This work diverges from the canon from just after the third film and season.
italics: thinking
[square brackets]: pokémon speech translated to English
{curly braces}: thoughtcasting
ANGUISH RECOLLECTION
PART ONE: ZUGZWANG
***** Ruins of Seyna'Gorei Keep, 11:42 a.m. *****
"This will do perfectly."
{It will?}
"Of course, Anmabar," the woman replied with impatience. "A remote, rarely-used route--"
{Partly because no one in their right mind would want to be near Seyna'Gorei, it's that ugly. Outside of us, that is...}
"Well, that's why I'm using Seyna'Gorei itself, and not some cavern complex nearby. Besides, we're pretty close to Kanto here, so getting news from Topaz and Sapphire should be comparatively easy."
{I still think the Whirl Islands would be even better.}
"After what happened the last time we went there? The islands are probably under twenty-four hour watch! I've even received reports that Ho-oh visits the place occasionally. Do you want to take that risk?"
{Good point, Ruby. Although, if you could gather Topaz, Sapphire and Emerald together...Ho-oh would need Lugia and Raikou as well...But I understand your reticence. I'm just not sold on the concept of being this relatively close to human habitation.}
"Don't. Worry. It's not as though I need to scramble things up for a long time. Besides, this is just a dry run of the spell's basics. We can move on after two or three days. I do have a little business in the Orange Islands."
{Joy. That means risk of Lorelei. There's got to be someplace in Johto that would make a good permanent base of operations...}
"Well, maybe Union Cave..." Ruby stepped up to the keep's gate. As she reached the top of the stairs, she frowned behind her mask. "What...There's pokémon in there already!"
Ruby heard Anmabar's grim chuckle. {Too bad for them. What are they, anyway?}
"Skiploom, I think. A full hierarchy, too. They must be here for a pilgrimage."
{Skiploom? On a pilgrimage to Seyna'Gorei? I didn't think they were that closely related to Oddish.}
"Well, they'll still be in the way. And if anyone ever caught one of the Skiploom here...Anmabar, please be a dear..."
{Of course.}
Ruby carefully opened the door, revealing the weed-strewn outer courtyard--and a bunch of frolicking Hoppip and Skiploom. The frolicking ended when they saw the red-robed woman at the gates--and Anmabar behind her...
"Anmabar. Open fire however you like..."
***** 510 meters north, 11:59 a.m. *****
Hermit was worried.
Yes, his previous place of residence had been nice and comfortable...and interesting. However, all that meant nothing right now. A few days ago, he had passed by the woman he was now following.
He could sense the evil that radiated from her. An extremely powerful evil, augmented with necromantic force. Curious, and worried, he had followed her through the city for a couple of days. Then he saw...it.
He had to stop this woman, whatever nefarious scheme she was intending.
Getting away from his benefactor had been the hard part--strictly speaking, there was a chance Hermit would be needed for some new mission. But what could be more important than this? Therefore, with the help of Judgement, he had escaped under the cover of night and, for four days straight, had pursued the woman in secret...
Only now, he had gotten a little lost. He knew Seyna'Gorei was nearby, but not quite the exact location with respect to him.
He had to learn to control himself better. Good thing he had never thought to take the name "Emperor"...
Hermit could detect the trace of the woman's companion, but it was a little difficult to get a lock on the leavings of the aura. And what an aura...so fell...probably straight from Manala...
Well, even if the aura was untraceable, he could just wait for his ally. He'd certainly know how to get to Seyna'Gorei--
Wait. There was something else there...Could the necromancer...?
Hermit turned to where he had detected the new aura. Never were this alert in the past, were you, Hermit? I suppose it's just because I've never been on a mission of such gravity in the past...Oh. I'm safe. She probably wouldn't be allied with him...He watched carefully as the new entrant drew closer. Then he saw...
[Can it be?] Hermit breathed.
[Can it be what?] The entrant asked inquisitively.
[That...that...] Hermit blinked a few times. [Are you...Chariot?]
Chariot drew back a bit. [How did you know? Who are you?]
[I took the name of 'Hermit'.]
Chariot cocked his head to the side. ['Hermit'? Then it might be because of...because of Magician?]
[Of course. We are talking about the 'Magician' named for his birth potence, right?]
Hermit was knocked down as an over-eager Chariot rushed to him, and failed to brake at just the right time. [Please! Tell me all that's happened since I left!]
***** Route 53, 12:39 p.m. *****
"Let's see here..." Ashton Ketchum was busy poring through a small book that he and his friends--Misty Seagrave, Brock Slade, and Pikachu--had found in the previous town. It alleged to explain which pokémon were most frequent in the area. "Hoppip, Yanma, Nidoran, Oddish, Stantler, Beedrill--" Ash grimaced. "I hope we don't run into too many Beedrill."
"I hope we don't run into any at all." Misty looked around warily as she held Togepi to her chest. "What did we come down this route for, anyway? It seems like an awfully roundabout way to get to Goldenrod City."
"Lisa mentioned that there were some particularly rare pokémon in this part of Johto. From the looks of things, though, it seems the only rare ones here are Yanma."
Misty smiled wryly at him. "And we're here so you can find one, right?"
"You got it. According to this guide, Yanma are some of the fastest air-based pokémon in existence. One of them would make a great complement to Noctowl." Ash grinned as he already (and once again) imagined himself as the first-place winner of the Johto League Championships. "Come to think of it, after something like a Yanma, I might not need that many more pokémon, except maybe a Rhydon. I've already got a perfect set, and I've focussed on them so long...There's no way we'll lose!"
"Considering how many times you've been squished right after this kind of a spell..." She directed her gaze to the canopy of the forest that encased the Route. "Maybe you should try to stay relaxed during the journey. All that energy must make your neurons fire too quickly."
Ash's grin immediately transmuted into a scowl. "Hey, what are you saying, Misty? Between this league and the Orange League, I think I proved I'm not stupid!"
"No, not all of the time..."
"WHAT?!"
"Pi-chu, pichu-ka" [Nice going, Misty...] Pikachu muttered. He had elected to stay on the ground during this journey. Now, he figured it was a definitely a good thing he had done so--yet another Ash/Misty argument was brewing...
...except for the fact that Misty, for once, did not look primed for such.
"Take it easy, Ash! I didn't mean that you were a fool a lot. Just...sometimes. You've gotten a lot better since we first met. But...well...you're still prone to being over-optimistic."
"So? What's so bad about being optimistic?!"
"Well," Brock ventured, "you tend to start out over-optimistic, and from there go to brash, from there to simplistic, from there to--HEY!"
"Chu pi-pi-kachu" [I think that's enough.] Pikachu noticed that Brock still hadn't lowered his foot--was that mini-spark he used to startle him into stopping really that potent? "Pi chu-ka-pi chu-chu-pi pika--pika-chu pi pika chu-ka-chu-pi kachu" [It's enough to get the general point to him--you don't have to recite the whole 'descent-to-comparative-incompetence' litany.]
Pikachu was lucky that Ash figured out the "comparative" part. "At least you guys don't think of me as incapable. But trust me--when we reach the Hemlock Arena, you're gonna see the ultimate Pokémon Master in action--who would be me!" As he spoke the word "me", Ash pointed to himself with one hand, and swung the other wide.
Right into a rotting tree stump.
Fortunately, it was decayed enough so that it collapsed on being hit, without scratching or putting splinters into Ash. Still, Ash was not feeling very pleased with himself. "I think I see what you mean. I can't even avoid breaking the scenery right now."
"Oh, don't worry, Ash." Misty walked over to the ruined stump. "I don't think any birds were nesting in there. And there's enough stump left for any...bugs to stay inside." And they'd better stay inside..."See for yourself." Misty turned her gaze towards the stump so Ash would follow it. She had steeled herself for all the bugs that must have been infesting it...
...but some things cannot be steeled for.
Misty's scream could have outdone an Electrode's screech.
Ash, Brock, and Pikachu stared in disbelief. Misty was slowly backing away from the stump, her skin almost wholly white. Her eyes had become very wide, and short, staccato breaths of terror puffed from her mouth. Togepi, who had been awakened from her backpack ride/nap by the scream, was looking around with fright, fearing that whatever had induced this from her mother must be very dangerous indeed.
Misty had been scared of bugs before. This, however, was petrified. None of her friends had seen this before.
"Misty," Ash asked with unalloyed concern, "what's wrong?"
"Ce...ce...cen..."
"Oh! I see!" Brock stuck a twig into the trunk, and withdrew it, this time with something long and spindly dangling off of it. "It's a cute little centipede!"
Togepi relaxed at his words. Misty didn't.
"CUTE?! How can you call that monstrosity 'cute'?!"
"Oh, come on, Misty, it's not gonna hurt y--Pikachu!"
"Chu-ka?" [May I?] Pikachu picked up the centipede where Brock dropped it after the mini-spark. He then gently cast the centipde back into the trunk, and followed suit with the pieces of wood dislodged by Ash's errant hand.
Ash smiled at his friend's foresight. "Good thinking Pikachu...Misty! It's okay! I don't think the centipede can find you now!"
"G-g-good..." Misty regained a bit of her composure, and cautiously walked back to her friends as Togepi chirped trills of comfort to her.
"Misty," Ash asked with unalloyed concern, "is everything okay? I've never seen you like this around bugs. Not even with all those Spinarak, or the Gengar's illusions, or the Azalea Gym." Ash wasn't sure it was a good idea to ask the next question, but unless he knew what was bothering her..."Are...are you allergic to centipede poison...?"
"Hm?" At first, Misty was merely surprised that Ash knew that centipedes were poisonous. Then her mind recognized the full question. "Oh...n-no, it's not that...but...b-but...CENTIPEDES ARE THE VILEST THINGS IN EXISTENCE!! They're every nasty quality of a bug magnified twenty times! Ugly, grotesque, nasty, creepy, vile...I'm sure that the Devil himself is a giant centipede!"
Ash, Brock, and Pikachu just stood dumbfounded for a second, as images of a titanic Tentacruel and an equally titanic centipede battling over the universe's fate filled their heads. Then...
"Toge, toge, pi, toge, briiiii?" [They're really that bad, Mom?]
