleported just behind the dazed ghost, slicing through it with one of his blades. It quickly lost its form, dissolving into a cloud of gas.

“You do not deserve the option of surrender. You, have taken the lives of 87 innocents, Bisharp.” The Guardian said blamingly, pointing his gloved hand at him.
“You 32, you 27, you 43, and you 39.” He continued, pointing to each of the Bisharp’s companions.

“Really, only 87?” The Bisharp chuckled.

“Wasteful fools!”

The Guardian rapidly blinked in and out of existence around the group so quickly, it looked like he had made copies of himself. With each blink he delivered a flurry lightning fast swipes before moving on to the next target. He eventually blinked back to his original position, watching as all five of the remainders slumped forward. He had never tried that technique before. He was glad it worked out well. Their weak hearts of darkness were no match for his blade. Only a heart of pure light or darkness stood a chance of surviving more than a single blow.

“Gods…” The Staraptor gaped.

The Guardian pulled his hood back up, as it had slid off during the onslaught, turning back the Staraptor.
“Do not forget your promise to me.” He said.

“O-o-of course sir!” The Staraptor responded. But then his gaze drifted past the Guardian, eyes widening in alarm. The Guardian turned around, raising his blade.

“Guardian? Is that you?”

The Guardian lowered his blade. If he could express emotion, he would have smiled.

“Mew. It has been a while.”

The pink cat floated in front of him, smiling.
“When I heard Giratina had sent its forces here, I hurried as quickly as I could. But I didn’t know this was where you were hiding nowadays.”

“Yes. I have lived here since our last visit. Four years was it?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I meant to come and see you, but I’ve been really busy. And now we all have this war to worry about.” Mew said sadly.

“When did Giratina turn against you all?” The Guardian asked, tossing his blade away, which then de-materialized in midair.

“Well, no one knows when we officially declared war on Giratina, but he’d been getting pretty upset the last couple years. Something about how both the land of the dead and living should coexist. Things are getting out of hand…”

The Guardian grew silent at this. So, Giratina had truly gone dark.

“Is there any assistance I can offer?” He asked.

“I don’t know if Arceus would approve. Besides, we’ve already got a plan to counteract Giratina’s.”

“And that would be?”

Mew looked at the Staraptor, who had been awkwardly standing nearby.

“Shoo shoo. This isn’t for your ears.” She said.

“Oh, right. Sorry.”
He flapped his wings, flying back towards the village.

“Friend of yours?” Mew asked.

“In a sense. So, this plan?”

Mew floated close, putting her mouth close to where she assumed her friend’s ear was.

“We bring humans from their world to help us fight.”

The Guardian backed up, looking at her.

“You can do that?” He asked in astonishment.

“I don’t know. It’s never been tried before. The only human interaction this world has had is with a human from the future, and no one knows where she came from. Dialga actually said that future and this time are about to overlap or something, but I digress. The point is, when a human is summoned here, they become a Pokémon, but with quite a lot of potential power behind them.”

“Wait, so was it one of you summon me here all those years ago?” The Guardian asked.

“No. We’re not sure how you got here. You aren’t even a Pokémon we’ve seen before.”

Mew looked over her friend.
“And I see you’ve really changed since I last saw you. Are those legs?”

“Yes, they are.” The Guardian said, showing his latest appendages. He was no longer the formless mass he’d been when he first arrived. He now almost looked human.
“And my power has grown as well, even without my artifact.”

“Don’t tell anyone else that. They might want power inhibitors on you.” Mew cautioned.
“Palkia has missed you. So have the others. You’ve done so much for this world. Meanwhile, we’re all sitting around fighting with each other…”

The Guardian put a hand on Mew’s tiny shoulder.

“You want to do otherwise, and that’s a powerful enough choice of itself.” The Guardian said.

“Thanks. Though I have some friends among the Legendries, you’re my best friend.” Mew responded. She hugged the Guardian’s oddly shaped head, his face looking as emotionless as ever in response.

“So, where will you go now? You kind of blew your cover with that show.” Mew laughed.

“Wherever I’m needed. Arceus may look down on my going on the offensive.”
The Guardian reformed his Psychic saber.
“But as for the defensive? That’s a different path entirely. And I’ll defend all I can from Giratina.”


I met the humans that were summoned. They told me amazing tales of how the world had changed in my absence. Televisions that were flat, a system known as the internet, cellular phones that could do practically anything. From what I gathered, time had not progressed here as it did there. Only a few years had gone by in the human world since my disappearance. Only twenty or so, while here, almost fifty years have gone by since my arrival. But I had no desire to return to their world. I could sense their suffering they experienced there. Any world that could do… that to a person was not one I desired. Even now, I do not know what became of them. I only hope they are not still around for the coming storm. But I grew careless as I went about the continent…

A Tragedy in Sand

Day A4 Morning

“Celia Yerren, you are found guilty of monslaughter of Alek the Greninja. You are hereby exiled from Mt. Providence and the New Order army, and are now an enemy to our cause.” Cobalion said.

“But I didn’t know that thing would cause him to evolve, let alone kill him!” Sully protested.

~~~~~

Sully slithered out of the mountain, across the dirt ground. The other apprentices pointed and whispered, calling her a murderer. Once she’d gotten far away from them and the Mountain, she saw someone she hoped to never see again. A Cacturn, arms crossed, waited for her.

“You thought you’d get away from me? As if. I told you, I always get a target in the end.”

He levelled his arm at her.
“Now let’s get going. I’ve got a deadline to meet with a client already looking to buy.”
His arm flashed as he fired a Pin Missile at her that was laced with some kind of paralytic poison. Sully remembered he drank it daily to lace his attacks with it. It only worked if it got in the bloodstream. Sully felt the needle hit her in the neck, and shortly later, she slumped forward unconscious.

