Young Writers Society

Twinkiel – Memories X Old Friends X Chaos

Day ??? 22:30

FINISH!



“THERE! 32 tracks, 32 points, 32 victories! I beat you ALL! Now stop partying and go the HELL to sleep!”

Lucis looked at his roommates and their invited friends, determined. They had been partying in the room for 3 hours now, and he risked to be expelled just because these idiots couldn't stop. They had then made the mistake of challenging him to a Mario Kart DS online game, saying that they wouldn't stop until he defeated all 7 of them on all the tracks of the game.
But to their surprise, Lucis had been much better than they had expected.

“One moment, Cabeça de Coño,” one of them said, angering Lucis even more. The boy didn't speak Spanish fluently, but he understood it flawlessly, and he knew what this expression meant.

“You won, but we should celebrate your victory, no?”

All the others smiled and began to cheer for Lucis in the most horrid fashion he had ever seen.

“First off, it's Lucis, pronounced like Lu and Kiss. Second, yeah, no, I don't need no freakin' celebration, just get the heck out of my–”

The teenager could not finish his sentence: a bin was suddenly smashed on his head, and all seven boys around him began pushing him across the room, while chanting like morons. Lucis' head was spinning, but he did his best to keep his calm.
No. He would not. He would not get angry. Not angry. Not angry. If he did… They'd all suffer.

“But I want them to suffer. They deserve to suffer. They deserve to–”

No. He would not let it happen to them. Not like this. It was too easy.

“Whoooooo, Party Hard in this joint! C'mon guys, let's head back to my room! Later, Cabeça de Coño!”

Lucis slowly removed the bin from his head, a murderous expression on the face. At this very moment, a girl his age entered in the room, visibly concerned. Emma.

“Lucis? Are… are you alright? I heard some–”

“I'M GONNA KILL THEM ALL!! I HATE THEM! I HATE THEM ALL!”

The sudden scream took her by surprise, but she still approached, trying her best to calm down the enraged boy.

“No, please, Lucis! Just calm down! I'll call someone! Just stay here and cool your head, okay? You'll be fine. Don't hurt anybody.”

A mad light dancing in his eye, Lucis nodded before turning to the wall and slowly bashing his head against it, imagining that he'd destroy every single of his hated enemies with every hit. He barely heard the door close as his friend left the room.
He hated them. All he had ever done was doing what he liked. Reading, playing video games and chatting with the few yet amazing friends he had here were the only things he had ever done. Why? Why were they so mean? Was it because he was dark-skinned? Was it because teachers liked him?
Nonono. His brother was also dark-skinned, and yet he had much less problems that he did. Plus, other students were appreciated by the teachers, yet they weren't being bullied. Was it because he was perceived as young and helpless? That could be a reason. Plus, he was used to racism, it wasn't the reason he felt so... angry.
Looking to the side, Lucis realized that a big spider had been staring at him the entire time. It was hanging from the ceiling.
The teenager smiled rather creepily. Well... This was one way he could cool off, wasn't it?
With utmost care, the boy took the wiggling arachnid in his hand before immobilizing on the ground. He pulled out a small pincer out of his pocket and proceeded to slowly and methodically tear off each of the spider's legs until only one remained.
Yeeeeeees. Seven legs out. He'd take his time, destroying them one by one, or all together. No need to rush. He'd find a way to get his revenge. Slowly.

“Die, die, we all pass away.
But don't get a frown, 'cause it's really okay.
You might try and hide, and you might try and pray,
But we all end up, the remains of the day.
Ya, ya, ya, yaya, ya,ya...”

Lucis chuckled as the spider attempted to get away from him. Yes. They'd be helpless. Just as carefully as he brought the animal to the ground, he squashed it under his foot and waited. A few minutes later, Emma entered in the room, frowning as she spotted the remains of the dead arachnid. The principal of the school behind her.

“What happened here?” he said, looking around. “Why is the trash scattered in this room?”

“Ohhhhhhh, she brought the principal. Heheh. Lucky.”

“That may be because a bin has been shoved on my head, while the seven idiots who put it on me decided to push me around with it, sir. Also, they were partying here despite the curfew preventing them to do so. They put the bin in my head because I tried to prevent them to do so.”

The Principal frowned, far from happy.

“Christ, here we go again. Lead me to them, please, Lucis. I'm really sorry this happened to you in my establishment, but I'd like to talk to them at least.”

“Oh. But of course I know exactly where they are...”

A few minutes later, the trio was waiting in front of another room, inside of which loud music could be heard.

"PAPA l'AMERICANO!"

The Principal forcefully made his way inside, along with a loud “WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!” The man continued, explaining how intolerable their behavior was, and how they'd have to be expelled from England and brought back to their respective countries for being unable to respect the rules that had clearly been established to them several times.
Lucis smiled internally. Seven targets down. No more to go.
The teenager came back to his room and, helped with his friend Emma, attempted to clean it as much as he could. A few minutes later, one of the expelled boys entered.

“You're a boot licker, Cabeça de Coño.” was the first hateful sentence he uttered.

Ah! A verbal joust? Now that was something he could handle.

“Why would I lick boots as clean as the Principal's?” Lucis replied. “They're entirely opposed to yours! Then again, maybe that's why you put a bin over my head. Maybe you believed that I could roleplay trash as well as your sorry ass can, am I right, atontado?!”

The following sadistic laugh did it: the boy walked towards Lucis, determined to strike him. A carnivorous smile appeared on the latter's face. This was exactly what he wanted.
Walking towards his enemy as well, the teenager blocked the punch that came to him with his own hand before violently kicking his foe in the stomach. He fell on his knees, barely able to breath.

“You know,” Lucis said, grabbing his enemy by the hair, “This reminds me of summers in the Arcade. Playin' Whack-A-Mole! You wait 'till the cute little mole pops its head up, then comes the best part. You… WHACK IT!”

Joining words with action, Lucis smashed the teenager's head against the wall with a dreadful BAM sound.

“WHACK IT!” BAM. “WHACK IT!!” BAM. “WHACK IT!!!” BAM. “Aaaaaaaaaaand…! WHACK IT!!!!” BAM.

The teenager fell on the ground, crying tears of pain. Lucis laughed out loud, his rising anger slowly turning into sadistic pleasure.

"So you like to call be Cabeça de Coño, eh? Well, let me put this in a way you'll understand." Lucis kicked his enemy's butt as hard as he could. "I'm about to blow my load all over your insides! NO HOMO, AHAHAHAHAHA!"

“Lucis, arrête ça tout de suite!!”

Emma punched her friend on the cheek and pulled him into a hug before he could protest.

“Arrête. Tu avais promis.”

"Laisse-moi! Laisse-moi jouer au foot avec sa fuckin' tête!!"

"Arrête d'être un monstre!!"

Lucis' anger slowly died out and he looked on the side, ashamed.

“...They asked for it. And we both know I can't control my anger.”

“Yes. And you know why that is? You like your anger."

"I don't! I... I never liked what I did to my brother! I hated myself for it!"

"But this isn't your brother, and you're enjoying it! I told you to stop torturing bugs, didn't I? and here you did it again!”

Darn. She found the legs.

“Uh... Spiders are–”

“I know, they're arachnids. I don't care. No bugs, no arthropods, no animals. Stop torturing living beins.”

The Spanish teenager rose from the ground, took the suitcase he has brought and ran away, but Lucis and Emma couldn't care less about him at this very moment.

“You know what, Lucis? Tomorrow, you'll tell me everything you know about the Elf Wars.” A gentle smile appeared on the boy's face.

“You… You're gonna watch me play Megaman Zero again? Really?”

“Well, I did say I liked the story. But that's only if you stop. Torturing. Animals. Neverdo that again. Got it?"

"Except in video games?"

"Except in video games. Especially bugs and arthropods.”

Lucis frowned.

“I… I promise I'll do my best. But… why these specifically?”

“...Because they're cute.”


Day A5, 1:45 P.M.

“T-Twinkiel, wake up! We've got a big problem!”

The Flaaffy opened his eyes and sat on Fleedjio's back, still sleepy. The dragon wasn't moving at all… was he on the ground already?

“Qu'est-ce que tu veux?” Twinkiel spat grumpily. “T'as pas intérêt à m'avoir réveiller pour rien, mec! La guillotine t'attends, sinon!”

Zulu stared at his friend, confused.

“Twinkiel,” Fleedjio intervened, “There's no time for gibberish! Focus!”

“That wasn't gibberish, stupid.”

Twinkiel froze. The well-known voice was instantly recognized, and its owner was apparently right next to the Flaaffy.

“...It was French, his native language. But wow, I had no idea the Humans had sooooooooo many languages under their belt! Like, how do you guys even understand yourselves?”

The baby-sized body of Hoopa appeared next to Twinkiel, his eternal grin stuck on the face.

“...Darn it. Darn it darn it darn it, NO, not in front of the others!”

“No choice, I guess. We're happy to see him again anyway, aren't we?”

“You bet! ...But really not in front of–”

Twinkiel's eyes widened. Looking in the side, he realized that yes, Fleedjio was indeed resting on the sandy ground, but Raikou and Articuno were next to him, along with their respective group members. They were all staring at Hoopa, who was happily rubbing his cheek against Twinkiel's wool.

“...Oh, crapbaskets.”

“I'd rather say crud, but yeah. Pretty much.”

“Ohmergush! That wool, man!” Hoopa suddenly exclaimed, sighing gleefully. “Dude? When you become my personal slave, I'm shaving that thing off and making a pillow out of it.”

Twinkiel rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, but on the other side of the bet, if you become my prisoner, Pumpkin, I'm commercializing it. And you're getting a pillow anyway.” That made Hoopa laugh.

“Oh, you still think your side can win? Yeah, we'll see I guess. You sure you still don't wanna join mine?”

“Nah, man. They exist,” Twinkiel added, nonchalantly pointing at his silent comrades of the Resistance. “And no offense, but you can't top them.”

“But I have all the fun stuff! Those flame and toxic orbs are SO amazing for torturin' time, you've no idea.”

“Wait, what?!” Twinkiel and Hoopa gazed down at Riley, slightly surprised.

“You're the monster who did this to Articuno?!”

The Flaaffy and his devious friend raised an eyebrow at the same time.

“Nu-huh!” the latter replied. "D'you think she would've been able to even fly away if I had tortured her? No, I took care of Xerneas. Though the orbs part was a reference to Latias.”

A united gasp from the members of the Resistance was heard.

“...Oh snap. I gave him torturing tips. Oh god.”

“...Meh. Always prefered Latios anyway.”

“NOT the point!”

“Oh, and speakin' of her, she gave me everythin' I needed, so I released her. She's currently... crawling her way back to the Shrine of Safety, so you might want to hurry up and treat her wounds.”

Tender smile.

“...Especially her beautiful ex-wing.”

“Twinkiel…? Get… Get away from this guy, he's creeping me out.”

Hoopa turned his head to Zulu, and frowned, tightening his embrace with the Flaaffy.

“Is that another friend of yours? Oooooow, my feelings! And here I thought I was the only one in your heart!”

“Pff! We both know you're not. You're havin' some tight competition, unfortunately."

"Heheh. Tight. Gotta go fast, then. Race to win?"

"Race to win." The duo performed an evil brofist before Twinkiel realized that he wasn't alone this time.

"So, um, aside for obviously provoking my friends here and… take advantage of my body, no homo, what's your business here again?”

“Oh! Right. I almost forgot. Basically I just wanted to see if Yveltal had joined you guys already, or if he was still a rogue. He… He and that Riolu over there kinda helped Articuno escape. Spoiler alert.”

Twinkiel was the only one surprised by the news, as it seemed that everybody else had been informed.

“And the second reason was… Uhh… Oh, yeah, that was Latias, but I already told you. Also, Twink? Careful with your next steps in the wilds. I just found myself an Omega.”

Twinkiel shivered, but forced himself to grin.

“How exciting! Is he alone for now?”

“Yeah! And long story short, he's a prototype. The better version's idea is pretty much to go around and make people go maverick, Sigma-style. Definitely wouldn't want you involved with that yet, it wouldn't be fun.”

"Well, technically, i'm already half maverick, so that helps."

"True."

The duet stopped talking, gazing at each other.

“NOW. SHOCK THE BASTARD.”

Hoopa suddenly vanished, the very same second Twinkiel unleashed his Enel Impact.

“DARN IT!”

“HAH! I knew it! I win!” Twinkiel sighed. “See you at the next edition of Verbal Trick Showdown. I'll be the winner next time, Pumpkin.”

“Dream on, Twink!”

Hoopa delivered a final gaze at Zulu and pouted.

“...He's mine.”

And with that, the little demon disappeared.

Twinkiel sighed once again and jumped from Fleedjio's back. He walked away from everyone and sat on the ground.

“Well that was kinda tense, even for me,” were his first words. “So… Go on. Ask away, or shout away, I guess, either way works. Mommy always told me some of my friends were weird, anyway.”

“...Twinkiel?” Fleedjio asked after a long silence. “When Hoopa attacked me, in Greatwood Jungle… he attacked you too, didn't he?”

“Um, not really. I attacked him, then we kinda… hugged, and played a few games for a five hours.” The dragon frowned. “What kind of... games?”

“Um… We'd chat about stuff for a while. Or sing. And while I was distracted, he'd try to move one of his hoops to cut off one of my limbs. If I saw the hoop, we'd reset. If I didn't, well, he'd keep going until all of my limbs are cut off. I managed to win, so we kinda became… uhh… friends.”

“You're crazy,” Jewels intervened, shaking her head. “You're completely nuts.”

“Twinkiel,” Raikou intervened, you can't possibly be friends with someone like Hoopa. He's way, way too dangerous.”

“Funny, he told me that, too. And I know. We've been in each other's minds for a few hours. To him, a friend is a pleasant toy that's fun to have around for a while, and when it becomes boring, he gets rid of it. Currently, I'm that toy. Which is totally something I can take advantage of. I told him, I told Mewtwo, and I'm telling you: my loyalty lies here, with the Resistance. He can't top you guys. I know, I'm… I'm insane. I didn't choose to be, I can't help it. But if I can take advantage of this insanity to a cause like saving the world…”

The Flaaffy smiled gently.

“I might be able to make up for it, right? I mean, didn't he just told us he freed Latias? You think he would've told me, told us, if I wasn't his newly find toy?”

Twinkiel wished they took the other, much more worrying news Hoopa revealed as insane banter. he didn't entirely understood it himself anyway.

“Yeah, but see, there's a big problem there,” Jewels once again intervened. “You enjoy being insane, we can clearly see that. So how are we supposed to trust a guy like you? You didn't tell anybody you had a link with this… demon!”

Twinkiel's eyes widened.

“You like your anger, Lucis.”



The Flaaffy rose up, his rising passion taking the best of him.

“Of course I didn't. It was exactly to prevent this situation from happening. And you know what? You don't know what it feels like. You don't have the SLIGHTEST IDEA of what it means to be constantly on the edge of your sanity. To have a little voice in your head that tells you: “Snap! Snap! Let it all flow! You know you love it!” To have NORMAL people around you reminding you that you're not like them! Constantly looking at you like you're a circus freak, even when you're being serious! I hate it! I HATE it! What other choice do I have but to try and make the best out of the experience?

Tears began raining down the Flaaffy's cheeks, but he ignored them.

“Tell you what: you're right. I embrace every single bit of my madness, because it's the only thing in this God forsaken Universe that makes me happy! Those Zangooses I tortured?! Enjoyed it! Those Scythers and Linoones I shocked and killed?! Enjoyed it!! Those bounty hunters I defeated?! Enjoyed it!!! That one Skarmory I betrayed who problably died of his wounds?! I fucking enjoyed it!!! 'Cause if that's the only thing that can bring me satisfaction, then whoop dee fuckin' doo, I'll take it! There, happy?!”

“Stop. Now you're just acting like a brat.”

Electricity suddenly circled around the crying Flaffy, answering to his uncontrollable feelings.

“Brat, huh? Let's see if I'm still a brat after I bring your sorry ass back to Greatwood and mess with your insides with a few electric shocks! Wait, scratch that, I forgot to mention: I DON'T HURT MY ALLIES!”

“But how can we be sure of that?” Articuno exclaimed. “Did you hear what you just said? You're friends with someone who's willing to torture people just for his own personal pleasure. And you just said that you were willing to do the same type of things. Does that imply that you'd torture me if you had the occasion?"

“First of all, the only reason why I'd torture you would be because you threatened me or any of my allies, or if I was asked to get some information out of you. And even in that case, physical torture is not always the answer, I've seen my movies, thank you. And second of all, excuse me? Did you just compare me with a Pokemon who spent his fucking life stealing entire castles with his bare hands, killing people that got in his way and NOT restraining himself doing so?! And what about that time I made you all laugh when I crashed like an idiot in the middle of the Shrine? It doesn't count?”

The look the Legendary gave him was indicative enough. Twinkiel wiped his tears and began laughing.

“No it doesn't. Of course not. In the end, even if I was trying to hide my madness, even when i'm trying to goof around, I'm still gonna be treated like this one awkward sadist you don't really wanna mess with. Am I right, Zulu of the Sharp Ears? What you heard about me in the Temple of Fauna REALLY scared you before I actually began helping you, huh?”

Zulu looked away. "It... It's ok, I know you're not just crazy. There's more to it than that."

"THANK YOU! Now, wanna help me explaining that to them?!"

Jewels approached the Flaaffly, also angered.

“Stop! Seriously, how dare you imagine that you're the only one who knows what it means to be different? We're all humans and Pokemons, with our own good and bad experiences!”

A carnivorous, surprisingly human smile appeared on the Flaaffy's face.
Verbal juggles. His speciality.

“And seriously, how dare you imagine that you know what it means to be fucking insane?! You're a Psychic type, right? Well then, Brainiac, if you think you know what it means to be “different”, hop into my mind! See what happens!”

The two stared at each other for a long time, before Jewels finally turned away.

“I'm not playing your stupid game, Drama Queen. We've got more important stuff to deal with.”



“Oh, because mutual trust isn't important? In a Resistance movement? It's not a game, Jewels, even for me! Frost was a friend and he betrayed us! I, on the other hand, am still here, but apparently people don't think I'm that trustworthy. Frost was a normal guy, you know. And he was less reliable than the one crazy lamb who likes to make the world suffer. He's a Victini, the Victory Pokemon and a bringer of hope. Yet he attempted to kill Zulu and myself after being a great friend to both of us. How about that shit?!”

A complete silence followed this declaration. The loss of Frost was a touchy subject, and his betrayal had indeed been an unexpected event for the Resistance.

“Mewtwo tested me,” Twinkiel concluded. “If you have your doubts on me being on your side, just go talk to him and he'll tell you everything. As for me, don't forget that I tried my best to help a bunch of snakes I didn't even know, got the plate, and helped the Resistance. I'm going to that Cutthroat Path. And once again, I'm gonna get a plate for you guys. Can't trust my madness? Well trust my loyalty. Peace.”

Twinkiel used Thunderbolt! The Voltek Fleece was activated!

Twinkiel flew away, determined to prove once and for all how much of a good person he was. There was a limit to which he enjoyed evil behaviors. He was more a jester than a sadist anyway.

“Wait, don't!”

Surprising everyone, Ariala glided after the flying Flaaffy, easily catching up to him. She grabbed his leg and tried to put him back on the ground, which resulted in Twinkiel losing his balance and crashing head first on the ground. The Pokemon quickly rose up and pointed an electricity-filled paw on the Clefairy, his mad anger getting the best of him again.

“You have five seconds to tell me why you did that, or else, ally or not, I'm Enel Impacting the HELL out of you!!”

“Don't make the mistake RIley made!” Ariala rapidly explained. “He left the Shrine of Safety to help, but he ended up making everyone worried! And you saw Landorus' reaction to it, even he was worried!”

“I wasn't.”

“Not the point! Just… calm down, okay? Let's complete the mission as a team. Articuno said she was freed by him and Yveltal. Without him, he had all the chances to fail. Don't go alone and make the same mistake."

Twinkiel retrieved his sadistic grin as fast as he had lost it.

“Hah! I totally forgot about that one!”

He walked past his friend and joined the group once more.

“So this guy saved Articuno by teaming up with Yveltal? And he wasn't scolded?”

“Actually, he was,” Raikou intervened, gazing at Riley. “We were on our way to the Shrine of Safety when Articuno informed us of Fleedjio's presence. We exchanged information on our respective adventures, then Hoopa showed up. That's when you woke up. Landorus is supposed to confine him.”

“Ah! Well then. That means he's not trustworthy either, since he left all on he own. And Landorus wants to confine him? Well, our group just finished a mission, and we'd totally need one more 'Mon to finish the next one. I'm pretty sure none of us would mind having a fifth member joining us."

Both Articuno and Raikou frowned.

"That sounds like a really bad idea that could easily backfire," the latter objected.

"Well, depends. What's more important: raising our chances to successfully get a plate, or punish one guy who went on he own to perform a rescue mission and actually pulled it off?"

"I... can agree with your reasoning, Twinkiel," Articuno said, "but you'd best telling this to Landorus, not us."

"I'm in a Payphone, trying to call..."

"I freakin' love you."

"Well. I might just be able to do that actually. Zulu? Your new cellphone might be of use. As in, right now."

Zulu approached his friend, bringing the communication crystal along with him.

"Um, yes? What about it?"

"Please, call Cresselia, and ask her to have Landorus on the line. I need to speak with him."

Zulu nodded before focusing. A couple of minutes during which he was certainly having a mental conversation with Cresselia, the Noibat openend his eyes and turne to Twinkiel, inciting him to approach.

"He's on. Just close your eyes and think Landorus."

Twinkiel did just that and, seconds later, a foreign presence appeared on his mind.

"Oh! There it is. Hello there, Mr.Landorus! Um... Should I... Should I call you by a title of some sort? Since you're our chief of operations, and all."

"No, that won't be necessary, but thank you for thinking about it, young Flaaffy. So? I assume you desired to speak to me for a less... trivial matter."

"Yes, indeed. First of all, I wanted to tell you that Raikou's party had successfully found the missing 'Mon Riley, and that the latter had successfully freed Articuno"

"By himself?!"

"Well apparently he had some help from Yveltal, but Raikou will explain the details later, I assume. Putting that aside, I also wanted to inform you that my group had succeeded in freeing a bunch of prisoners held by Darius the Bounty Hunter, and that they were heading towards the Shrine of Safety. The point of me telling you this is that we all had a quite... tiresome fight, and much more difficult than expected, yet we're still supposed to go to Cutthroat Path. Since Riley and Articuno are with us again, I wanted to ask if they could eventually accompany us there, so that we might handle the future trouble with ease. "

A thoughtful silence followed the Flaaffy's declaration.

"Hmm... I understand your worries, Twinkiel, however, I cannot allow Articuno to risk her life once more. I don't expect her to have been treated nicely, and I'd wish for her to rest at the Shrine and explain what happened to her. As for the Riolu, despite the bravery and loyalty he demonstrated towards his Guardian, he still deserves a punishment for his brash actions. I shall not be too hard on him, however, but it must be done."

"Okay for Articuno, but are you sure about Riley? Having him joining us would actually raise the chances of us getting the next Plate. And... Forgive me if this goes against your judgement, but... I believe the success of our missions is more important than the punishment of someone who went on a suicidal quest all on his own and actually pulled it off."

Twinkiel heard what he could only interpret as a mental sigh.

"Yes, your reasoning is not wrong. I am glad that you grasp the importance of our cause to this extent, Flaaffy. But I'll leave the congratulations for later. For now, and for the sake of your mission, I shall allow RIley the Riolu to join your group in order to aid you in your mission to secure the next plate. That will be the first part of his punishment: he shall be under your orders and your responsability, and is therefore not allowed to leave your side. He is also forbidden to make any contact with hsi Guardian for the time being. Treat him like any of your teammates, understood?"

"Clearly! I'll repeat all of this to him. Oh, and one last thing: you might want to send a search party around the Shrine. We... We had an encounter with Hoopa, and although his words were... vague, to say the least, he did reveal that Latias had been released and was heading your way. That'll be all. Twinkiel, out!"

Twinkiel opened his eyes and rose up from the ground.

"Man, using that thing is exhausting. Thanks Zulu!"

"So?" Raikou inquired. "What did he say?"

Twinkiel repeated the entire discussion to his group, insisting on the fact that Landorus' terms had appeared irrevocable.

"Are you sure there's no other way? Articuno said.

"Well, apparently, he really wants you to go back there and tell what you saw. He also wants you to rest. As for you," Twinkiel continued, gazing at Riley, "seems like you'll have to follow me on your own. Wasn't really what I had planned, but um... Welcome aboard, I guess. And sorry in advance for the madness, 'cause you'll see a whole lot of it while travellin' with me."

Riley barely focused on the Flaaffy's words, occupied as he was trying to restrain Articuno for leaving his side once again.

"Yeeeeeeah, not much into emotional goodbyes. I'll let him handle it."

Twinkiel focused bits of his electricity on his feet and flew up to Fleedjio's back, slowly landing on the dragon, legs crossed.

"T.. Twinkiel?" The Flaafy looked behind him. She had already climbed on Fleedjio's back as well.

"Hmm? A problem Ariala?" The Clefairy looked down. "I... Thanks for not telling everybody," she whispered. "About... you know. I... I want to do it myself, at some point. And... I'll try to support you as much as I can. So... don't get angry again. Please."

Twinkiel smiled.

"Arrête. Tu avais promis."

"You're welcome. and I promise I'll do my best. But you know, I didn't expect you to run after me, back there. And uhh... Sorry for screaming at you, I wasn't... I wasn't being myself."

The Clefairy blushed violently, but looked in his eyes, this time.

"N-No, it's okay! I... I didn't think too much, I just didn't want you to go out on your own. I guess I wasn't myself too when I did that."

The Flaaffy shrugged, his way of saying that he didn't mind anymore. He gazed down at Jewels, who was looking at him as well.

“I realize that we're all a big family," he said before she could speak. "And in a family, trust is one of the things that matter the most. Please. Go wipe your doubts about me. Ask Mewtwo. I'm not just a brat who does everything for fun. I'll prove it.”

She looked at him, sighing.

“Yeah. Sure, why not. Just don't do anything stupid.” Twinkiel frowned. “...Uhh… Yes, Mom?”

“Go. Before I change my mind.”

“Right. You, uh… You're still getting your lightsaber.”

“I won't pay for it?”

“You won't pay for it.”

“Much appreciated. Now GO!”

“You heard the lady, Jiojio! Hey, Riley? You might want to hurry up! We wouldn't want to live without ya!”


The Riolu reluctantly oblidged, obviously sad that his mission ended up in a such a way.

“Twinkiel?" Fleedjio intervened. "Call me that again and I drop you out as we fly.”

“I'll probably survive, with my Voltek Fleece.”

“...Darn.”

On that note, the group flew away, taking the direction of Cutthroat Path.