"Yes, they are! Just like most bugs--no serenity, no majesty, no beauty, no anything! They deserve to live in rot! What was God thinking when He created them...?"
"This from the girl who thinks Tentacruel are beautiful..." Ash muttered. He was fortunate Misty didn't catch what he said. He took couple of steps forward. "Look, Misty, calm down. The centipede's trapped, so it can't do anything to you now. Besides, I'm sure there're no centipedes about Olivine City, so the sooner we get there, the better for both of us!"
Misty smiled weakly at the unconscious enlightened self-interest within that last statement. "O...okay. Be glad to..." Now, it was Misty leading the way through the route--the better to put more distance between her and that...atrocity...
Brock and Ash followed a little more slowly behind her. "So...what do we do now?" Ash whispered to Brock.
"I would say," Brock replied, with equal quiet, "just keep any and all centipedes out of her sight if we can--and millipedes and sea worms, too, to play it safe."
"Pichu-pika" [Not exactly easy,] Pikachu replied. "Ka-chupi-kachu pi-pika-pi, kachu pikachu-ka chupi" [Unless you know of a bug-fear cure, we may have to minimize our travel through forested areas.]
"Well," Ash sighed, "it's been three years that we've been with her, and this is the first time she's gotten so terrified. Maybe that was a once-in-a-decade thing..." He then frowned, but for a different reason...
...a drop of rain had fallen.
But just ten minutes ago, what they had seen of the sky had been perfectly clear.
Now, the sky was overcast with exceptionally dark clouds...
***** Seyna'Gorei Keep, 12:44 p.m. *****
{Thank Lempo for small favors,} Jet thoughtcasted. {Have I ever told you how much I hate bright light?}
{Too many times,} Jasper growled mentally. The Sneasel's normal voice was bad enough, but his thoughtcast voice...{The way you keep whining, it's a wonder you've ever had time to actually fight.}
{Hey, I fight really well, honey-grubber! And I fight with finesse, too! You...well, the day I see a graceful Ursaring is the day I invest in a tanning booth.}
{Shut up, you two.} Jet and Jasper turned to the rather irritated Donphan standing near the balcony overlooking the increasingly wet courtyard. {The whole point of Anmabar's telepathic network is to let us communicate with Ruby, not cavil each other. The network can't be retracted that much or lowered, so give her sanity a rest and bludgeon each other with your words, not your thoughts!}
"I'd hear them anyway, Porphyry." Ruby looked up from the desk where she was recording her observations of the weather control spell. "It's something I've gotten used to, anyway, so I'm sure I can handle it."
{I'm just trying to make things more comfortable for you, my Lady...}
{We're warriors, Porphyry, not courtiers.} Tourmaline adjusted his squat figure to recline better against his wall. {The whole reason we're in her affinity is to be the front line of defense and offense against those who would harm her person or her plans. So there's no need to build up your favor with these little favors--it won't do anything for you.}
{It's not just to curry favor.} Porphyry swung her trunk towards Ruby. {It also feels good to comfort those who fight and plan alongside with you day and night.}
Jet snorted derisively, and audibly. {Been hanging around Sapphire again, lately? I'm telling you, knife girl isn't prime material for the Order, no matter what Topaz thinks.}
{Certainly better material than the previous Sapphire,} Anmabar responded. The telepath was reviewing the spell observations along with Ruby. {Yes, Porphyry does go a little overboard at times, but do you see Ruby hating her for it? No. Life isn't all depradation--there's also the matter of rulership, augmenting defenses--}
{Not my bag. You, Ruby, the Ursaring, the Donphan, the Larvitar, okay. Me? I want my life to be one long battlefield...} Jet's expression had switched from sulking to exultant.
Tourmaline smiled. {Good luck with the "long" part, Jet. My own species is kept down partly because of how often we fight--and thus run afoul of Ukko's lot. I'm grateful that our Liege is a lot less hot-headed than my ilk. A lot of my own siblings tried your course--and got themselves killed for it.}
{Pah. Incautious.}
"Tourmaline has a point, Jet. War's first rule is to know your enemy in totality--and you can't do that if you keep rushing headlong into battle. That's a little like our relationship as Liege and Follower--you provide strength and front-line advice, I provide direction."
{Yeah, maybe...it's just so frustrating at times...I felt like there was a battle brewing today, and I can't help feeling more impatient every minute...}
Tourmaline looked surprised. {A battle? I know your premonitions of those are never wrong, but...Who with? Certainly not the Hoppip and Skiploom that Anmabar killed. Your omens usually look for something more momentous...Ruby? Any ideas?}
Ruby rested her chin on the palm of her hand, with the downward flanges of her mask in front of her hand, as she considered Jet and Tourmaline's words. "I don't know...I certainly wish you had told me about this as soon as I let you out of your receptacle."
{C'mon, I was busy trying to find shelter from the light before you got your new spell version cranking!}
"Nonetheless, if a battle is to come soon, they would probably have to come here, since I intend for us to remain in here for at least another two days. And considering what I've got now..." Ruby turned her gaze to one of the windows for the others to match. There was now a substantial downpour. "We're the only shelter for quite some distance in either direction. Jet's omen may refer to foes who at first just wanted protection from the rain."
{So we want to check Route 53 from here in both directions, is that what you're saying?}
{Indeed it is, Porphyry.} Anmabar nodded towards the rain-soaked route. {If we can get a look at whoever is heading towards here, we'll be better prepared for them...and they'll be less prepared to see the next sunrise.}
"And we can do that right now." Ruby stood up and headed towards the window, setting her right hand on the sill. "This should be a good place to put the aperture...Sagittarius Revelation." As she spoke the words, a wisp of dark grey mist materialized in the window. It rapidly grew into a vertical ellipse that touched all the window's sides. "There. It's going to take a while to find the nearest travellers, but when it does, we'll have something to prepare for..."
*****
"Where did this stupid rainstorm come from?!"
"Toge, toge. Brii-to-briiii-toge?" [Got me, Mom. Maybe this is a Blastoise's rain dance?]
"A rain dance that lasts for fifteen minutes? They usually expire after five minutes!"
"Never mind that!" Ash yelled back. "We've gotta keep moving if we want to find shelter!"
"Do you have any idea how much longer it'll take?"
Ash sighed wearily. "Probably quite a while. If it's taking this long for Zubat to come back..."
Misty understood instantly. A longer return time for Zubat meant more time to reach shelter. First that...abomination...then this...All I need now is for the next shelter to be a training facility for Nurses Joy and/or Officers Jenny...
God, please let the next shelter be abandoned. That's the best way to keep Brock sane.
"Ash, Misty!" Brock's voice carried to them over the howling wind. "Zubat's found shelter!"
"About time!" Ash said. "How much further?"
Zubat began clicking in what sounded like morse code. "She says about half a mile!"
Misty frowned as she and Ash ran to Brock's position. "That close? Why did she take so long?"
"It's this headwind that started up while Zubat was out--she was struggling against it on the whole return journey!"
"Well, at least we'll have it to our backs..." Misty muttered.
"Pika-pi chu-pi-ka?" [What about natural or human threats?] Pikachu asked. "Pika-pichu ka-pi-ka pika-chu-pi pika!" [The wind and rain will just carry all my electricity to you guys!]
That question certainly got Ash's attention. "Wha...Pikachu, what brought that up?"
"Pika chu..." [I don't know...] Pikachu shivered. "Pi-pika-pi chu-pika-pikachu...Pi-chu-pi, pi pika...pika..." [But I've got a really bad feeling just now...When you get down to it, this storm feels...wrong...]
"In that case, we'd better reach shelter fast. Even if this storm is evil, it can't touch us in a dry place, can it?"
"Pika-chu..." [Good point...]
"So, we're agreed on running for this shelter?"
"Yes, we are, Ash," Brock affirmed. "Now...can we please start running again?"
Ash laughed nervously--he hadn't realized that he had stopped moving when Pikachu asked about the threats. "Um, of course."
*****
{They certainly do not look like threats to me,} Jet thoughtcasted. {We should watch out for reinforcements later on, if my omen was any indication.}
{I seem to remember you saying that once before,} Tourmaline retorted. {You didn't consider that your "rock over-specialist" might also be carrying a Magcargo and Kabuto...}
{Don't...remind...me. Actually, where did he get a Kabuto?}
{This is about the century where the colonies go on their five-decade active cycles...But my point is, just because they don't look dangerous doesn't mean they're going to be weaklings.}
{I'll say not,} Porphyry chimed in. {I remember the younger male--that's Ashton Satoshi Ketchum. If memory serves me right, he placed sixteenth in the last Indigo Championship. That's no small feat, so I figure that he and his affinity will be a problem. Don't know about the other two...Anmabar? Ruby? Do you know anything about them?}
"I can't really say, outside of what little Topaz and Sapphire communicated to me..." Ruby muttered. "The Indigo Championships are in Kanto, and I haven't been there for any real length of time for almost a decade. Since Ketchum's allies probably herald from there, I don't think I'd have met them yet."
{Sounds like you already dislike him, though.}
"My reason is why Topaz and Sapphire told me about him in the first place. Give me an opportunity, and I will rebalance matters."
Anmabar, meanwhile, was gazing intently at the Revelation. {I'm sure there's something we're missing. But I do hope they stay here and die--and not just because of your grudge with Ketchum. I fully intend to see to the death of...that.}
Jasper looked confused. {Of what?}
Anmabar shook with fury. {They...have...a...Togepi...}
Ruby laughed quietly with amusement. "You haven't accepted that Togepi and Togetic have been recovering for the past hundred years, have you?"
{My ancestors did so well in burning them out of existence...Every surviving Togetic and Togepi is a slight against them...May that joy elemental die the most horrid death under my gaze!}
"I can see how this battle Jet foresaw is going to start, then. You try to kill the Togepi, the others try to rescue him or her, and the six of us proceed to crush them like walnuts, with the Togepi as first priority."
{Or maybe we succeed in killing the Togepi, and the others try to...avenge...}
Jet looked at Anmabar in askance. {Something else got your attention?}
{...!!!}
{I guess so.}
"Anmabar, what is it?" Ruby got no response. "By the sources of Manala's rivers, Anmabar, what's going on?"