~~~~~

Sully snapped awake, breathing heavily. She looked wildly around, assuring herself it was all a dream. She was still in her bed, with the four other girls she shared the quarters with each in their own bunk. She sighed, coiling up. She hated when that guy always had to make an appearance in her dreams. He’d without a doubt given up on pursuing her, but she was still afraid of him. That Cacturn was the one Mon she feared. But he was far from Mt. Providence now. Back in the Sazandora desert, probably hunting some other poor Pokémon to catch and sell. Sully slithered out of her bunk, heading for the doorway. She needed to reassure herself now that Alek was still alive, and that her potion hadn’t killed him.

~~~~~

Felicity took another sip of her Chesto juice. The tart flavor had been the only thing keeping her up all night while she observed Alek while he slept. His breathing sounded fine, his brainwaves were normal, with only the occasional spike from a nightmare moment, and there was almost no sign of any negative effects from Sully’s “Energy Booster”. But Felicity wasn’t taking any chances. She’d sleep later. She’d looked up all the possible side effects of premature evolution.

“Higher risk to disease, chances of permanent paralysis, organ rejection, blindness, death in general.”
It was all as she’d feared yesterday.
Felicity was broken out of her thoughts by a light thumping on the other side of her stone slab door.

“Who is it?” Felicity asked through telepathy, though she already saw who it was by scanning their mind. It was Sully.

“It’s Sully.” She said through the slab.
“Let me in.”

“Umm, sorry, but this is a quarantined medical zone, and the last thing we need is a poison type in here.” Felicity responded, this time talking.

“How’s our boy doing?” She asked, trying to keep her cool with Felicity.

“His name is Alek, and he’s doing fine. For now anyway. So why don’t you slither off to your lab and whip up some more poisons and let me work in peace.” Felicity snapped.

“Is that Sully?” Alek asked, sitting up in his bed, Felicity’s yelling having woken him up. He yawned and stretched, accidentally hitting his hand on the stone wall his bed was closest to. Despite his prowess in combat, he still wasn’t used to his longer arms yet.

“Hey Mr. Champ. Just seeing how you’re doing after that hell of a show you put on.” Sully called out through the stone.

“Can she come in?” Alek asked, having a hard time hearing through the stone.

Felicity thought about it.
“Grr… fine. But she better keep her distance. And keep her swearing down to a zero point zero percentage.”

Felicity drew her wand, moving the stone slab out of the way for Sully.
“Hope you heard the rules.”

“Don’t worry.” Sully said, slithering in.
“I’ll keep my language under control for the princess.”

“The what?” Felicity snapped, fur bristling in anger.

“Relax. It was a compliment.” Sully assured, but Felicity wasn’t so sure.
“So, how you feeling? You did pretty good out there.”

“Pretty good, all things considered. I didn’t even get any serious burns. What happened to the captains though?” Alek asked, sounding concerned.

“Why do you care? They tried to kill you. If they died, then to hell with them. Literally.” Sully said, earning an “ahem” from Felicity.

“So you don’t know.” Alek asserted.

“No one knows what happened to them. But that Gallade is definitely still alive.” Sully confirmed.
“As soon as word gets out though, you’ll be the first to know.”

Sully turned to Felicity.
“He seems fine to me. When are you going to “clear” him for release?” Sully asked.

“As soon as I’m sure there are no health risks from that potion you gave him.”

“I’m telling you, I feel fine. I got plenty of sleep, and I’m ready to go out for more training. I can’t wait to see how I can handle hide and seek now. Please, can I go?” Alek begged. It looked weird, childish begging coming from a Greninja.

“Oh alright. But if you start feeling weird AT ALL, then you come right back here.” Felicity said.

“Thanks Felicity. And thanks for letting me sleep in your room.” Alek thanked, hopping out of bed.
“But before anything, I could use some breakfast.”

Alek ran out of the room. Sully turned to follow.

“Don’t think you’re off the hook. He could still be in danger, if not from your potion then from the captains. I doubt any of them will look at Alek with respect for what happened. If anything happens to him, you’ll be held responsible in my eyes.” Felicity warned.

“Then I guess it’s a good thing he’s got me around as a bodyguard.” Sully smirked, slithering after Alek.

“Then he’s in good hands…” Felicity muttered, smiling. She could see now Sully cared a lot for Alek. Though she was still mad with that Seviper, she was now less so. Felicity took another swig of her Chesto juice, flinching at the flavor. She really hoped it hadn’t turned to wine on her. Actually, Chesto wine didn’t sound so bad right now considering how stressed Felicity felt.

~~~~~

Alek and Sully walked through the corridors of the mountain. Metal and wooden braces lined the tunnels, ensuring there were no cave-ins.

“I wonder what this place looked like back in its heyday?” Alek wondered aloud.

“What does it matter? It’s better now than when a bunch of greedy miners were tunneling in it.” Sully responded.

“People came here looking for a fresh start. There was all sorts of rare items here that people would find and sell. Not even Sazandora Jones earned as much as some of the lesser miners.” Alek marveled.

“That guy’s a fraud. No way a single guy found Arceus’s Lost Ark, stopped some evil Houndoom, found Mew’s Grail, and discovered a Crystal Alakazam skull with magical powers and didn’t save anything to prove he did all that.” Sully scoffed.