The Flaaffy looked at Riley, who was waving at Articuno. “So!” he continued. “Sorry again that all of that happened, including the argument. I, uhh... Well, Landorus did say that you were "under my orders", but I don't treat people like underlings. Let's hope we'll finish this swiftly."

"Don't worry. I'll be fine."

"Warning. Cold sentence alert. Test subject trapped in an ice fortress and unwilling to speak."

"...Huh. Oh well. Can't blame the guy. I don't feel that cheerful either anyway. Back to torturin' DayDreams?"

"You betcha. Which one?"

"Cool, cool," Twinkiel answered, more to himself than to Riley. "All is good. On the Rift front. I, uhh... I'll go ahead and check if my spinning flame things are still working."

"Wait, THAT one? Oh, heck yeah! Flamming Torture Circle MkII: engaged!"

Riley looked at him, frowing. What on earth is he talking about?

"N-no, sorry, I was talking to myself, uhh, when I feel down, I daydream about torturing stuff. Just... don't worry if you hear me laughing at some point, I'll be trying to cheer myself up. That's... That's at least one thing I'm sure I'm good that."

Twinkiel sighed. Yeah, he made it all awkward again, didn't he.


...Darn it.

Riley was exhausted.

A lot had transpired in the last day. Breaking down, running for hours, being pinned to a tree, infiltrating a New Order base undercover, fighting a Legendary with two other Legendaries and being reprimanded for his actions. However, of all these things, the most exhausting was happening right now, when he was ironically doing nothing but sitting silently on the back of the dragon Pokémon Fleedjio, next to a sadistic Flaafy, a shy Clefable, and a sleeping Noibat.

Riley was thinking. And not just any thinking, he was sitting in the audience of the voices in his head, silently watching as they bantered back and forth.

What were you thinking?

I don't know.

This again. It's starting to seem like you don't know anything.

Shut up.

See, that's your problem. It's always, "me, me, me" with you. You never let anyone in. You never face your problems head-on. You could take a lesson from that Flaafy next to you.

Riley glanced over at Twinkiel. The lamb had his eyes closed and was grinning, occasionally chuckling like a mad'mon.

You know what I'm talking about.

I don't need anybody's help.

Quite the contrary, you do need help. You've needed help to do everything up until this point, including rescuing Articuno.

As the voice became more annoying to him, Riley began to associate another voice with it. A voice that wasn't his own. Gabriel. Gabriel was the other voice. Riley was having an imaginary debate with an imaginary Gabriel. The thought was completely ridiculous.

So what if I needed help before? Who says I need it now? I've got my footing in this world, and I know the mission.

You truly believe that you are so independent of your allies, that you can save this world without their help?

The voice of Riley did not respond.

I think you don't know what's best for you. I think you're still a stubborn little Riolu trying to find his way in a strange world. You need your friends more than you realize.

I left all my friends behind when I got on Fleedjio's back.

Then make new ones.

Riley looked over at Twinkiel once more. He was a powerful Pokémon, one that Riley did not want to mess with. The Flaafy was almost intimidating. Then again, Riley did owe him some kindness after what he'd done to cheer him up in the Shrine. He decided to speak up.

"Hey." he said, a little too timidly,

Twinkiel opened his eyes and looked up at him. "Hey." he responded,

There was a moment of silence before Riley cleared his throat and asked, "So where's that Servine you hang out with? You called her Spade or something? Spaddya? Spaddy?"

"Spadassya? She had to stay with the Venom Knife tribe."

"Oh." Riley said, looking at Fleedjio's back,

"Why?" Twinkiel asked, furrowing his brow,

"Hm? Oh, I was just curious."

"Right."

Zulu the Noibat shifted in his sleep, smiling peacefully. He was clearly having a very nice dream.

"So," said Twinkiel, attempting a conversation, "tell me a bit about yourself, Rift. Strengths? Weaknesses? Odd quirks? I have a ton of those."

"Um... I guess... I'm shy?"

"Shy? You didn't seem very shy around Flurry. Or Articuno."

Riley's face drooped at the mention of them. "Well I've known them for a while."

"Well then you need to know me! I'm Twinkiel Thunderfleece, as you know. I'm a Flaafy with a warped imagination and a bunch of weird, random, partially-crazy things to say. I love testing my strength and would be happy to shock the living crap out of you if you wanted to battle me. To test my strength, of course."

Riley stared at him, wide-eyed.

"Wow. I can tell you're a master at social interaction." said Fleedjio sarcastically,

"Hey! I'm trying to have a conversation here, so if we can kindly avoid comments from the peanut gallery, thank you."

Fleejio grumbled something about peanuts before flying on in silence.

"Relax, Rift," picked up Twinkiel, "I'll only shock you with your permission. Or to pull a prank. Whichever comes last." As he said this, he chuckled once more.

Riley continued to stare at him in disbelief.

"Oh, lighten up, will you? I'm trying to have a little fun."

"Sorry," Riley said, breaking the gaze, "I'm not really in a laughing mood."

"People are always in a laughing mood. You just have to say something funny!"

The corners of Riley's mouth twitched up a little. Catching this, Twinkiel decided to change the subject.

"So about Flurry," he began, giving a Riley a knowing grin,

"Don't even!" laughed Riley,

"Why not? It's written all over your face that you like her."

"No it's not." Riley blushed,

"Well it can be. Anybody got a marker?"

Riley laughed again. "Says the one who was flirting with a Servine!"

From beside Twinkiel, Ariala turned and looked at the Flaafy, suddenly interested. Taking no notice, Twinkiel replied, "Hey! No changing the subject. This is about you."

"There's nothing to say."

"Sure there is. The fact that somebody's in loooove!"

Grinning, Riley countered, "Really? You'll have to introduce me to this Somebody. They sound like a nice person."

"Haha! Seriously though, why don't you just ask her out?"

"Well for starters, I never said I liked her. Secondly," Riley said, indicating with both paws everything around him, "it would be kind of hard to do that right now, and third of all, if I did like her, which I'm not saying I do, I'd have no idea what to say."

"Just say it. It's not hard."

"Maybe for you it isn't, but I've never really been in a relationship."

"You think I have? Bro, I enjoy fantasizing about torturing people. Something about that usually doesn't scream "attractive" to girls."

Ariala giggled, and Zulu, now awake, grinned in amusement.

"Still, the point is there's nothing special about me. I mean, what's so unique about me that nobody else has? Besides these," at this, he tugged on the sacs beneath his eyes, "there really isn't much, and even Gabriel has these."

"You should know what's special about yourself. Nobody else can tell you that. I sure as heck can't."

Riley thought of his Foresight. Other Riolu and Lucario were able to use it, but he had mastered it so early into his new life that it had to be one of his defining traits.

"I can see a little into the future." he said,

"Oh, because being a freaking fortune-teller isn't going to impress anybody!" laughed Twinkiel,

"Only a few seconds into the future! I can't tell how somebody's life is going to turn out."

"Really. What do you see now?"

Riley focused for a moment and turned his nose up. "You're going to make a snarky comment and insist on my ability being impressive."

"I can see it now, Zulu. "Come see the mystical fortune-teller, Rift! There may be nothing special about him, but rest assured there's something special about you!" You really think that's not worth mentioning? I wish I could do that, honestly."

"Did you do what I said you would on purpose, or...?"

"Only partially. It's true though, that's an awesome trait."

"Okay, well it doesn't matter, because I don't really like her anyway."

"Ah! There it is! You said you don't really like her. That means you're unsure."

"Well..." Riley began,

"Look, it's clear to see you have some kind of something for her. I think you should give it a shot. Given our current situation, there's really nothing to lose."

"I agree." said Fleedjio, and Ariala and Zulu nodded,

"You guys have all been listening in?!" exclaimed Riley, finally taking full notice of the others,

"Relax," reassured Twinkiel once more, "what happens in the air stays in the air."

"That's still kind of rude." Riley muttered, purple playing all over his face.

"So are you going to ask her out or not?" asked Twinkiel,

"I don't know..."

"What was that?" asked the Flaafy letting electricity build up around him,

"Alright, alright! I'll think about it, okay?!"

"Good." replied Twinkiel, letting loose a small Thunderbolt away from the group.

"Um, Twinkiel, what about your..?" began Zulu, but it was too late,

The Voltek Fleece lifted the Flaafy off Feeldio's back, and he began to fall behind. He quickly caught up, however, assuming a relaxed pose flying beside the dragon.

"Hey Fleedjio!" he shouted, "catch me if you can!" he then entered free fall, maniacally laughing all the way.

Riley was panicked but the only other person who seemed slightly nervous was Ariala.

"Should I go after him?" asked Fleedjio casually,

"I would." replied Zulu, "Knowing him, there's a fair chance he'll try using his Cotton Guard to break his fall, instead of flying back up here with his Voltek Fleece."

"Doesn't he know his Cotton Guard won't be strong enough to break the fall?" asked Ariala,

"Probably," replied Fleedjio, "but I still wouldn't be surprised if he tried it anyway. So we're going after him?"

"I think so. Are we?" asked Zulu,

"Sure."

At that, Fleedjio told the others to grab on tight and dove down, swiftly catching up to the Flaafy who, sure enough, had activated his Cotton Guard in preparation for landing.

Re-seating himself on Fleedjio's back, he exclaimed, "Oh come on! I was so close too."

"You're nuts." said Riley, smiling,

"Thank you." replied the Flaafy, "Also, if and when you do ask her out, try giving her this." He handed Riley a small stone, glowing a bright blue in colour.

"What is it?" asked Riley, taking the stone,

"It's a Dawn Stone. I was going to sell it when we landed, but now that I think about it, Snorunt can evolve with that stone. I'm sure she'd love you for it."

Riley looked down at the stone, "You really think so?"

"Sure! I mean, I have no use for it and you need to impress her in some way. Why not try a gift?"

"Thank you."

"No problem. I'ma go back to my daydream now." he said, closing his eyes and resuming his chuckling and grinning,

Riley gazed down at the Dawn Stone and pictured Flurry, from the moment they'd met until now.

How many days has it been? Five? There's no way I could like her this soon... could I?

The idea seemed completely illogical and ridiculous, but Flurry had never been quite like the others. She was quirky, fun, intelligent, and had been there for Riley every time he had been down, even when he had learned about Articuno's capture, and had felt so alone. She made him laugh, blush, smile, and Riley suddenly realized the majority of his thoughts and memories concerned her in one way or another. He played the different memories through his head, savouring each one of them and smiling occasionally.

"Well, Star Wars is... well... I don't exactly remember what it is, but it's really cool! There's epic battles and a really good story! I think the main characters used some kind of sword to fight! I believe they were called... Electroblades or something."

Her geekiness was actually kind of cute.

"I thought you liked cold places."

"This is different. The cold outside is fresh, invigorating and clean. This cold is old, musty and gray."

"Sort of like Gabriel's personality."

Riley laughed at the jab. He then remembered his dream in which he had ran through the Enchanted Grove with Flurry, grabbing her hand and expecting a frigid shock, and yet, she had been warm to the touch. That was the best dream he had had since arriving in this world.

"Dost thou bite thy thumb at me, sir?"

Riley muttered the rest of the passage with a gleam in his eye. "Oh no, sir. I do not bite my thumb at you, sir, though I do bite my thumb."

"Where you going, Miss Magenta?"

"Miss Magenta?"

"Only the colour of your blush."

She blushed like he did - purple in the face. He remembered the valentine he had given her. The short sentence and the heart lotus had made her smile. Looking back, it was rather obvious that she knew who the sender was, but she never really mentioned it.

"Don't you dare hurt Riley!"

She had protected him against Algol. Him, specifically.

"Hi! My name is Diancie! But you can call me whatever you like. I always fancied the name Dee. Anyways, enough about me. It warms my heart to see young love still blossoms in these hard times."

Diancie had been wrong about what they were to each other. But perhaps Riley wasn't opposed to the idea.

And then...

"They're going to get her back. We got Xerneas back after all, we can get Latios' sister and Articuno too. I know it."


That wasn't long ago at all. Less than a day ago, in fact. When she had comforted him when nobody else could, when the world had turned against him.

He thought back to their last conversation, before Riley left with Twinkiel.

"You're going then? she had asked him, slightly upset,

"Looks like it." he had replied, looking at the ground,

There had been a silence between the two.

"We'll see each other again, though." Riley had offered, smiling sadly, to which she had nodded,

"Flurry?" Riley had begun, looking at his feet,

"Yeah?"

"I... thank you. For everything."

"You're welcome."

And that had been it. He had said goodbye to Articuno and waved as Fleedjio had taken off.

That's not what you were going to say though.

And it was true. He'd known then that he hadn't meant to thank her at all. That he was trying to express something else. And as he looked at the others around him; Twinkiel, who had fallen into a light sleep, Ariala, who was watching the land pass by, and Zulu, who appeared deep in his own thoughts, Riley finally figured out what he'd meant to say.

I like you, Flurry.

Twinkiel - Names and Plots

Day A5: 5:30 PM

"Heheheheh... Ok, I'm done. Man... That was refreshing!"

"You mean, you're done chuckling like a creep?"

Twinkiel rolled his eyes at the smirking Riolu.

"Evily laughing, Rift. It's a lost art. Catchprhases, too!" Twinkiel pointed his paw at Riley, as if it was a gun and took the tone of a television announcer. "Trigger Happy! No gold... No Glory!"

He sighed.

"I think I kinda miss being a human. Video games, books and cartoons were pretty fun."

"I really don't!" Zulu intervened. "I don't think I want to remember everything I lived as human. I don't know about you, but happy memories is not all I have."

Twinkiel raised an eyebrow. "Dude, me neither. Where d'you think my madness come from?"

"Isn't it natural?" Fleedjio intervened.

"Ignoring your sarcasm, It probably is actually. But I guess bad experiences made it worse. Most of the people I torture in my dreams are people I used to hate."

"By the way," Zulu said, rising up. "There's something I always wanted to ask. Is Twinkiel your actual name? Or did you made it up?"

"Nah. Made it up. My actual human name is... Uhh... Oh! Lucis. Yeah, that's the one. But why do you ask?"

"...You won't get angry?"

"Few things get me angry, Zulu. Go ahead."

"Well... I kinda thought you had a... ridiculous name. So I was afraid it was the actual name you had as a human." Fleedjio began laughing to himself.

"Hey, that's not funny! And to answer you, Zulu, I gotta say, I didn't really have the time to think about that name. A giant snake with a knife for a tail was demanding for an identity I didn't had at the time. Imagination took over. And to be fair, it kinda fits me if people think it's ridiculous. I am a jester, after all."

The Flaaffy struck a bold pose.

"Is that when you met Spadassya?" Riley asked, grinning.

"Oh I SEE the next question coming," Twinkiel swiftly replied, "and I don't need no Foresight to know where this is going!"

"Well it's only fair, you asked me stuff about Flurry!"

"Good point. And no, it's not. First I K.Oed myself against Kyurem, then I had a flying session with Thundurus, and it's by falling into Greatwood Jungle with the guy that I met her. And... she was scary. Especially during the war."

"And is she still scary now?" Ariala asked, now interested.

"...Uhhh..."

Twinkiel looked around, only to notice the same exact smile he bore seconds ago when he was interrogating Riley.
Darn it. Surrounded.

"Alright, fine! No, she's not as scary as before. She's my anchor. The one that can control my stupid insanity. That's all so far."

"So, you like her?" Ariala inquired, speaking for everyone. Twinkiel frowned, unsure.

"I... Well I don't think so. Maybe. II wouldn't mind if we did end up forming a couple, but I don't think I'm as emotionally involved as I should be."

"You're lying."

"Wrong. I'm just not telling them everything. But what I said is true."

"Yeah, you say that now, but were totally flirting back at the Shrine, though," Riley objected.

"Meh. Not really. That's just the way we are. And it's kinda my fault, too: we formed a really weird pair back in Greatwood, let me tell ya. I think that influenced her. Plus, she-"

"Guys," Fleedjio interrupted, startling everyone. "We're approaching Cutthroat Path. We'll be there in a few minutes. You might want to prepare yourselves, because this place is a wicked hideout of criminals of all kind. We need to be prepared."

Twinkiel smiled. Finally. He'd finally be able to secure the Plate. He'll show them all how loyal to the Resistance he truly was.

"Let's present the draft."

"Yeah. Let's."

"Alright guys, this is it. I've got a few ideas that we should worry about if we want to survive in Cutthroat Path. We need a Master Scheme. Fleedjio? May I?"

"Go ahead. We'll add stuff as you go."

Eveyone turned their heads towards Twinkiel, listening.

"I don't know much about the place," the Flaaffy began, "but let's just say that being in Hoopa's mind for a few hours was more useful than I thought. Apparently it's one of his favorite playgrounds, because there's no law. There's also a slave system of some sort, and Hoopa likes to hang out there to select people to... experiment stuff on, but I didn't see the details. Point is, Anything can happen there. We'd need to lay low as much as we can, but it's impossible, because my face's on a wanted poster, and even though it's a unique place with its own society and all that, I'm sure there's this one guy who understood that information is power and used that motto to rule the place. All of you guys however, are random people, so let's use that to our advantage."

"We're not, Twinkiel," Fleedjio interrupted. "You, Ariala, Zulu and myself have confronted Darius and his men, so all of us are most certainly wanted by now. And the New Order is also looking for Gabriel, so they might mistake Riley for him."

Twinkiel nodded, pensive. He hadn't thought about that.

"Ok. Well, you guys still have a chance, since that was quite recent. How about this: let's put up an act. You guys are my underlings, you don't really know what you're doin', and you're not really smart. That'll allow you guys to look for information about the Hive while I distract everyone."

Fleedjio nodded. "That can definitely be arranged. It'll also provide us with a good excuse to stay together. Carry on."

"Right. So I'll explain how you'll act later, that's not important right now. I... ok, I don't think any of you is going to like this next part."

"I don't like when you begin a plan like that," Zulu pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's best if I warn you. As you imagine, we can't just go there and discreetly ask for infos around. Again, I fear that someone's in control of the place, and that that someone might understand what we're after, especially if he has ties with the New Order. Y'know, like Darius. So we need to look like we're after something completely different. And... this is the part you might not like."

"Keep going", Ariala encouraged. "I'm sure it's doable."

"...Well... I want us to act like business 'Mons looking for a place to stay in for a while. So I need us to create a bar of some kind. For you non-humans, a bar is a place in which people go to to drink something, have fun and hang out with people. Well, in that bar of ours, criminals would be able to fight for valuable belongings, while others would sit around and take some bets."

Fleedjio looked behind to stare at his wacky passenger.

"I assume you're aware that this'll bring even more unecessary attention to ourselves, and that you already have a reply against that."

Twinkiel smirked. "You're starting to know me, big guy. Yes, indeed. My reply being: there are different types of attention. The problem with this bar is that it might go against some people's affairs, and we might have to fight to keep it going. But that is precisely what we need. Creating attention to ourselves is what we need to attract a maximum of people to our bar. See, as the manager of the whole business, my point is to act friendly to clients so that they're willing to come back. So I'm supposed to ask questions to them. And by asking the good questions to these random people..."

"...You might just be able to get the right 'Mon to tell you where the Hive is, and by extension the Plate," Fleedjio completed, now grinning as well. "I see. Getting attention to hide our true objective to them. I like it."

Twinkiel looked around, asking with his eyes the approval of his friends. Ariala smiled and nodded, and so did Zulu. He turned to face Riley, who seemed hesistant.

"This is... kinda crazy."

"It gets worse for you, Rift. I need one example to show everyone how the bar works. So... you'll have to fight some people for a while. You might want to use that Foresight of yours."

"Wait, you want me to fight against long time criminals and dangerous murderers?"

Twinkiel sighed, then locked his gaze into Riley's.

"Look. When I arrived here, I was a tiny little lamb. Literally. The only Pokemon battles I had ever done were through my video games, and it's my knowledge of those that helped me survive. The first guy I had to fight to stay alive was a BIG Machoke from the New Order. And let me tell you: he would've beat me if he hadn't been already wounded and tired. My second opponent was Kyurem, who knocked me out, my third was Thundurus, and my fourth was an entire army that I had to fight while coming up with a good military strategy to lead an army of my own. And now that I think about it, Darius would've killed me if Fleedjio here hadn't shown up. I lied to him about being able to "drag him to hell with me", I was way too exhausted. So you see, lots of ups and downs. I gained a lot of experience because I was forced to learn on the field. And that's something you need to learn too. But don't worry, before you actually fight some criminals, I'm gonna help you train a bit. I may be crazy, but what we're doing here is a big scary Nuzlocke, and I don't want ANY of my Pokemons to die on me. We need to pull it off, and your help is definitely needed. Handshake?"

Riley stared at the Flaaffy's extended paw for a couple of seconds and shook it, smiling nervously.

"Alrighty then! All that's left now is the personality change. Listen well, people!

******

"Halt. Toll here is 80 Poke."

Twinkiel smiled at the huge Machamp and walked towards him, hands behind his back, trying to get used to the small weight of Zulu on his shoulder. Behind he massive Pokemon was a huge wall made of wood and rusty metal, below which was placed a door, that the Machamp was guarding.

"N°68: Machamp. Fighting Type. Last Evolution. With his four arms, he can fight against anyone. His specialty is a four-way punch that sends opponents flying in the air."

"Dude, you gotta work on your timing. This is EVERYTHING BUT reassuring."

"'Scuse me, Champ," Twinkiel started, "but we just had a quite tiresome trip, during which we didn't have the chance to bring any money. I kinda thought a guy like me wouldn't need that kind of stuff when entering a hideout of criminals."

The Machamp clenched three of his fists while repeating the toll. Twinkiel sighed and shook his head.

"Goth? If you please..."

Zulu used Supersonic! Enemy Machamp was confused!

The Machamp found himself unable to stand and fell to his knees, his head spinning.

"Perfectly aimed, as always," Twinnkiel commented before putting a paw on the Machamp's head. "Enel Impact!"

Twinkiel used Thunderbolt! it turned into Enel Impact! The Voltek Fleece was activated!

The Machamp was instantly shocked and pushed against the door, wounded.

Twinkiel used the energy of his fleece to slowly glide across the ground, approaching the now scared Machamp once again.

"G-g-ghost?!" was the only thing he could utter.

"You don't know who you're dealin' with, boy," Twinkiel spat to him, showing off the creepiest smile he had in his collection. "Stand aside, or suffer. I won't repeat myself. The dragon behind me didn't have his good share of fresh meat yet, and I must say, those four arms of yours look like they'd nourish quite a few people."

"Can I... Can I have his head? Please?" Zulu asked in the shiest fashion he could pull off.

"But of course, Goth," Twinkiel assured, a fatherly smile on the face. " You'll get it for desert, okay? But remember: that's only if the bad 'Mon keeps on behaving badly."

Upon hearing this, The Machamp used the energy he had left to promptly open the door and disappear out of the group's sight. Twinkiel marched on, and they all passed through the deserted gate.
What appeared before their eyes was the biggest shanty town they had ever seen. Buildings of all shapes and size were put against each other, some were next to huge caves, and several parodies of market place were place here and there.

"Gimme that thing or I'm cuttin' off yer arm!" a Scyther shouted to a shop keeper.

"Oh yeah?" the latter, a Krokorok, shouted back. "do that and I'm cuttin' off your ALL with these smug-ass fangs! C'mere, bitch, I'mma rearrange yo face before sendin' yo ass back to Mama!"

"Well yo mama so fat she gave you glasses for eyes at birth to prevent you from seeing her fat body!"

"And yo mama's so ugly she gave you blades for paws to try and fix her nasty-ass face! And ya know what? IT DIDN'T FIX SHIT!"

Random brawls seem to break out everywhere, people were cheering in the distance, Pokemons were running everywhere, and distorded sounds were mixed together in the air as various musical wonders merged together to create a barely bearable cacophony.
Chaos. It was the perfect word to describe what Twinkiel and his friends were witnessing.

"Pretty impressive place, huh."

They all turned back to face the one who had spoken.

"N°272: Ludicolo. Grass/Water Type. Last Evolution. Rhythm and music create a stimulates its cells. This is why this Pokemon is always found dancing while fighting."

"Please, don't do anything to me," he rapidly said as the others moved, "I'm not hostile. Name's Everdred, unoficial head of stuff happening around here."

"CALLED IT!"

"Ah." Twinkiel commented. "So you're that one guy who understands that information is power. Don't make us believe you're not hostile, we can't buy that."

"Eh, you got me," the Ludicolo chuckled. "But really, I'm not here to fight. Butch told me some crazy sheep-"

"Lamb."

"Lamb, excuse me, had threatened to eat him, so I just came to check what was going on. Nothing happens without my... unofficial permission, you see."

Twinkiel nodded.

"It's been around 5 minutes."

"Yeah. In less than five minutes after facing that Butch guy, he was informed about what happened and our possible location, and came straight away. This guy is dangerous."

"And I personally didn't want to eat him," said Twinkiel on a joking tone, "that's this guy's job. Am I right, Drattak?"

Fleedjio took a second to ajust himself to the new name, before smiling like a child and letting drops of dragon-sized saliva fall on the ground.

"A bit numb, but definitely adorable," Twinkel whispered to the Ludicolo, who chuckled in return. "So nothing here happens without you approving it, right?"

"That's right. it's the least amount of order we can get in this place, since there are no laws. We do have a honor system however, so if you came here to steal stuff, prepare to be stolen back. Thief Duels are quite common, but you'll know soon enough what that means. So... these 'Mons are your slaves?"

Ariala's glared at the Ludicolo, who found himself unable to stare back.

"More like trusted underlings," Twinkiel swiftly corrected, "but you get the big idea."

"Right. It's a good thing that they're loyal to you. We had a few problems with these. Some of them escaped their master's control and became the worse bandits in the area. Careful with them. Their leader, especially is quite deadly. A Scizor named Vermel who calls himself Red the Relinquished. He sometimes come down here to buy stuff, but no one's crazy enough to tackle him."

"Potential Ally."

"Yeah. We should pay this guy a visit at some point."

"Naaaah, we'll be fine!" Twinkiel assured. "We're looking to start a little business for a little while, that's it. I heard this place was perfect to try that."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"Bet Battles, mostly. We want to see what kind of crowd we can gather. But before that, I guess we kinda need a place to rest by. We'll probably use one of these caves to set up the business. Where could we find some furniture?"

Everdred seemed reassured. "Bet Battles, mm? You can give it a shot, as long as can handle it. I'm fine with it, at least. And there are only two ways you can get anything here: negociating, or stealing. Usually, people are skilled in the latter, so they send Challenge Marks to their targets. It's part of the honor system: to inform them that they plan to steal their proprity. Then again," he added, chuckling nervously, "I suppose you could go to The Dump and try to find some junk you could use to build stuff, but... It's mostly where the ex-slaves live. And by extension, Vermel's domain."

"Ah. Lemme guess. Every person who tried to go there never came back to tell what was happening there, and we shouldn't go there 'cause it's too dangerous?"

"And you're worried because that's the only place you don't actually have information on?"