{That Togepi isn't going to be the only focus of the battle.}
{Now what did you find?} Tourmaline asked.
{Ruby, Jasper...imagine the three humans as when they were small children. Then you'll understand.}
{Hey!} Jet sounded offended. {What about us?}
"Except for Jasper, none of you were probably with me during whatever Anmabar is thinking of. From the looks of them, they would have all qualified as children about eight to ten years ago..." Ruby fell silent as she understood precisely what Anmabar meant. "Hiisi's hands..."
{Can we say 'finishable business'?}
"Yes," Ruby whispered, "we can." Behind her, Jasper was grinning, also knowing what Anmabar meant. The others, however...
{Um, my Liege? Care to fill us in?}
"Of course, Porphyry. This will be a privilege for all of you, so you might as well know what happened before. But first, I need to mask the aura about Seyna'Gorei so our future foes' pokémon don't understand where they are. A Cancer Veil should suffice..."
*****
[Hm. I knew he was good, but...I never expected that he'd do that well.]
[From what Magician, Hierophant, and Strength told me, he learned so much more in his travels since you left. He's well on the path of becoming a full Advocate.]
[If, that is, he recognizes how hollow being a Director will prove to be...]
[Don't worry, Chariot. He will, eventually. Everything Magician and the others have told me...I know where his heart really lies. Only Temperance was ever blind to it, and he apparently recovered recently.]
[Temperance? He was his biggest supporter when I left. What happened?]
[Too long to get into. Something about Temperance's pride.]
[Strange, Temperance never struck me as proud...]
[Well...If Magician himself hadn't told me, I wouldn't have imagined that anyone would have been so stupid as to take an inadvertant slight--an imagined slight, no less--so seriously.] Hermit shuddered with disbelief. [Even Judgement, the great avenger, couldn't believe it.]
Chariot sighed quietly. [I understand the nature of the trouble of pride, at least. I had to guide my children past that trouble, without making them incapable of independence. It should be interesting to see how our Liege handles that task once he has children. Humans mature so much more slowly than us...]
[That reminds me--why are you out here in the first place? Didn't you take a mate?]
[Yes. However...she died of a plague two months after our youngest fledged.]
Hermit winced in sympathetic pain. [I shouldn't have asked...]
[It's all right, Hermit. I never sought to run away from that. I had to answer it somehow though. Instead of denying it or moping for the rest of my life, I decided that the best thing to do would be to explore the lands I had never had the opportunity to see. That way, I could at least experience the sort of thing Magician and the others surely would...It's what my wife had long wanted to do after our children fledged...]
[And a nice way we're doing that, hm?] Hermit nodded towards the distant keep. [The red-robed necromancer is in there. Before I ran into you, I was able to convince Temperance to come here, too. Doesn't look like he's here yet, but still, you won't have to worry about lack of reinforcements if we get attacked.]
[Wait a minute...how did you get Temperance to come here?]
[He and a few others managed to stave off an attack on his home from a bunch of corrupt pokémon, headed by a Larvitar and an Ursaring.] Hermit pointed at the keep. [I noticed that the necromancer also had those in her retinue. Because of the time frame between my sighting and the attack, there's a chance the attack was ordered by her. And Seyna'Gorei is a perfect hideout for undesirables like necromancers--out-of-the-way route, and no one in their right mind besides grass pokémon ever goes there intentionally. Besides, the corrupt pokémon were communicating telepathically, it seemed, and...if you concentrate...]
Chariot focussed his attention towards the keep. At first, he sensed nothing. Then...[Yes, I see what you mean. There's a faint buzz down there, but it's not audible.]
[Right. A telepathic network. I say we go down and investigate.]
*****
Ash stared in disbelief at the massive ruin. "Zubat...are you sure it's watertight?"
"Even if it is a wreck," Brock said, "there must be some places where the rain can't get in..."
"Pika, pi-pika-chupi pika. Pi-chuka kachu-pi pi pika-chu-pika, pikachu pi-pika." [Yeah, but make sure we don't fall asleep. Between the storm's feeling and how ugly this place is, a nightmare would be pretty likely.]
"Don't worry, Pikachu," Ash laughed. "We'll have to stay awake anyway to find out when the storm ends."
Misty, meanwhile, was looking at the gatehouse with some concern. "Well, I just hope it ends soon. I don't think we'd want to stay here for long even if we were wide awake. It's kind of like Pikachu with the storm. This place doesn't feel quite right."
Now Ash looked worried, this time with the worry directed towards Misty. "Misty, we don't have to stay here. We could just have Zubat find another place--"
"No, it's okay. It's just that between the storm and the castle...sort of like a creepy old suspense movie."
Ash frowned. This was probably asking for a visit from Gengar and their less mature forms, but..."Okay. We might as well go in."
The three trainers made their way through the gatehouse and entered the courtyard. "Well," Brock commented, "at least the courtyard's all right. Lots of wildflowers, actually--" Brock stopped short as he felt his foot squish on something. Looking down, he saw what had squished. "Wait a second. Where did these ashes come from?"
"Ashes...?" Misty looked around, and saw that the courtyard was, in fact, filled with intermittent clusters of what looked like completely charred paper or leaves. "What do you suppose happened here?"
"I don't know," Brock replied, "but..." He looked towards the keep proper. The stairs leading into it were preceded by a stone platform raised a few inches off the courtyard. The platform, too, had ashes on it. "I guess someone else was here overnight for some reason, and made a fire on the platform. These ashes must have been blown here from the platform by the storm."
"Awful lot of ashes, though," Ash said. "I guess it could have been a bonfire..."
"Yeah. But come on, we've still got to find shelter in here somewhere."
Pikachu, though, felt even more nervous than before, although he hadn't told anyone about it. I thought the storm felt bad, but these ashes...I can't shake the feeling that something terrible is going to happen. He looked at Togepi, snoozing happily in her carry-sack. I wish I could be at as much peace as you right now...
*****
{Is everything okay so far?}
{You better believe it, Anmabar,} Jet thoughtcasted back. {The humans must not have recognized the Hoppip ashes for what they were, and that Pikachu didn't get anything remotely resembling a distinguishable reading. Thank you, Ruby!}
{You're welcome, Jet,} Ruby responded. {Now, our new friends should be entering the main hall by now. Considering how dry it is there, that's probably where they'll stay.}
{But, they won't check out,} Tourmaline grinned. He was watching over the main hall with Jet. {You said the storm will last for another hour at least. More than enough time for us to kill these wretches.}
{Do you mean with or without Anmabar?} Jet asked.
{I want to take on our target personally,} Anmabar replied. {You and Jasper are welcome to help out, but since I was the one who specifically failed the objective the first time, I'd like to be the one who succeeds at the retry. Ruby will handle the others.}
{As will Porphyry and I.} Tourmaline's eyes widened. {Anmabar! Keep the border of the network at us. Our soon-to-be-late guests are here.}
{Got it. The rest of us are already in position.}
{And those positions are...?}
{Jasper and I are in the now pew-less chapel. Ruby and Porphyry are in the personal chambers.}
{Okay. I just wanted to be sure in case trouble came up.}
*****
"Pi-pika" [Nice place,] Pikachu muttered. The main hall was very dark, with only a little ambient light coming in from the windows at either side. "Pika-pi kachu pi-pika" [We'd better be safe in here.]
"Well, dry, certainly," Misty said. "But I agree. I would like to leave as soon as the storm lets up. What was this place, anyway?"
"I think this castle's style dates to about six hundred years ago," Brock answered. "Considering our location, we might be in Seyna'Gorei itself."
"Seyna'Gorei?" Ash looked up from laying his coat on the ground to dry. "I've never heard of a castle with that name..."
"It's not really important historically. Its only real claim to fame is that this was where many grass pokemon were specially bred to defeat human armies during the Phoenix Wars. As a matter of fact, before the Seyna'Gorei breedings, Oddish and their evolved forms weren't as intelligent as they are today. That changed when some extra-intelligent Oddish escaped from here and bred with wild Oddish."
Ash smiled. "Well, that explains how you know about this castle. Do you think there're any Gastly, Haunter, or Gengar here?"
"Hmmm...probably not, but we should be careful. Seyna'Gorei has not been considered to be a haunted place by any stretch, but the ruins have been known to be a popular hideout for criminals."
"Oh, wonderful," Misty shivered. "I'm definitely calling for reinforcements." She smiled as she readied a pair of pokeballs. "Fortunately, that's one thing a trainer always has...Poliwhirl, Staryu, go!" At her words, the two amphibious pokémon emerged from their pokéballs.
"Poli?" [Yes?]
"Nothing's up...yet. We just thought we might need you guys out in case there's unpleasant company sharing the keep with us." Poliwhirl and Staryu looked disappointed at not having something to do immediately. "Yeah, it's just a precautionary measure, but since we may have to be here for several hours..."
"Better get the others out, too," Ash said. "Come on out, guys!" In turn, Ash released Noctowl, Bulbasaur, Chikorita, Totodile, and Cyndaquil. Chikorita, as usual, proceeded to make a beeline for Ash's leg.
"Chiko-chikta!" [Hello again, Commander!] Chikorita chirped as she rubbed against Ash's leg. She frowned as she noticed the darkness of the environs. "Ri-chik-ta, chiko-chikri..." [Well, I hope I've got the right one...]
"Dile, toto-toto dile." [Yes, you have the right one.] Totodile responded.
"Dile, toto-dile-to, toto totodile!" [Now, start acting like a grown-up,
and quit fawning over him!]
Noctowl rolled his eyes. [This from the one who insists on playing "Dance, Dance, Dance" every moment he gets...]
Totodile smiled dryly at Noctowl. "Toto-totodile to, dile. Todile, dile-toto,
toto to dile--dile toto totodile todileto toto. Toto dile toto-todileto
to toto-dile." [It's part of who I am, silly. Joy, victory, simple happiness--dance
was always the best way for me to express them. Too bad this place isn't
suitable for the art of dancing at all.] He glowered at Chikorita. "To-todile
dile toto to toto-toto-dile dile-to-dile toto dile todile." [The
problem with her is that I have yet to see her really dedicate herself
to anything other than her hero-worship.]