“But what about all the witnesses?” Alek asked.

“Paid off. Believe me Alek; this world doesn’t have any real heroes that save the day. You’ve got to do it yourself.” Sully said.

“Then wouldn’t that make you the hero?”

Sully didn’t answer that, slithering forward.

“So, were you there for Cobalion’s speech?” Alek asked, trying to change the subject.

“Who wasn’t? I’d love to run into one of those criminals. But they could have at least given us a little more to go off of. A Blaziken, Noibat, and shiny Victini? There are tons of those.”

“Actually, Victini are already a pretty rare Pokémon, and this one’s shiny. Chances are he’s the only shiny Victini on the continent.” Alek reasoned.

The duo walked into one of the lunch halls in the mountain. Alek liked this one the most because it was always so empty. Except today.

“There he is!” Someone shouted.
A massive round of applause started up from all the gathered apprentices. Even Tarant was there, doing his best to clap with just his spider legs.
Sully shrank under the gaze of so many people.
“Too many eyes. Not enough cover. Why don’t I have wings if a Salamence can grow them…” Sully muttered to herself.

“What?” Alek asked her.

“Nothing. Let’s go.” She said, seeming very tense. Alek led her through the crowd as they applauded, giving a few smiles and waves to satisfy them. Eventually Alek made it to his usual table. Vince was sitting there, a book open in front of him. He was completely oblivious to what was happening.

“Hey Vince.” Alek said as he sat down. Vince looked up, his eyes widening a few seconds later.
“Alek! I’m sorry, I’ll move.” Vince apologized, starting to stand.

“No, it’s fine. This table is plenty big.” Alek reassured, taking a seat. The tables were just carved stone, as were the benches, but they were surprisingly comfortable. Sully slithered up onto the bench. Now that the applause had stopped, she seemed a lot more at ease.

“Sully? What are you doing here?” Vince asked. She never even ate lunch in the halls.

“I want to sit here. Is there a problem with that?” She asked, ever so slightly raising her tail blade.

“No. No problem.” Vince quickly answered.

Sully smirked, lowering her tail.

“What’s that?” Alek asked, looking at the book.

“This? Oh, it’s this incredible book. It’s all about battle strategy and tactics. It details some of the greatest battles in history, as well as why they were won or lost.” Vince said enthusiastically.

“Did you know that the ancient warrior Ya Vee the Medicham defeated an entire legion of enemy soldiers. It was just her and four other warriors. They backed into a narrow canyon, so only a couple dozen could get in after them at a time.” Vince told, mesmerized by the text.

“She must have done something pretty sick to get an entire legion of soldiers pissed off at her.” Sully chuckled.

“She supposedly took some artifact that had been stolen from her home, from a temple her master had been killed in. Some super plate or something. No one knows what happened to it.”

“You really seem to enjoy stuff like that.” Alek said to Vince.

“Yeah. Too bad stealth doesn’t need much in terms of strategy.” Vince sighed, closing the book.

“Well… why not change fields?” Alek asked him.

“Because I’m a Kecleon. I can change color to match my surroundings. I’d do better at stealth than anything else.” Vince said, though he didn’t sound so sure of himself.

“But what if you could do better somewhere else? It sounds to me like you’d make a great tactician.” Alek complimented.

“I don’t know. I’d have a lot of competition…” Vince said, but he was sounding less uncertain. He had a spark of interest in his eyes.

“Of course you’d have competition. You don’t just get stuff handed to you. You’ve got to work for recognition. Even if that means tearing other people down on your way up.” Sully said.

“Tear other people down?” Alek asked, looking at her.

“Come on Alek. Don’t be so naïve. You trust someone; you just give them the chance to hurt you further down the road when it suits them best.”

“So you don’t trust me?” Alek questioned.

That question caught Sully off guard.
“I…” She began, but couldn’t think of anything more to say.

“I’m just going to go.” Vince said awkwardly, moving off the bench and walking away with the book under his arm.

Once he was gone, Alek looked back to Sully.

“I never said I didn’t trust you. I do. I just don’t see anyone else as trustworthy.”

“Why?” Alek asked. Someone didn’t get to be the way Sully was on accident.

“I don’t owe you an explanation for anything.” She hissed angrily.

“You said you trust me, right? Then you can trust me with whatever you need to. I have two friends that have trusted me with a lot of stuff, and I’ve never broken that faith.”

Sully looked about ready to strike at Alek, but then she sighed.
“Alright. I’ve never told anyone about how I got here. I wasn’t here before you though.” Sully began.

“Yeah, I know that much. You were just kind of there one day. It was in a hide and seek match. One of my first ones in my stealth training.” Alek said.

“Better brace yourself Alek. I’ve got a hell of a story to tell you.”

~~~~~

Three years ago…

~~~~~

“Celia! Don’t mess with the merchandise!” An older looking Seviper shouted.

“I just wanted to see what this does.” A smaller, younger Sveiper retorted. She poked at the object with her tail blade, which was incredibly dull.

“It’s called a Sitar, and you’re not to touch it.” The Seviper retorted.

“Alright, fine.” The Younger Seviper, Celia, sighed, slithering back towards her dad.

The two were currently manning a stall in the Sazandora trade center, which was abuzz with activity.

“What’s the Sitar do? Is it a weapon?” Celia asked

“No. It’s an instrument. For making music.”

“Not very exciting sounding. Who’d want that?”