The Ludicolo chuckled once more. "Smart 'Mon, aren't you. I like that. What's your name again?"

Twinkiel shrugged. "Kamienel, Enel for short. Though people like to call me Devil's Lamb. And I got a feeling you know who that is," Twinkiel added, grinning as the Ludicolo's eyes slightly widened.

"Oh. I thought so. You're the crazy one who messed with Darius. I'm actually going to thank for that, because he's not really liked around here. He should've never left this place at all, that bastard."

"Oh that's not the only thing I did, but you're welcome. And... he left this place? So what, he grew up here?"

Everdred chuckled. "He was born here. And boy did he learn fast how to be good at his job. eighteen years of service, then he ran away and became a dog of the New Order. But enough about him. Welcome to Cutthroat Pass, Kamienel. And good luck for your business. You're going to need it."

"Thanks. Have a good day, I guess."

Everdred laughed one last time before walking away, waving.

"I wonder what HE did to manage to become that powerful."

"So, um, Tw-"

"Goth, my dear," Twinkiel interrupted, faking a smile. "You're supposed to call me Kamienel. The walls here have ears that may be much sharper than yours. Please don't forget that."

Zulu swiftly corrected himself. "Right, um, Kamienel. What do we do now?"

Twinkiel flashed another grin.

"You heard the guy. We're supposed to kick butts if we want to survive here. So what we're gonna do now... Is that I'm gonna learn you how to play Butt Ball. C'mon, gang. Let's go find some space for our Last Exile."

The Flaafy took a few steps before stopping and turning back.

"And yes. The Last Exile is indeed the name of the bar. Deal with it."

Bonus Chapter: Enemy Controller!

Day A5: ??:??

"Reeeeeeeeegiiiiiiiiiiiii! Is it ready? Is it? Is it? Please tell me it is!"

Hoopa flew across the somber laboratory, childishly excited.

"Positive reply", the other one replied without looking away from his item. "Surprised comment upon hearing the switch of nickname."

Hoopa approached, shaking his head. Was this 'Mon programmed or something?

"Yeah, I know, but Steely felt too close to Steelix, and I comparing you to that species really feels weird. So I'll go with Regi. And it just sounds so cute, which doesn't fit you at all, which is hilarious. To me. But let's put me aside for once, and focus on what I came here for: is. It. Ready?"

"Repetition of the positive reply."

"...Oh. I missed it. Who cares. Showmeshowmeshowme!"

Registeel moved away so that Hoopa could approach the prototype of the object he was working on.
Hoopa used Thunderwave!
The object was immediately enlightened, to the little demon's viewing pleasure.



It was shaped like a human-made video game controller, with three buttons on the right side, directional arrows on the left one, a central button, and four spikes placed on each corners of the item. Hoopa took it in his hand, giggling gleefully. The controller's plug was slowly hanging from left to right.

"It looks exactly like I had imagined it, oh Arceus, Regi! You're the perfect santa! I can't wait to test it."

"...Eyebrow frowning. Confused thanking retort."

"...Eyebrow frowning? Huh. That's a new one. So, just to be sure: list everything again, please."

"Agreeing gesture. Recapitulation: 1 Magnezone used and converted for the shape, size and durability, one modified and Aura-infused Alakazam scattered brain for the inner materials to function properly, One power-enhancing Psychic Gem as the Core, and finally the Psychic Trigger System allowing any Psychic user to control the affected Pokemon via the Ring MkI. Affirmation that it is a perfect organico-artificial material."

"Neat. Thanks, Regi, looks like you followed the recipe just like you were supposed to. Regice?"

"Entrance. Answering call."

"Bring the RingOsphere please! And be sure to cool it off nicely if it overheats."

"Confirmation. Act."

The icy golem walked out of the room and appeared once again shortly after, holding in his arms a big circle-shaped console. Hoopa plugged his controller in the machine and waited eagerly. Seconds later, a psychic bubble formed itself on top of the RingOsphere, bubble inside of which appeared a sightly blurred image of the Shrine of Safety. It was getting closer as the image seemed to crawl on the ground, struggling to get closer.

"Wooooooooow, it's working perfectly!" Hoopa exclaimed. "I mean it's kinda blurry, but it's fine. So this is what Latias sees, huh? Looks like she's actually pretty close to the Shrine, too. Oh gosh, this is so exciting! Regi, check if the virus is stabilized! I don't want any bad surprises when I actually take control of her."

Hoopa kept on laughing to himself, happy as could be. He just had to wait until Latias entered the Shrine to begin his scheme.

"Confirming retort. Confident gesture."

"Shhhhh! Wait a sec!"

"Latias?! Oh Arceus, Latias, what happened to you?!"

Hoopa's grin grew larger as the image of Diance appeared on the screen. She approached her friend, a horrifie expression on the face.

"H-hey... Diance... " Latias whispered. "I just... I just had some trouble flying all the way back here."

"You bet you did, sweetheart," Hoopa commented. "I took good care of you, after all."

"Oh, what a relief, darling! Your brother is going to be so happy about this. Come on, don't move! I'll help you get back to the Shrine."

The bubble screen seemed to stretch as Latias' eyes widened.

"N-no, don't... don't get me in, that's exactly wh-"

Hoopa pressed the central button of his controller. a sudden shock struck Latias' brain and she collapsed on the ground, unconscious. The psychic bubble disappeared.

"Whew! That was close. Well then, now that we know it's working, all we gotta do is wait 'til she's repaired, and then I can start playin' a bit with her and the Shrine! I can't wait. I. Can't. Wait. Y'know, I think I hadn't been this excited since I stole The Castle of Legends! Oh, and speakin' of excitment, um, Regi? How's our little friend developping?"

"Approving retort."

"Ooooookay then. And you've made sure that he absorbed enough of the virus, right?"

"Nodding gesture."

"Cool, cool."

Hoopa's thoughts began to drift away.

"...All is good... on the Peach front..."

The golems stared at him with their lifeless eyes. The little Legendary sighed.
Definitely less funny without someone understanding references.

"...I'll go ahead and check if my spinning flame things are still working."

With that, and the sudden desire to brofist a Flaafy, Hoopa took one of his hoops and warped himself in one of his various, personal lair. It was shapped like a giant chessboard, the ground being filled with various objects.
Toys,skeletons, weapons, items, and much more.

"C'mon, Darky. Let's wait for a bit."

Hoopa took the tiniest of the many Pokemon skeletons left on the ground by the hand and placed himself next to it.
Hoopa used Psychic!
The skeletons around suddenly moved around, taking the items below to assault each other with them. Some of them even started dancing in a wild fashion, tightly controlled by Hoopa's will. Some, hit by Poison Orbs, began to disintegrate, but kept on dancing or throwing items anyway, to the very last bone. Slowly, but surely, Hoopa's excitment died down as he realized that once again, he'd have to accept that everyone was busy or simply unwilling to play. But it was fine, for it was expected. Once again, Hoopa found himself in one of his secret places, waiting, trying his best to be entertained.


Alone.

Day A6, 12:00 P.M.



“Whirlipede on your left!”

“Got it! Ariados above!”

“Got it!”

Alek and Sully stood back to back in a circular nest chamber in Cutthroat Pass’s cliffs. When they’d been told that the tunnels were infested with bugs, that had been an absolute understatement. The tunnels were practically made out of them.
Sully had the advantage here, her tail blade slicing away at anyone that got in range. Alek, however, was much weaker against bug type moves.

“We’re getting overrun.” Sully hissed, the chittering of bug types all around them, though for now, they were holding back.

“How are they so organized? They’re completely feral! And this many different bug types shouldn’t be working together.” Alek said. Unlike Sully, he didn’t look battle worn in the slightest.

“Guess there might be an artifact around here somewhere after all.” Sully panted, looking around. She could practically taste their scent in the air, but they were all hiding in the cave system they knew better than anyone.
“Come on, let’s go a few feet deeper, then we hightail it back to the surface.”

“Do you even know which way the surface is?” Alek asked.

“Yeah dumbass, it’s up.” She said, pointing upward with her tail blade.
“It’s not that hard.”

“Well obviously, but these tunnels go all over the place. We could get completely lost down here if we take a wrong… Look out!” Alek shouted, tossing a Water Shuriken over Sully’s head to hit a Joltik that had leapt for her.

Sully snapped around just in time to see it waddle away, completely trashed by the attack.

“Sully, we should go. We can come back here another time.”

“No. If these Resistance assholes get whatever this thing is, can you imagine how that would end for us? They could send every feral bug type on the continent after us. We have to find it first.”

“Mm… fine. We’ll spend another thirty minutes here, but then we head back to the surface.”

“Yeah, like that’ll make a big difference.” She scoffed, but pressed on regardless.

Alek and Felicity were familiar with the stories of Mystery Dungeons. Back when the world had an excess of energy, they would appear everywhere. There was even a point that they had almost overrun the world in a time of crisis. But as time progressed, those places supposedly collapsed in on themselves due to a loss of energy, leaving no trace they were ever there.
And being in theses tunnels, the duo felt just like the old exploration and rescue teams that used to venture into them.

“You think it was ever like this for exploration teams?” Alek asked.

“Like what?” Sully replied, more focused on listening for other enemies than to Alek. She had noticed, their chittering got more excited whenever they were about to launch an attack.

“This. Walking through mazes with no supplies, fighting seemingly endless waves of feral Pokemon. I mean… I heard kids use to do this.” Alek said.
“Ones younger than us.”

“They had special training. Our job is to kill, not explore some magical maze. Whatever training they got is pretty much useless today.” Sully said.

“Well, I wouldn’t say useless. I bet the training they got would be pretty handy right now.” Alek said.
“Seriously, I already hated bug types before this, but this noise they’re making is going to haunt me in my sleep. As if I had enough trouble sleeping already…”

“You want to say something about the place I got us, just say it.” Sully snapped back at him.

“Alright. For starters, why do I have to share my bed with a Nidoking!?”

“Well I sure as hell wasn’t going to let him sleep in my bed. Boundaries have to be established. And bribing that squatter to leave seemed too costly. I thought it was a pretty good compromise.” Sully said.

“Well maybe for you. That guy just keeps mumbling in his sleep about gates and acolytes, whatever those are.” Alek sighed.

“Word is he’s some old war veteran that just hangs around the pass since he doesn’t have anywhere else to go. Guy’s like 110 years old.” Sully said.
“I figured rooming with him was better than that Marowak that has a lot more than one bone club.”

“Or Mumbles…” Alek shuddered.
“I’m not sure if that screaming I heard was his or… someone else’s.”

Sully chuckled at that.
“Yeah, this place is pretty cool. Can’t believe I passed right by here when I was on the run.”

The disturbing fact Sully enjoyed this place aside, Alek saw this as a perfect opportunity to ask a question he’d been saving.

“So… this Darius guy…”

“You better stop talking right now.” Sully hissed back at him, continuing down the tunnel.

“I just want to know more about you. If he’s still alive, then I want to make sure he p…”

“Pays? Yeah, good luck with that.” Sully scoffed.
“The New Order already knows my story, and they could never find him. He’s out of my life. The most I can hope for is he’ll die of some painful terminal illness. Or that it’s already happened.”

Alek had never thought Sully to be the kind of person to let someone like this Darius go. He’d taken her life from her. Her family…
Or at least her parents.

“You said he chased after you, right?”

“Yeah. Longest week of my life.” Sully chuckled; though it was clear she wasn’t just looking back on it and laughing.

“Well… why?”

“How the hell would I know? Getting in people’s heads is for psychics.” Sully said, waving her tail dismissively.

“It just doesn’t make sense. He was willing to chase you into New Order patrolled territory? It was like he was obsessed with you or something.”

“He was. I told you that already. The guy was clearly one Nasty Plot over max, if you know what I mean.”

“Um… I don’t.”

“He’s a… he was a perverted bastard. Do with that little bit of info whatever you want.”

“Why do you keep talking about him like he’s gone?” Alek asked.

“Because he terrifies me!” Sully shouted at Alek.
Even the bugs around them seemed to grow quiet with the awkwardness.
“If I ever saw him again… I wouldn’t be able to kill him. I’d freeze up.”
She let out a noticeable shiver.
“Look, I’m done talking about this. And if you ever try to bring up my past again, I’ll have no problem cutting off that ridiculously long tongue of yours.”

“It’s not that long…” Alek grumbled.

“Alek, you could wrap that thing around your neck like a scarf.” Sully chuckled.

“No I couldn’t.” He said, though curious, he let it trail out and found he could indeed wrap it around his neck like a scarf.

“Hey, Shully. Loog. You wah righ.” Alek chuckled.

“Like that look will ever catch on.” Sully said, shaking her head after seeing it.

The duo continued on. And while they were set upon by the occasional bug, the attacks were grew more infrequent with time.

“Sully, it’s been thirty minutes.” Alek said.
“Time to head back.”

“Hold on. Just a few more feet.” Sully replied.

“But you said…”

“Yeah, and now I changed my mind. Just a few more feet, then we can head back.”

Alek wondered if Sully had some kind of sixth sense, because a few more feet resulted in them emerging out of the tunnel system and into a spacious cavern covered with what looked like Ariados webbing.

“Whoa…” Alek exclaimed.
“How is something this big underground?”

“It’s not that big.” Sully said, though she was equally impressed. But… how was the cavern so bright?
“Where’s this light coming from?”

“I’m not… wait. There. That webbing.”
Sully looked towards where Alek was pointing. Sure enough, she made out that the webbing actually gave off a low light.
“What kind of webbing Glows?”

“How the hell should I know?” Sully asked.
“At least this place isn’t dotted with holes. Who knows, we could probably make camp here and just keep looking tomorrow.”

“Please no…” Alek whimpered in fear.
“I’m not sleeping somewhere full of webs.”

“Afraid of bugs?” Sully chuckled.

“Since I have a new type disadvantage to them, yes, I am.” Alek said.
“And look, there’s a hole over there.”

Sully looked to where Alek was pointing, seeing another hole all the way on the opposite end of the tunnel.

“Only two ways into such a big place? I’d have expected at least… twenty holes.” Sully mused.

Alek and Sully both spun around at the sound of a small squeaking noise. Alek readied his water Shuriken, while Sully brought her tail to bear. But the source of the noise wasn’t some monstrosity. It was the Joltik Sully had earlier wounded.

“Great, this guy again.” Sully rolled her eyes.
“I’ll take care of him.”

“Wait, he doesn’t seem too hostile.” Alek said, holding his hand out in front of the Seviper. He began to slowly approache the Joltik.

“Just so you know, if he latches onto you, I’m going to have to slice him off, and that’ll probably end badly for the both of you.” Sully warned.

Alek ignored her, lowering himself down to the Joltik’s level.
“Hey there little guy.” He greeted.
The Joltik appraised him with interested eyes, tilting its head at him.
“Sorry about my friend. She can be a little… angry sometimes.”

“Understatement of the century…” Sully muttered.
“You know you’re talking to a feral Pokémon, right? It won’t understand a word you’re saying.”

“I know.” Alek replied before turning his attention back to the Joltik, reaching his hand out to pet it.
But as soon as he brushed one of its hairs, it let out an ear-wrenching screech.
Alek gave out a cry of surprise, stumbling backwards and landing on the ground.



“See? You upset it.” Sully ridiculed, shoving her head into her coils to block out the sound. Clearly it had just used Screech.

“Well sorry for trying to see the good in something.” Alek retorted.
“It just looked so alone and frightened. I wanted to see if I…”

Alek froze, as did Sully. The ground was vibrating in the aftermath of the attack.

“Was that an Uproar it used, or a Screech?” Sully asked.

“I’m not sure.” Alek said nervously.
“Sully, we need to go. Right now.”

“Yeah, I agree with you on that.” Sully nodded.

And then chaos literally erupted.
Joltiks burst out of the ground and walls, fragments of dirt flying everywhere. Hundreds of the little yellow ticks soon dotted the cavern, Alek and Sully now completely surrounded.

“Well shit.” Sully swore, readying her blade.
“Think we can clear us a path to the exit?”

“The problem isn’t clearing a path. It’s getting to the exit without getting paralyzed or drained.” Alek said, Water Shurikens forming in both hands.

But the worst was yet to come.
A great bellow filled the cavern, shaking it more than all the Joltiks combined had.

“Of course there’s more.” Sully sighed.

The ceiling burst open, fragments of rock raining down. Alek covered his head while Sully took shelter in her coils, the fragments coming nowhere near them.
And lowering itself down through the hole in the cavern’s ceiling was an absolute monstrosity.


“Good Arceus…” Alek gasped in terror.

“How… is that even possible? I mean seriously, what is this Tauros crap?”

A freakishly large Galvantula stomped its hairy legs into the ground, the Joltik around it scattering.

“How does one even get that big?” Alek excliamed.

“Shut up…” Sully hissed, not wanting to provoke an attack.
“If we play our hands right, we can get out of here.”

“But you don’t have hands.”

“Just shut up and get ready to attack. We need to blast a path to the exit.”

“But what about…”

“Just carve through them.”

The Galvantula chittered deeply, looking the two trespassers over as if deciding whether or not they would taste good. It’s final decision was made when it let out a massive bellow.

“Now!” Sully shouted.

Alek tossed his two Water Shurikens before unleashing a Hydro Pump. Sully couldn’t cause as much widespread chaos as her friend, taking out about two Joltik per swipe of her tail. But they had severely underestimated the tenacity of the Joltik when it came to obtaining food, and Sully already found three of the fuzzy bugs on her back.
With a cry of alarm, she quickly brought her own blade swiping across her backside, leaving a scrape on her scales but nothing more.
But Alek wasn’t so lucky.

“Sully!” He cried out as six Joltik latched onto him. And while he managed to dislodge two, the remaining four sank their fangs into him, electricity lancing through him. But that wasn’t the worst of it.

Alek is paralyzed. He may be unable to move

Alek went down, disappearing under a pile of Joltik.

“Alek!” Sully shouted, beginning to cut her way towards him. He wasn’t dead, only paralyzed. He had to be alive.
The Galvantula however had other ideas. Without the resistance of the Joltik that Sully had, it easily made its way over to the dog pile Alek was trapped under, raising up its leg, the blue needle on its underside gleaming.

“Don’t!” Sully cried, desperately slicing Joltik after Joltik in a futile attempt to get to Alek.
The Galvantula paused at the outburst for a second, then brought its leg down.
“NOOO!” She cried out, slicing her tail in a wide arc in front of her. But something different happened than the instinctive Poison Tail she’d tried. Instead, her tail blade glowed with a blue energy that shone like flames.

Sully used Dragon Tail

She swept her tail across the Joltik, but rather than slicing thorugh them like she’d expected, they were sent flying backwards. The distance was incredible!
Sully didn’t know what this move was, but she liked it. Acting purely on instinct, she swung her tail again, sending more Joltik flying backwards. She pushed her way to Alek, almost losing her focus when she saw him.
The Galvantula had stabbed him right in his left bicep, a bloody wound visible on his blue skin.
Letting out an almost feral hiss, Sully launched herself at the Galvantula, slicing at its leg with this new move.
While the Joltik had flown pretty far, she hadn’t expected the same thing to happen to the Galvantula. She couldn’t have been more wrong.
The attack sent it flying just as far, its usually low chitters replaced with a panicked screech as it was sent flying across the cavern. Seeing their leader taken down by this purple demon tentacle, the Joltik backed away from her, but still surrounded her waiting to make a move. But Sully didn’t care about them right now.

“Alek. Come on, get the hell up. I thought you didn’t want to nap in here? You hate bugs, remember?” She tried to encourage. Oh how she wished she had hands right now. There was no way she could get him out of here if he was unconscious.

“… it hurts…” He managed to moan, his hand clutching the wound.

“Don’t be such a wuss. You need to stand up.” She said, doing her best to nudge him with her coils. She saw the big shape of the Galvantula recovering from her attack across the chamber. Once it rejoined the fight, the Joltik wouldn’t hesitate to attack.

“Why is it so hot…?” He said, quieter this time.

“Well as long as you don’t say “I feel cold” I think you’ll be fine.” Sully said, pushing Alek’s head up with the flat of her blade.
“Now stop being such a lazy bastard and get a move on.”

“It’s burning. Can’t get out…”

Now Sully was starting to worry about Alek. At the very least, he was starting to stand.

“Yes you can. We’ll get you somewhere much cooler.”

“Why’d he do it? Why’d Entei…?”
Alek grabbed his head, groaning.

Sully began to advance back towards the hole they entered the cavern through, the Joltik at least being courteous enough to back away from her to clear a path as she advanced, but she made sure to stay near Alek as they weren’t afraid of him in the slightest in his current state.
And worse yet, the Galvantula had recovered. Its larger size definitely made it clumsier at least, but Sully doubted she could pull off the same trick on it twice.
But Alek, even in his current state, saved the day. With a shout of pain, Dozens of Double Teams and a couple of Substitutes appeared around the cavern. Sully was utterly shocked he didn’t pass out from the exertion needed for the Substitutes, but the moves had their desired effect. The Joltik went crazy as they jumped at every one of the new strangers in their midst.

“RUN!” Alek gasped, clutching his wound while he made for the exit, Sully hot on his heels. While a few Joltik leapt for the duo, Sully effortlessly bat them away. Soon, the duo were safely inside the tunnel, but they didn’t stop there. Adrenaline boosting their retreat, they ran all the way back to the surface with practically every bug in the tunnels chasing after them. Sully couldn’t believe Alek was holding up like he was. Her potion had turned him into a veritable Juggernaut.
A Ninjask swarm hot on their trail, Sully and Alek burst out into daylight, Sully quickly swinging her tailblade just in time to nail one of the bugs as they burst out of the tunnel, the others turning back after seeing their fallen comrade.

“Heh… heh… well… we made it…” Sully panted, smiling to herself.

“Sully… I think something’s wrong…” Alek said weakly, clutching his wound.

Sully turned towards him.
“Yeah something’s wrong. You got freaking stabbed. By a freakishly large Galvantula. You’re lucky to be alive.” She said, trying to sound casual when in reality she was doing her best to hold back her tears of relief. The weight of everything that had just happened to them finally came down on her. She’d almost lost Alek in the worst way imaginable…

“No. I… I can’t breathe…”
And he then slumped forward onto the ground.

“Alek!” She shouted, slithering over to him.
He was right. He wasn’t breathing at all. And this time, it wasn’t from a potion. It was from some that could have legitimately killed him.

~~~~~

Zulu and Fleedjio were heading back to the space they’d secured for The Last Exile. Of course, since practically every square inch of space was taken by one person or another, the group had been forced to evict the previous owners of the small spot of land against the edge of the pass, right in front of the hole they’d selected to sleep in.
Fleedjio was loaded up with all sorts of building material, while Zulu’s job was to make sure no one managed to slip any of the supplies off the Salamence’s back, which was where the lumber was currently tied.

“I’m so glad my scales are thick enough for me not to worry about splinters.” Fleedjio sighed as his steps again jabbed one of the pieces into his back.

“Let’s hope Twink…Kamienel is happy with these. There’s no way I want to go back to that old house for more pieces. I found a pretty disturbing note under one of them.” Zulu shuddered.

”What’d it say?” Fleedjio asked.

“All it said was “Mumbles is outside. I’m dead.” I really don’t want to know who Mumbles was, or if he’s still around.”

“Look, no one’s got the guts to pick on us. Word’s already gotten out that our boss is the Devil’s Lamb. We’re relatively protected.” Fleedjio replied.

“Yeah, but…”

“HEALER!” A voice shouted out.
Those that heard it stopped to look around.

“Someone! I need a healer!”

Zulu and Fleedjio turned to see a Seviper moving through the crowd, tears streaming down her face.

“I need a healer damnit! Anyone, please!”

Those the Seviper approached just shook their head, indicating they knew nothing of the practice of medicine.

“What a shame…” Fleedjio sighed, turning to continue on his way.

“Can’t we do something?” Zulu asked, looking back at the Seviper.

“I want to help her, but I don’t know anything about being a healer. And neither do you.”
Fleedjio froze.
“But Twinkiel might. Ariala too.”

“We can go get them!” Zulu exclaimed, taking flight.
“You tell the Seviper I’m going to get help!”
Powering himself up with Tailwind, Zulu zoomed off to the site of their upcoming business while Fleedjio approached the Seviper to inform her help was on the way.

~~~~~

“And I’m thinking we could set up some traps in the battle arena. You know, pressure plates, electric wire. That kind of stuff.” Twinkiel said as he surveyed the site of construction. Progress was going along smoothly so far despite the slowness of gathering materials.

“I don’t think the fighters would take too kindly to being taken out by a trap instead of their opponent.” Riley said.

“Hmm… yeah, you’re right. As cool as it would be to have a good old fashioned bar brawl erupt, I really don’t want this place being burned down, washed away, blown apart, or shifted into another reality on the first day of business.” Twinkiel frowned.
“Oh well. Maybe I’ll do that at the next location.”

“Next location?” Riley chuckled.
“I don’t think we’ll have enough time to open another one. We’re kind of trying to stop a war, remember?”

“I’m talking about after the quest is over. I’m going to have a LOT of free time on my hands. Or are they paws…” Twinkiel mused, looking at the said part of his body.

“You think they’re going to actually let us stay here when we’re done?” Riley asked.
“The Legendries I mean.”

“Why not? I’d trade staying here for immortality any day. Though hopefully I can nab both. But then again, maybe I’ll just come back as a Ghost type…”

“You actually want to stay here? What about your life back in the real world?”

“What do you mean “Real world”? This place is just as real as back home. It’s just got funny looking animals that can shoot destructive elements out of various parts of their body.” Twinkiel shrugged.
“And as for my life back home… I’m still working on weighing which one is better, but so far this place has got an insane edge.”

“Guys!”

Riley and Twinkiel turned towards the voice, recognizing it as Zulu’s

“Ah, Goth. Glad to see you back. Where’s Drattak with the rest of the…”

“Do either of you have medical training?” Zulu asked in a panic.

“Why? Is Fleedjio hurt?” Riley asked, not seeing the dragon around anywhere.

“No. There’s a Seviper. She’s looking for a healer. I think someone she knows is really hurt.” Zulu explained.
“Do either of you have medical training?” He repeated.

“Grab me some berries, and I’ll have this Pokemon fixed up in no time.” Twinkiel assured.
“Finally, my Trauma Center gaming experience will come in handy.”

“Give me some money, I’ll go buy some berries.” Zulu said, flapping impatiently.

“Goth? Do you remember where we are? Money doesn’t have a place here. Just flyby and grab some berries.”

“Steal!? But… what if I get caught? What if I get killed?”

“Use that Tailwind of yours right, and that won’t happen. Now tick tock, time is ticking. We’ll go find this Seviper and whoever she needs help for, then you come find us with the berries.”

“But…”

“Zulu, if you want to help this Pokemon, then you need to do this. I’m sure whoever you steal from will understand.” Riley assured.

“A-alright.” Zulu stuttered.
“I’ll do it. But if I go missing, please don’t give up looking for me.”