"Chiko-ta...ta-chik...Ri-chiko, Chikoriko." [But he's so...so wonderful...You'd never understand, Mister Doubled Paths.] Chikorita gazed up at Ash. "Ta, chi-ko-ri-chita, chi chikta Chikorita ta Rikochi." [Oh, I wish I were a human, or the Commander a Chikorita or Bayleef.]
Totodile just stared in disbelief. "Toto dile dile-to to..." [I'll never understand her...] he muttered.
"Cynda quil-cyn daquilquil Cynquil, quil-daquil cyndaquil cyn." [Maybe when she matures into a Bayleef, she'll stop idolizing him.] Cyndaquil then proceeded to activate his flare patches, lighting the area up. "Cyndaquil, quil-cyn-da daquil cyn cyndaquil quil cyn-da..." [Meanwhile, we might as well make sure our lieges don't freeze-dry in here...] He trailed off with worry. "Cynda...quil-cyn da-cyn-quil?" [Wait a minute...Will this be a problem for you?] he asked Noctowl.
[We can see perfectly well in daytime. Nighttime is just when we hunt better.] the owl responded. He turned his head towards one of the hall's windows. [We only sleep during the day out of pragma--] Noctowl stopped short with irritation as Onix suddenly materialized with Vulpix, Geodude, and Pineco--directly in front of the window. [Down in front! Even with the Commander's battles, I don't get to see daylight that often!]
Pineco looked up at him in confusion. "Pine-co? Co pine-pineco pine-co! Pineco pine pine-co-co?" [What daylight? There's a storm raging out there! How's light going to get through?]
Misty, meanwhile, was ignoring the pokemon's chatter and resting against the sill of the opposite window. The window didn't offer much of a view, but at least the mountain slope was something compared to the bare main hall...
She sighed wearily. Pikachu may have felt something wrong with the storm, but whether that was the case or not, the look and intensity of the rain was not striking any pleasant chords in her. It had rained like this the day after..."What timing, too," she muttered.
"Misty?" Ash walked up to his friend. "What's wrong?"
"Well..." Misty paused for a second, then shook her head. "Tomorrow would have been my mother's birthday...It's just such a sick irony, because it rained like this just after she died." She drew another, shuddering sigh. "I'm wondering if that's what Pikachu felt wrong with the storm."
"But...he doesn't know anything about your mom's death..."
"True...But somehow, between that centipede and Pikachu's premonition...I don't feel right at all. In fact, even I feel something's not right about this rainstorm."
And here I was, thinking our biggest problems would be Gengar. "You think something bad's going to happen today?"
"It doesn't feel quite that bad..." Misty's eyes glittered with worry. "Although now, it's you who seems to be having premonitions." She smiled wryly at him. "But I shouldn't worry about this hideout. Everything's been regarding the storm, so maybe getting in here was a good thing."
A faint smile appeared on Ash's face as well. "Yeah...escaping a possible demon storm..."
So why does everything still feel so nasty, even in here? It's like we all agreed--the storm can't chase us in here, after all...
*****
Porphyry looked amused. {Huh. The storm's bringing this up? Maybe there is something to them.}
{Not as much as I would consider a grave threat,} Jet thoughtcasted back. {They're blaming the storm, not Seyna'Gorei's residents.}
{First,} Anmabar replied, {give her a reason to believe anyone is here right now.} Although he wasn't in his line of sight, Anmabar was sure Jet was now glaring at him. {Jet, she's not a telepath like I am. She can't detect us just by our thoughts.}
{Well, I'd think that a good premonition would say more than 'there's evil afoot'...}
"I wouldn't talk," Ruby muttered aloud. "Your premonitions don't go beyond 'battle today'."
{My Liege...!}
{The last time anyone had more detailed premonitions than this was when the Eighth Amber was around. Only two centuries after the Moon Swords debacle.} Tourmaline paused to let his words sink into Jet. {The Age of the Seers is long dead. It's not coming back, either. Your battle premonitions are about as good as we're ever going to get. In other words, you have no cause to whine.}
{...}
{Now that you're quiet again, I'd say it's time to chart out how we're going to start giving the best gift of all--immediate tickets to Heaven. We're resolved that the Togepi is going to be the bait?}
{No complaints here,} Ruby responded. {Jet, since you're the fastest one of us, you should take the Togepi, and bring her up here--hopefully before the humans or other pokémon realize what we're doing. Once they meet us, keep using the Togepi to separate Misty from her fellows.}
{Gotcha. What about Tourmaline, Porphyry, and Jasper?}
{Jasper will be with you and Anmabar. This way, Tourmaline can be perfectly free to--}
{Keep your thoughts' intensity down!} Anmabar's thought-voice was now a whisper.
Porphyry started at the urgency in the command. {Anmabar?} she thought-whispered. {What's wrong?}
{Just concentrate.} It was now Jasper who was thoughtcasting. {It seems we have interlopers.}
*****
[I hope this idea of yours works,] Hermit muttered.
[I'm sure it will. Since each higher floor is smaller than the previous, it only makes sense to go from the top down.]
[There's only four floors and a basement, Chariot. It's not going to make that much difference.]
[Well...I still don't think we should split up like you suggested before entering the keep. We need to be able to complement each other if a battle comes up.]
[Larvitar and Ursaring aren't even that fast, though. And our main problem's only going to find us if he's keeping watch on the border of his telepathic network. I'm sure there aren't any other guests here, so he can afford to be lax...or so he thinks.]
[If that necromancer has any other pokémon, and they're fast...Beedrill, for instance? I understand they're very popular with necromancers.] Chariot remained in place as he waited for Hermit to recognize his argument.
Hermit stopped as he realized Chariot's concerns. [I'll admit to your points. But if we just move carefully, and don't put too much force into our own thoughts, I don't think we'll be detected. We just need to find out how strong the necromancer and her forces are, then wait for Temperance to get here.]
[Wait a minute. When did you say we were going to attack this bunch?]
[Only if necessary. We need to find out what the necromancer is here for. If we and Temperance can stop her plans here, that's what we'll do.]
Chariot shuddered nervously. [I don't know...It's been a while since I've been in a real battle, despite my name.]
Hermit chuckled as they descended the stairs to the second level. [Not a problem. I'll do main attacks, you do support and artillery.]
[Don't you think the stairwell's a little cramped for 'main attacks'?]
Chariot and Hermit froze in shock as they heard the growling words. They cautiously cast their gaze through the following hallway--and saw Jasper and Porphyry. [Oh, no,] Hermit groaned. [They did detect us!]
[How were we not going to?] Porphyry sneered. [If we're going to keep tabs on our guests, we're surely going to find intruders like you.]
[There are others here?!] Chariot gasped. [What are you planning?!]
[As Anmabar said, finishing some overdue business. If it makes you feel any better, the presence of our guests is mere happy coincidence.] Jasper flexed his paws to make his claws more noticeable. [Now, like I said, the stairwell's pretty narrow, so why don't you come down here...Buggy?]
[Chariot, cover me!] Hermit prepared to charge horn-first at Jasper.
[Are you sure--]
[WE DON'T HAVE A CHOICE!] Hermit rushed down the remaining stairs and at the Ursaring, aiming directly for the ring marking on his abdomen. Resigning himself to the fight, Chariot prepared a psybeam to blast Jasper.
Jasper, smiling, prepared himself for Hermit's attack. Hermit managed to land a strike on his foe. However, Jasper, taking the blow, moved with the bug pokémon's momentum, ending up turning to face his rear. He proceeded to conduct the usable momentum of the received attack into a powerful slash that knocked Hermit prone. A half-second later, Chariot's psybeam blasted in the Ursaring. Snarling in anger, Jasper turned toward his attacker. [I don't have time to deal with you, flyboy. Porphyry! Take care of Chariot! Hermit is mine.]
Porphyry stomped a few times in anticipation as she prepared to attack. [My pleasure, Jasper. I do enjoy showing the primacy of the rock aura over the sky's denizens.]
[If you can get here...WHIRLWIND!] Chariot invoked a powerful mini-cyclone with his wings, targetted for Porphyry. The winds flung her away before she could actually initiate an attack--although, much to Chariot's disappointment, she did not land on Jasper as he had been planning.
[Can't you do better than that?] Porphyry asked. She stood her ground as Chariot rushed towards her. [If you really think I'm going to let you get in range to send me to dreamland...] She quickly flung herself at Chariot with a takedown attack, slamming the flier to the ground. [You're obviously not much of a seer.] She paused for a moment as she detected something in the air, then quickly leapt back. [Nice try, but I know what poisons smell like. This trunk isn't just for water gun strikes, you know.]
[We still can't let you prevail,] Chariot retorted, in the process creating another vortex, this time a pure attack gust. Porphyry simply curled up, spun right past the gust, and finished the rollout's first pass by crashing into her enemy's side. Chariot cried out as the painful blow smote him, and again as Porphyry successfully attacked on her second pass. On the third pass, Chariot was able to gather himself together to fly high enough that, even arcing her path upwards, Porphyry failed to hit him. As she uncoiled from the rollout, she was suddenly blinded by a flash of bright light. While Porphyry tried to shake off the effects of the flare, Chariot gathered his psionic force, and blasted the Donphan with a psychic assault. Porphyry screeched in fury as she took the raw mental blast, desperately keeping her aura from being misaligned by the attack. When she felt the attack wane, she stared hatefully at Chariot.
[That...settles it,] Porphyry growled as she regained her bearings. [You're going down now.] Chariot, meanwhile, was diving down at her, surrounded with the energies of what she suspected was a force akin to an unown's hidden power attack. However, the tips of Porphyry's tusks were also glowing. [Dreamtime for you.] The tusk energies discharged into the floor in Chariot's path. A split-second later, right as Chariot flew over the impact point, a blast of energy, pure rock aura, erupted from the floor. Chariot cried out as the energy first engulfed him, then crested into a wave that forcefully carried him to the ground. The impact of both floor and collapsing wave was enough to render him unconscious.