“Oh, you’d be surprised.” The Seviper chuckled.
“Why don’t you go back and help your mother with the food?”

“Cooking is for moms.” Celia scoffed.

“Someday, you might have kids. Then you’ll have to cook for them.”

“But I don’t have hands. Mom does.” Celia sighed. She sometimes wished she’d been born as a Gible rather than a Seviper.

“Then if you won’t cook, what will you do for your family?”

“I’ll fight for them. Someday, I’ll be the greatest Seviper warrior there is.” Celia brayed, swinging her tail blade.

“You’ve certainly got your mother’s passion.” Celia’s father chuckled.

“Excuse me.” A voice said. The two turned towards the voice. It was a Lombre.
“How much for that Sitar there? I’ve been looking for a replacement.”

Celia’s father gave her a knowing glance before turning to help his customer.
“An excellent choice sir. It’s our last one in stock. Since I need to clear up some shelf space, I’ll happily sell it to you for the special price of 120 Poke.”

“You have a deal.” The Lombre smiled, pulling the golden currency out of his pouch, passing it to Celia’s father over the counter.

“Celia dear, will you get the nice gentlemon his purchase?”

Celia nodded, moving over to the shelf it was on. She picked it up by the strap with her tail, carefully carrying it back to the Lombre.

“Now aren’t you a sweetie?” The Lombre smiled.

“I’m not sweet. I’m toxic.” Celia smiled back.

“Hehe…” The Lombre chuckled awkwardly.

“Don’t mind her. She has the spirit of a dragon in her.” Celia’s father laughed.

“I see. Well, thank you for the service.” The Lombre said, walking off with his purchase.

“Your first sale. Well done Celia.”

“That guy was weird.” Celia stated plainly. Suddenly, she froze.
“Dad? Isn’t that…”

Celia’s father turned to where her daughter was looking. Walking towards their stall was a Cacturn.
“Celia, get inside. Tell your mother to stay inside as well.” He said alarmingly.

“Why does he keep coming back? What does he want?” Celia asked.

“Don’t ssstall! Get inssside!” Her father hissed angrily. Listening, Celia slithered just inside the doorway to their home. But she didn’t go all the way inside. Celia kept her ear opened near the doorway, trying to listen in.

“Hey, Valth. My pal. My main Seviper.” Celia heard the Cacturn’s familiar voice laugh.
“I bet you thought I was too busy to check in in my best bud. As if. I can always make time for you.”

“What do you want Darius?” Celia’s father asked plainly.

“Right to the business eh? That’s what I like about you. No pleasantries, no formalities. Just plain business. So, I’ll be frank with you. You’re running a little behind on your payments.”

“What? But that’s impossible. I counted and paid it in full just last week. To that Infernape thug of yours.”

“Ouch. Hey Valth, none of us are thugs. We’re employers. We just help people with no job and no home find someplace nice to live. Forever. And right now, I’ve got a pretty high paying contract for a Garchomp.” The Cacturn smiled.

“Are you threatening my wife?” Celia’s father asked, his tail blade flicking with anger.

“Valth, Valth. Always jumping to conclusions. I don’t make threats. I just say stuff. And right now, I’m saying you’re behind on your protection fees. I can’t guarantee one of my buddies won’t accidentally grab one of your family unless you’re paid for. But hey, you and I are old pals. You think I’m cruel, maybe even heartless? As if. I’m willing to cut the debt in half. How about it?”

“But I’m telling you, I paid the debt already.”

“Hey, Valth. If I had the money, I wouldn’t be here. You think I’m trying to extort stuff from you? As if. I’m a legitimate business mon. Now, I better have my money by… say… the end of this month. Otherwise, you’re out of the Safeguard, if you catch my drift.” Darius said.

He waved goodbye to Celia’s father, disappearing into the crowd. Celia herself didn’t know what was wrong. It had all gone a little over her head, but she knew what was needed. Money. And she’d get as much as she good.
And so, Celia began to make money any way she could. She would sometimes go into the trading center’s square and perform scenes form her favorite plays, switching between different hats and accents for each of the characters. The traders and shoppers loved the show she put on, tipping her generously. Sometimes, she would even sing or dance. But that wasn’t all she would do. At night, she would sneak out into the market and steal any money or valuables she could find. And no one ever caught her, or even suspect her. She’d find some travelling trader and sell any valuable items to them. It was too risky to try and sell to one of the more permanent traders. And after she’d gathered up some money, she’d break into her family’s safe and leave the money in there. Celia’s father was suspicious of the money, but didn’t think it was his own daughter. He thought it was one of the other traders that had learned about his plight. Regardless, he thanked Arceus for the money. And by the end of the month, Celia’s father had easily paid Darius the owed money. He even had a plentiful amount leftover, which he used to buy Celia a book filled with various plays. But Celia had gotten hooked on the rush she felt from moving about unseen, stealing money from unsuspecting people. And so, she continued to do it. But she didn’t give this money to her family. She kept it for herself, stashed in a burlap sack under a loose floorboard in her room. And when that one had filled up, she just kept going. This went on for an entire year. And then one day, Celia’s father made an announcement…

“We’re leaving Sazandora.” Valth announced. The family was gathered around their dinner table, Valth and Celia coiled up on their stools while Celia’s mother sat in a large, sturdy chair.

“Why? This place is wonderful. Hardly any crime, and the temperature is just great.” Celia’s mother said.

“There’s been talk of war between legendries. And as this is Zyguarde’s domain, the war will most certainly come here.” Valth said apprehensively.
“I think it would be safest if we return to my home in the jungle. Celia would be well received. She is of Venom-Knife blood after all.”