And with that Zulu flew off to heist some simple fruit.

Twinkiel – Hive ho, Moskito!

Day A6: 12:15 PM

"Ariala!"

The Clefable seemed to be meditating in a dark corner of the cave. She opened her eyes, smiling as Twinkiel approached.

"Is something wrong?" she inquired softly.

"Yeah. A Seviper's askin' for a healer. And you could easily fill the part. Coming?"

"Of course!"

She rose up and followed the Flaaffy out of the cave. A few steps away, they noticed Fleedjio coming to them with a crying Seviper next to him. A tall wounded Pokemon had been placed on his back.

"N°658: Greninja. Water/Dark Type. Last Evolution. This Pokemon moves like the ninjas that he likes to copy by using his tongue like a scarf around his neck. It can create throwing stars out of compressed water, which allows it to slice metal in two." "

"You ask a freakin' electric type to heal an oversized frog?" Twinkiel exclaimed. "You must be pretty desperate indeed, miss Seviper. Don't worry though, I won't be the only one helping him. C'mon, let's get inside."

Without a word, Fleedjio and the Seviper entered in the spacious cave Twinkiel and his group had managed to find.

"Sorry if the place's a mess, we got it recently. And we had to fight to get it, too. 'Twas fun. Now I'll skip the presentation of my crewmates here, since this is an emergency. I think."

Fleedjio let the Greninja slowly roll on the ground. Ariala and Riley approached to help, and the Clefable obrserved him from head to toe, focused.

"His leg is badly wounded, and he's got several other scratches sall over his body. It doesn't seem to be the main problem though, but I can ease his pain."

Ariala used Wish!

Ariala's hand was covered with a bright light, which flew to the Greninja's leg.

"The healing effect will start in a moment. What happened to him?"

"He said he couldn't breath before collapsing on the ground," the Seviper quickly explained. "I'm not exactly sure what's going on."

Twinkiel nodded, now serious as well. "Alright then. What's his name?"

"Al- Cal. His name is Cal. And I'm Celia."

Ariala and Fleedjio stared at the Seviper, a severe look on their faces. They gazed at Twinkiel and nodded. The Flaffy extended his paw towards the Greninja's head. An electric sphere appeared on his paw, crackling menacingly.

"Too bad you hesitated. That, and your state of shock obviously prevents you from lying effectively. Point being, if you can't being honest in front of the only group nice enough to help you and your friend, I'll simply blow his head off, then I'll use it to sharpen the new knife I'll get from cutting away your tail. Everyone here has enemies, and we wouldn't want you two to accidentally become two more in our list. Now, allow me to repeat myself. What's... his... name?"

Riley looked at Twinkiel in utter shock, while the Seviper seemed to hesitate, terrified by Twinkiel's pulsing paw. The latter calmly awaited his answer, which came after several long seconds. Her look seemed much sharper.

"...Alek. His name is Alek."

"And yours?"

"...Sully."

"Ah, good, we're making some progress! Now, the most important one: where the heck did he get these wounds?"

"At the Hive. We were exploring the Hive and he was wounded by a giant Galvantula. I managed to save him, we ran away, and he fell unconscious. That's where he said he couldn't breath."

"Ah. Then he was probably paralyzed in a nasty way. And just the two of you were exploring the cave?"

"Yeah."

"New Order Alert!"

"Yeah, probably. Undercover or something. But let's play dumb and dumber right now. We'll make her think I'm stupid enough not to ask why they were there."

"Good!" Twinkiel said, flashing a grin as the electricity from his paw slowly vanished, to the Seviper's relief.

"It would be hypocrite to tell you that I'm sorry for what I just did, 'cause I'm not. But considering the place we're in, you probably understand that being super duper cautious is the one, good way to survive. Oh and since you told me your name, well, mine's Twinkiel. Nice to meet you."

The Flaaffy then looked at his Clefable friend. "How's his leg doin'?"

"Fine, but we've got a problem. even if... Goth comes back with some Lum or Cheri berries, it won't fix it."

"Explain."

"I used Psychic to scan his body, and it seems that he's got some kind of glowing... net, or something, inside of his leg. It affects and partially paralyzes his entire body, including his lungs, so he can't breath properly. I healed him, so he can get a little bit of air now, but he might die in the following hours if we don't remove what's inside his leg, as it's constantly boosting his internal paralysis. And it's too sticky for me to manipuate."

Twinkiel frowned. Glowing net...? Where had he -

"Que veux-tu dire, Petite Friandise?"

He gasped, the revelation suddenly striking him.
Twinkiel used Electric Terrain! All sleeping Pokemon woke up!

"It's not to hurt him," Twinkiel warned before punching the ground next to the Greninja. He instantly woke up, attempting to breath. He could only cough violently.

"Alek!" Sully shouted, trying to get closer to her friend.

"Don't get closer!" Twinkiel warned. "And you, don't try to move! Just breath slowly!"

The Greninja followed his advice and attempted slow, controlled breathing. It seemed to ease his pain. Twinkiel put his tail on the Greninja's leg and focused. It took him a few minutes, but there they were: tiny bits of enpowered electricity. Inside the sticky matter that was stuck in Alek's wound.

"Bingo," Twinkiel exclaimed. "I had to make sure, but it's as I thought. That Galvantula that hurt him? She paralyzed him by implanting her Electroweb attack in his leg, to make sure he wouldn't be able to escape alive. First: this dude's a freakin' trooper for running away, and second, I may be an electric type, but my own electricity is the only one I can truly manipulate efficiently. Plus, I don't have enough precision to remove the entire web, so our only chance is to go back to the Hive, get a Joltik and make it remove the web."

"But all of these damn bugs are out there!" Sully protested. "Most of them always move in large groups, and they're feral! We can't communicate with them! We tried, and it got us into more trouble!"

"We won't enter deep enough in the Hive," Twinkkiel replied. "That'll avoid us to deal with large numbers. Plus, Fun fact, Miss Swearcuss: I'm an electric type. And an electric type can communicate with any other electric type as long as he or she can share their electricity with one another. A good Eelektross friend of mine taught me that, and that's exactly what I'm gonna use to talk with at least one of these Joltiks."

"That and I watched my Pokemon movies," Twinkiel couldn't help but add to himself.

"But how are you going to bring him back here?" Fleedjio inquired.

Twinkiel's smile turned from reassuring to creepy in an instant.

"I'm pretty good at persuading people. Isn't that right, Sully?"

The Seviper hissed angrily. "Don't push it, you damn psycho."

"You flatter my madness, my dear. Now! Allow me to go ahead and help your friend. And you're coming with me, by the way. You know the way to the Hive, after all. So... We good?"

Sully shared a look with the wounded Greninja. He nodded weakly and closed his eyes as another Wish from Ariala healed his body.

"...Yeah. We good. Let's go."



The unlikely duo had walked for several minutes across the chaotic streets of Cutthroat Path, following Sully's directions. They had manage to reach one of the various edges of the place, and they were advancing towards what looked like a gigantic entrance for a gigantic underground cave. Few people were passing by, which confirmed that they were approaching a danger zone considered deadly even for the criminals around them.

"So," Twinkiel joyfully inquired, "you're related to Greatwood? I didn't know Seviper of the Venom Knife had a second daughter."

Sully was crawling as fast as she could while Twinkiel easily kept up the pace with his hands behind his back, used to speed walking.

"No idea what you're talking about."

"The tatoo on the side of your scales says otherwise. I've been to Greatwood myself, so it's kinda hard not to recognize it. Does the name "Asdaluz" ring a better bell?"

She glanced at him, slightly interested.

"That's the name of my uncle, but I don't know anything about him. Now stop talking and walk."

"Oh! Well then you have a lovely cousin. It's too bad you don't know, her, you'd probably be good friends, considering both of you seem to enjoy menacing people with your-"

Sully suddenly stopped and sprung in Twinkiel's direction. She wrapped herself around him and put the tip of her blade around his neck, hissing like a wild beast. Twinkiel raised an eyebrow, unconcerned.

"...Tails."

"You can't threaten anyone's life now, you fuckin' psycho, so stop getting on my-"

Twinkiel used Thunderbolt!
The Flaaffy released his power and the Seviper had no choice but to get off of what she believed to be a cornered prey. Twinkiel walked towards the panting snake, a serious expression painted on the face.

"This the moment I should probably mention that I'm perfectly aware of the fact that you and your dear lover back in the cave are undercover members of the New Order, as it's kinda obvious to me now," he revealed calmly. "I should also mention that wrapping yourself against a high defensive specialist is not only stupid, but completely useless considering that one, he's got a protective wool around his neck, and two, he can shock you in a matter of milliseconds, and the closer you are, the more you'll get a chance to get yourself paralyzed. Savvy?"

Sully attempted to rise up, But Twinkiel simply pointed his paw, aiming for her face. She knew what that meant.

"As you can see, I'm still perfectly capable of threatening lives, especially if one of them is moronic enough to threaten mine. But if you don't want to talk that badly, then fine. I'll just ask one more question, and I'll leave you to your pathetic silence. You're a member of the New Order, no need to hide it. But have you been sent by Darius the Cacturne in order to find and capture me?"

The Seviper's gaze turned from utterly hateful to utterly terrified. She appeared just as unable to breat as her friend a few minutes ago.

"H-how... How do you know Darius?"

"I fought him a day ago. I thought everybody knew that in the New Order? I mean he's kind of one of your deadliest top executives, after all."

Sully began breathing heavily. With her posture and widened eyes, she suddenly appeared as weak and scared as a baby Pichu.

"Darius... Is in the New Order?"

"She doesn't know! Which means that she doesn't know we're from the Resistance!"

"BOOYAH!!"

"Well... Yeah. And last time I saw him he was pretty mad that I escaped, so I thought he had already sent a few of his teammates to look for me. How is it that you two are on the same side and don't know each other?"

"We're not on the same side! He's... He's..."

She couldn't finish. Once again, she seemed to be on the verge of tears.

"Wow, ok," Twinkiel quickly interrupted, remembering why they were near the Hive in the first place, "looks like I've upset you in a way I wasn't supposed to, and this time I'm sorry, 'cause I really didn't want that. You know what? Forget about Darius, I don't really like him either. We've got one Greninja to save, though, so let's go ahead and do that. We'll have plenty of time to chat about this guy when your friend's safe and sound, right?"

Sully rapidly retrieved the usual fierce light that danced in her eye, and she nodded, brushing off her moment of weakness. She was truly similar to SPadassya in more than one way.
In silence, Twinkiel and Sully reached the entrance of the Hive, where they could already hear several noises from the bugs leaving within the darkness of the huge cave.

"I'll take it from here," Twinkiel assured. "Please stay here in case the Joltik we want tries to escape. Then we'll be able to help Alek. Oh, a few questions beforehand. How did you guys deal with the giant Galvantula? Alek was already wounded, so you fought it alone?"

"I used a move to blast the damn thing out of the way," was Sully's vague answer. "Why's that important?"

"Wait wait. blast/i]? So you scared her and the bugs off?"

"Pretty much."

"Ok... And you also said that you tried to communicate with a Joltik. What did you mean?"

"It wasn't me, it was Alek. And because of that, the Joltik called more of his friends, and... Well, you know the rest. But why's that important?"

Twinkiel flashed a creepy grin.

"It's important because I just found a much better way to get a Joltik to do what we want. Stay here, please."

With that, Twinkiel walked alone inside of the giant complex of tunnels, some of which being enlightened by Electrowebs.
[i]Twinkiel used Electric Terrain!
The Flaaffy punched the ground with an electric fist, awaiting the eventual Joltiks to react to the sudden burst of energy that he had created. And soon enough, a group of Joltiks, probably scouts, approached him, judging if he was a threat or not.

"Remember what we learned from the fighting yesterday?"

"Yeah. It was just a mental tick, but now it's off. In the Pokemon World, and unlike the video games... I can use more than four moves as long as I remember how.

Twinkiel quietly walked towards the little Joltiks and slowly, very slowly approached his paw towards them. The bugs seemed to wait for an hostile action.

"NOW!"

Twinkiel used Thunderwave! Enemy Joltik was paralyzed!

Twinkiel grabbed one of the little Pokemons as it opened its mouth to unleash a scream.
Twinkiel used Cotton Guard!
The Flaaffy extende the size of his fleece and flung the paralized spider inside of it, preventing it from shouting. The lamb then ran away, three Jolitks on his tail.

"I got one!" he shouted as he came back to where Sully had been waiting.

"Well that was fast," was her only comment. She prepared herself for a battle against the Joltiks, but as soon as they saw her, they stopped their mad rush and went back inside of the Hive, apparently extremely scared.

"I thought so," Twinkiel declared as he released the paralyzed Joltik. He then put a paw above its head and sent a series of quick electric discharge to the weakened Pokemon.

"If you want to live, you should listen to what I have to say."

The Joltik stopped trying to get away and looked at Twinkiel with its clear blue eyes. It sent a few discharges back to Twikiel.

"What you talking about? Moskito go! Moskito go back Hive! Queen bad temper! Queen danger!"

"THIS Queen," Twinkiel replied, pointing at Sully, "is the one who hurt yours. She needs your help, and if you don't obey, I can't guarantee your safety."

The Joltik gazed at the extremely sharp tail that Sully had at the end of her tail. The bug was terrified.

"Okay okay, me obey! What you want? What you need? Moskito can give!"

"Come to her... hive. I'll explain to you what you have to do to stay alive and please her. The only rule is that you do not fail. Now Come!"

Twinkiel removed his paw, and the Joltik climbed on his shoulder, still trembling at the mere sight of Sully's tail.

"He's name's Moskito," Twinkiel translated to Sully. "Apparently he fears you more than his own queen, and he's now willing to help us save Alek as long as I... protect it from your tail."

"You bet your ass he'd better find protection from my tail," she grumbled angrily as she crawled past the eletric duo. Twinkiel caught up with her and they speedily walked back, eager to reach the cave. The operation had gone smoothly, and Twinkiel was satisfied with the result. If he was lucky, he could keep Moskito. He already had a few ideas on how to use this Electroweb, and he knew for a fact that he could even learn it.
Ooooh, the things he could build with such a move... Just thinking about it made the Flaaffy shiver with excitment.

"We-we-we-we-we-wiiiiing!"

Sully and Twinkiel stopped right in their tracks as a terrified scream was unleashed right in front of them.

"N°122: Mr.Mime. Psychic/Fairy Type. No Evolution. A skilled mime from birth, this Psychic Pokemon gains the ability to create invisible objects built from its fingertips as it matures. It is known for slapping anyone that disturbs its act."

A Mr.Mime was trying to tear off a Venomoth's wing, while a tall Machoke attempted to save the poor bug.

"Let her go, or I'm destroyin' your ass right now!"

But the Mr.Mime simply used Psyshock, and the Machoke was sent flying away. Twinkiel's eyes widened. He could barely believe it. He knew that Machoke.

"Oh, that guy's probably Mumbles," Sully commented, looking around. People were trying to ignore the mad mime's act, though others had stopped walking to watch it all, moved by morbid curiosity.

"...Go back to the cave, please," Twinkiel said absently. "Go and see if Alek's fine. I'll deal with him."

"Not happenin'! We need this Joltik if we want to save him, and you're the only one who can communicate with it!"

Twinkiel sent a few electric discharges to Moskito, explaining exactly what he had to do to save the Greninja. The latter listened for a few seconds and finally jumped on Sully's head.

"He knows what to do now. You just need to show him where the web is and he'll remove it. Now go. I think I found a friend I need to save as well."

The Seviper gazed at him, slightly concerned. Electricity was circling around the Flaaffy's body, and his eyes were widened, as if he was watching the most amazing show of his life.

"...You're a damn weirdo."

"I know."

Sully crawled as fast as could towards Twinkiel's cave, and the Flaaffy approached the Mr.Mime, who looked at him, a mad light dancing in his eyes.

"Thunderfleece...?"

Twinkiel looked on his right, smiling. The Machoke, his very first adversary, walked towards him, wounded, but very much alive.

"No need to waste your time in dialogues," Twinkiel said to him, smiling. "I'm actully happy to do this."

Twinkiel took one more step in the direction of the mad mime, who was staring at him, like the rest of the crowd around them.

"First off," Twinkiel exclaimed clearly, "You were supposed to invite me in that little party of yours. Body parts are for everyone, so I'd be glad to share the pleasure of tearing them apart with ya. Shame on your selfishness. Second, you're trying to tear off the wing of one of my favorite 'Mons, and I ain't gonna sit back and watch like the cowardly bunch around ya. So here's the deal. You stop what you're doing, or I'm tearing off one of your limbs, preferably an arm. Ball's on your side, slim guy. Shoot wisely."

Mumbles stared at him for several minutes, and so did the crowd that was watching the action.

"...Mumbles doesn't scare you?" he said in a deep voice. "How intrIIIIgIIIIng!" he continue in a high pitch voice. "What makes you mad... What is it?"

"Dunno. What makes you mad?"

An awkward silence followed this question. Then the mad pokemon spoke again, switching voices and tone after every word.

"...Correct you are. Mumbles cannot form it in words. It's... IntrIIIIIgIIIIIng...! Mumbles needs to know... The secrets of her flesh... The secrets of her pain..."

"You want to dicover these secrets that badly?"

"Yeeeeeees...!"

"Too bad: me too. Hey, you know what? let's play! If you win, you get to learn all of her secrets, plus the ones concerning my madness."

A spark of interest enlightened Mumbles' gaze. A slow, terrifying smile grew on his lips.

"...A game? With Secrets on the line? And what if Mumbles loses?"

"If you lose, I'll show you my secret place. A place in which, if you're strong enough, you'll be able to capture as many 'Mons as you can. Then, I'll make sure you'll be able to open them up and discover their secrets."

Mumbles took the Venomoth underneath him in his arms and tossed her away. The Machoke caught her, worried for her safety.

"Describe the game to Mumbles."

"Dunno if this'll actually work, but..."

"Yolo."

"It's called Ballets of Mad Mad Bullets!" Twinkiel exclaiemd joyfully. "Rules are simple: we both fly up in the air and throw attacks at each other. First one to hit the ground loses. Ah, and if you can't fly, you can't play, so you automatically lose. So, Mumbles... Can you fly?"

Mumbles used Telekinesis!

"Yeeeeeah, I expected that to happen," Twinkiel thought to himself, sighing. Trying to keep his calm, he crossed his arms and use a Thunderbolt to activate his Voltek Fleece. Mumbles, cackling like a deranged witch, followed him in the air, and they took some distance from one another.

"One last thing, Mumbles," Twinkiel shouted, making sure that the Machoke below could here it. "If you win the right to take back the Venomoth, you'll have to catch her yourself!"

"Oh, do not worry! Mumbles prefers the thrill of the hunt, hehehehehahAHAHAHAHA!"

"Alrighty then! Let's do this!"



Twinkiel used Power Gem!
Twinkiel knew that with Telekinesis active, every of Mumbles' attacks would land without failing. Which meant that he had to rely on his Cotton Guard to block them all and hit back just as hard. With that in mind, the Flaaffy threw his rock-shape projectiles, but Mumbles immediately countered with various projectiles of his own.
Mumbles used Psyshock!
The Psychic spheres collided with the rocks of energy, creating an impressive clash of colors.
Twinkiel used Thunderbolt! The Voltek Fleece was activated!
The electric lamb flew at Mumbles' encounter. He had to end this quickly.
Mumbles used Focus Blast!

"CRUD!!"

Twinkiel used Cotton Guard!
Twinkiel took the massive energy ball head on - with its damaged minimized by his defensive fleece - and was sent back to the ground, but he had enough energy left to stop his fall. He glid back to Mumbles encouter. The Mr.mime was cackling.
Mumbles used Nasty Plot!

"Gotcha!"

Twinkiel used Thunderwave! Mumbles was paralyzed!

Understanding his mistake, Mumbles attempted another Focus Blast, but his paralysis hindered him.
Twinkiel used Charge Beam! It turned into EnelSpear! Special Attack raised by 1! The Voltek Fleece was activated!

The close-ranged shocking blast hit Mumbles, but the mime managed to keep himself from hitting the ground. Twinkiel stabilized himself in the air while Mumbles tried as hard as he could to reach his rival's height. They began a staring contest, aware that their stats boosts would allow them to send the other one on the ground on the next move. A purple aura suddenly covered Mumbles' right hand, and Twinkiel's right paw began to shine vibrantly. They both laughed like mad 'Mons before Mumbles finally released an extremely fast Psyshock. Twinkiel let himself fall.

"Ha! You fool! Mumbles is the winner! Mumbles can...!"

Twinkiel used Thunderbolt!
At the last second, Twinkiel released another wave of electricity through his feet and flew in Mumbles' direction, the Psychic spheres still after him.

"What the-"

"Eat this! ENEL IMPACT!!"

Twinkiel used Thunderbolt! It turned into Enel Impact!
The point-blank discharge of power struck Mumbles' entire body, and he harshly fell on the ground, barely able to focus anymore. Twinkiel was hit by the Psyshock and fell after him, but by the time he reached the ground, Mumbles was already trying to get up.
The Flaaffy had won.





"Oooooooh, SOMEBODY STOP MEEE!" Twinkiel exclaimed before unleashing a satisfied sadistic laugh. "Sorry Mumbles, but it looks like YOU... HAVE... LOST! Better luck next week, pal!"

Mumbles finally got up, a smile still stuck on his face.

"Mumbles still won! Mumbles can have access to your secret place now! More Pokemons! More limbs! More secrets! Where is it?! Where is it?!!"

"D'aaaaaw, don't be so impatient, my little ducky!" Twinkiel replied, putting an arm on the mad 'Mon's shoulder. "My secret place is located in the Hive. Because it's in the Hive, you'll have access to lots and lots and LOTS of bodies to open up. Just imagine it... Bugs... Everywhere... waiting for you to discover their deepest secrets...! You could put these amazing hands of yours for SUCH amazing things! Am I right?"

Mumbles seemed to actually imagine the scene, as he began drooling with excitment.

"Thing is," Twinkiel continued, "Right now you have a type disadvantage. So, as FDR would say, here's the new deal: I get some mates to help you... And once we gather the right amount of bugs, we sweep'em all, and you do your thing. What do you say?"

Mumbles' eyes widened and he nodded furiously.

"That's the spirit pal! Well, I'll be sure to call you whenever I'm ready. Take care, Mumbles! And remember: lots of bugs! Waitin' for ya!"

"...Bugs... Bugs...!"

The Mr.Mime slowly walked away, mumbling while furiously rubbing his hands together.

"...This guy... He was barely affected."

Twinkiel nodded. Yes, he had noticed. Had this been an actual fight... Maybe he would not have been able to win with thunderous strength alone. This Mr.Mime was tough.

"And you!" Twinkiel suddenly screamed, looking at the crowd. "I just saved you and your friend, didn't I?!"

The Machoke, who had watched the entire confrontation, stared at him, confused.

"This... This doesn't mean I don't want to kick your smartass anymore, especially after what happened in GreatWood!"

"Yeah, about that! Good job, genius, 'cause because of your escape, Greatwood went in a freakin' war! and I was in the middle of it!"

"Hah! Well I hope you enjoyed that, twerp."

"Well I won it, so yeah."

"Wha... WHAT?!"

"That's another story. Come with me, though. You owe me a favor, and I need a fighter for somethin'. C'mon, move it, Machoke!"

"Name's Gotias, and don't you dare order me around!"

Twinkiel stopped running and looked back, slightly surprised.

"...Why not?"

Gotias stopped as well, actually thinking about it. It was as if the Venomoth in his arms had no weight at all.

"Uuuhh... 'Cause I'm... going to be a respected dojo master...?"

The Venomoth sighed. "Why did you tell him that..."

"Ah?" Twinkiel interrupted, much more interested. "Well to do that you need to be respected first. And I have a way to make you fight plenty of people."

Gotias looked at the Venomoth. She rolled her eyes and nodded, as if she didn't really care anymore.

"...Go ahead?" Gotias said.

Twinkiel smiled. Riley was going to be really happy about this.

"I'm building an auction business with bet battles," Twinkiel declared, "and I need a good fighter to show people how things are done. It's only temporary, but you'll build yourself a good reputation if you keep winning. Interested?"

Gotias considered the possibility for a few minutes, but he finally extended his hand.

"Yeah. Interested. But let's make things clear: I'm not your underling! If you have an order to give me, it better be worth the trouble! And I still want to kick your ass!"

"Oh, that'll come. And yeah, you're a partner, not an underling. I'm the one in charge, though, so you'll have to deal with that. Let's go back to my place. I think I attracted enough attention 'round here already."

"You're really good at that, Thunderfleece."

Twinkiel laughed, marching back to his cave in company of his new, temporary allies. "You have no idea!"

Day A7 1:00 a.m.

Ren awoke in a small pit. He sat up, mildly confused, and nearly choked when he looked down. His legs were completely covered by a sheet of molten rock. Ren practically jumped out of the pool, landing a few feet away. He patted his legs, expecting them to be burnt black, but only soft red feathers met his touch.

Then he realized he was a Blaziken and slumped. He turned and found all the others asleep behind him, either on the rock, or floating, the latter including only Xerneas. So nothing had changed. Ren walked back to his pool and eased back into it, expecting to feel heat but instead receiving nothing.

He dozed, eyes half-lidded, watching the horizon. In his dream the sun existed, it peeked over the horizon and he jumped up, turning to find his companions were gone. He rushed over to the edge of their camp and peered down the trail, expecting them to be further down the road but instead found an empty path.

Then it occurred to him, maybe the hadn't been there in the first place.

With that, he was frozen. In the back of his mind, Ren new something had frozen him, but if it were up to him, he would freeze anyway. He watched as a shadow of his friends appeared, sleeping still. He watched them, awake and slowly rouse each other. He counted who was up first. Aegeas, then Gabriel who woke Xerneas. Then Ren watched as Xerneas nudged empty space.

That was were Absol slept.

Ren peered about, moving only his eyes, yet could not find the wolf anywhere. He wanted to feel scared, but couldn't. A sense of assurance had a firm hold on this dreamscape. The companions packed, snuffing out the embers of the fire and scattering them in the wind. Xerneas erased the scorch mark from the stone for good measure. Then they left, walking down the narrow way and out of sight.

Absol appeared from where they had left, striding up to the plateau and curling up in the space where he had slept. He eyed Ren with his unreadable expression yet this time he could read it. What had happened to him?

If Riley's life were a movie, it would probably be made as a silent film. Once again, the Riolu found himself sitting alone, away from the others, but this time, he had good reason. He wanted out of this group. Now.

What am I doing here? Twinkiel is a maniac! What possessed me to think we could be friends?

You still could.

I'd rather not.

The debate died before it even really began as Zulu glided over to him and came to a rest just short of him.

"Something troubling you, Rift?"

Riley saw no reason to hide his feelings this time. "Yeah, your friend is a psychopath!"

"Our boss, you mean." Zulu corrected, his eyes darting back and forth before leaning in closer and whispering, "Are you trying to blow our cover?"