In the meantime, Hermit and Jasper had been steadily trying to outdo each other. Each horn thrust of Hermit's was traded or parried by one of Jasper's slashes. Now, Jasper had leaped back, then rushed back at Hermit, fury swiping the decreasing distance between them. Hermit ducked low to get under the main part of the slashing, then grabbed Jasper's hips. He then leaped into the air, inverted the flailing Ursaring, then came back down, crashing Jasper neckfirst into the floor. It was as Hermit was rising from this attack that he heard Chariot's cry of defeat. In his shock, he reflexively turned to where the battle between him and Porphyry had taken place--
[Pay attention!] Jasper grabbed Hermit's side, then lunged back and headbutted him. Hermit stopped his sudden flight by digging his foot into the ground. He took a moment to steady himself, then immediately performed a horn attack to stop the charging slash Jasper was attempting. The horn struck true to Jasper's stomach, both interrupting the slash and forcing him down. Jasper was not bleeding, externally or internally, but the attack had caught him in a rather bad way.
With Jasper temporarily out of the way, Hermit turned his attention to Chariot.We're going to need Temperance, all right. I've got to get Chariot out, while avoiding Porphyry somehow. Hermit advanced two steps to Chariot...
[Doesn't the bug aura react badly to fire?] Hermit turned around to meet the attack he knew was coming, but was nonetheless too late to avoid the fire punch Jasper was aiming for him. Jasper had not been able to put much power into his fire, but it was enough to badly stun Hermit. As the insect recoiled from the flames' pain, Jasper nodded to Porphyry. [Let's finish this mess, shall we?]
[Of course!]
Hermit, horrified, saw Porphyry attempt another rollout, this time aimed at him. He flitted into the air--only to see Porphyry rise after him. Worse, Jasper was rolling in the opposite direction...
Jasper and Porphyry met with Hermit as the intersection point. Hermit screeched out once, then fell to the ground, also unconscious. The two evil pokémon uncoiled as they came back down.
{There, that's better.} Porphyry looked around nervously. {Anmabar, any sign of this "Temperance"?}
{Not within scanning radius. But I have to admit, given how much potential those two had, you did pretty well.}
{We had surprise on our side. I don't think they got the chance to fully acclimate to our presence.} Jasper frowned thoughtfully as he looked at Chariot. {But, this is another happy circumstance.}
{How so?}
{From what you shared of the scannings you've done, I think I know who Chariot is. Jet, we won't have to catch that Togepi just yet...Soon, but not immediately.}
*****
"Pika pi-kachu." [Well, it seems over.]
"Someone please tell me just what was going on back there." Ash, Misty, Brock, and their pokémon were tensed up, ready for battle. They had been ever since they had heard faint noises of battle from farther back in the keep. In particular, Pikachu and Chikorita were protecting Ash's immediate front, and Totodile was far in front, such that he could easily meet any foe attacking either Ash or Misty. "It wasn't last long, but...if that was anyone like Butch and Cassidy..."
"What do you mean, Ash?"
"You said that this place was a robber's haven. It figures that one of the Teams Rocket might have followed us here."
"Can we at least hope for Jessie and James, instead?" Misty asked sullenly. "I do not feel like getting into a really nasty battle today. I feel like we'd end up close to dead if we did!"
"Geo geo-dude-geo..." [This is getting monotonous,] Geodude muttered. "Geo geo-geodude, dude-geo-ge Geo-Gedude dude geo geo-dude!" [With all these premonitions, I'm waiting for one of the Ten Titans to show up and use us for target practice!]
Ash and Misty shuddered as they remembered what three of the Titans had been like. "Don't worry," Ash said. "I don't care how long the storm lasts. I say we run for it if no one shows up in three minutes."
[I'd suggest two minutes,] Noctowl answered. [I don't know if any of you are familiar with it, but I've heard from my ancestors about one of the attacks I heard and felt from back there. A very rare rock-aura attack, and very powerful. You don't even need stone nearby to use it. If I'm right, and also if the possessor is hostile to us...]
"I see your point." Ash frowned as he peered into the darkness of the adjoining rooms. "Two minutes, then. If you're right, then I don't think we could outrun it if we tried."
{I wouldn't worry about outrunning us...}
Ash and his allies started as the telepathic voice entered their minds. "Wha...wha...what?" Ash stammered. "Wh-who's there?!"
{Well, for starters, move your gaze upwards. We're on the landing connecting the main hall and personal chambers.}
Ash and the others did as the thoughtcast voice requested. Then, they saw a pair of pokémon, half-hidden by the darkness. Nonetheless, many of their features were distinguishable, as was the fact that the tall pokémon was keeping its arms behind its back, and the small one was letting its arms hang loosely by its sides.
"Bulba saur." [I don't get it,] Bulbasaur said. "Saur bulba-bul saur-bul-saur bulba-basaur bulba bul." [Neither of those two looks like the sort of pokémon who'd possess telepathy in the first place.]
"Well," Ash replied, "I recognize one of them as an Ursaring. But the other..." He didn't recognize the small, black, somewhat fox-like pokémon, with its white paws and odd violet highlights, standing next to the bear pokémon.
{Go ahead.} The Ursaring smiled down at the humans and their own pokémon. {We're willing to wait.}
"O-okay..." Ash quickly flipped out Dexter and aimed it at the smaller pokémon...
[[Sneasel. The sharp-claw pokémon. Sneasel are very fast and strictly nocturnal. Their claws can be sheathed and unsheathed almost instantaneously. They feed mostly on the eggs of bird pokémon like Pidgey and Spearow.]]
{Ugh. Terrible miscellany.} The new thought-voice apparently belonged to the Sneasel. {Why can't that pokédex of yours start off with the relevant battle information, like my aura type?}
"Well, I was just curious!" Ash snapped as he put Dexter away. "Besides, none of us really want to fight today!"
{Wishful thinking, shorty. Believe me, we're going to party hearty here today. Too bad Jasper, myself, and the rest of our compatriots will be the only ones enjoying ourselves.} The Sneasel ended by grinning, crossing his arms, and unsheathing his claws.
Misty's throat bobbed a few times as she saw the claws. "Why couldn't Dexter have mentioned that those claws must occupy the entire forearm when they're sheathed?"
{That's the reason our Liege doesn't like using pokédexes,} the Ursaring thoughtcast. {She relies more on her libraries of lore, pokémon-related and otherwise. If it means anything to you, Jet's aura is a melding of dark and ice.} Jasper took a look at the various pokémon. {I don't see anyone who'd be that much of a threat to him.}
{Yeah, I know,} Jet smirked. {Wrong aura specialty, or way too slow.}
"Bulba Bulba-saur Bulba-bul." [You don't know what Ash has accomplished
in Kanto,] Bulbasaur said. "Bulba Saur-bul-Bulsaur bulba. Saur bulba bulba-saur...Bul,
Basaur, bulba-bulbasaur bulba-bul." [Nor are Misty and Brock wimps. Add
to that our experience...You, Jet, may have a problem regardless of what
you think.]
{Speaking of "think,"} Jet thoughtcasted, {you can just thoughtcast anything you want to say. Our friend's telepathic network accepts all intentional thoughtcastings, so just make it easier for your lieges to understand you. You first, Hierophant.}
"Bulba bul--" [Will you get--] Bulbasaur stopped short as he digested what Jet had said. {Will you get to the point? What do you want of us?}
{Uh, Hierophant.} Cyndaquil looked worried. {Didn't you notice something?}
{What do you mean, Justice?}
{He knew your true name...}
{WHAT??} Bulbasaur stared in disbelief at Jet. {How could you have possibly known?!}
Jet's grin widened as he saw the confusion on everyone in the main hall. {We were keeping tabs on you while you were down there. We were able to scan the absolute surface thoughts of you and your affinities. We picked up very little, nothing we could blackmail you with, but the surface always yields names.}
{I really don't want to know where you're going...} Totodile thought-muttered.
{Why? Because it might shock your lieges too greatly, Sir Two Paths? Or should I say...Lovers?}
"Hold on a minute!" Ash ran to the forefront of his group. "Hierophant, Lovers? I don't get it!"
{It appears your pokémon took the names of Tarot cards,} Jasper responded. {Thus, that's how we're calling them. The Totodile, caught between two masters--he took the name "Lovers", the card that signifies having to make a choice, also called "Two Paths".}
"I...don't get it." Misty looked down at the subject of the Ursaring's words. "Why would he be caught in that kind of a dilemma?"
{It was actually your lure ball that caught me,} Lovers replied. {But Sir Ketchum won the battle to decide my formal liege. I consider both ways of deciding my commander legal.} He grinned. {Fortunately, you've never put my loyalties in conflict.}
{Well, your compatriots were fun, too,} Jet snickered. {Let's see. The Chikorita who saw Ketchum as a guardian of her hope--she named herself for the card of hope, the "Star". The timid Cyndaquil with hopes for the future that were nonetheless grand and noble--his choice was "Justice". The Noctowl who was familiar with unconventional tactics and lives--the card of enlightenment in the face of orthodox ostracism, the "Hanged Man".}
Ash reeled mentally as he took in everything Jet and Jasper had told them. "You're not joking? I thought I should just use the species names, since those were the closest to their own language..."
Star laughed with genuine merriment. {Come on, don't you think our names can be translated into your own language's concepts?} She became serious again, and turned her attention to Jet. {How come you didn't mention the others?}
{We couldn't get anything on your previous compatriots--except for a Tauros named "Moon", and someone else in particular--but if you mean your two immediate allies, that's just because they were named for the Tarot from the get-go. The Hierophant represents the protection of the old ways, so your Bulbasaur really lived up to his name during his old job.}
{Why does that sound like that's the only genuine compliment we'll get?} Hierophant grumbled.
{Because that wasn't a compliment in the first place. The old ways we like are much older than yours. Of course, there's the reason everyone took Tarot names in the first place, your Pikachu.}
"Why would they take Tarot names because of him?" Brock asked.
{It's to acknowledge the seniority of the first pokémon. When
we're taken, we always change our names so they're related somehow to the
first pokémon. Now the Pikachu...His parents saw how strong he was
even when he was a little Pichu. So, they named him for the card of active
power. They named him...Magician.}
"Ma...gi...cian?" Ash looked quizzically at Pikachu. "'Electromancer', maybe..."