“But what about me? Would I be well received? I was born here.” Celia’s mother asked.

“Of course. My brother is the chief of the tribe. He would make sure you’re welcome.”

Celia listened to the discussion with rapt attention. They were leaving Sazandora? And what was a jungle? She recalled hearing mention of them in her plays, but she’d never seen one before. And what about her money? She wouldn’t be able to take it with her without letting her dad know about it.

“We’ll leave in a few days. The sooner the better.” Valth said, continuing to eat. Celia did as well, wondering how this would affect her life. She was hooked on the rush of stealth. Would she be able to still satisfy that urge in this new place?

Several days later, the day had come for Celia and her family to leave Sazandora. They had loaded all the possessions they couldn’t live without, which wasn’t much, into a wagon, and Valth was currently trying to hire a Camerupt to pull the wagon for them.

“Just let me pull it Val.” Celia’s mother said.
“I could use the workout.”

“No, no. I’m not using my wife as some pack Camerupt. We can just hire one.” Valth insisted.

“You’re too soft Val. Don’t worry, I’ve got this.” She said, picking up her husband and setting him in the wagon. She moved to the front of the wagon, grabbing the reins that would normally be tied to a Camerupt and pulling them against her shoulders. With practically no effort, the wagon began rolling forward across the desert sand. Celia looked longingly behind her. She’d ended up leaving the money under the floorboard in its spot. Somebody else would probably find it someday. The walls of the town began to shrink as the wagon pulled further away. Soon, the family passed over a sand dune, and the town disappeared from sight.

“Don’t worry Celia. You’ll love Greatwood.” Valth assured her, nuzzling Celia.

“Doubt it…” She muttered.

The wagon rolled on throughout the day. The desert stretched on as far as Celia could see. It was all she’d ever known, and the thought of somewhere different scared her a little. It didn’t take long for Celia to drift off to sleep out of boredom, her dad having done the same an hour ago. Celia wasn’t sure how long had passed, but she suddenly snapped awake as the wagon came to a stop. Valth woke up as well, looking around in confusion.



“Do you need a break Myra?” Valth asked, blinking his eyes rapidly to wake himself up.
“Myra?”

“Val. We’ve got trouble.” Myra said from the front of the wagon. Several yards out, four Pokemon stood in a line, facing the wagon. A Hippowdon, a Carnivine, an Infernape, and finally, Darius the Cacturn.

“Celia, stay in the wagon.” Valth said, slithering out of the wagon.
“You stay here Myra. I can handle this.”

Valth slithered across the sand towards the group. Celia and her mother watched, unsure what was happening.

“Hey, Valth. What? You thought you’d just skip out on the town without a nice goodbye? As if.” Darius laughed. But his companions just looked at the Seviper coldly.

“What do you want Darius. I’m returning to my home. I’m done with Sazandora.” Valth said firmly.

“And you think Sazandora’s done with you? As if.” Darius smiled. The Infernape and Carnivine began to walk out to the side, circling him.
“Look, Valth. We can’t just let you walk off into the unknown. Believe me, this place is a lot safer.”

“But what of the war? It will come here someday.”

“Of course it will. And this place will be a goldmine for us. Powerful people will move in here, followed by refugees. We nab the refuges and sell em off to the powerful people. They get a home, and the big guys get some servants. It’s a win win. In fact, why don’t you join us? You’re pretty popular in town. You’d be a pretty helpful guy to have around.” Darius said, extending his arm.

“I want nothing to do with you or your slaver thugs!” Valth shouted, his tail glowing purple in Poison Tail.

Darius sighed, shaking his head.
“Mon, you’re not very smart. In case you didn’t realize, the Safeguard is back that way.” Darius pointed back towards the trade center.
“You’re pretty far from home. And the desert is a cruel, cruel place.”

The Infernape Ruffian used Flamethrower

Celia watched from the wagon as a massive column of fire illuminated the desert sand.

The Hippowdon Ruffian used Earthquake

The Carnivine Ruffian used Razor Leaf

Darius used Pin Missile

Under the onslaught of all the attacks, Valth didn’t stand a chance. With the last of his breath, he shouted out to his family one word.

“Run!”
Then Valth collapsed onto the sand, his scales burnt, cuts and needles all over his body.

The Hippowdon Ruffian used Sand Tomb

Sand swirled around Valth’s body, burying it under the desert ground.

“See ya Valth.” Darius laughed. Then he turned to the wagon.
“Sic em.”

The Infernape and Carnivine moved quickly towards the wagon, both firing off elemental attacks. Darius sat down on the sand, levelling his arm. He supported it with his other arm, squinting as he aimed.

“Gotcha now…” He muttered, smiling.

Myra let out a feral roar of rage and despair.

Myra used Dragon Dance

Speed and attack raised, Myra bull rushed the Carnivine and Infernape, ready to use Dragon Claw. But before she could even attack, she suddenly sank down to her waist into the sand.

The Hippowdon Ruffian used Sand Tomb

“You bastards!” Myra shouted. She fired a Dragon Pulse at the Infernape, but he quickly dodged it. Myra was just about to fire another when something slammed into her forehead. A single, large glowing needle stuck out of her forehead. There was a look of shock on her face before she slumped forward, dead.

“Nice shot.” The Hippowdon said to Darius.

“Nah. Too easy. But thanks for the help with making it easy.” Darius chuckled.
“I bet I’m the only guy around that can do a Super Missile like that.”