Despite the sudden urge to slap the Noibat, Riley lowered his voice and replied, "Do I look like I care at the moment?"

Zulu's expression softened as he sized Riley up. "Seriously, what's wrong? You don't look good."

Riley knew that of his new group, if he had to make friends, Zulu might be the easiest to do so with, however he couldn't simply tell the bat everything. There was far too much detail in his explanation that he didn't want finding its way into the streets of Cutthroat Pass.

I'm sure Twinkiel wouldn't appreciate it either.

He shivered as an image of the lamb attacking him crossed his mind.

"It's just..." He struggled to come up with words that wouldn't reveal to much. "It's just what he did to that Alek guy. Or what he almost did. Shocking him. I mean, the guy's on the verge of death and we're supposed to be helping him. So Twin- I mean, uh... En- Ene-?"

"Kamienel." Zulu siftly interrupted, glancing around once again,

Riley was clearly no good at playing the underling.

"Right. Kamienel. So the guy is on the verge of death, and what does Kamienel do? He threatens a girl in tears for what I assume is her boyfriend's safety with the guy's very life! All because of some stupid lie."

"Keep your voice down." Zulu spoke through gritted teeth,

"Right, sorry." Riley replied, not feeling sorry at all,

"Look, I've known our boss a lot longer than you have, and I can say firsthand that he's one of the best people I know. Not only will he look out for you, but he'll put his life on the line for you. Do whatever it takes to make sure you succeed, make sure you can hold yourself up."

"But he's crazy."

"He's not crazy. He's... allied with insanity, as he says."

Riley gazed at Zulu, bewildered.

"Look, I don't understand it either," picked up the bat, "but nobody's perfect. Kamienel is under a lot of pressure all the time, being put in situation after situation that he could avoid if he weren't doing it to help us. Maybe that side of him is just a way to let out all that tension. And he doesn't just help us, either. He's helping Alek too. I mean, Kamienel doesn't even know the guy, and once again, he's risking his life to save him."

Riley had no response. He simply stared at his feet.

"He doesn't deserve anything but the utmost respect, and you should start giving it to him." Zulu said, his tone a little too harsh,

Riley looked over at Alek, who's pain was being numbed by Ariala's Wish. "Okay," he said regretfully, "I'm sorry. I'll be more open-minded."

Zulu smiled at him and nodded.

"Move aside!" came the unmistakable voice of the Seviper - Sully was her name,

She had returned, but where was Twinkiel? Sully slithered up to Alek, and Ariala stepped back. A Joltik that had been resting on her head leaped down onto Alek and began making very intricate movements along his leg. Likely manipulating the web. Removing it. They'd actually done it. Riley watched as the Seviper's face, worn from crying, eyes gleaming with hope, stared at the injection point in her companion's leg, and he couldn't help but feel sorry for her, although she didn't seem to be one for sympathy.

After about ten minutes of this, Twinkiel walked in with a Machoke carrying a Venomoth on his heels. "What's the word?" he asked to no one in particular,

Ariala studied Alek for a moment and the air in the room grew heavy with anticipation. Then, she smiled.

"Looks like the little guy did it." she exclaimed joyfully, "The web is almost completely gone and his breathing is returning to normal. At this rate he'll be awake in no time."

Sully looked like she was going to pass out with relief. It appeared like she wanted to embrace Alek, but stopped herself, for whatever reason. Riley didn't care. Alek was alive.

The Joltik stopped working and its eyes darted between Twinkiel and Sully as it hopped to the ground. After a lengthy touch to the back from Twinkiel, which Riley assumed was communication between the two, the Joltik hopped onto the shoulder of Twinkiel like a tiny bug buddy.

"I suppose it's time for introductions." announced the lamb, pointing to each person corresponding with the name spoken, "That's Ariala, Zulu, Fleedjio, Riley, and for those of you who don't know me, my name is Twinkiel. Everyone, this is Gotias and Belzya, our new allies."

"What happened to her?" Ariala said, stepping up away from Alek and toward Belzya,

"Long story." replied Gotias,

"Here, let me help her." And with that, the pair followed her into the next room.

"Sully, you're welcome to stay for a little while." offered Twinkiel, "At least until he's well again."

He then walked over to Riley, leaving Sully with Alek. "You can thank me later." he said under his breath,

"For what?" Riley asked at the same pitch,

"Gotias will be fighting in the bet battles. That means no hairy, scary criminals for you."

Riley stopped short and stared wide-eyed at Twinkiel, the 'Mon who he'd moments ago wanted nothing to do with. "I..."

"You're welcome. But you're still getting trained."

Riley nodded, smiling. A powerful ally stood in front of him, and a genuine one. Even if he was very unorthodox, Riley was willing to give Twinkiel a shot. With that, he grinned and said, "So what can I do for you, boss?"

Day A6, 6:00 P.M.

“And you are sure of this?”

“Yes, my numerous subordinates have delivered to me their individual reports. They’re all consistent – the place has been raided.”

“I knew it was for the best when I decided to send a few of my spies to investigate his home and his…profession. Now that I have this invaluable confirmation, I can honestly say that I will soon regain full control of these dunes. No more will his efforts elude my grasp; no more will I have competition in this desert. What a wonderful feeling that is!”

“As you say.”

Volcanion laid in its usual position, sitting amongst the hot waters within the miniscule desert oasis. It relaxed, absorbing the waters that were harboring its own energy, circulating the said energy through the oasis, and producing masses of steam that rose into the air. The steam obscured most everything existent in this hole, save for the sole figure that stood in front of Volcanion. Around this figure no steam did appear, allowing Volcanion to view him and his appearance.

The figure was Volcanion’s head spy, a Claydol. He, Volcanion knew, was of exceptional skill as an informant, had a decent integrity, and was honest and trustworthy to his master, the legend. Therefore, if he reported something, it had to be the truth. That was the simplicity of the matter. As such, Claydol was among the few of its spies who was not unfortunate enough to have to undergo the misty illusions or tricks of Volcanion. To the head spy, that was beneficial beyond belief. Those puzzles had been an enigma, and had unfortunately assured in the past that many a spy was thrown out of the inner circle of Volcanion’s knowledge sources, including the previous head spy. The head spy found it relieving that he didn’t have to worry about dealing with such tricks anymore. He had to merely show himself, and would have immediate and total access into Volcanion’s oasis. As in this situation.

“What do you wish I do?” said Claydol slowly and calmly, not wishing to upset the legend in any way. He knew Volcanion was usually embroiled in thought, and it would not be appropriate to disrupt its train of thought. Speaking when he shouldn’t might be quite upsetting for it, especially in light of this wonderful news, and could incite it into rage or an otherwise negative mood. He therefore waited patiently when he finished speaking, watching Volcanion intently for a reaction. To his satisfaction, Volcanion was not disturbed by his words. The legend merely stared at him with a blank expression and responded.

“Hmm…I need to know more. What of his whereabouts?” stated Volcanion in a curious manner.

“My aerial informants tell me that he has left for another location, and has brought with him all his available resources. With his operation busted, he has no reason to leave any of his cronies behind, and so it seems he didn’t. The place is ripe for the picking.” Cladol ended these words with an urging tone. After all, Volcanion had desired a new headquarters for the desert that it spied upon for such a long time. The legend had told him over and over again this fact, and had sent the Claydol on several missions to find another location. However, all of the past missions had been in vain. In the eyes of the head spy, the location could be a wonderful place. It was remote, secretive, and had an interesting history. It was perfect. Of course, he had his own personal reasons for wanting the legend to move to this new location, and these further amplified his desires. All he had to do was nudge Volcanion in the right direction, and he would be free from his troubles.

“And of his former captives?” Volcanion implored, “How is their present state?”

“They are doing well, despite their lack of strength. They have so far been able to deter some mild threats. Bandits, sandstorms, the like. It appears the word is true – strength really does come in numbers,” spoke Claydol in a mechanical voice, rattling off what news he had already received. He found the sudden change in conversation interesting. Now Volcanion was changing the topic, which the spy knew meant that it was thinking about his suggestion. That was a common action for it to do, and this intrigued the Claydol. What could the Volcanion be thinking? Claydol wished he could know. However, he could not penetrate the stream of Volcanion’s thoughts. The fog seemed to shadow more than just its surroundings. Besides, even if he could access its mind, Volcanion would no doubt figure out the perturbing of its thoughts. Despite being the master of manipulating other’s minds, it absolutely hated having its own disturbed.

However, Claydol also understood that he would find out in due time. He was aware of the expression that good things come to those who wait. So he kept the conversation going. He was waiting, waiting for the right moment. Waiting.
“Hmmph,” said Volcanion simply. “Nonetheless, that will not deter my plans. A little bit of publicity never hurt anyone, eh? And, if I may say, it will certainly improve my reputation, which, right now, is desirous of positive aspects. My head spy, deploy your finest units. I need you to make sure that nothing interferes with the travel of the former captives, and that they exit this desert safely.”

“Are you sure, master, that this would be the appropriate action? They are already busy investigating…” spoke Claydol rapidly.

Volcanion shot him an irritated glance. Claydol silenced himself at once, regretting his sudden outburst of words. In spite of this, Volcanion started speaking again, not bothering to chastise its head spy, much to that spy’s relief.

“Why? Why do I want to do this? Do you remember, a couple of days ago, that one fellow who,” it began in an annoyed tone, before it stopped. Claydol recognized the legend was caught up in its own thoughts again. Volcanion froze momentarily, before the spark of realization appeared on its face, and it resumed. “No, no…you weren’t there. You were busy investigating a town and its denizens, correct?”

“Yes,” said Claydol simply, with a hint of questioning in its voice. Where was this conversation heading? What motivation could Volcanion possibly have for this reckless action? He didn’t know, and this lack of knowledge frustrated him.

“He wandered into this domain of mine, no doubt looking for water. Of course, as is expected, he had to handle my defenses, my beautiful shadow beings. My goodness, did he handle them well! He was able to resist against my shadowy creations for a good length of time before I deemed him worthy of seeing my true semblance. As such, I greeted him, helped him recover and gifted him with what he desired. Now, you know the power of the waters in this oasis, yes?”

“Of course.” Claydol resisted to urge to make a snide or snappy comment. Volcanion didn’t like those either.

“I was able to access his mind during the times in which he crossed the desert. Yes, times, for he traveled in one direction to head towards the home of the Resistance, and the other direction to lead his allies, as it seemed he had joined the Resistance, onwards, beyond the mountains. During this extensive period of time, I was able to investigate and study a large portion of memories. And do you know what I found most surprising?”

“No, I’m afraid I don’t.” Despite his earlier attempt to be patient, the Claydol found himself the exact opposite. He was annoyed, confused, and, worse yet, frustrated. However, his sense of loyalty and the unwillingness to irritate his master kept him from speaking out of turn or in an outburst of words, or even speak in any other way than in his normal, emotionless speech. Therefore, he silently seethed, waiting for Volcanion to finish.

“Well, I’ll tell you,” said Volcanion. “He didn’t have too many positive memories. He had experienced many traumatic events, had to witness the loss of his friends, and, might I add, someone very dear to him. And, as far as I’m aware, he’s still suffering. However, in spite of all that, he remained the exact same way to others; kind, helpful, and decent. Even in his worst days, his worst times, he was still looking out for the well-being of others, and assuring that they were safe. He would help others, even, and especially, if they were in a dangerous situation, and he often did it while risking his life. As I looked through these memories, these hardships, his actions, I couldn’t help but think how nice it would be to do the same. Then I realized that, being the leader of a network of spies and skilled agents with control over the majority of this desert, I could do such things. I have the power to help others; I have the power to assist a wide variety of desert denizens. So I will.”

“Furthermore,” continued Volcanion, “In honor of my experiences in his mind, I will, despite the fact that it goes against all rational and sound logic, will not violate the space of the bounty hunter Darius through the unfriendly takeover of his base of operations.”

The head spy slumped, disappointed by the news of his master. It seemed like there would be more futile explorations for potential base locations awaiting him, and he knew he would hate every minute of them. His efforts had failed disastrously. He looked down at the ground in defeat.

“Yes,” said Volcanion. Claydol was confused. Was that a bit of pity in the legend’s voice? That wasn’t an emotion Claydol was used to see his master expressing. He looked up, his depression mixed with curiosity. “I know that you don’t want to continue searching. I know that you hate the investigations, that you think of them a purposeless waste of time, and that you would rather be doing other tasks.”

As much as Claydol wanted to refuse and lie, he knew that he couldn’t possibly do that. Volcanion was far more perceptive than it let on. The legend had quite easily noticed his disappointment, and no doubt the legend already knew about his anger relating to the searches. He therefore couldn’t dare lie to Volcanion, as it went against his morals and ethics, and it would no doubt irritate the legend. He simply nodded his head in agreement, making sure to hide any form of emotion in the gesture.

“Well,” finished Volcanion, “if that is how you truly feel, then you have nothing more to worry of. I will no longer force you into these quests for my new home without your due consent and approval. Besides, I suppose that this place would be much better if I could furnish it with items of interest. It would give it more…appeal, I suppose you could call it? Anyways, consider your days of frustrating searches over.”

“Yes…yes, thank you….as you will it…yes…” stammered Claydol, surprised by the legend’s change in heart. This was certainly not normal of the legend to be forgiving, kind, and friendly overall. It had not even considered giving away something for nothing in an incredibly long time. Claydol was curious: What had the legend seen? What memories did it see that were so powerful it could change its nature entirely? This was fascinating, but also quite elating. Claydol relaxed, no longer slumping, and continued to speak. Now that he was free of the burden and the trivial tasks he had been often assigned in the past, he felt a lot happier, and a lot more willing to continue the conversation.

“I had earlier thought that you might mention wishing to furnish your adobe,” continued Claydol in his normal, calmer voice, using his psychic powers to levitate a large, ovoid object behind him. “Therefore, I wish to give you this.” Despite having a difficult time using his powers to first reach and then move the object, he was able to do so in a short amount of time. Levitating the object over his head, the Claydol presented a large mirror in front of Volcanion.

The mirror was beautiful. It was a large enough to easily display the entirety of the legend’s face. Furthermore, it was smooth, with no evidence of a bump anywhere on its surface. The mirror gleamed in the light of the desert sun, cutting a path through the mist around Volcanion, and illuminating the shadows on the legend’s face. The legend appeared genuinely surprised by the gift, as it gazed upon the mirror with an expression that could not be described as anything but pure curiosity. It stared at the object for quite some time, observing every aspect of the mirror that it could see, and, when it felt satisfied, it looked at the Claydol.

“What a most interesting curiosity,” said the legend simply, approving of the gift. “Now, whose is the face of this handsome fellow emblazoned on it?”

Claydol sighed, slightly frustrated. Did he seriously have to be the one to explain the concept of a mirror to something whose traits were slightly narcissistic? Apparently, he had to. He replied simply, “It’s a mirror. That’s your reflection on it.”

Upon this realization, Volcanion’s eyes widened in surprise and what was undoubtedly embarrassment. It rose up and took a step back, splashing the water in the oasis, its relaxed demeanor momentarily shattered as it attempted to come up with a good recovery. A huge cloud of steam rose into the air, and the Claydol levitated backwards a short ways so as to be surrounded by the fog.

“Why, of course it is!” the legend stammered, looking sheepish and laughing in an awkward manner, attempting to cover up its tricks, “Why, yes! Mhm…I was only humoring you. Yes, I’m serious! Eh heh…” Understanding that the head spy didn’t believe him, Volcanion stopped talking. Taking a deep breath, it then was able to gather together the rest of its broken calmness and relaxed, once again resting peacefully the oasis. The Claydol returned to its original position, observing the new wave of fog that emanated throughout the space, though it did not touch him in the slightest.

Sighing, it said to its head spy, “Thank…thank you for the gift. You may place it down wherever you desire, and I will tend to it shortly. Now, you may leave and spread the word pertaining to my latest plans. Farewell for now.”

Claydol nodded, in agreement with the legend. He placed the mirror upon the sand in front of him, taking care not to damage its surface, though it was actually quite resilient, not a scratch forming on its surface. After completing this, he levitated away, traveling towards the edge of the pit. The fog parted out of the way as he traveled, also due to the powers of the legend. However, as he reached the edge of the pit, the legend called for him. Claydol turned around and stared at the legend.
“Yes?” he said, slightly curious. What other surprises did the legend have for him?
“I know that I swore that I would not desecrate the home of the slave trader with my presence,” began Volcanion. Claydol could see the see the beginnings of a sadistic smile forming on Volcanion’s face. This had to be good. “However, would you mind…would you mind leaving a little…oh, I don’t know…surprise, if ever he has the guts to return to his headquarters?”

“I would be honored to.” Claydol smiled mischievously, copying his master’s sadistic smile. Sure, they found it an exciting prospect to be kind and friendly, but the idea of punishing an enemy was equally enthralling. Claydol, feeling that the conversation had completed, once again nodded its head, stopped smiling, and then proceeded to levitate up the cliff.

“By the way,” spoke Volcanion, causing Claydol to turn around and stare the legend once more, intrigued. Volcanion was slowly being enshrouded by fog, but the spy could it see it staring at the mirror with intense interest. “Who fashioned this marvelous object? I know very few who can craft something of such quality and aspects.

“The mountain blacksmith,” replied Claydol.

“The immortal?” inquired the legend, evidently surprised.

“Yes, the immortal.”

The head spy subsequently vanished, wishing to complete his new assignments as soon as possible, leaving the legend all alone.

……

Volcanion stared at its own reflection on the mirror, the only company that it had, and sighed.

“I wonder what he’s doing,” said the legend to himself, observing his reflection on the mirror doing the same. “If he will ever see his old friends once more.”

“If ever he will find solace.”


Day A7, 2:00 A.M.

Between the snowy peaks and the empty, snow-covered landscape dotted by various rocks, two red pinpricks of light illuminated the night sky. A figure, covered in shadow, had awoken.

He nudged the one lying limply on the ground, attempting to wake his friend up. Even in the midst of almost total darkness, only broken by the gathering of beauteous stars illuminating the heavens above, the figure could clearly see him. He could see the tears, the firm expression, the stillness; if he hadn’t known any better, he could’ve assumed the one lying on the ground was dead. Sighing, understanding what was happening, the figure continued.

Finally, after some time, the one on the ground started to move. His eyes shot open, and he slowly started to rise upwards. He definitely looked exhausted, but the figure could also see another emotion entirely – relief. Pure and complete relief. The figure understood why; he knew all too well. However, that didn’t matter; he was awake, and the figure was satisfied.

“Good morning, Aegeas,” said Absol.

Aegeas grunted as he lifted himself off the ground, standing and facing the Absol. Aegeas looked unfocused, distracted, and momentarily unaware of his surroundings. He stared briefly off into space in a dreamy manner, as though not fully conscious. However, his vision quickly adjusted to the darkness of his surroundings, and he immediately recognized the Absol. He remembered where he was, what he was doing, and the entirety of the world came back into focus. Something that he found quite unfortunate.

“What reason could you have for waking me up at this hour?” said Aegeas in a tone that was slightly edged with weariness. However, Aegeas was rapidly regaining his energy and vigor, and his voice became less of a whisper and more of his normal tone. Before Absol could say a word, Aegeas continued. “And thank you.” He said these in an apologetic tone, he thinking that he might’ve accidentally angered his friend.

“Anything I can do to help,” replied Absol, unbothered by the conversation. “Do you remember our pledge? The one that we made during the last time we met?”

“Our pledge?” Aegeas repeated, confused. He thought about it for a second, scanning his memories for an answer. Finally, however, he understood what Absol meant. Nodding in agreement, he said, “Yes, I do. Shall we begin?”

“Absolutely,” replied Absol, and the two silently trekked from their camp. They passed the now burned out fire, their comrades lying asleep nearby, and left, vanishing into the night.

======

“Okay, you know the drill. First, we’ll do a test to see how your strength stacks up compared to last time. If you perform worse than before, then I’ll act as your trainer and improve your strength. Ready? Begin.”

……
“Left, right, left, right, left, right, repeat.”

A bead of sweat rolled down Aegeas’s face as he followed Absol’s commands. The rock in front of him stood proud and mighty, but it was beginning to crack under the onslaught of Aegeas’s scalchops. Aegeas felt tired, his muscles starting to ache from the effort of slowly destroying the rock. However, he decided that it would not be appropriate to voice such concerns to Absol, lest he be chastised for not having decent endurance and strength. Yes, Absol was a decent trainer, but could also be quite strict and unforgiving when he wanted to be, and complaints were one thing that he didn’t take too well. So he continued, each blow slowly eating away at the stone, chipping pieces that flew high into the air and landed on the ground nearby.

“Hmm,” Absol mumbled as he observed Aegeas’s progress. His red eyes seemed affixed on the slashes carved into the stone, they forming an elaborate x shape. Though Aegeas could not see his expression, he knew that the Absol was disappointed. Aegeas remembered the many times in the past that he had undergone similar training; he had always completed his training faster, better, and wasn’t nearly as tired at the end of it. He wondered how much his endurance truly had slipped since those days, and knew that the answer was most likely greater than he presumed. Worse yet, given his extreme perceptiveness, Absol probably was aware of his difference in performance. Furthermore, the Dewott suspected Absol most likely had known that something like this would happen. After all, the two had not seen each other since the end of the war, when they made the pledge and Aegeas had affirmed that he would spend some time attempting to conquer his sorrow. Due to the fact that Absol had woken him up, Aegeas wondered if he had seen the failure of his efforts. In all, he knew what the Absol would say next, and he knew he would hate it.

“So, should I assume that you’re still being bothered by your nightmares?” Absol began, trying to begin a conversation. He completely validated Aegeas’s thoughts, but the Dewott didn’t reply. He gritted his teeth and continued to strike.

“I see,” he continued, his voice tinged with disappointment and bitterness. “You know, you could have solved that problem a long time ago. You could have come to Cresselia, asked her to aid you and your misery, and she would’ve helped you.”

“You know, most of all people, that I would rather like my dreams…undisturbed, thank you very much,” snapped Aegeas as he worked. He didn’t typically get this mad, but Absol seemed to have the almost unnatural tendency to not only expose his flaws, but apply salt to the wound by reminding him of them. Unlike before, Aegeas was not upset by his snapping at his friend; this kind of conversation was something he had expected when he had first seen Absol, and something he was extremely familiar with. This conversation itself brought back far too many memories of old days and arguments; ones that he’d rather be without.

“But do they deserve to forever be remembered through your pain and suffering?” inquired Absol, anger starting to rise in his voice. “Do you need to forever remain burdened by the strain of a thousand lost lives?”

Aegeas struck the rock harder, carving further and further into it, more rapidly destroying it.

“You know why I do it,” he grumbled in response, gritting his teeth in anger.

“No, I really don’t,” replied Absol in a demanding, peeved tone, “Why don’t you explain it to me?”

Crack!

A large portion of the rock fragmented, its composition severely weakened by Aegeas’s efforts. This quickly reminded him of the task on hand, and so he continued, striking harder and harder, faster and stronger. The anger and hatred of the conversation formed the energy that kept him going, giving him all the strength he needed, and more, to pursue his objective. The simple fact that he was near the completion of his goals prodded him further, convincing him to continue. He kept striking, relishing in the results as the rock continued to fall to pieces. He was almost finished, and that made him happy.

“I can’t be so easily broken, friend,” replied Aegeas, putting a lot of emphasis on the word friend. He understood what Absol was attempting to do, and he decided that he would allow himself to be so easily bent by the opposing Pokemon. He wasn’t about to have his rage invoked, he wasn’t about to be exploited by his own problems and issues. Even though he understood that Absol didn’t do it to cause harm to him, and most likely was looking to help him, he wasn’t about to let anyone else attempt to help solve what he considered his own problems. The anger that he could’ve devoted to the conversation he used to blast apart the rock. His stubbornness about the matter fixated him, and, therefore, he kept his tone calm and loud and stood his ground.

“Neither can I, friend,” replied Absol quietly.

After that, save for the sounds of the scalchops knocking against stone, all became quiet. Too quiet. Aegeas was surprised; Absol had almost never ended a confrontation so quickly or so suddenly. What made him decide to stop? However, the more Aegeas thought about it, the more his surprise turned into suspicion. This wasn’t normal of him to do this without a clear reason. Worse yet, Absol never ended such an argument until he, to some extent, was the winner. What was he plotting? What was he planning? Aegeas didn’t have another moment to think about it.

Bam!

With an ear-splitting noise, the rock exploded into thousands of smaller pieces. They flew all around Aegeas, landing all over the snowy ground, dotting it with innumerable craters. Aegeas stood still, looking around and admiring his handiwork. He was proud. Sure, his muscles felt like they were on fire, he felt tired, and he was breathing rapidly. However, he had proved that he still had some facet, although it wasn’t too large, of his original strength. The satisfaction of such greatly improved his mood, and he turned around, facing Absol with a smile. Of course, he knew that he had probably failed the test, and that Absol would no doubt have more work for him. He expected as much from the strict trainer. However, he was happy. He though that, with continued effort, he could be able to reclaim the majority of his old strength. Then, truly, he would be a useful member of the war effort, and be able to contribute and fight to the best of his potential. It was a wonderful feeling, and he felt ready for whatever would be next.

Absol merely shrugged his head and said, in a disappointed way, blatantly ignoring Aegeas’s pride, “The test was a failure. You underperformed in most every single aspect, save for your ability to channel your anger into violence. It appears that I’ll have to be your trainer again.”

Aegeas nodded. It was exactly as he had expected. It didn’t injure his optimism in any way, though he stopped smiling and calmed down. “Due to the fact that we seem to have plenty of time, shall we proceed with the training?” He had suspected that Absol was going to initiate more training as soon as the test was completed, and therefore decided that he might as well begin the inevitable.

“Why not?” replied Absol.

……

“Left, right, left, right, repeat.”

Flurry | Business at the Shrine | Day A6, noon

For one reason or another, Flurry found herself clutching her head for most of the ride home. She wasn't entirely sure what caused the headache, but after recovering some semblance of memories earlier in the journey, she figured that she might be having déjà vu.

How the situation compared to her human life though, Flurry had no idea.

"Is it even possible to have déjà vu for something you can't remember?" she muttered. Maybe she was just disappointed about not having more time with Riley.

"No." she hissed. "That's not it. I don't need boys."

It was probably just the heat; Flurry was an ice-type after all. But even after crossing the small mountain range and emerging into the cool forest that surrounded the Shrine of Safety, her headache would not budge.

When the party arrived at the front gate (to be greeted by a very enthusiastic Miss Diancie), Flurry immediately slid off Raikou's back. She wanted to avoid the peppiness in the air, and while she approved of partying in celebration of Articuno's safety, Flurry needed time to let her headache subside.

Quiet as falling snow, she scampered around the group and tried to sneak into the Shrine. And naturally, she was caught.

"Hold up." It was Jewels, grabbing Flurry by the top of her cone head. "Did you pay any attention to what Diancie said?"