{Tarot, you idiot, Tarot!} Jet glared with disgust at Ash. {"Magician" as in the masculine counterpart to the High Priestess card! Also called "Mountebank"! You must be really dull if you don't know something as basic as that.}
{It's not basic unless you're involved in mysticism or the occult, Jet.} Jasper did not sound pleased with his friend. {Besides, didn't you notice he didn't understand the relationship between the names "Hierophant" and "Lovers"?}
{Well, he should have known when I mentioned the Tarot...} Jet contemptuously turned his back to Ash. {As far as I'm concerned, if you don't have a basic understanding of mysticism and occult, your head is rockier than Hornfels's down there must be.}
{Not funny!} Onix suddenly lunged at Jet. {Where is your respect for your fellow pokémon?!}
{If they don't follow our philosophies, not there is where!} Jet spun around, crying "SEL-SEL!" [BLIZZARD!] He slashed the air in front of himself, creating an orb of blue light. The orb proceeded to fire many needles of ice at Onix. He cried out as the chill bit into him, forcing him away from the landing.
"ONIX!!" Brock ran to his pokémon as he shivered from the aftereffects of the blizzard. "Are you okay?"
{Sort of,} he thought-muttered. {You can call me "Hornfels" from hereon, though. I guess you didn't quite realize who Jet was calling "rock-headed".}
"'Hornfels'?" Brock furrowed his brow. "That's a kind of stone, isn't it?"
{That's the case with the rest of the pokémon actually in your affinity,} Jasper replied. {Travertine for Pineco, Breccia for Zubat, Gneiss for Geodude. Vulpix, of course, is an exception. She still has her original name, that of the sefiram Chesed.}
Misty had remained quiet during the revelations. "Tarot cards for Ash, types of stone for Brock..." She frowned. "What does that leave me, Togepi?"
{Gemstones,} Togepi thoughtcast as she poked her head out of Misty's knapsack. {Your Starmie was named "Rhodonite", so...}
"So you all renamed yourselves after gemstones...well, just named in your case." Misty smiled wanly. "Which jewel did you choose?"
Togepi emitted a short, amused trill. {Not a jewel, but a semiprecious. Specifically--}
{Chalcedony.}
"JET!!" {JET!!} Both Misty and Togepi sounded rather angry at the Sneasel.
{Hey, come on, I'm on a roll here, and you're NOT going to interrupt. And that was Shelly's true name. If you want the other gems, all I got was Azurite for Poliwhirl and Carnelian for Staryu. Sorry, no "Pearl" as of yet. Or ever, once we get through with you.} Jet flashed his claws again.
"This," Ash murmurred, "could take a while to get used to."
{I'll write up a reference sheet for you to check while you memorize our true names. At least the bad guys were good for something for once.} Magician then glared at Jet. {Although you really ought to treat true names with more respect that you have been giving ours.}
Jet returned the glare, with a smirk as interest. {Me? Respect future corpses, especially goody-two-shoes future corpses? Gimme a reason.}
{CORPSES?!} "CORPSES?!" Everyone actually in the hall was shocked by that word in particular. "You're going to kill us?" Misty cried out. "What did we do to deserve death?"
{Not telling...not yet, anyway. You and the other two humans are definitely vulture food. The pokémon...maybe. But at least you'll have company soon. More room to commisserate.}
Azurite gazed levelly at Jet. {And what kind of company would that be, o possessor of a soul of ice?}
{Well, there's the matter of why Jasper hasn't been thoughtcasting that much. He needs to pay attention to keeping his two captives held nice and tight. Our luck that they actually "interrupted" their unconsciousness spells with rest techniques, and have just woken up from those.}
"Captives?!" Ash had gone from ready-to-leave to ready-to-battle as soon as he heard that word. "What are you talking about?"
Now it was Jasper who was thoughtcasting. {A couple of pokémon who thought it would be a good idea to storm this place, wait for a third friend, then squish whatever plans we had in mind. Obviously, they did not succeed in that endeavor at all.}
Jet sighed. {Well, I hope we get this finished before this Te--} His eyes suddenly flashed with worry. {Uh, Jasper, flyboy's releasing some kind of powder...}
{Not a worry.} Jasper looked back at Ash. {I know our dear Kanto master. One captive will be just as good as two, and our other captive won't be the kind of threat this fool is.}
"Well," Ash muttered, "that'll remove some of the danger."
{Um, Ash?}
"Yeah?"
{Catch!}
With that, Jasper reared back, then whipped something from behind his back through the air and towards Ash. Before Ash or any of his friends could react, the something smote him and hurled them together back ten feet. It took Ash a couple of seconds to manage to start breathing again. "How about a little warning, Jasper?" he grumbled.
{That wasn't enough?!}
"Obviously, it wasn't!" Misty yelled. She, Brock, Magician, Lovers, and Star had run for Ash as soon as he had been knocked down. "You'd better not have killed the captive!"
{No...I'm fine...sort of...}
"Th-that's good," Ash mumbled. He then frowned. "Wait a minute...that voice sounds..."
"Ash, look! On his neck!"
"Huh? Misty, what...?" As Ash regained his bearings, he saw that Jasper had thrown a pokémon at him...a pokémon with...
...a yellow scarf...
"No way," Ash whispered. "Butterfree?"
{Well,} the insect replied, {Chariot, for the purpose of completeness.}
"Oh my God, I don't believe it!" Ash jumped up and hugged Chariot to him, forgetting again about his potential foes on the landing. Misty and Brock, too, were essentially paralyzed with joy. "I thought we'd never meet again!"
{Um,} Chariot thoughtcasted, {my Liege...as happy as this occasion might have been otherwise...}
Ash and the others immediately became aware of their surroundings again. "Huh? What's up, again?"
{Other captive,} Lovers answered. {Jasper and Jet had two captives.}
{You got it!} Chariot managed to get out of Ash's arms and flew right at the evil pokémon. {We've got to save Hermit!}
{On our terms, not yours!} "SNEA-SEL!!" [SHADOW BALL!] Jet formed a sphere of black light in his paw, then hurled it towards Chariot. The Butterfree noticed it, and reversed course in time to avoid both the bomb proper and the mid-air explosion of nether force. {Anything else?}
{On their side, apparently not. On our side, yes.} Jasper stepped forward. {Allow me to show you whose life is in the balance at the immediate moment.} He extended his other arm, revealing...
"HERACROSS!" Ash ran forward with horror and anger on his face, with Magician, Chariot, and Star following close behind. "Let him go, Jasper!"
{No. He still needs a good shake every now and again to keep him from being able to place his thoughts into the network.} To punctuate his words, Jasper shook Heracross roughly. When he was through, the beetle looked particularly dizzy. {Anyway, here are your instructions. We're going back into the personal chambers. Give us a fifteen-second head start, but no more than two minutes, then come in after us--all three of you, and every last one of your pokémon, who can be in their pokéballs if you wish. If you do not obey our instructions--}
{Hermit here will see that my claws can pierce as well as they can slash, which is very well indeed,} Jet finished. He laid the tip of a claw on the struggling Hermit's nape to finalize his point. {We're planning on him dying anyway, but it'll be fun to see if you are actually good enough to thwart us. The fifteen to one hundred twenty seconds will start...now.} Jet and Jasper ran back into the darkness with their Heracross captive.
{This has "trap" written all over it,} Hierophant muttered. {Otherwise, they would have attacked us immediately.}
{But, if we don't follow, they're gonna kill Hermit!} Chalcendony responded. {I know you didn't like him much, but how can you think of leaving him at their mercy?}
{I'm not considering it, but we need to be exceptionally careful. I just hope we outnumber those jerks, allies or no allies.}
"Doesn't matter," Ash hissed. "I'm never gonna abandon one of my friends like this. Is everybody in on this?"
"You bet!" Misty, Brock, and, telepathically, Magician responded.
{I'll say,} Chariot said. {I failed to bring down their Donphan ally Porphyry, so I think I'm a little responsible for this. This isn't just a matter of friendship, but of honor.} The various other pokémon added in their own various agreements.
"All right, then, let's do it! Get ready, Jasper!" Ash called.
Misty reached behind her back to undo her knapsack. I can't risk letting Toge--no, Chalcedony be caught in fire.
{Miss Seagrave!} Jasper thoughtcast. {We said all of your pokémon. You must bring Chalcedony, too.}
"But--"
{She has ether waves. She can fight.}
"Ether waves?"
{Metronome to you.}
"I can't risk her life like this!"
{Then there won't be any risk of Hermit living. And isn't time running short?}
"Misty," Ash pleaded, "this is probably the only way. I'll have Noctowl and Bulb--Hanged Man and Hierophant keep watch on her."
"O...okay..."
{Hurry it up!!}
The party immediately bounded up the stairs.
{It's a good thing we number so many,} Chariot thoughtcast to Ash. {Jasper and Jet have at least three other allies--the Donphan I mentioned, a Larvitar, and whoever it is that's keeping the network up. And their master...} The Butterfree shivered in flight. {I don't think I want to know what she can do.}
Ash swallowed hard as they reached the landing and ran for what they hoped were the old personal chambers. "I guess this definitely won't be like Team Rocket..."
{No, it'll be more desperate. Anyway, I didn't catch much about the fifth pokémon here, but Hermit said that the Heracross are its species's ancestral enemies.}
"Strange, Heracross didn't seem like warriors when we first saw them," Misty said. "Is there a truce?"
{He didn't say anything about such things. But we're at the chambers now, so we may have a chance to ask Hermit himself.}
The first thing Ash noticed when they reached the chambers was Hermit, lying face-down on the floor in front of the threshold. The front part of the chambers was no brighter than the main hall, but the back part was somehow imparting no light at all. "Hermit!" Ash began shaking the beetle pokémon's shoulders as Misty and the others rushed into the room. "Are you all right?"
{Once the last aftereffects of Jasper's horseplay wear off, I'll be back in top shape. Just don't add to those aftereffects.} Hermit smiled grimly as he stood up. {Magician, Commander Ketchum. Sorry to have to meet you again under such bad circumstances.}
{We'll have to save greetings for later,} Magician said. {Jasper and Jet are nowhere to be found!}
{Well, they can't harm me if they're out of range, right?} Now fully upright, Hermit gestured towards Chalcedony. {You might want to get her out of here. I don't think our hosts care much for Togepi.}
"Right. Hierophant! Hanged Man!" The two pokémon turned towards Ash. "Take Chalcedony out of the castle, and stay with her!"