Darius rose up, swinging the arm he’d shot with out to the side, charging his arm up for another Pin Missile. There was just one more loose end to tie up.

~~~~~

Celia took shelter underneath the wagon. She’d seen what happened, but refused to believe it. Her parents HADN’T just died. This was all a bad dream. Darkrai was probably punishing her for stealing. She’d wake up, and then return all the money she’d stolen. But Celia knew in her heart this was all real. She saw someone coming towards the wagon. Celia coiled up, hiding her head. She was an expert at stealth. They would never find her. She’d just hide under the wagon until they went away…
But Celia felt something grab her by her dull tail blade, yanking her out and then tossing her. With a yell, Celia landed on the still hot desert sand.

“Found another.” The Carnivine said. The Infernape looked at Celia, smirking.

“What should we do? We don’t need any witnesses.” The Infernape said.

“That’s right. We don’t.”

The two turned to see Darius and the Hippowdon walking towards them.
“Hey there… Celia, right?” Darius said, smiling at her.
“Don’t worry, you’re safe now.”

“Come on, let’s just get rid of her and get out of here. We’ve already hit our quota this month.” The Carnivine said.

“And let you waist this Arceus given talent? As if.”
Darius kneeled in front of Celia.
“I’ve seen those little performances you put on. Very nice job. You’ve got a great voice, great moves. You can’t buy that kind of talent.”

Celia lashed out with her tail, but it didn’t even leave a cut on Darius. He just laughed, patting her on the head.
“But you sure as hell can sell it.”

~~~~~

Alek had fallen silent a long time ago, not even sure how to react. Sully looked ready to kill the first person that moved in her general vicinity.

“Sully, I…”

“Don’t. Sssay. Anything. I jussst need a few sssecondsss…” She said, taking deep breaths.

Alek sat, watching her. She closed her eyes, her fangs bared. Eventually, she opened her eyes, the fury in them gone.

“How’d you escape?” Alek asked.

“They kept me in a cage for the longest time. I sharpened my blade on the bars whenever I could. One day, the Infernape was on guard duty, leaning against my cage. He thought I was too weak to hurt him. But I slit his throat, and stole his key. I escaped, but Darius and the others chased me. I took whatever rest I could, but for the most part, I went sleepless. One time, I went three days straight. But they never gave up. I don’t know why… but he was obsessed with me. I eventually was found by a New Order patrol in Terraria. They brought me here. You know the rest.”

Sully leaned her head on the table.

“Whatever happened to them?” Alek asked.

“Who knows. They’re probably still out there. In fact, I’m sure of it. And someday, I’ll kill them myself.” Sully said. She slithered off her seat, onto the floor.
“I’m… going to go to the upper levels. I need some time to myself.”

“Apprentices aren’t allowed up there.” Alek warned.

“Good thing I don’t give a damn.” Sully said, slithering out of the lunch hall.

~~~~~

Meanwhile, in the Sazandora Desert...

~~~~~

The Sunflora cowered in the sand. Another needle arced over the dune, almost hitting him.

“Come on out from there. You think I’m going to kill you? As if. I just want to help you.” A voice called out.

“Just leave me alone!” The Sunflora shouted. He got up and ran for it. But he didn’t make it far when a Pin Missile hit him in the back. He toppled forward, and several seconds later, his body went numb.

“Boom. Another one tagged.”
A Cacturn stood on top of the dune, his arm aimed at the Sunflora. He took a swig from a flask that had hung from his belt before returning it, shuddering a little.

“Good shot Darius.”
A Mawile walked up beside him. She wore the golden and white scarf of the New Order. And so did Darius.

“Thanks Keelah.” Darius laughed, patting her on the jaw.

“Don’t do that.” She said, her jaw growling.

“That thing is really weird. Where does the stuff it swallow go?”

“How should I know? I’m no biologist.” Keelah shrugged.
“So, how many does that make this week? Six right?”

“Seven.” Darius corrected, walking over to the paralyzed Sunflora. Keelah followed him, her jaw slobbering.

“How much will they all get us? I’m almost there on my Mega Stone fund.” Keelah said.

“Quite a lot. The New Order pays my gang a pretty Poke for getting them new workers for their mines. And on the plus side, I’m out of trouble with the law, and I get a nifty little scarf. You think I’d turn down an offer like this? As if.”

“So, you’ve been doing this for a while, huh?” Keelah asked.

“Sure have. And only one death on my conscience. One of my buds got his throat slit. A real shame. But hey, accidents happen. And if he were still around, I doubt I’d ever have met you.”

Darius leaned down to kiss Keelah, who just put her jaw between herself and him, letting the jaw do the kissing.

“Bleegh!” Darius recoiled, wiping his mouth.
“You know how much I hate that thing.”

“But she loves you.” Keelah laughed, petting her jaw. She then directed it towards the Sunflora, scooping him up in it and closing it down on him.

“I’ll try and hold off on the digestion process, but this jaw has a mind of its own. We better get this guy back to the camp before he’s mush.” Keelah said, her jaw sagging from the weight in it.

“Right on. I say tonight calls for a celebration. Let’s break out the good stuff. Tonight, we party.” Darius laughed, beginning to walk back across the desert. Keelah followed behind. She had to admit, the idea of just eating the Sunflora appealed to her. But that would cut into the profits. She’d sate her hunger some other time. For now, plain berries and juice would have to do.

Fly you fool!

Day A4

Zulu was happier than he had been in a while. Ren was back! He hadn’t betrayed them! And Absol was back too. Everyone was back together again.