"Er, no." Flurry mumbled. She scrabbled at her head, but her arms were to short to reach Jewels's. "But it couldn't have been that important. It's not like I get a say in anything anyways."

"You're so silly sometimes. A group of refugees arrived just before we did, and Diancie wants us to go say 'hi' and make friends before we discuss rescuing Latias with everyone else."

Flurry's headache thumped harder, and she considered trying to turn as cold as possible to see if Jewels would let go. Then Flurry realized that she might freeze Jewels's hands in place and thought better of the idea.

"I don't want to make new friends right now," Flurry grumbled. "My head hurts, and I want to go sleep it off first."

Jewels merely made a snarky remark about Flurry's attitude being a far-cry from her usual, bashful and happy self and kept dragging the Snorunt along. They returned to the center of the group and followed Miss Diancie through the Shrine until reaching a large, open space that almost resembled a back yard.

Pine trees lined a huge square of soft, dark grass, and a collection of Pokemon spread out over the area. They sat in groups, not close enough to huddle, but too close to be casual. Every so often, Flurry glimpsed a flap of wings from a stretching flying-type.

Her head pounded faster, and Flurry wished Jewels would let go already. If the older girl didn't release Flurry soon, they really would freeze together.

As if Jewels had read Flurry's mind, the Gothorita let go of Flurry's head and pushed her towards the Pokemon in the center of the yard.

"Now go on. I'll be around if you need me."

As Jewels disappeared, Flurry gulped and surveyed the mass of Pokemon. Again, she felt like she'd seen this before, though this version of déjà vu was far clearer than what she'd had on the way to the Shrine. As she scanned the crowd, she almost thought she'd met these Pokemon before.

Then a conversation drifted past her ears that said everything.

"Hey, hey! I think I see one of those hat-thingies. Do you think it's the same one who went with the bush-thingy?"

Flurry turned to find a Krokorok running his mouth at a Vibrava. Sure, she'd only spent a few minutes with them, but she could never forget the people who brought her to Shaymin.

The Vibrava buzzed his wings, clucking his tongue (if he even had one). "You ninny-muffin. There are a bajillion of those things up north. Poor thing's probably just a refugee from up there."

"There even any fighting going on further north?" the Krokorok asked. "Seems like an awfully isolated place for wanting turf."

"There's fighting everywhere! Why else would traders like us get in the mess?"

Feeling somewhat braver, even with her headache still raging, Flurry took a step towards the pair. She'd barely picked up one foot when a Flygon dropped to the ground, blocking her view.

"Really, brother?" the Flygon said. "Have you learned nothing? Traders can be the lifeline of an area. Of course we were attacked."

"I thought we were taken prisoner because some crazy Cacturne wanted to beat someone up and get workers or slaves or something," said the Krokorok. He crossed his arms and smirked.

"It could have easily been both then." Then the Flygon swung her tail around and shifted so that Flurry could see again. "And you two need to learn how to sense the mood, because this poor Snorunt's been watching you for a while now." Beaming, the Flygon gestured for Flurry to join their group.

If Flurry's face could turn red, it would, because her cheeks immediately started to burn. "Err, well, I wasn't really watching," she stammered. Nonetheless, she waddled to the other Pokemon and plopped on the ground. "It- it's nice to see you all again. You guys rescued me and Shaymin a few days ago."

The Krokorok and Vibrava's eyes widened (well, not so much for the Vibrava. Compound eyes don't expand so much), and their jaws fell open.

"You're kidding! You're really the same hat-thingy we were just talking about?" the Krokorok shouted.

"She's a Snorunt, not a hat-thingy. Get it right!"

Though Flurry's headache didn't leave, it faded from the front of her mind for all of the time she spent talking with the caravan members. After romping and laughing with them, and even showing off her epic Ice Shard attack, for what barely felt like ten minutes, Flurry started at a tap on the top of her head.

She glanced up, and suddenly her headache was back. Jewels equalled serious discussions right now, and Flurry would rather sleep or keep joking with the caravan folks. She still hadn't gotten to the other members who helped her.

"Time to go," Jewels said. "Diancie is about to start directing everyone to some actual rooms, so you'll want to stay out of the way."

Flurry bid a quick goodbye to her friends and rose to follow Jewels. "If the legendaries are helping with accomodations, then when are we going to talk about our next moves?"

"Oh, we already did. Shaymin said to leave you out of it though, since you were having fun, and you'd just try to get out of the meeting." Smirking and cupping a hand to her mouth, Jewels leaned over. "Though given how happy you were there, even though you said you didn't want to make new friends, I doubt you would have minded all the discussions that much."

Crossing her arms, Flurry puffed her cheeks and pouted. "They weren't new friends. They were the ones who helped me get out of the desert on my first day here."

"But you still didn't want to talk to them at first."

"Just because you're right, doesn't mean you have to rub it in."

Jewels only smirked. She stopped in front of a door a few seconds later and gestured grandly. "Just because I enjoy teasing, doesn't mean I don't care."

Flory | Business at the Studio | ??

Flory stood in the director's office, clenching and unclenching her hands. She wanted to stop it, make herself be the graceful dancer she knew she was, but whenever her palms were open, she felt cold, and when she made a fist, she started sweating.

"So?" the director asked, gaze sharp. "What did you need, Florence?"

"I um, I wanted to talk to you about the make-up and hair for my role. I don't think they're appropriate."

Flory earned an eyebrow raise, and she immediately diverted her gaze to the stacks of papers on the director's desk. She caught names and moved her attention to a shelf of old videos of the studio's performances.

"How are they inappropriate?"

"Well, the headdress and ornaments aren't used for dancing. I mean, there are pieces for dance, just not the ones the studio uses. And I think it's wrong to make everyone who dances in that divertissement wear special eye make-up."

The director rolled her eyes and ran a hand through her mass of red curls. If there was ever a ballet of Annie a younger version of the woman would have played the lead.

"Everyone in entertainment knows that, without make-up, your features will be washed out. If we don't do something special, how will people know you're supposed to be Chinese?"

Maybe it's in the program? And maybe the costumes will say enough? And the music? Flory suspected the director was just being difficult.

"I'm sure they can tell," she said. "I've been on stage plenty of times, and people can always tell I'm the girl with the Chinese last name."

"The other girls aren't Chinese."

There had to be a way to tell the director that it didn't matter, and that even though Flory didn't have "Chinese" eyelids, people could still pick her out from the back of the auditorium, that the clothes alone would make all the American girls fit the piece. But no matter how she arranged the words in her head, Flory only heard sass dripping in the back of her mind. She gulped.

"I won't dance in the divertissement unless the costume and make-up are changed. Surely you know that the big studios in New York and Seattle couldn't get away with this kind of..."

Should she drop the 'R' word? No time. The director cut Flory off before she had time to think.

"If you don't dance, Florence, you'll be kicked out of senior company. And I refuse to change anything. I have enough to deal with already, without your ridiculous justice."

"Then who will dance?" Flory asked. "Sarah O'Reilly? Are there other girls who have the skill and time for it?"

The director slammed her hands on the desk. "I would never cast Sarah O'Reilly!"

"I know."

"And I will make this show a success without you. You may have promise, Florence, but your attitude will cost you. Get out."

Flory left. She could dance somewhere else.

Long, long before Day A1…

"So, you wanna know the rumors spreadin’ ‘round lately?”

“Yeah, could do with a good laugh o’ two.”

“Oh no, they sez’ it’s serious. They’re calling this place haunted. The whole lot of it.”

“Haunted? Ya mean…by ghosts? Ghost…types?”

“I don’t have a clue. None of ‘em even laid eyes on the thing.”

“Dang…what’s it they say it’s doin’? Are we talkin’ just scarin’ ‘em, or something a tad more…violent?”

“Heh, all they blabber ‘bout is two little red dots and that’s the last they see. The builders found two out cold a week ago, and it’s been gettin’ worse and worse lately.”
“No way that’s normal. But is it a ghost? Then again, you can’t call it sickness or poison; nothin’ strikes that fast and lets ‘em live. Hmm…”

“Whatever it is, it ain’t killing ‘em, but it’s sure scaring the ‘ell out of ‘em. But if it thinks it can scare us away, it’s fightin’ a hopeless battle. Our group’s too strong for somethin’ like that!”

“Well, it sure sounds crazy, that’s for sure. Hey…umm…we ain’t in any danger, are we?”

“You kidding me? Nothing can beat the two o’ us! We’re the head o’ the guard, the best of the best! No ghost, or whatever they call it, can get in our way.”

“Well, if you say……”

“……”

“What ‘da ‘ell? Why’re standing there all still? Why’re you so q…..gaaaaah! The eyes!”

=================
A series of tails curled around the unconscious figures of the guards, grabbing them by their waists and flinging them towards a wall. They crashed against it, their large, strong bodies cracking the stone as they collided with it. The captains landed limply on the floor, lying against the wall. They’d been soundly defeated before they even knew what they were fighting.

“Contemptuous fools,” spat the figure as he slinked away from its victims, the two Golems. His eyes shone red in the darkness of the hallway as he traveled forth. They gleamed, momentarily illuminating the path ahead in crimson. Nothing else in sight. That was satisfactory for him, so he continued undeterred.

He was furious. He had hoped that his scare tactics would be enough to intimidate the guards stationed in and around the development sight. Yes, he’d managed to stump and terrify the weaker, more foolish guards, but it was obvious from the conversation that he heard that his efforts were not nearly as effective as he’d hoped. They still doggedly pursued their ambitions. He started doubting that even his knocking out of the head guards would influence the new organization’s decisions to build. As a result, he was increasing aware that this new organization setting up a base in an around this location would remain fixated on construction, despite his attempts to prevent them from doing such. Worse yet, construction had only begun, so the few guards stationed there were untrained and otherwise ignorant in comparison to his strength and skills. The organization had not yet begun to focus its efforts on the place, but it was obvious that they had no plans to leave prematurely, in spite of their setbacks. The longer he stayed, the harder and stronger the guards would become, not to mention the more they would be. It was hopeless trying to intimidate them.

He made a crucial decision. He decided that he had to find what it was that was hidden in the mountain, and leave as fast as he could.

“Why do I have to do everything myself?” he thought. He had not tried to find the object in the past on the grounds that its previous owner would return to take it. He had hoped that the previous owner would identify the danger of the situation and successful retrieve the object from its hidden hovel. Therefore, he had been waiting for a few weeks, spending his time trying to intimidate the guards so they would not a problem to the owner, but the previous owner had never come. He was seriously beginning to doubt that he would ever come. Where was he? What was he doing? However, the figure no longer cared. Time was running out; the object had to be whisked away from its present location or it would fall into the wrong hands. Being the only one who seemed to care, it looked like it was up to him to fix this problem. He was disappointed, and a little furious, but he figured that it wouldn’t hard to find out the location of the object and escape with it. And if the owner came afterwards and found it was no longer at that location, well, that was on him. It wasn’t the Ninetales’s problem.

He passed by an opening in the wall. There was the full moon, stationed peacefully above the tranquil landscape, at odds with the anarchy that was brewing beneath it. The light of the full moon, mixed with that of the stars, illuminated the Ninetales’s skin, making it flash and gleam silver colors. Then he vanished once more into the darkness, becoming nothing more visible than two red moving dots moving amidst the darkness.

Silver could sense the object. He could feel its archaic power passing through him, imbedding a sense of dread and despair within him. He could feel its rage and tumultuous nature. The object was near; that was apparent. Furthermore, he knew where he might find it. Ahead of him lay a rock wall. The path curved to the left, stretching back as far as he could see it, running in between a wooden and stone wall with openings, and a solid, untouched, mostly smooth stone wall on the other side. It had to be here. He could sense the object, and he could sense that it was very close. It had to be somewhere here. But where? A plan formed in his head, and he immediately enacted it.

His eyes gleamed red once more. They illuminated a large section of the hallway in bright crimson, highlighting all the cracks and marks scattered on the stone walls. Once more, no guards in sight. That was good; what he was about to do would cause such a ruckus that he wouldn’t be surprised if it could be heard all throughout the entirety of the mountain. Therefore, he couldn’t have any guards in the vicinity, or he would be caught before he could escape with the object. And that would not be beneficial for the lives of the countless innocents in the civil war to come.

The Ninetales placed his front paws upon the rock wall, and began to shuffle them around. His paws inched over cracks and crevices in the wall, looking for any indication that there might be something embedded within, which, in turn, would be indicated by a crack that seemed artificial. In spite of his efforts, he found nothing, not even the slightest indicator; all of the cracks in the wall looked like they were formed naturally. However, he was not entirely surprised; given the size of the wall, it would be highly unlikely that he would find something anytime soon. Thus, he continued for quite some time until he was completely satisfied that there was nothing in the vicinity. He proceeded to place his paws upon the ground again, move to another section of the wall, and repeat the process. This he did for quite some time.

Then, he found it. Somewhere halfway between the two ends of the hallway, as Silver pawed the walls once more, he saw something that excited him – a slash, struck right into the rock. It was too perfect, too precise to be anything of natural origin. Part of him was convinced that he had finally found the entrance to the place where the item was kept. However, he needed to make absolutely sure of this. Silver focused on his senses related to the location of the object. Yes, he could not be mistaken; it was more powerful than it had been before. It was the most powerful sense that he’d felt in his entire time at the mountain. This could only mean that the object was hidden behind this slash, this perfect indentation that Silver quickly realized matched as the handiwork of the previous owner – the thief who stole the item from its rightful owner. He was elated. He’d found it. He’d found it at last. And he would do all in his powers to gain access into wherever it was that the object was stored.

Boooooooommmmm!

With a gigantic roar, a massive circle of rock was rent from the wall. It flashed and glowed purple as Silver, using his psychic powers, heaved the massive object and threw it out a window stationed on the opposite wall. He could hear the horrible thundering of shattering rock far beneath, though he did not bother to look at the once-falling object or its remnants. His mentality behind his sudden, loud action was that he had understood that he would no doubt destroy any last trace of secrecy through the simple action of opening the cave. Therefore, why not make things more dramatic? He did have an appreciation for drama, and it always made his escapades all the more interesting; this was an opportunity too good to pass down. Of course, he knew that he had to act fast, and he had no more time to relish in his actions. Already, he could hear the warning sirens blaring throughout the mountain. It would only be a matter of minutes before they arrived at his location. Therefore, without hesitation, he jumped directly into the massive hole that he’d opened.

Directly into a cave.

It was not a particularly large cave structure. It dipped somewhat steeply from the mouth of the cave, going downwards for a few feet, before it leveled out at the bottom, and stretched forward a short ways. The cave itself may have been quite dull, dark, damp, and otherwise entirely boring, there was something of value within it. Something that made it more important than any other cave in existence could possibly be. At the end of the cave, Silver could see the object of his desires. He recognized its distinctive structure at once; this was the one. It had to be. He’d finally found it, and not a moment too soon.

He had found the Prison Bottle.

He quickly jumped down to the bottom of the cave, and ran towards the item of his interest. It lay, partially buried amongst the rock, besides a small piece of yellowed, aging parchment. However, before he could focus on either of the objects, Silver heard the footsteps of guards far off in the distance. This fact urged him onwards, causing him to run faster and harder. The sense of fear was not controlling him; he had learned to stop being afraid a long time ago. However, his sense of urgency provided its energy and strength to him, warning him of the importance of his mission and his present danger.

He first reached the Bottle itself, forcing himself to a stop right before it. He grabbed it by the teeth, and yanked on it as hard as he could, trying to rip it free from its rocky prison. He could feel his muscles straining with the effort, and his teeth hurting from the attempt, but he did not desist. At first, the Prison Bottle, affixed to the rock, would not budge. However, after a few tugs, he exerting and sapping part of physical strength, it was wrenched from its position. He clasped the bottle by his mouth, satisfied by his efforts. He felt a chill up his spine, no doubt the result of the bottle’s chaotic, and uproarious, nature. However, he ignored the feelings of dread and suspense that crept up within him. He had a mission, and he would not let anything get in the way of his accomplishing the said mission.

Before he made an attempt to escape the cave with the bottle, and run as far from the mountain as he could, he noticed the aged parchment besides him. In his excitement and haste, he figured out, he had entirely forgotten about the existence of the piece of paper. However, he stared only momentarily at the paper. He was aware of what was written on it, but he did not feel like he was obliged to read the note. After all, despite his being the first to have identified the Prison Bottle since it had been hidden long ago, it was not as though he was keeping it. He had special plans for this Prison Bottle, and it would not remain in his lands for long. Nonetheless, he used a weak amount of a psychic powers to levitate it in front of him. It was fascinating, and he did love having souvenirs.

Feeling that he was ready leave, his mission finally complete, Silver bolted from the cave, rushing outwards to the corridor. The guards were incredibly close. He could hear their footsteps echoing down from both ends of the hallway. They would be upon him with seconds. He needed to leave. Now.

Silver rushed towards an opening in the opposite wall. With a great effort, he flung himself through one of the windows, shooting outwards with the Prison Bottle in his mouth and the letter in tow. He had escaped.

The Ninetales vanished into the night.

======

The Next Day…

Ping! Pow! Ping! Pow!

Silver slowly traversed the somewhat steep mountain path. He stepped ever so delicately, making sure not to step on any rocks or sharp objects, which littered the path. He couldn’t honestly expect the mountain’s owner to be affixed in any way on ensuring the security of his customers as they climbed up the mountain. The ‘mon was incredibly busy, persistently working on the projects of numerous customers who inquired him to make an item of value. That didn’t mean, however, he had to like the steep, curving route, where nothing could prevent one from falling off the side and to the ground. Nor could he like the obstacles, which proved to be an ever greater nuisance and danger the further he traveled upwards.

However, he couldn’t use his psychic powers to levitate himself up the face of the mountain. The Prison Bottle, which he still held with his mouth, was inhibiting his abilities far too much for him to do anything more than cushion his fall, if he ever were to fall. The Bottle disturbed him even beyond that; his fur stood on end all over his body, making him appear much larger than he normally was. He could feel cold arcs of discomfort shooting through his nerves and muscles. Every step was an effort, for the Prison Bottle was messing with his senses and ever so slightly disturbing his sense of vision. He had to focus most of his energy on keeping balance and looking ahead, hoping not to stagger over a cliff without knowing it. Given his height, he wouldn’t be able to survive such a fall. That certainly wasn’t a pleasant though, and so he continued, unnerved and disturbed.

His tails twitched as he proceeded, grasping rocks or other objects, trying vainly to preserve his center of balance. They too were not satisfied by the power imbued by the Prison Bottle; their weakness, and, furthermore, the Ninetales’s, were such objects. Objects of immense power, ones that overloaded his mind with their emotions and coursing power. They were beyond nuisances to Silver; they were dangers. As such, he traversed the mountain path in a haphazard manner. He felt that he couldn’t wait to be rid of the item; he could breathe a sigh of relief after that.

Finally, however, after an extended period of time, Silver reached the top of the mountain. His paws quivered and shook, and his tails pointed outwards straight behind him, but he’d made it. He’d reached the top of the mountain, in spite of the difficulty. He was elated, though he was aware that looked quite awkward and frazzled. He dropped the Prison Bottle on the ground rudely, full well knowing, and not caring enough to bother with it, that it was strong enough to resist even the fiercest of blows. Frankly, he could throw it off the side of the mountain, come to the bottom, and find it intact. However, he didn’t focus on the semantics. He hated the bottle, and he needed to remove it from his presence if he was going to have the ability to speak.

Ping! Pow! Ping! Pow!

The mountain, for the most part, leveled out at the top. However, to his side, there was the entrance to a small cave protruding from the miniscule plateau. The sounds seemed to be coming from within the cave, which, Silver was aware, expanded into a much large cavern beneath his feet. He knew those sounds; they were the sounds of armor and weapons being forged. He could feel the rumbling of metal colliding with metal in his paws, jolting him ever so slightly. Shadows danced in the mouth of the cave, displaying the raging chorus of fire amidst a variety of equipment. Yes, this was the place. It was his destination; there was no mistaking it.

The forge of the Immortal Blacksmith.

The noises stopped. Silver tensed. Had the blacksmith heard his arrival? The booming, deep voice that echoed outwards from the cave confirmed his suspicions.

“Who are you, and what do you want? I’m pretty busy here, so you better make it quick. State your business!”

If Silver had been jolted by the rumbling of the ground beneath his feet, this felt as though a small earthquake was shaking him back and forth. That voice, which was already deep and intimidating enough, had been thoroughly magnified by the cave beneath, making him sound as though the blacksmith was incredibly powerful, boisterous, and otherwise completely intimidating. Silver was impressed. It was no wonder that most people referred to the blacksmith as the god of the forge, a master, and a genius. The blacksmith knew how to make a show. Silver, however, wondered what the true personality of the blacksmith was like. Was he as scary as he seemed to be, or was a he a more laid-back fellow? He thought that there was only one way to find out. Undeterred by the influence of the Prison Bottle, Silver, in his loudest and most imposing voice, shot back.

“The Son of Emerald has come to your domain, Immortal Blacksmith. He seeks a means by which to assure the safety of an item of yore. Come if you wish, and come as you dare – this is not the stuff of mere mortals. And, willing you accept, you may yet see a trace of your old friend, who once acquired this item of power through an epic battle, before whisking it into a hiding place, never to be seen again…until now.”

If the blacksmith was going to be dramatic, Silver thought, he may as well do the same. And, just like the blacksmith made his presence clear, Silver did the same. The cave was quiet for a few seconds, not a single sound emanating through it to the Ninetales’s ears. Then came the sound of a voice. It was not a loud, as booming, or as powerful as before, but the identity of the voice was unmistakable. It was the blacksmith, and he was surprised by the response. Silver smiled a malicious smile. He loved it when he was able to outdo or mystify others, and this case was no different.

“The son of….Emerald? No…no, it can’t...yes?”

Footsteps echoed up the cavern. They boomed in the air around Silver’s ears, growing ever stronger as the blacksmith came nearer and nearer to the entrance of the forge. The Ninetales was shaken even more than before by the sheer power of the blacksmith’s footsteps, but he held his ground. He remained, as best as he could, fixated, silent, ever-watching and waiting for the moment when the blacksmith would show himself. He dared not move, nor make a sound; he would let the blacksmith see him, and then decide what to do next.

A gigantic head poked out from the entrance of the cave. The large face of an Emboar peered from the forge, momentarily looking about the area. The eyes then focused on the Ninetales sitting calmly at the middle of the plateau. The Emboar’s eyes widened in what appeared to be either surprise or fear. Its flaming beard grew larger momentarily as it looked the Ninetales up and down, before focusing on the bottle lying at the Ninetales’s feet. Seeing his cue, Silver moved one of his tails, which snatched the bottle. He then gave it a good swing, so it rolled on the ground in the direction of the Emboar. The blacksmith, moving his immense figure, snatched up the bottle as it rolled towards him. He held in the object delicately in his hands, and stared at it. His face had the curiosity of a child, and the amazement of having seen something he had not in a long time.

The Emboar’s wide eyes switched between staring at the Ninetales and then at the Prison Bottle. He opened his mouth to speak, but stammered, too surprised and stunned to even know what to say. However, within a few seconds, he mustered enough of an ability to speak. His voice was full of surprise and amazement, and so was slightly shaky, the Emboar struggling to fight back his emotions and speak his mind. Nonetheless, while the voice was no more so boisterous, it still conveyed a massive amount of emotions, and rang through Silver’s mind.

“Wha….what….why?” The Emboar looked at the Ninetales, looking for a response.

“What? What could you mean?” replied Silver, proud and maliciously happy once more. “How could I have found this…relic…and wrench it from its home? How could I have bested numerous assailants to acquire this item? How could I have stolen what has already been stolen?”

“No…no, not at all,” replied Emboar. His fingers traced over the Prison Bottle, looking at it with intense interest and focus. He was entirely immersed in the object’s beauty and importance to him, not bothering to look at the Ninetales anymore. The Emboar replied in a distracted tone, but the effect of thought and confusion was, nonetheless, the same. “Your reputation precedes you, Son of Emerald.” The Emboar smiled as he continued, though he still fixated his gaze upon the bottle, “Some of my regular customers claim to know friends who happened to meet you. They say you provided them with their future fates, told them what to do about them, and you even managed saved a few of their lives. I know you too well, Silver. I know your power, I know what you can do; I’m not surprised in the slightest that you were able to find this and free it from its prison.” He stopped smiling, but Silver could see that the replacing expression was one of confusion and curiosity. “But…Why? Why would you do this? Why would you give it to me? It’s not mine. Why, of everybody on this planet, would you bring it to me?”

Silver laughed briefly. He was overjoyed. He’d completely caught the blacksmith within his spell. He’d manipulated the blacksmith’s feelings, enthralled him with his words, and could now be able to accomplish the next step in his plan. Speaking once more, making sure to hide the joy in his voice, he replied to the Emboar’s curiosity:

“You see, I have an idea, and I need your help…”

======

Much, much later…

“That’s…it? You want us to do…this?”

“You do owe me a favor. In my eyes, this is the perfect way of repaying it.”

“Yes, that’s true. I’m surprised that your terms are so lenient, is all.”

“Lenient? How can that be? After all, I am asking you, and your entire tribe, to make residence in this little…oh, shall I call it an ‘establishment’? It simply sounds much better than ‘a gigantic labyrinth that would be hopeless for most anyone to traverse.’ Anyways, you will have to remain for as long as the relic stays within the labyrinth. You will have to guard it from invasion, protect it from intruders, and, most of all, assure that only the most capable, and good hearted, can gain access to it. It doesn’t sound so lenient to me.”

“But we can have a home. We’d remained for so long without a place to sleep for such a long time, stuck to wandering the landscape in search of a place that we can live, exist peacefully, and be ourselves for a change. As fun and as scary as we can be, rather than forever fighting off foes and despairing over our situation. And now, we are on the cusp of having yet. We can defend the relic within. We can fight off our enemies and guard it as best we can, and assure that it does not fall into the wrong hands. We can do everything you ask of. It’s not that we like to fight foes, but we don’t mind it nearly as much as not having a home. So, yes, this is lenient; you get what you ask for, and we get what we want.”

“So, should I assume that you will accept the deal?”

“Without hesitation.”

“Wonderful! Wonderful! And, as I’m in a good mood today, you may feel free to move in everybody as soon as possible. It’s my form of thanks for your help.”

“Thank you, Silver.”

“You’re welcome, Xolotl.”

“Once again, that isn’t my name.”

“It feels appropriate enough.”

======

Silver heaved the massive rock into place. The object glowed purple as it slowly moved into place, pushed onward by the effort of Silver’s psychic powers. However, the massive boulder fell into place with a loud boom! sound. Silver looked at his efforts with satisfaction. He’d done it. The final element of his plan was now in place. He had nothing more to worry about related to that infernal bottle. He was free of it. The Ninetales was elated. Yes, he knew that he was bound to come back someday. The cave entrance would be exposed, a fight would occur, and he would have to return to provide a suitable defense against his foes. His visions had already told him of this. However, for the time being, he was free of this dance with danger and death. He couldn’t think of anything better.