Hanged Man had barely begun flying towards Chalcedony to take her out of Misty's knapsack when a new thought-voice broke in. {That is not happening on my watch.}
"Feels like it's from the back--" Brock stopped when he saw a shape shoot out of the darkness, very quickly and into the air. "Noctowl! Out of the way!" Hanged Man squawked as he saw the flying shape, and dodged out of its path--without Chalcedony. The shape landed with a shuddering [BOOM] in front of the stairwell, blocking any way of exiting. It then uncoiled into the form of a Donphan.
"Terrific," Ash muttered. "I guess you're Porphyry." The Donphan nodded in acknowledgement. "Um, could you, uh, get out of the way? We really don't want Chalcedony to be in danger."
{We do,} Porphyry said. {There are three here whose deaths we seek, and Chalcedony is one of them.}
"WHAT?!" Misty spun around to face Porphyry, her face burning with rage. "What did Chalcedony do to you?!"
{She's a Togepi. They're supposed to be extinct. We do not need joy elementals interfering with our plans for the world.}
"You plan to genocide Togepi and Togetic...?" Misty's voice was low, but suffused with outrage and fury.
{Among other things. Anyway, it's time to advance the operation a little.}
"In what way?"
"Sagittarius Inversion." The new woman's voice caught the party off guard--as did the sudden brightening of the room to the level of a well-lit apartment. Spinning around, Ash and the others saw what the darkness had been hiding.
First, there was another unfamiliar pokémon, a squat, somewhat conical, green creature with a few black and purple markings--probably the Larvitar that Chariot had mentioned. But that was nothing compared to its imposing comrade. The tall, slender woman was completely encased in a red, somewhat loose robe. In addition, her hands were further covered with gloves whose cuffs flared from the outer wrist almost to the outer elbow, and she wore a black-mottled red mask that looked like a skate egg case with the spines at the top and bottom. Finally, her robe was cinched at the waist by a belt with a scabbard attached. She was holding the sword, a katana with a guard of some strange, striated stone, in her hands.
She nodded towards Ash, Misty, and the others. "Hm, quite an audience." Her voice was distorted with electric static--a voicechanger must have been built into her mask. "But it's nothing we can't handle. Porphyry, Jasper, Jet, and Tourmaline are all about rank seventy-two by League standards. I somehow don't think yours are up to that level yet."
Star glowered at her. {That doesn't mean we aren't going to get out of this in one piece!}
The Larvitar, evidently Tourmaline, glared back. {Such impudence from such a relatively weak foe. Do you know what you're asking for, girl? You happen to be asking for a very grievous death at our hands.}
Star just smiled grimly. {I can feel something else, though. You have rock and ground auras, right? I know what that means I can do to you...}
Tourmaline winced, then turned to the woman. {Promise me you'll keep Star and Hierophant away from me...}
"Of course." The woman nodded. "We three will be sufficient for our part of the operation, and that's counting any auras you'll have difficulty with."
"Hey, stop ignoring us!" Misty pointed at the woman. "Who are you, and what do you want with us?"
From her eyes, Ash guessed she was smiling mirthlessly at them. "If you mean my real name, I don't consider myself at liberty to tell you. Simply know me by my title. I am the Ruby Necromancer. You may call me Ruby for short."
Misty's face suddenly became troubled. "Necromancer...As in 'evil wizard'?" Magician and I were right after all. But we were looking at the wrong target. The peril was in here all along...But how did I detect it? My senses aren't as good as a pokémon's...
And why do I feel like this isn't actually completely new to me?
"Yes, I utilize what you name as evil magic." Ruby laughed once. "'Effective magic' might be a better term, though. You're a little fortunate I can't use my most powerful spells, lest I hurt my pokémon." She pointed her sword at Tourmaline, then Porphyry, then at another, much shorter stairwell, beyond which the outlines of Jasper and Jet could be seen. "Why, the Aquarius Spire alone..."
{Which Porphyry and I would be pretty much immune to.}
"You and her, yes. Jasper and Jet, no."
{Just tell us why you brought us all here, when you just want to kill Chalcedony,} Breccia thoughtcast. {Or do you like impossible tasks?}
"I have two other goals in mind, actually. But as to why I wanted all the pokémon here...simple." Ruby raised her sword so that the blunt edge was lined up between her eyes. "I don't want any survivors who could make my presence in this area become known. My spells and the might of Porphyry and Tourmaline should be able to overpower you."
Ruby's words made the party stare in shock at her. "You're...serious?" Ash whispered. "You really plan to kill us all? Jet wasn't exaggerating?"
{Every last one of you that we can't impress into our gang,} Jet thoughtcast. The tone of the thoughtcast carried an evil smirk. {Two of you, in particular, have really been overdue to die in our eyes. Chalcedony is one of them.}
"Not if we can get Porphyry out of the way." Ash turned to face the Donphan. "Without her, we can get out without any problem."
{I wish it were that simple, Commander,} Hermit muttered. He and Chariot had been looking around the chambers rather warily. {Unfortunately, there's a sixth foe around here somewhere--the completely unholy pokémon who's been running the telepathic network. I don't know where he is, but he's powerful enough to foil us if he's ready to ambush us on the way out.}
"Chariot told us about him." Brock glared at Ruby. "First, though, there's got to be some way to get you to let us go."
Ruby lowered her sword a little. "That's not possible, Mr. Slade. I had not planned on our sudden meeting, but now that we're in the same place, I'm not going to sacrifice my opportunity to resolve my unfinished business. My three fellow council-mates would not throw such an opportunity away, either."
{Well, Sapphire might...} Jet rumbled.
"The upshot is," Ruby continued, ignoring Jet, "I am set on your deaths. As for my motives...well, if they come out, it'll be during our battle."
"Wonderful," Misty muttered. "Nothing like someone trying to kill you, and you not really knowing why...Except for..." Her eyes strayed towards a now extremely nervous Chalcedony. "Don't worry, I'll make sure the others keep you safe."
{I h-hope so, M-Mom...} Chalcedony was clearly terrified of Ruby and her retinue.
{How precious. How loving.} Jet's thoughts quickly went from sarcastic to venomous. {How ineffective. Tell me how parent/child love is going to keep you alive, hm?}
"That's it!" Outraged, Misty raised her fist towards the landing where she knew Jet was hiding. "If you have anything else to say, Jet, come down here and say it!"
{Not a problem, really.}
"Good. Now we can make you pay for being so cruel." Misty's rage then was replaced with consideration. "But how to keep Chalcedony safe..." She smiled as she looked at Porphyry. "Ash, I think we should give Chalcedony an escort."
"Of what?"
Misty smiled nastily at Porphyry. "You donate Hierophant and Star. I'll send in Azurite and Carnelian."
"Oh, I get it! Fighting ground with water and grass!" Ash nodded to the two grass pokémon. "You heard her. Help Chalcedony get out, and use everything you've got on Porphyry if she won't listen!"
{With pleasure!} Hierophant quickly ran with Star to Misty as she began to extract Chalcedony from her knapsack. Azurite and Carnelian had already come over. {I don't care how high your rank is,} the Bulbasaur said to Porphyry, {you'll be hard-pressed to fend off four aura-advantaged pokémon!}
{You really believe that'll come into play?}
"Of course." Misty carefully set Chalcedony in the midst of her four new guards. "None of the four will have any trouble whatsoever attacking you, even when you're in the air."
Porphyry seemed to shrug. {I still don't think you'll get that far.}
{Cockiness,} Azurite grumbled, {thy name is Porphyry. Everything all right, Chalcedony?}
{I think so.} Chalcedony looked worried, but nowhere near as much as when the confrontation had begun. {Just promise me we'll get out of here in a hurry.} She turned her attention to Misty. {Mom, you promise me you'll get out alive, please?}
Misty's expression softened. "I promise, Chalcedony. There's no way some silly spellcaster and her four rejects are going to stop us." Her face hardened back up. "You got that, Ruby? You're not going to kill us today, or ever!"
"You would have done well to heed Porphyry's words, Miss Seagrave." Like her Donphan, Ruby seemed rather unruffled. "Why do you think she was so unconcerned about such an aura overmatch?"
"The word 'arrogance' comes to mind." As though to prove her, Porphyry was still showing no signs of fear towards the approaching squadron.
{Another word should have come to mind.} Misty started as she detected, of all pokémon, Jet. {The correct word is "cognizance."}
"Cognizance of what, though?"
{THIS!} Jet suddenly made himself known--by flying out of the nearby shadows with his claws crossed. Before any of the guards could react, he splayed his claws while still in his leap, and created a swarm of icy mini-gales. The five pokémon, especially Hierophant and Star, cringed and cried out as the chill bit into them. Wasting no time, Jet charged into their midst with a shoulder ram, knocking Azurite and Carnelian to the ground.
"TOGEPI!!" Without a second thought, Misty ran towards the group to attempt her own rescue mission. "YOU'RE NOT TAKING HER AWAY FROM ME, JET!"
{Wanna bet?} Porphyry blasted a jet of water from her trunk at Misty, deflecting her from her destination, then turned it on Magician, Brock, and Ash as they tried to run to Misty's aid. {I can't believe that none of you noticed Jet as he worked his way down here.}
{They'd have to be able to see into shadows, Porphyry. Oh, and Miss Seagrave?} Jet taunted. {Thanks for the gift.}
Misty looked where Jet had been--and to her horror, saw that Chalcedony was not there either, just the shivering Hierophant and Star and stunned Azurite and Carnelian. Frantically, she looked around for Jet and Chalcedony. "Wh-where are you?!"
"Misty! They're up on the landing!" Ash pointed up at Jet. "Jasper's up there, too!"
{Just a little extra precaution.} Jet was holding Chalcedony with his claws, cutting edges inward. Chalcedony was frantically trying to free herself from his grasp. {Now...you want Chaldy back, yes?}
"I will rescue her," Misty hissed. The others looked very willing to back her up.