“Almost everyone…”
Zulu had forgotten about Frost. Between Ren and Frost, Frost was the only one who had truly betrayed them. He’d attacked Zulu. But it didn’t make him sad anymore. It made him angry. Zulu felt a familiar energy building up in him, but he clamped down on it. Zulu had narrowed down the cause of Dragon Pulse to plain anger at this point. He needed to learn to control that anger, and use it against anyone that would try to hurt his friends. Breaking out of his thoughts, Zulu once again fired Air Cutter at the tree he’d been practicing on. He never thought he’d reach this state on an adventure to save the world, but he had. He was bored.

“Maybe I could try Bite? I haven’t used that move at all.”

“Are you seriously so bored you’re thinking about biting a tree?”

“It’s not like I have much else to do. Except maybe Tailwind…”

“Or…”

“No.”

“Just think about it. Now is a better time than any. There’s nothing really lined up at the moment.”

“I’m not using that on anyone until I’ve tested it.”

“You do realize how controversial that is, right? To test it, you have to use it on someone.”

“Fine. I’ll never use it period.”

“Or… you could test it on someone… less likely to offend.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know what I mean. Moltres. Spadassya. Ariala. Diance even. Take your pick.”

Zulu couldn’t believe it, but he was actually considering this. He really wanted to see how Attract worked. Why not use it on someone he hardly knew? Zulu turned to a tree, firing Attract. The familiar, heart shaped ball of energy floated forward, bursting on impact against the tree.

“No. No, no, no. No way. Not happening.” Zulu said to himself.

“It seems that Flaafy is not the only one that enjoys talking aloud.” A familiar voice said. Zulu spun around, seeing Mewtwo floating behind him. He wasn’t wearing his cloak anymore.

“Me? Oh, no sir. I don’t “enjoy” talking to myself. It just helps when I’m feeling confused.” Zulu said.

“Confusion is the precursor to anger and sorrow. Be careful to keep it in check.” Mewtwo said.

“Y-yes sir.” Zulu said, landing on the forest floor to salute.

“You have a kind heart. Just a bright as the others. But I can also sense it was marred by sadness.” Mewtwo said, lowering himself to just above the ground.

“Are you reading my mind?” Zulu asked, horrified. He now had a severe mistrust of psychics.

“Your memories are shattered. I can hardly make sense of them. With enough time, I could attempt to reforge them, but there is no telling what effect this may have on you. I feel it’s better you come to terms with them yourself.” Mewtwo said.

“Thanks, but I’m happy with keeping my memories the way they are.” Zulu said. He remembered how much just a small memory had affected him. There’s no telling how bad the terrible memories he supposedly had might hurt.

“An excellent move by the way. I felt the light in it. Even a heart of darkness would be swayed by it.” Mewtwo said.

Zulu realized he was talking about Attract.
“Um, sir? What exactly would a move like Attract do? And when would it wear off?”

Mewtwo looked at him with interest.
“Attract does exactly would you would think. It fills the chosen target with a false sense of obsession over the caster. They will think they are in love, to put it simply. It’s a truly diabolical move, but can be handy in some situations. It’s meant as a way to distract your opponent and prevent them from attacking. Though, there are cases in which the infatuated will still attack.” Mewtwo explained.
“As to when it would wear off, not even I know. It all depends on the strength of both the attack, and of the mind of the receiver. I have never known it to be used on a Legendary, but I’d wager we’re all too strong minded to fall for such a mediocre trick, though it could possibly work if taken by surprise.”

“So, it is possible, right?”

Mewtwo’s interest changed to puzzlement.
“In theory… Is there something you wish to discuss?”

“No. I was just wondering if it would work on any of the New Order Legendries.” Zulu said, trying to keep a straight face.

“Perhaps you can attempt it, should you meet another of them.” Mewtwo said. He began to rise into the air.
“Thank you for having me. There aren’t many I know that would enjoy conversation with me.” Mewtwo said.

“Any time.” Zulu smiled, waving his wing. Zulu wasn’t sure, but he swore he saw the faintest of smiles on his face before he teleported away.

“Well, that was a little helpful.”

“Sure was. Now we know it’s completely safe to use.”

“No, we don’t. Not even Mewtwo knows if it’s safe to use or not.”

“Wrong. It’s safe. He just doesn’t know how safe. I’m tired of arguing with you. Face it. You love Cresselia, but she doesn’t feel the same. Why don’t you do something? What’s five minutes of her fawning over you?”

Zulu was really starting to get scared of this mental friend of his. What if he was the right half?

“Just… leave me alone.”

Zulu turned back to the tree. He hated just how… inconspicuous Attract was. It was a massive glowing heart that travelled at about the speed of a bowling ball. He wondered if he could somehow make it smaller and faster. Envisioning it with just those characteristics, Zulu fired another Attract at the tree. It was smaller, but not faster. He tried again, this time focusing only on speed. But it didn’t seem to get any faster.

“Guess I can only change the size. That’s better than nothing.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know anyone else was over here.” Zulu heard a voice say just as he was about to launch another Attract. He clamped down on the energy, suddenly feeling like he’d just eaten a lot of food. Zulu turned towards the voice, seeing Ariala.

“Hey Ariala.” Zulu said. He felt all bloated now.

“Hello Zulu. Have you seen Twinkiel or Fleedjio around?” She asked.
“I’ve looked around, but this place is so large. And so beautiful.”