He had succeeded, and now had to wait. Wait for the inevitable. Wait and see what would happen.

Wait and see who would come.

Day A7

“I’m going to kill him.” Sully hissed, again drawing her blade across a stone, sharpening it.

“Sully, he did save my life.” Alek protested.
“Can’t we just leave him alone? I mean… who’s he going to tell our real names too?”

The two were currently sitting out in front of the house they were currently staying in. They’d decided to talk outside, where their conversation was less likely to be noticed. After all, Sully was talking about murdering the Flaafy that had saved Alek.

“He knows too much! He can’t be allowed to live. Him and all those other friends of his that heard our names.” Sully said stubbornly, continuing to sharpen her blade. She’d need it in top condition for slicing through that guy’s coarse wool.

“But he saved my life! He was just being cautious! You’d act the same way! He could’ve thought we were some kind of con artists!” Alek shouted at her.

Sully used Mean Look

“Alek, I wouldn’t give a damn if he saved a burning orphanage. Right now, he’s jeopardizing YOUR mission.” Sully hissed menacingly.

Alek sighed in defeat, lowering his head. Mostly to get out of the effect of Sully’s terrifying gaze.
“Sully, there has to be more to it than that. Did he say something to you?”

Sully froze, remembering the electric lamb’s ramblings about Darius.
“Darius? In the New Order? It isn’t true. Somehow, he had a psychic tap my brain to get that information. But what if he’s right? And what about my uncle? How’d he know him?”

Sully knew she’d have to have a few words with the Flaafy before she killed him. Maybe ask for information in exchange for his life, and then kill him anyways.
“No, you’re better than that.”

“Sully?” Alek asked concernedly, seeing her lost in thought.

The Seviper snapped out of her deep thought, looking to Alek.
“He… he told me Darius was working for the New Order.” Sully spat out, her blade flashing threateningly behind her. If someone were to surprise her at this moment, their life would meet an unexpected end.

“You mean… THE Darius?”

“Well, that guy’s Darius was a Cacturne, so I’m guessing yeah.” Sully said.

“Did you even get any of their names?” Alek asked her suddenly.
“I mean… it might be nice if we had something on them.”

Sully thought back.
When shortly after that Joltik had saved Alek, and Sully had been ensuring there had been no foul play in the healing, the Flaafy had returned with a Machoke and Venomoth. And he’d introduced himself and his friends to them.
“There was a Fleedjio. Also Zulu, Ariala, Riley, and a Twinkiel. I didn’t see whose names were whose though.”

“Dang…” Alek sighed.
“So, back to Darius. How do you know this guy wasn’t trying to mess with your head?”

“HOW THE HELL WOULD HE EVEN KNOW ABOUT MY RELATION TO DARIUS!!!” Sully practically screamed at Alek, her tailblade biting into the wood of their current house.

“ONLY I KNEW HOW TO GET INTO THE CITY!” The Nidoking shouted back from inside the house, experiencing another war flashback.

There was an awkward silence after the outburst, several passerby just staring at them as they passed.

“Sully...”

“Not a word out of you.” She said through gritted fangs.
“You don’t understand what it’s like to live in constant fear of someone you know is still out there. My past is coming back to haunt me Alek, and I was told today that he’s on the same f***ing side as me!” Sully shouted, quivering with rage. And a little fear...
“What if he’s right?”

Alek stiffened at this. This kind of talk would be considered treasonous by practically everyone in the New Order.

“Sully, I’m sure there’s an explanation for this. Think about it. A guy like Darius working outside of the law would just have to grab an N.O. scarf from someone to pass of as an agent of the New Order, and maybe get some people off his back. Just because that Flaafy said Darius was working for us doesn’t mean it’s necessarily true.”

“That doesn’t change the fact I’m going to kill the Flaafy. He’s clever, I’ll give him that. But I’ve got some pretty potent poison on hand. One drop from that in the guy and he’s history.”

“Ok, seriously. He’s not getting in the way, and once we leave here, chances are we’ll never see him again.” Alek ridiculed.

“I’ve gone over why he has to go.”

“And none of your reasons actually make sense. Come on, there’s something you aren’t telling me.” Alek said.
“He mentioned Darius, he figured out we’re New order, but did he say something else?”

“You wanna know what he tried to do? How he figured out we’re from the N.O.? He threatened to kill you.” Sully said. At this point, she was all angered out, and just looked exhausted.
“I messed up. When he asked us our names… I hesitated. I guess he caught on pretty fast that I was lying. He held an Electro Ball to your head and threatened to kill you unless I told him who we were…”
She laid her head on the table, looking defeated.
“I screwed us both over pretty bad Alek. I wanted to come along, and I pretty much ended our mission.”

The two sat there in silence for a while, neither of them able to think of something to say. That is until the silence was broken by Alek.

“Thanks Sully.” He said, giving her a reassuring smile.

“For what? Screwing us both over?” Sully asked in annoyance.

“No. For, you know, not letting me die. I’m glad that I mean more to you than the mission.” Alek smiled.

“Hey, you’re just an asset to me. One that I invested a lot of time and a pretty hard to make potion into. I couldn’t just let all the hard work be for nothing.” She chuckled.
“But you’re welcome.”

Alek stood up, yawning.
“Hope you don’t mind, but I’m going to take a nap. With me almost dying today, I need some rest.” He said, looking down at his dressed wound.

“Yeah, you do that.” Sully nodded.
Alek could tell, she was deep in thought.

“Please, for the love of Arceus, don’t do anything stupid or reckless.”

“Like get some full body war tattoos?” She asked with a smirk.

“Yeah, like that.” Alek responded with a nervous smile, walking back into the house.

Sully made sure he was gone before crawling over to the side of the house, retrieving the poison vial she’d hidden there in her pouch. Uncorking it with her mouth, and making sure not to swallow any of the poison herself, she lathered her tail blade in the liquid. It was a very potent venom that took about a week to actually brew. All it took was a drop in the bloodstream, and the target would seize up in a lethal paralysis, basically suffocating to death due to inability to function. She of course hadn’t gotten authorization to make it, but since when did she ever get permission for this sort of thing.
And she had a very specific target in mind. That Flaafy, Twinkiel. He’d learn the hard way why he shouldn’t have pissed her off by threatening her friend. She knew how to hold a grudge after all. And even if he did end up saving Alek, she really didn’t care. The guy was a total loon, and people like him were too dangerous to leave alive.

~~~~~

Sully found her target easily enough. After all, he had no reason to be stealthy. After his victory over the deranged Mr. Mime Mumbles, whom Sully had never seen before that day, many of the occupants of Cutthroat Pass looked at the Flaafy with a sort of respect. But Sully doubted they’d intervene if she did anything.
He was currently purchasing what looked like copper nails from a Magcargo vendor, likely for that club they were starting up. Too bad that after today, that operation wasn’t going to see completion…

“Hey. You.” Sully called out to him.

Twinkiel froze for a second, his gaze snapping to the Seviper approaching him.

“Well, if it isn’t the swear dictionary.” He smiled, though Sully could tell he was already suspicious of her.
“What can I do for you today? Shouldn’t you be home taking care of your boyfriend?”

“He’s NOT my damn boyfriend. He’s just my partner is all.” Sully said dismissively. She could tell, Twinkiel was just as tensed as her. He was expecting her to do something. She had to bring his guard down if this was going to work.
“I just wanted to find you and give you a proper… thanks for saving him.” Sully said.

“Hey, I’m not one to let someone die on my watch. Except my enemies.” Twinkiel shrugged.
“Really, it was my buddy who came and let me know about your sliced Greninja, though I’ll gladly take his thank y…”

Seeing his muscles relax for a brief instance, Sully struck.

Day Negative X



Five hundred thirteen. That’s how many criminals he had captured. From the petty thief to the cold blooded murderer, he had made the world a better place.
Blue and orange tentacles ran from each of the cells lining the massive underground cavern, connecting to the machine the Guardian had acquired several weeks ago. And inside each of the cells, each tentacle pierced one of his prisoners. They weren’t dead, at least not yet. But once he activated the machine, the room would be quite devoid of life.
This machine, designed by Regigigas himself, had the ability to heal others. It had been used on Anzana long ago, but his injuries had been too severe for even it.
But the Guardian wasn’t planning on using it to heal. By cutting off parts of himself, which he then regrew using his regenerative abilities, he had implanted himself in the machine, using his genetic code and power to alter it. It would now drain the life and power from his captives, and give it to him. He wouldn’t even need his artifact once he had the power of so many. Then he’d capture each of the legendries, one by one, and take their power. And finally, he would take Arceus’s.

~~~~~

The stone slab blocking the doorway to the Guardian’s home blasted inward, a group of Pokemon striding in. Mewtwo, Zekrom, Reshiram, Genesect, Darkrai, and Mew.

“Darkrai, stay here. We can’t afford to let Deoxys escape.”

Darkrai nodded, a veil of darkness encompassing the mouth of the cave. Though the Guardian could teleport, Darkrai would attempt to nullify the psychic action with his own dark power.

“The rest of you, with me.” Mewtwo ordered, motioning for his group to follow.
Zekrom and Reshiram had to stoop pretty low to follow behind the much smaller Legendries, but the tunnel was surprisingly large. Clearly Deoxys had needed it that way to easier bring in larger Pokemon.

“So, you come at last.”

The five Legendries took an offensive stance, Genesect’s cannon readying itself.

“Anzana, I’m surprised at you. Coming against the one who saved your life. Though I don’t recall you having so much metal.” Deoxys’ voice stated disapprovingly.

“This platform’s name is Genesect. And this unit will follow orders.” Genesect stated in his robotic voice.

“So it seems the Regis have done proper brainwashing on you. You’re not the general I once knew.” Deoxys continued.

“Mew, where is that coming from?” Reshiram asked uneasily, looking around for the source of the voice.

“I’m trying to trace it. It’s coming from…”
She suddenly froze, as if she couldn’t believe what she’d figured out.
“Almost 400 feet below us.”

“I needed the privacy and security. I take it you all know full well what I have here?” Deoxys asked.

“Yes. You have innocent mortals imprisoned he…” Zekrom began

“WRONG!” The guardian screeched, his voice taking on a more manic tone.
“I have 513 bad boys and girls in timeout! You see, I had the guts to do what none of you ever could. Fight the bad guys. And now their pathetic little lives are about to actually be useful. I hope you get here in time, because their timeout is about to get a lot more… permanent.”

“You monster!” Reshiram shouted, fire blazing to life around her. Zekrom did likewise, electricity sparking from his turbine-like tail.

“I do hope you don’t get stuck on my security. But from what I know of you Legendries, you should have no trouble. You are used to throwing away lives.”

Mewtwo stood resolute, though Deoxys’ banter had disturbed him slightly.
“We need to move. Before there is nothing left to save.” He said.
The others nodded, all except Mew. She looked like she’d gone into shock at hearing this.
“Mew, if this is too much, then you should leave now. We can’t have anyone unable to function here.” Reshiram said concernedly.

Mew remained quiet, looking upward with her eyes closed. But she soon brought her head down to look straight ahead, her eyes opening. Determination burned in them.

“Let’s go get him.”

~~~~~

The team of Legendries soon found out what Deoxys had meant by his security. They had soon come to a dead end of the elaborate cave system, a circular room with no more paths. But the room was not empty. An Ampharos stood in the center of the room, chained to some kind of sacrificial pillar, a blindfold tied around his eyes.

“Spill his blood on the pillar, and the way forward will be revealed.” Deoxys’ voice said.

The five looked to each other, already weighing the options in their mind.

“Well, we have to do it. If we don’t, a whole lot more than one Ampharos is going to die.” Zekrom said.

“No… please…” The Ampharos begged weakly. Mew wondered just how long he’d been there.

“This platform agrees with this synopsis. One cell’s death to benefit the organism.” Genesect stated blandly.

“No. That would make us no different than Deoxys. One murder is just as bad as a hundred.” Mewtwo stated.

“One death is a tragedy. 513 is a statistic.” Genesect said, obviously quoting something.

Mewtwo waved his hand, and the chains around the Ampharos broke, the yellow Pokémon collapsing to the floor. Seeing how weak he was, Mew shared some of her own energy with him. The Ampharos breathed a sigh of relief, rising up as he pulled off the blindfold.

“T-thank you. Thank you so much.” He said, getting on his knees.

“Darkrai, open a shadow corridor. We have a survivor.” Mew ordered telepathically. Several seconds later, a black portal opened in the ground.

“Take this back to the entrance. One of my allies will ensure your safety.” Mewtwo explained, gesturing to the portal.

“I’ll never forget this. I’ll be sure to turn my life around from here on out.” He shouted gleefully, jumping into the portal which several seconds later vanished.

“I sensed no false words in that promise.” Reshiram smiled.

“But now what? How are we supposed to spill his blood if he’s not here any…”

Without warning, Mewtwo walked over to the pillar and placed his hand on it. His eyes glowed as he formed a small, psychic blade and cut his own chest with it. Dark blood spilled out of the surprisingly deep wound, coating the pillar. Mewtwo’s skin began to rapidly pale at the loss, but after quite a considerable amount of blood had covered the pillar, it began to glow a sickly purple. It sank into the floor, and a section of the circular room disappeared.

“Mewtwo!” Mew cried, floating over to support her counterpart who had fallen to the ground. But he waved her off, pushing himself back up as he glowed purple, trying to heal himself.

“I am… fine.” He assured, supporting himself only with his psychic energy.

“How selfless.” Deoxys mocked.

“You’ll find future trials will not have such an easy solution.”

~~~~~

Deoxys had been right. The trials ahead hadn’t been easy. But, the quintet had managed to solve every one of them with a sacrifice on their part.
From the two Lucarios that would have served as counterweights to open a door, being dropped into a pit of fire in the process, to the Blaziken that would have suffered the same fate with water, each legendary did what they had to in order to save the life of the intended sacrifice, going through a lot of pain before their allotted time in their situation was up and the path further down was revealed.

“Such nobility and sacrifice should not exist among you Legendries…” Deoxys mused, sounding genuinely surprised.

“You underestimate us then. Here, you’re the only monster.” Reshiram accused.
“And I know for a fact that’s the truth.”

“De… Guardian, please stop this. I know there’s something wrong inside you. We can help you.”

“Mew… I…” Deoxys began, stopping mid-sentence.
“No. I can’t stop. The fact you’re trying to go against my cause proves its worth. I’ve invoked the wrath of the gods against me, because they fear I’ll grow stronger than them. I will win, especially if you continue as you are. You will all be too weak to fight me when you arrive.”

The five Legendries shared looks of knowing that this was true. But they didn’t care. At least Genesect was still fully functional. And if their assumption that the creature they’d dubbed Deoxys was a Psychic type, then Genesect would be their greatest hope of victory.

“You’re almost here it seems. And my device is prepared. You will likely arrive too late to stop me. Mew; know that I do treasure you in my heart. Perhaps, in another reality, we live happily ever after.”
Deoxys’ voice cut out for the last time, its silence almost deafening.

“Come. We must hurry.” Mewtwo ordered.
Nodding in agreement, the Legendries began a mad dash towards Deoxys’ chamber.
But as they ran down one of the longest corridors, something happened. An unexplainable phenomenon that, upon reflection, would make no sense to the Legendries.

“010001000…” A voice spoke.

“What… is that…” A nauseous Mew asked.

“1100001011…”

Mewtwo seemed very disturbed by what he was hearing, glancing all around.

“100100110101…”

“Mewtwo? What’s wrong?” Reshiram asked concernedly.

“It’s him…” Was all Mewtwo said.

“10010000001001100011010010110111001101011!”

They all of a sudden felt extremely dizzy, the world in front of them seeming hazy. But almost as soon as it started, things returned to normal.

“What… just happened?” A nauseous looking Zekrom asked, swaying slightly.

“This platform could not comprehend this phenomenon.” Genesect stated plainly, though even he looked a little shaken. The only one unaffected though, was Mewtwo.

“It’s nothing. Come, we mustn’t delay.” He said, looking slightly spooked about something.

Shrugging off whatever happened, the group continued their dash to Deoxys.

~~~~~

Deoxys was already in the pod when they blasted through the metal doors to his chamber. The lid was still open however. Deoxys hadn’t performed his task yet.

“Destroy it before it’s too late!” Mew screamed, charging up a Hyper Beam. On all sides, the others prepared the same move, Genesect’s cannon unfolding from his back. Mewtwo brought his hands together, charging it up while Zekrom and Reshiram prepared to fire it from their mouths.

“NOW!” Mew shouted, letting loose all her pent up rage and sadness into the attack.
Had any mortal been looking at the display, they likely would have gone blind. The beams lanced out, impacting the target with merciless power. They tore right through the usually very strong metal, the resulting explosion flinging shrapnel everywhere. Mewtwo shielded everyone as best he could, but was unable to shield himself as a jagged piece of metal sliced into his shoulder. When the smoke cleared, the pod was in ruins, the tentacles that had attached from it to each of the prisoners now blackened and withered. Deoxys was gone. They had won.

“We… did it.” Reshiram panted, looking happily at Zekrom.

“Yeah, we did. That’s the end of him.” Zekrom replied, relieved.

At that moment though, Deoxys erupted from the wreckage of the machine. His chest jewel, the one Mew had spied all those years ago in the pile of goo he’d once been, was cracked. And in his eyes was absolute rage.

“You… just couldn’t… leave me alone… COULD YOU!”

A concussive blast of psychic energy exploded outward, sending each of the Legendries reeling, Zekrom and Reshiram slamming into the wall.

“I’ll stain my hands with your blood!”
His form shifted into an extremely bulky body, his head now a part of his upper body with no visible neck.

“T-t-t-target’s D-d-d-defensive capabilities at incalculable levels. Adjusting attack drives.” Genesect announced, his Download ability taking action.

Deoxys slammed into the ground, creating a sizeable crater due to his body’s sheer weight. All the Legendries, even Mewtwo, looked at Deoxys with fear. So the left-wing of the Arcean Order had been right all along. He had been dangerous after all. And now they would all pay the price. Unless he could be stopped.
Mew, Mewtwo, and Genesect, the only still conscious Legendries, rose to meet his challenge.
“Darkrai… Zekrom and Reshiram are down… get them out of here…” Mewtwo grunted out.

“Let me come fight!” Darkrai demanded.

“No, we need you to ensure he doesn’t escape. Block his teleport. We can’t afford to let him get away.”

Pools of darkness formed underneath Zekrom and Reshiram, the unconscious Legendries teleported away.
Mewtwo slowly rose, looking at his adversary.

“You’re an abomination, Deoxys. We trusted you time and time to do the right thing, but you abused our trust. And now, you’ve done something truly evil. I’m sincere in my words, that I feel regret at being unable to have turned you from this dark path when you set down it, but I will do what I must to stop you.”
Mewtwo reached inside himself, feeling for the dark power that he’d long forsworn use of. And he found it, amidst the anger at Deoxys’ betrayal. Grasping it, Mewtwo’s usually bright purple aura now took on a dark blue one, his energy reserves quickly restoring. Genesect readied his gun, and Mew powered herself up with whatever she had left.

“You will try, you will fail, and I’ll continue on with my mission! You don’t matter! You have no power over me! No one does!”
And with that, the two sides clashed. The stakes: The fate of all worlds.

Twinkiel – Venomous Joust

Day A7, 13:00



Twinkiel used Thunderbolt!

Before the poisonous tail could scratch his wool, Twinkiel surrounded his entire body with electricity. Sully quickly retracted her tail and fell back, before immediately dashing again, all fangs out.

Sully used Bite!

Twinkiel used Cotton Guard!

Twinkiel tilted his head on the side, as if offering his neck to his foe. A sudden, thick layer of wool covered it as well as the rest of his body. He glanced at Sully, who swiftly removed her fangs from the Flaaffy's protective wool, a fiery light enlightening her gaze. She knew he could have used Thunderbolt again. He was obviously toying with her.

“Is that some kind of new venom on her tail? It's dripping on the ground...”

“Yeah, I don't think she's here for a friendly visit either. I guess she didn't like the nicknames.”

“Or the threats.”

Twinkiel chortled, shaking his head. He'd have to work on his diplomacy skills sometime this century. Sully's gaze became suspicious.

“Oh no, don't mind me, I'm thinkin' about something else.” the Flaaffy said in a joking tone.

“Something else?” she repeated. “Is everything a damn game to you psycho?”

“Not really. Y'know, we have about three thousands thoughts a day, so don't expect me to control them all. But before we continue, lemme just ask you one question: does this whole situation mean that I was right when I said that Darius hired you to catch me? Sounds like a scary mentor/pupil relationship to have, huh.”

“Stop with that. You're lying. Darius isn't in the New Order, and I have no relationship with him whatsoever.”

Twinkiel grinned. Oh, really.

“And now you're telling me you don't know anything about Darius?”

The Flaaffy's eyes widened to form a psychotic expression on his face.

“...As if.”

Sully's eyes widened as well. She was slightly shivering.

“...You met him. You… You really met him.”

“Oh, 'cause you thought I was lying to you back there? As if.”

“STOP. Stop talking like he does…!” She hissed angrily.

Sully used Mean Look!

Twinkiel stared back, unimpressed.

“That thing only works if your opponent plans to run away. Which I don't. But I'll give you some credit: I know some Venom Knives who'd be jealous of your performance so far.”

Something seemed to come back to the snake's mind.

“How do you know about the Venom Knives?” she inquired carefully. “And… how do you know my uncle?”

“I told you: I've been to Greatwood. I hadn't lied about that either. And you should know why I was there, considering that the New Order invaded the place and tried to kill both your uncle and your cousin.”

“What are you talking about? The Greatwood Conflict had nothing to do with us. We ended up getting involved because some damn scouts explored the place where they weren't supposed to and got themselves killed.”

“Yeeees, and the absolutely ruthless tribes living in Greatwood attacked without question, right?” Twinkiel continued, sarcastic. “'cause obviously, they're just uncivilized peoples who don't even care about who they kill! Ooooh, POOR New Order Skarmory Scouts! May God bless their brave souls, and may them rest in eternal pieces. Amen.”

Hearing several chuckles, Twinkiel looked around him, realizing that a crowd had formed around him and Sully.

“Ooooh, boy. This is gonna be funnier than I expected.”

“Heck,” the Flaffy continued, louder, “that might actually explain why you're trying to kill me for no reason, since y'know, you're part of them. Long live the New Order.”

“Don't try to make us look like the bad guys when damn psychos like you run free! I dunno what happened between you and Darius, but at least he was right in tryin' to catch a fuckin' killer!”

“Point taken. But then, would you say that I was right in trying to free a bunch of slaves your dear hero Darius had captured? 'Cause yes, that's the reason why he tried to catch me in the first place. Courtesy of the New Order, people! And don't go ahead and be like: “oh! But he'd never do such a thing!” 'Cause we both know he would!”

“Yeah, right,” Sully grumbled. “And obviously that makes you the hero every damn 'Mon around must respect for his bravery. Gimme a break, cloud head. I've seen more convincing acts than yours.”

“But I'm not a hero, darling! I'm just doin' what everyone else does: I'm trying to survive. Though unlike you, I'm not trying to enslave people under the banner of justice and peace for all. How's that for a good cliché, am I right?!”

A bunch of Pokemon around the fighters began cheering and laughing.

“Is that all you have to say for yourself?” Sully continued more calmly. “Is that the only damn excuse you've found for yourself? You know nothing about the New Order. You're just a criminal grasping for attention, like so ma–”



Twinkiel used Power Gem!

The Flaaffy fell on his four paws and released several rock-shaped projectiles from his glowing tail, which Sully barely evaded. She hastily slithered towards the Flaaffy, focused again.

Sully used Dragon Tail!

Twinkiel used Cotton Guard!

Despite his protection, Twinkiel was still knocked back against a wall, pushed away by the sheer force of Sully's Dragon Tail. He violently hit a barn, destroying the shop in the process, before disappeared in a cloud of dust.

“Oh, Knock-back effect. Darn, I'm stupid.”

“Sorry,” Twinkiel apologized to the Maractus he had landed upon. “You feelin' okay? Hopefully my Cotton Guard protected you from serious damage.”

A light shade of red appeared on the Pokemon's bright green cheeks.

“I… No, I… I'm fine...”

Twinkiel smiled gently.

“Good to know. But um, you might want to run away for a while. I'll help ya get your shop back later. But you're givin' me a discount, deal? Deal.”

Without awaiting for an answer, the Flaaffy helped the Maractus rise up from the ground and softly pushed her away, ready to keep on fighting.

“And of course it HAD to be a girl.”

“Not that I exactly mind.”

“Dude, she's a cactus. I'm not exactly… wait. Wait a sec, what was that supposed to m–”

“Heads up.”

Twinkiel used Thunderbolt! The Voltek Fleece was activated!

Sully used Poison Tail!

The Seviper sprung once more, attempting a lateral slash towards Twinkiel with the knife-shaped tip of her tail. The latter used his Voltek Fleece to simulate an acrobatic jump above the hit, freeing himself from the fading smoke.

“You doomed yourself,” Sully commented, awaiting for the Flaffy to fall down. But to her utter surprise, he kept on floating, smiling back at her.

“They said I could be anything,” he replied in his joking tone. “So I became a Flying Type. Keep your eye on the birdie!”

Twinkiel used Charge Beam! The Voltek Fleece was activated!

Focusing the beam on his hands, Twinkiel released it in the air as he fell, thus accelerating his fall and smashing the snake on the ground with his feet. He shook his head, chuckling lightly.

“You were warned. But you didn't keep your eye on the birdie. It's anime power up time!”

Twinkiel used Electric Terrain!

The Flaaffy removed one foot from the snake's body to stomp the ground, his pulsing energy affecting it.

Twinkiel used Charge Beam! It turned into EnelSpear!

The empowered point blank blast struck Sully's head, and she began trembling uncontrollably, barely able to defend herself any longer.

“Ah, she's still conscious. Darn. What's plan B?”

“She knows I'm powered up by Electric Terrain. Her tail is right behind me. With that poison she has, her only chance is to strike me from behind whenever the Electric Terrain's out. So the plan is to keep that position 'til Electric Terrain's out. I can feel her muscles move anyway.”

“How do we do that?”

“Like we always do, man. We talk. The longer she forgets that I'm actually focused, the better.”

“You know,” Twinkiel started loudly enough for the crowd to hear, “I think I'm going to return the question. What do you know about the New Order? I mean, aside for the shameless lies you've been eating since you're part of them. You see me as a criminal grasping for attention? Well you don't know me. Where I come from, New Orders are a common thing. They appeared everywhere, and all of them had interesting ideas to offer, but only for themselves. And that's exactly why they should be stopped!”

Sully gazed at Twinkiel, hissing lightly.

“We're trying to spread a stable government for everybody! We're trying to make things right! Don't make it look like we're some sorts of tyrants wanting to take over the world! That's what the fucking Resistance wants, and that's why we fight them!”

Twinkiel smiled gleefully. If only she knew.

“Hey, people!” Twinkiel shouted. “How many of ya became criminals 'cause the New Order are a bunch of nasty-ass jerks?!”

A complete silence followed the Flaaffy's question, but after several hesitations, many Pokemons around Sully and Twinkiel began screaming at the same time.

“They took mah baby!”

“They forced me to go to war then left me rot in 'ere!”

“They took me away from my family!”

“They used me as a mercenary, but when I wasn't “useful” anymore, they cast me out!”

“I got away from their prisons!”

“Yeah! Worse prisons ever!”

“Zapdos is a douche!”

“No, Thundurus is the bigger douche!”

“He zapped my wife!”

An endless cacophony of complains and hateful shouts kept on going as Twinkiel smiled down on Sully, who looked all around her, evidently shocked.

Twinkiel used Thunderbolt! The Voltek Fleece was activated!

“Just in case she acts differently from the plan.”

“That and they need to shut up.”

Twinkiel released his shot in the air, awaiting for the Pokemons around him to calm down.

“I spent quite some time with Asdaluz,” the Flaaffy continued, “and I remember listening to his description of Zapdos killing his soldiers one by one. The way that Legendary shoved his beak inside of them to take out their insides and pretty much eat them. I saw Thundurus behaving like some kind of almighty God. I also saw Kyurem, and what he tried to do to me and my friends. And speaking of friends, they saw Darius' slaves, whom we managed to free only because Darius was busy fighting me. Fun fact: they were all part of the New Order, and still are. And you? What have you seen of the New Order outside of your well-protected walls? What have you seen of the way the Legendaries behave towards others?”

Sully stayed silent for a long time, only able to stare a the Flaaffy in front of her.

“Bet I'm not JUST a criminal now, huh.”

“...They fed me, and sheltered me when I needed it,” she finally uttered. “They taught me how to defend myself, how beautiful would a world be if it was united. With no wars, no conflicts, and controlled criminals like you, or that crowd you're so damn proud to have by your side!”

“These criminals, just like me, were made!” Twinkiel shouted in return. “The main reason why they're seen as criminals is because someone triggered all of this! Lemme put this in yet another way, 'cause you seem too blinded by your own point of view to try and grasp mine.”

Twinkiel approached his face from hers, staring into her eyes.

“Electric Terrain's still there. Try to focus on her heartbeats.”

“...Have you met Hoopa?”

Sully's heart immediately missed a beat, and her eyes slightly widened.

“Ah! Looks like you did. Well then, how does it feel? How does it feel knowing that you're on the same side as the Mischief Pokemon? A 'Mon who stole entire castles 'cause he wanted the treasures inside, ruined people's lives by taking their belongings, or killing those who got in his way? And all of this for fun? D'you really think Hoopa cares about justice or freedom? Well newsflash: he's on your side! You're working for him, and he's working for fun! You might as well ask Darkrai if he likes cute Pichus. And by the way? He's the enbodiment of darkness and nightmares. He's also on your side.”

“...I...”

“What's that?” Twinkiel interrupted again. “Still think you're on the “good” side? You know what, don't answer that to me: answer that to them! Look at all these people who's lives have been affected by the New Order! Look at them all, secluded in this forsaken place! Look at them and tell them that you're working for a “better world” if you truly believe it! Oh, and don't forget to mention that you're planning to kill them all, okay? After all, who'd want to deal with a bunch of isolated 'Mons that have no use for the “New” society?”

“SHUT UP!” Sully shouted.

The Electric Terrain faded away!



“Here it comes!”

Twinkiel put a tiny bit of his electricity back into his foot. Focusing, he felt a swift, undetectable movement at the tip of Sully's body.

Sully used Poison Tail!

Without turning back, and before she could finish her move, Twinkiel wrapped his own tail around hers, keeping Sully's dangerous knife-shaped weapon away from his body.

Twinkiel used Thunderwave! Sully was paralyzed!

“BOOM. I'm a freakin' genius!”

“If she has Shed Skin, We'll have to finish her off. But she probably has Infiltrator.”

“We'd have much less trouble uniting this world if the damn Resistance wasn't fucking with everyone!” Sully screamed desperately, small, invisible tears running down her eyes as she understood that she was defeated.

“You're right,” Twinkiel admitted softly. “But conflicts exist because of differences in each side's views. You think the Resistance are a bunch of crazy folk who works for chaos? What makes you think they don't think the exact same thing about you? Why are they really resisting in the first place? What do you know about the Resistance, aside that they're crazy, according to the New Order? And speaking of crazy, what's your deal with me? Don't you have anything to lose? Do you hate me that much?

“You need to be silenced! Especially since you're willing to threaten people's lives on a daily basis!”

“Actually, I only do that depending on the situation I'm in. Right now, we're in Cutthroat Pass, and we live in a divided world. What did you expect? Besides, fighting me means putting your existence on the line. You'd sacrifice everything to make sure you'll get my head? Who's the crazy 'Mon here again?”

Sully sustained the Flaaffy's gaze for several long seconds before turning away, unable to answer him.

“...Go ahead. Kill me. I know you're itching to–”

She interrupted herself, eyes widened as she witnessed Twinkiel release her tail, remove his foot from her paralyzed body and march towards the destroyed shop, where a shoulder bag had been left next to the remains. He took it and smile cheerfully at the Maractus standing right next to it.

“Thanks for keepin' an eye on that bag, Miss! She tends to bite the dust quite often, if you catch my drift.”

The Pokemon giggled, giving the bag back to its owner.

“D'aww. She's nice to make ya think that joke was funny.”

“And what about how nice I am to try and lighten up the mood?”

“You really don't have to.”

“The least I can do after landing on her is tryin' to be nice. I'm not a complete jerk.”

“And speakin' of jerks...” Twinkiel muttered to himself before gazing back on Sully. She stared at him, a questioning look stuck on the face.

“I love that “why did he stop?” look of yours,” Twinkiel commented. “Y'know, as much as I hate the fact that you're a member of the New Order, I care more about the person you are than the side you're on.”

He smiled at her, putting on his shoulder bag.

“You're not my enemy, so, do as you wish! You can either keep trying to kill me, in which case I'll be forced to defend myself the usual way, or you can sit down and have a word with me, in which case I'll prepare a delicious tea party, cure your paralysis and answer to whatever inquiry you may have. I'm heading back to the cave! No matter which option you choose, you just need to follow me to fulfill it. Smell ya later!”

And with that, along with a last smile towards the Maractus, Twinkiel went on his way, firmly planting his feet on the ground after each step, with tiny electric shocks crackling around his legs.

“No Electric Terrain?”

“She'd feel it. I'm just makin' sure I can react fast enough if she chooses the first option. I know she's paralyzed, but we never know.”

“Hopefully she won't. I'm pretty sure Sitrus tea would be delicious for everybody. I hope Ariala's preparing it.”

“I know, right?”

“You know, It’s funny. I’m the only Legendary that’s never died before, except for Arceus. I remember back when I was the God of creativity. But what I saw my friends do to him changed me forever. And seeing what he did back to them made me lose my mind. But that’s ok. I prefer madness anyway.” – Journal of an unknown Legendary

~~~~~

Day A7 (For all snippets)



Arthur chuckled to himself, rereading the letter. So, Alek had actually one a game of hide and seek? If only he had been there…

“Hey, Rookie, what do you have there?”

“What? Oh, just a letter from a friend.” Arthur said, tucking the letter into his shell.

The Pillowswine walked (or rather scooted, what with his legs not even being visible) over to Arthur.
“You’ve been smiling at that letter for the last five minutes. Sounds to me like it might be a special little lady.” The Pillowsine said, waggling his massive eyebrows.

“I wish. This actually just from a close friend of mine. Kind of a little brother to me.” Arthur said.

“Did you leave him behind when you ran from the NO?”

“I guess you could say that…” Arthur said, not really wanting to go into more details, lest he blow his cover.
He’d actually managed to install himself as part of the security staff of the base after his heroics on the outskirts, and he’d been here for the last few days. Unfortunately, there were areas still blocked off to him. He was more of an auxiliary guard. He did guard the base, but didn’t stay in it. He was still living in the shack he’d originally been staying in, and he’d figured he’d have gotten hypothermia by now if it hadn’t been for Felicity’s scarf considering how poorly insulated it was to the cold.

“Sorry. Didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.” The Pillowsine apologized.
“Who knows. Maybe when the war ends and peace returns, you’ll get to see him again.”

“Yeah, maybe.” Arthur said distractedly.

“Rookie!”

Arthur and the Pillowswine both turned towards the sound of the voice to see the Beartic captain of the guards approaching.

“Sir.” Arthur saluted, the Pillowswine shifting to indicate he was at least making an effort to do the same.

“No need to salute me. You’re not an official guard here. At least, not yet.” The Beartic said.

“Sir?”

“Base commander Cassandra would like to speak with you. Now.”

~~~~~



Felicity sat on the ledge, looking out over the barren wasteland surrounding Mt. Providence. In the scorch of the day, it looked absolutely dead. Which was how she felt.

“Felicity… I’m sorry.”

Turia had teleported in behind her, looking crestfallen.

“Iblis, Gatsby and I have searched everywhere, both physically and mentally. There’s no sign of Alek.” She informed.

“I know. And there’s only two reasons that would be. Either he’s out of range, which seems unlikely since he would need quite some time to get out of our psychic range, or he’s dead.” Felicity said, sniffling.
“What about Sully?”

“We can’t find her anywhere either. What’s more, that Gallade you asked us to keep tabs on has gone missing too.”

“When?” Felicity asked.

“It’s hard to say exactly when any of them went missing. You didn’t ask us to look for Alek until after the day you didn’t see him anywhere, and we didn’t notice the Gallade had gone missing until this morn… hey.”

Felicity had just broken down into sobs, her face in her hands.
Turia sat down next to her, trying to reassure her.

“What would Arthur say if he saw you like this? You aren’t going to get anything done in this state.”

“What is there to do? Alek’s gone, Sully’s gone, and our prime suspect is also gone. Not only that, but Yveltal himself is dead.”

Everyone had been surprised by the news delivered by Cobalion. Apparently, the Resistance had launched a stealth attack on the mountain, managing to free Articuno. Not only that, but Yveltal had died fighting alongside Dialga.

“Yes, the news was a little… demoralizing. But the Resistance doesn’t have the monpower we have. They’ll lose in the end, and we’ll all be there to celebrate.”

Felicity managed to stifle her sobs for now, her head rising out from her hands.
“Thank you, Turia.”

“No thanks required. Since we’re not enemies, it’s only logical I keep you in fighting shape.” Turia waved off.
She stood up from her seat.
“He’s not dead, Felicity. I hope you realize that. I doubt our leaders would turn a blind eye to soldiers killing each other off.”

“I never thought they would.” Felicity affirmed.

Turia just nodded before blinking away in a flash of psychic, leaving the Delphox all by her lonesome. Which is just what she wanted.
She clasped her hands together in front of her, bowing her head.
“… lady of knowledge, Uxie, I ask that you answer my prayer…” She said.
“I know… we’re enemies. And my opinion of you and your allies doesn’t change. But I ask for one thing from you. And if you grant me this one wish, then someday, I’ll repay the favor. Just please, if Alek is alive… give him the knowledge to keep him safe.”

~~~~~



“I’ve never seen anything quite like it.” Mew said.

“I have.” Mewtwo refuted.

He, Mew, Zekrom, and Celebi were gathered around one of the Pokemon refugees from Darius’s lair, an Umbreon, observing the black metal cuff around his leg.

“Don’t tell me you’re still on that whole otherworldly foe conspiracy.” Zekrom said.

“I’m not going to argue anymore with you on this. I saw the creature. I fought his drones. Surely, we all must see how scarce the Riolu evolution line as a whole is becoming.”

“Mewtwo, this is neither the time or place.” Mew said.
“Let’s focus on this cuff.”

“Yes, please.” The Umbreon said.

The four returned their gaze to the cuff.

“It’s of Acolyte make and design, that’s for sure. The same kind of metal they miraculously had access to during the war.” Mewtwo observed.

“You think that Darius is an Acolyte? Or at least a descendent of one?” Zekrom asked.

“I doubt it. His family lineage doesn’t trace back to Vallus.” Mew said.
“I do have a pretty good understanding of the genealogy of the entire population of the planet, being the mother of all Pokemon, though I cheated a little and simply spoke with Uxie, Mesprit, and Azelf, who are still in extended meditation, but not so deep that I couldn’t reach them. And thanks to Cresselia, I know the identities of Darius and his associates.”

“How’d Cresselia help?” Zekrom asked.

“She spoke with Zulu last night via Diancie’s crystal.” Mew said.
“Darius was the son of Florence the Cacturne and Clawdia the Mienshao. He killed them in a fit of rage.”
“Cornelius Dudley III is the sole remaining heir of a Vallus Noble house that was all killed off by an Acolyte splinter group several decades after the end of the war. Cornelius was brought here by a family friend who died of a heart attack not even a month after arriving.”
“Teemo the Carnivine isn’t too fascinating. Just a run of the mill criminal who worked with a gang of cutthroats in Sazandora before he left them to work with Darius.”
“As for Keela… I was unable to learn anything on her. It’s as if there’s some presence blocking the Lake Trio from gathering information.”

“Something about that just screams Acolyte.” Zekrom said.

“Giratina was imprisoned in the Death Realm. He didn’t have that power when he was in this plane of existence, he shouldn’t have that power now, even if he did jump to the Distortion World.” Mewtwo said.
“Still, she’s our prime suspect as to where these cuffs came from. And if they operate under the same principles as the golden armor worn by high ranking Acolytes, then breaking them should be easy enough with our combined might. Mew, Celebi, if you would.”

The three Legendries approached the Umbreon, who looked at them nervously.
“This won’t… hurt me, right?”

“No.” Celebi said, though remembered their only experience dealing with this metal was to destroy those wearing it. And that hadn’t had the power draining properties this did.

“Alright. On my count. One… two…”

On three, thin beams of light hit the cuff from their outstretched hands.

A dark voice screamed out as the cuff practically disintegrated, the Umbreon crying out in alarm and quickly dashing away from the ethereal fragments, which soon faded away.

“… what in Arceus’ name was that.” Zekrom said, all of them frozen in shock.
“Please tell me that’s not going to happen with every cuff.”

“If it is, then we’ll need to find an isolated area, or at the very least create one, and remove them there.” Mew said.

“Agreed.” Celebi nodded.

~~~~~



Kyogre floated in the great lake in the Valley of the ancients, ready to set out. Him and his fleet of Sharpedo’s and Wailords were already waiting for him just off the east coast of Terraria. They couldn’t travel down the rive to Greatwood, as they’d have to pass through the jungle itself which would risk alerting the tribes there of their intent, and while going around the west side of the continent would be quicker, it went right by the Shrine of Safety, and the Legendries there would all but certainly catch wind of their intents. So, the east coast was their best bet.

“Our forces are in position, Lord Kyogre.” A Pelipper reported, flapping in front of the great Water type.
“All we’re waiting on is for your arrival.”

“Good. I’ll take the submerged cave system to the ocean.” Kyogre said.
“It’s a pretty convenient thing to have. No one else can navigate them but me. Well… except maybe Lugia…”

“Sir… are the rumors true? About lord Yveltal?”

“Mathews, you’ve been my servant for what, five years now?”

“3 months, sir.”

“Ah, right. Well, I’ll let you in on a little secret. Yveltal isn’t dead. He betrayed us.”

The Pelipper was taken back by this statement.

“Yeah, he figured he was on the wrong side, and decided to switch over to the same side as his soulmate.”

“His… soulmate, sir?”

“Yeah, pretty pathetic. He never struck me as the kind to have feelings.” Kyogre scoffed.
“Now, I bet you’re wondering why I’m telling you this?”

“Not particularly sir…” The Pelipper said nervously.

“Well, I figured it was time I got myself a new messenger. You’re a little too slow for my liking.”

The last thing the Pelipper saw was the gaping maw of Kyogre lunging out of the water at him.

~~~~~



Rayquaza looked down on the city of Radiance. In technological terms, it was a wonder. With help from the Regis, the New Order had created one of the first cities in history with a central power grid. It certainly lived up to its name, as its light was clearly visible at night, shining across the continent. But Rayquaza could no longer see the stars at night because of it, something he always enjoyed looking at.
But the lack of stars wasn’t the cause of his melancholy.
It was both the New Order and the Resistance. Two sides of former friends, fighting for blood, using mortals as tools to wage war. It felt all too familiar to what Rayquaza had witnessed at Vallus. Those who refuse to acknowledge history were doomed to repeat it.
And refuse to acknowledge the Acolyte war the mortals did. Practically none of this generation of youth knew about the war, or even what an Acolyte was. Only the veterans of the war knew about it. And it sickened him.
New Order, Resistance… what was the difference. Neither group was clean, and both of them equally guilty. True, the New Order’s Legendries were more prone to deceit than the Resistance’s, but their commanders weren’t so kind hearted. Rayquaza had entertained this idea for quite a while, but had yet to enact it. He needed something to guarantee at least some strength among his own troops, as well as a secure base of operation from which he could ensure his plan succeeded. A plan to survive.

“My Lord.”

Rayquaza looked down towards the voice, seeing his top Skarmory Commander hovering there.

“Solomon.” Rayquaza nodded back.
“How goes the search.”

“Nothing on Sky Station my lord. As you told us, it moves in accordance with the weather. Just as the Regis programmed it to.”

“Yes, it will be difficult to find. But what of your other objective.”

Solomon’s metal beak creaked a little, indicating to Rayquaza he was smiling.
“We believe we may have a lead. Unfortunately, it’s far from here. Off in the motherland. Vatonage.”

Rayquaza raised an eyebrow at this.
“Vatonage? But that’s the birthplace of Exploration Teams. Surely, if it were there, then it would have been found by now.”

“We have reason to suspect it was hidden in plain sight, as it were. At Sky Peak.”

Rayquaza looked quizzically at Solomon.
“Sky Peak? But it’s been explored many times over the years. How would no one have found it?”

“As I said, hidden in plain sight.” Solomon said.
“I can send the order to our team in Vatonage to go ahead and make a move for it.”

“No, not yet.” Rayquaza said.
“If we seize it now, then we’ll bring the wrath of the New Order and the Resistance down on us. Do nothing until Sky Station is found.”

“Yes sir.” Solomon nodded before turning tail and flying back down towards the city.

Rayquaza watched him go. The great dragon knew, the chances of the mortals surviving this civil war of Legendries was slim. He had to take measures to preserve them so they could someday rebuild whatever was left of this world. And to do that, Rayquaza would need power. He needed the Stratos Plate.

~~~~~



“You’ve actually been to Telomere’s monastery?” Alek asked Incredulously.
“Arceus’s high temple itself?”

“Dang right I have.” The Nidoking answered, taking a bite of an apple.
“Me and my team were there to meet up with a contact. An ex-Acolyte, willing to give us information in exchange for protection. And it was some pretty valuable stuff to. He knew how to sneak into Lanna.”

“Giratina’s fortress city, right?”

“That’s right. Good to see a kid who knows his history.” The Nidoking chuckled.

Alek was surprised at how coherent the Nidoking he was currently housing with actually was. All his grumbling and occasional shouts had suggested he had lost his mind a long time ago.

“They don’t teach us anything about the war where I go… used to go for school.” Alek said.
“So, what was it like there? Is it true they have an Arceus statue made of pure pearl, diamond, and platinum?”

“Yeah, it’s true. But I didn’t get long to admire it. I was too focused on trying not to bleed out.” The Nidoking said.
“We got there, and met up with our contact. He and I spoke alone while my men kept watch. But the next thing we knew, the contact was decapitated, and I had a knife in my gut. One of the monks turned out to be Ivan Joplin himself.”

“Uh… who?”

“Good Gods mon, you don’t know about Ivan Joplin?” The Nidoking exclaimed.
“He was a Weavile. A Pokeathlon champion skier before he decided to side with the Acolytes after his two brothers did the same. One of them was killed earlier on in the war, and the other went missing. As for Ivan himself… well, he got his in the end. It’s a good thing I didn’t die, because I was the only one left alive with the information as to the secret path into Lanna. Too bad I wasn’t there for that final assault.”

“Well, then I guess you’re kind of a war hero. How’d you end up here though?”

“End up where?” The Nidoking asked.
“This is my house.”

“No, I mean here in Cutthroat Pass.”

“Cutthroat Pass? As if I’d live in a place like that.” The Nidoking chuckled.

Alek blinked. Maybe this Nidoking wasn’t all there after all.
“Well… thank you for the story sir.” Alek said, standing.

“Anytime.” He said, reclining back in the chair made of several different types of wood.
“If you ever want to hear any more stories, just ask.”

Alek nodded, turning and walking out of the one room house. Maybe he and Sully should go souvenir shopping or something.

~~~~~

“Alright, I want those tiny cakes laid out on the table, and the tea set out next to it.” Twinkiel ordered.
“Zulu! Those aren’t for you!”

Zulu backed away from the small cake he’d been about to take a bite out of.
“Come on, I can’t even have one of them? I’ve been living off berries ever since I came here.” Zulu complained.
“And if they aren’t for me, then who are they for?”

“They’re for me and a friend I’ve got coming here. And this little picnic has to be perfect, or someone could die.” Twinkiel explained.

“I’m still wondering how you managed to make these things in five minutes.” Fleedjio said impressively, looking at the pastries.

“Never doubt the power of electrical baking.” Twinkiel smirked.

“So, who’s the guest of honor?” Arialla asked.

“Oh, just a girl I met recently.” Twinkiel waved off.
“She tried to kill me, but we talked a little, and now I’m having her over for a nice little tea party.”

“And… who is this?” Zulu asked.

“You remember that Seviper girl? Her.”

The group froze.

“She tried to kill you?” Riley asked incredulously.
“And you invited her here for food?”

“Yeah. Pretty ingenious if I say so myself. She never saw it coming.” Twinkiel chuckled.
“And if there’s any good way to beat an enemy, it’s catch em off guard. We’re going to sit down and have a nice long chat to smooth things over. Zulu, mind standing by as our waiter?”

“I really don’t want to be near her. She’s a little terrifying.” Zulu shuddered.

“Alright. Riley?”

The RIolu looked around, as if expecting someone else named that to be nearby.
“Uh… I’m going to go out and get more supplies. Explore the pass a little.”

“Ugh… seriously? This tea party is a matter of life and death.”

“And that’s another weird thing I never thought I’d hear said.” Zulu thought to himself.

“That’s what you get for hanging out with a crazy person.”

“You. Shut. Up. I’m not talking to you after what happened in the desert.”

“Alright. Feel free to thank me for saving your life whenever.”

“Ariala?” Twinkiel asked.

“… ah, what the hey. You could use someone to break things up if a fight starts.” Ariala said.

“I’ll stay too.” Fleedjio said.
“You need some muscle. And besides, the three of us are the Twinkiel squad, remember?”

“Ahem.”

Even Fleedjio jumped a little as the familiar voice of Sully came from the entrance to the cave they were currently holed up in. And there was Sully herself.

“Uh… I’m going to go with Riley.” Zulu said, he and Riley quickly exiting the cave.

Sully ignored them, slithering up opposite of where Twinkiel had positioned himself at the scrap wood table.

“Alright. I’m here.” She said.
“You want to talk? Let’s talk. And I want some answers.”

Twinkiel’s grin broadened to its Cheshire Cat form.
“Oh, I’m certain I have all the answers you need, oh fair snake of the Venom Knife.”

~~~~~



The room was dark. Black would have been an extremely accurate term of description for it. The mirrored floor and ceiling were cracked in some places where support pillars had collapsed. Two skeletons wearing faded golden armor lay near the entrance to the room, which was now sealed shut by fallen debris. A sacrificial altar lay at the other end, rusted chains with cuffs laying off to the side of it. This was the grand chamber of Giratina’s temple, attacked and destroyed during the final days of the war. It was where the Guardian, known as Deoxys as of late, was tortured by Giratina during his brief imprisonment. Despite the Acolyte’s supposed faith to Giratina, no effort had been made to restore the temple to its former glory. If anything, the surviving Acolytes had steered well clear of it following the end of the war.
But soon, the temple would no longer be empty.
Without any sort of indication as to why, a small pool of darkness formed on the mirrored floor of the temple. It bubbled and churned, expanding to encompass much of the center of the chamber. One especially large bubble, however, failed to burst. Instead, it grew bigger, beginning to sink against whatever was rising out of the pool, forming a vaguely draconian shape.
This lasted for several minutes until the pool sank away, leaving a lone figure lying motionless in the center. But their form would have been impossible to make out without the aid of light, which there was none of as far underground as the chamber was.

But the figure was no longer alone. At least not spiritually.
A dark presence began to fill the room in light of the figure’s sudden appearance.

“Wake.” A voice said.

The figure coughed and retched, writhing on the floor as if in pain.

“Let things run their course. You haven’t breathed in a long time.” The voice continued.

The figure spent several minutes wracked by fits of crying, broken only by dry sobs, before they finally managed to regain some composure.

“Where…?” The figure croaked, their voice dry with time.

“You’re in my house. And I take care of my guests.” The voice said, no hint of malice or threat in it.
“Do you remember who you are?”

The figure curled up on itself, thinking.
“N-no. I can’t remember anything…” They said. Their voice, now starting to regain some tone, was very feminine sounding.

“You’re a hero, my new champion. Or at least, you would have been. Your allies saw fit to kill you when it suited them best.” The voice explained.

“My allies? But…” The figure said, sounding heartbroken.

“You remember that least, yes?” The voice asked.

“I think so. Yeah, it was someone very close to me…”

“Correct. To your allies, you are dead. A ghost. A Banshee, blackened by betrayal.” The voice stated.
“But while your screams were expected to be the last thing they heard out of you, they will in fact be the last thing they hear now. With my help, you can take vengeance on the ones who’ve done you wrong.”

The figure was soaking in all this information, not questioning whether it was true or false.

“How? I… I can hardly move. Everything hurts. I can barely even talk…”

“I’ll equip you. Retrain you. Teach you everything you need to know.” The voice promised, enveloping the figure in what could only be described as a comforting hug.

“Really? You’ll do that for me?” The figure asked, some hope finally returning.
“But who are you? What’d ‘you owe me?”

The figure let out a laugh that didn’t sound as comforting as the hug had felt.
“I’m Giratina, lord of darkness, lady of death, and the unknowable oblivion. And you, my Blackened Banshee, are my new wife.”


Silence. And then…
“… did you say lady of death?”

“Uh… yes?”

“Uh, sorry pal. Not going to work with me.”

“… does that upset you? I’m technically genderless.”

“Can you just… like… not call yourself a lady? Please? Lord of Darkness sounds a lot more romantic. In fact, I don’t want to ever hear you use a feminine adjective to describe yourself. Ever. That’s just weird.”

“…ok.”

“Awesome. But I’ll keep the name. Blackened Banshee. Has a nice ring to it.”