Zulu suddenly burped, blushing in embarrassment.
“Excuse me.” He chuckled awkwardly.
“And no, I haven’t seen them. Maybe Mewtwo might know where he is. I just talked with him, and it sounded like he’d talked with Twinkiel some.” Zulu said.

“Thank you. I’ll be sure to do that.” Ariala said, turning to leave.
“Goodbuurp!” Zulu tried to say, but instead let out a loud belch.

“Are you feeling ok? Did you eat one of those odd, spiral looking berries growing around here?” Ariala asked.

“No. In fact, I haven’t eaten anything lately. I really need to find that feast Diance was talking about.” Zulu said. He wrapped his wings around his stomach. Clearly, attack energy was not meant to be re-ingested. But Attract didn’t even come out of his mouth. It came out of thin air.

“Maybe you should go see Celebi. She probably has a nice herbal remedy for stomach aches.” Ariala said.

“Thanks. I’ll look into…”
Zulu didn’t even finish. He suddenly got a bad stomach cramp, causing him to grip his stomach tightly. Unable to hold onto the attack any longer, he let the Attract energy go.
“Yikes. Nevery doing that again…” Zulu groaned, recovering from his stomach cramp.
Zulu straightened up, regaining composure.
“Sorry about that Ariala.” Zulu said sheepishly. But something looked off about her. She looked a little confused.

“Wait. Where did my Attract go?”

Zulu’s question was answered as a smile grew on Ariala’s face.

“Oh…”

“Crap.”

“Well, I was gonna drop something worse, but crap is good too. Fly you fool, fly!”

Day A5 3:00 p.m

“Well, it seems like you are a noisy Flaffy indeed.”

The lamb turned as Ren strode up, he had of course heard the proceeding conversation and agreed with Absol on this, Twinikiel Thunderfleece was of the utmost wit.

“We have Brasegali in the crew!” he exclaimed, chuckling joyfully. “Oh, how I miss racing with him, you have NO idea!”

Ren just stared, he did not grasp the implications and neither did he really care. Absol however,

“What are you blabbering about?” Absol inquired, “It's the first time you've met Ren.”

“Wha? Oh, right. No, sorry, Brasegali's the name of an old friend of mine. He's a Blaziken, too. Not to be racist, but I'd have to have both him and Ren stand here together if I want to see how different they are physically. 'Cause they kinda look the same.”

At this point, the Blaziken tuned out, his gaze drifting over to Moltres and the others. He had been eyeing them ever since his entrance. Zulu was making his way over at the moment, which would have been a good thing if he was in the mood to talk.

He wasn't.

“Ren! Moltres and Celebi looked everywhere for you, where have you been? And it's been so long! Do you still–”

Sighing, Ren silenced the bat with his hand.

“I don't want to talk about Moltres, and I don't want to talk about what happened. It's....complicated."

Zulu looked stunned and the Blaziken felt a pang of guilt. Despite his cold demeanor, he hated causing pain. He needed a distraction, somewhere to regroup.

That was where Twinikiel came in.

Ren left after the words "“LOOK GUYS, A DISTRACTION!” had been uttered, he had to admit, the Flaffy was indeed noisy.

Ren wandered about the surrounding forest. It was beautiful here but Ren had other reasons to want to get away. What was his reason for running away? It had all been clear when he had done so but now he wasn't so sure.

Sitting, the Blaziken thought for a moment, then tried contacting Xatu. The ancient bird could sort this out. Ren straightened, and tried to focus, expanding his thoughts reaching to the Western Cliffs.

Nothing.

He tried again, this time focusing solely on Xatu's mind, that haunting music, the infinite depth.

Still nothing.

Finally, Ren simply breathed, in and out, he relaxed, letting himself go limp and,

fell asleep.

The Blaziken snapped his eyes open a couple minutes later and bolted upright, sheepishly looking around to see if anyone had caught him, luckily, no one was around to witness his failure.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid." he muttered to himself. Of course he couldn't contact Xatu, Ren was a fire type, not some psychic.

He would have to sort this out himself.

Sighing, he paced about, muddling around in the pit that was his mind. Suddenly, a memory came back to him, of an angry teen, of school, of sitting down and playing a good old round of...what? COD? Fish aside, he remembered violence, and with it, freedom.

Turning, Ren mauled a tree, his tough scaly skin absorbing the blow. The strike left a deep gouge in the bark and left Ren feeling AWESOME.

Smiling now, Ren hopped back and delivered a series of punches to the trunk, leaving it black in several places. How had he not thought of this sooner? He felt so free!

He turned and sideswiped the tree, smashing a gaping hole in the base. Why did he want to leave the Resistance?

Ren leapt over to the next tree, delivering a vicious uppercut to a lower branch. He needed to get back to his life.

Why did he need to get back to his life? Why did he want to go back?

The Blaziken bought his leg down, sweeping it across the base of the tree, spinning with the motion.

He needed to finish his life, he needed to tie up some loose ends.

Why did he need to finish this? What ends did he need to tie?

Ren snapped up, completing a rotation and leaning left, readying himself.

He needed to finish his life because...he was...he was,

He snapped his leg out, smashing through the tree, sending shards of wood spinning out into the forest.

He was a perfectionist?

The mere thought startled him out of his zone, causing the Blaziken to fall on his side, sending the air rushing form his lungs.

That's was why he needed to return? That was pathetic!

Ren went back through his thought process, answering each question and,

he was a perfectionist.

The more he thought of it the more it obvious it was.

The Blaziken chuckled to himself and three syllables fell from his lips.

He'd rather not say them out loud.