{Very well then, you come up here. Just you--neither Mr. Slade nor Mr. Ketchum may come with you, although pokémon certainly can. If you disobey those instructions, or you don't get up here within three minutes...} Jet moved his claws a little closer together, much to Chalcedony's fright. {Well, my claws can certainly double as an egg-slicer. Especially when coated with ice.}
{MOM, GET ME OUT OF HERE!!} Chalcedony increased her struggles threefold, although even that was futile against Jet's grasp. {I DON'T WANT TO DIE!}
{Well, you'll probably die within two hours of each other. You won't be apart for too long.} Jasper nodded towards Misty. {We'll be waiting, Misty Kasumi Seagrave.} Jasper then retreated into the chapel, accompanied by Jet and their captive.
"Azurite! Carnelian! Come on, we've gotta save Chalcedony!" Misty wasted no time in charging for the unguarded stairwell, followed by her pokémon.
{Oh, terrific,} Lovers groaned. {Even with Opal and Lapis, and knowing that Jet's there, I don't think she's going to get very far--Justice, no!} Justice had begun running after Misty. {Didn't you notice what Jasper said?}
{I noticed,} Justice thoughtcasted back. {He only interdicted Brock and our Liege. Not to mention he only said she could bring pokémon--he didn't say just her pokémon. Anyway, my fire should wreak havoc on Jet's ice aura. And if just Jasper's left...Ketchum? Are you willing to let me pursue this endeavor?}
Ash had been silently taking in everything that had happened since Jet had abducted Chalcedony. He had been stunned by Jet and Jasper forbidding him to follow...but, if Justice had found a loophole...
Yes. There was still a chance that the fear he and Lovers shared would not come true.
"Yes. Do everything you can to keep Misty and Chalcedony alive." He smiled at the Cyndaquil. "I know you'll succeed."
{Then, Liege Ketchum,} Lovers interjected, {let me go in as well.}
"Huh?"
{Now that it seems I won't threaten Chalcedony's life...Besides, do you remember what I said about who actually caught me? Lady Seagrave is likely in more danger than you are, so I consider myself honor-bound to see to her safety first. Unless, that is, you think I'll be needed more here.}
"O...okay. Just make sure you come back. Consider that an overriding command from me." I feel kind of ridiculous playing the part of a navy Commander...
{I understand you, Liege Ketchum. Let's go, Justice!}
During the entire fuss over Chalcedony, Porphyry, Ruby, and Tourmaline were calmly watching. When Justice and Lovers finally disappeared into the hallway leading to the chapel, Tourmaline let out a grim chuckle. {Now that worked very nicely. I have to give Jasper and Anmabar credit.}
Magician turned fiercely to Tourmaline. {What are you talking about?!}
{Oh, you haven't figured it out? We wanted to separate Misty from the rest of you. The cute little Togepi is a secondary objective.}
"Secondary objective?!" Brock yelled. "What else are you planning to do to us?"
"Well," Ruby said, "there's secondary objective number two: getting revenge for the ruining of she who would have been the next Amber Necromancer."
{Run that by us again,} Hierophant growled as he shook off the last effects of Jet's icy wind. {We haven't met anyone like you before. What future necromancer did we ruin, exactly?!}
"You ruined her before the spell engine I created could permanently corrupt her," Ruby answered. "I was rather upset when I found out that the engine, a work of excruciating diligence and might, had been shattered by the ruining of my target's aura. And your actions contributed to it."
"I have a hard time believing we're all responsible," Ash said. One of his eyebrows was raised to further communicate his disbelief. "You don't mean all of us, do you?"
"Well, no, but you, Ketchum, have the greatest share in the insult. I can't risk you managing more unwitting ruin of the goals of the Crystal Order, can I?"
"What?! What did I do?"
{We'll let you find out in Heaven,} Tourmaline said. {Anyway, you must realize that if getting revenge on you is secondary...Imagine how important to us the primary goal is...}
*****
{Welcome, Miss Seagrave.} Jet raised Chalcedony in his claws. {Almost one-and-a-half minutes. You got here in time.}
"Good," Misty growled. She was breathing a little harder than usual--her body had not yet shifted completely from "run" mode. Carnelian and Azurite were next to her, their posture making absolutely clear how ready they were for battle. "Now, I think you at least implied that you'd release Chalcedony."
{And so I will.} Misty was surprised that Jet actually deigned to lower her to the ground, rather than simply drop her. {Run along to your mommy, little child.}
Chalcedony ran away from Jet as soon as he retracted his claws. {Mom, you're here! I knew you wouldn't let me die...} Chalcedony had reached Misty by then, at which point she simply clung to her leg and wept profusely. {Stay with me, Mommy...}
"I..." Misty's mind was caught between joy at Chalcedony's relative safety and readiness to fight Jasper and Jet. "I'll always be with you, Togepi--"
{CHALCEDONY!!} Jet's contempt was carried by both his gaze and his thoughts. {By the great Lempo, woman, are you unable to use a known true name consistently?}
{Give her a chance to get used to them, first!}
Jasper chuckled quietly. {Ah, if it isn't Justice--and Lovers, too. Looks like you've got legal reinforcements, Misty.}
"What...?" Misty turned around, confusion clear on her face, to see the Cyndaquil and Totodile hurrying towards her. "Are you two sure this is a good idea?"
{Brock and Lord Ketchum still have enough pokémon to handle Ruby and the other two, I think,} Lovers thoughtcasted. {We have Ketchum's permission to help you out, besides. Which you'll probably need, if Hermit's problem is up here.}
Jet groaned in dismay. {Lovers, okay. But Justice? I hate fire! Couldn't he have authorized Hanged Man instead?}
{Because we volunteered?} Justice chirped.
{Then you volunteered for a slightly different form of death.} Jasper waved Jet off. {I'll handle Justice and Azurite. You take care of Lovers.}
{Sure thing.} Jet smiled while crossing and unsheathing his claws. {Pity I can't use my ice as a sure-fire weapon. At least I can run circles, pentagons, and trapezoids around him.}
Misty smirked at the evil pokémon. "Some strategists you are. You forgot someone."
{No, they didn't. I can handle you, Carnelian, and Chalcedony without trouble.}
"Huh?" Misty certainly hadn't detected this particular thought-voice since entering the keep. Somehow, its whispering, raspy quality brought the phrase "black lightning" to mind. It certainly evoked nothing good in her. She was feeling the voice evoke something in her, though, something old. "Who is it this time?"
{I'm the one maintaining the telepathic network that lets you all thoughtcast. You haven't used it yourself yet, but I know that humans need more time to get sufficiently used to the network to thoughtcast themselves.}
"Fine," Misty said. "Now, how about showing yourself?"
{Do you actually need that much reminding?}
"You can't fight if you're not h--reminding?! What in God's name are you talking about?"
{You feel it already, Seagrave. Concentrate a little harder, and you'll understand.}
"But..." Yet Misty was already starting to understand the thought-voice's words. She was starting to truly feel the evoked feeling...Not to mention the first tremblings of her body, and the blood starting to drain from her skin to deeper within her...
To her shock, she realized that she was afraid. Afraid of the possessor of the thought-voice...
{Liege Seagrave?} Lovers looked concerned, although she was still keeping an eye on Jet. {What's the matter?}
{Why do I get the feeling Hermit wasn't exaggerating when he said this particular pokémon was unholy?} Carnelian asked. {If it's evoking fear like this in Misty...}
{Actually, Carnelian, her fear is not supernatural. She knows who I am. And she knows a relevant part of my history--the part of past times that we share. That is why she fears me.}
The being's words amplified Misty's fear even more. From the past...? I can't think of anyone before today that I'd call genuinely fearsome and life-threatening in every way. Not Team Rocket--either unit we've met--not Gelarden, not the super-pokémon at Pokéopolis, not the Kabuto swarm...That leaves no one...
Except...
Misty's heart almost stopped beating.
Oh, God, no.
"I hope you're not...who I think you are..."
{He probably is. He filled us in on all the details.} Jet quickly vaulted over Misty and the pokémon to block the hallway. {This is pretty exciting for me and Jasper, actually. We'll be here to see our friend's past issues finally brought to a close.}
{Mom, what's going on?} Misty didn't respond to Chalcedony's thoughtcast. {Mom, answer me! Who is this?}
"He...he..." Misty could not say any more. She was now extremely pale and shuddering a little from her sheer terror.
{You would know, Togepi wretch? Very well, then, you shall know.} The shadows in front of Misty began to shimmer...
{Anyone want to make guesses on what that's supposed to be?} Azurite asked. {Looks like a hoodless Arbok from here...}
Chalcedony was almost overwhelmed by the sudden wash of evil force as the serpentine shadow began to separate from the rest of the darkness. If I'm what Porphyry called a "joy elemental"...then is this a hate elemental?
{No,} the shadow thoughtcast as it completed its separation from the darkness. {Not an elemental, but an advocate of oppression.} Now, its details were clear to all.
And Misty's fears of who her opponent was were confirmed.
*****
"Primary objective, huh?" Ash frowned as he tried to figure out what Ruby and her cohorts might have meant. "Does this have anything to do with why you wanted Misty separated from us?"
{There's hope for you yet, Ketchum,} Tourmaline thought-laughed. {Yes, we did need to get Misty out of--}
Tourmaline was cut off by a scream echoing from the chapel. A scream of utmost terror and horror, unalloyed by anything else.
"Oh, no," Ash choked. His eyes couldn't decide whether to widen or to create tears of fear. He turned fiercely to Ruby. "What's happening to Misty? You planned all this, didn't you? You've got to know!"
{Offhand,} Tourmaline responded lazily, {I'd say she just met Anmabar.}
"Anmabar? Who's that?"
"My primary pokémon, and my main advisor in the war room and the laboratory." Ruby settled herself into an attack posture, ready to slash. "For you, just know that today will see him fix the little problem of Misty's continued existence."
"Your...your main plan..." Ash whispered with horror and outrage, "was to...kill MISTY? I won't let you!"
{Nor will I.} Hermit flew up into the air, with Chariot close behind, and made a direct course for the chapel. {I've been meaning to chat with Anmabar, and this looks like a good opportunity.}
{Forget it,} Tourmaline snapped. "Larvi-TAR!" [Sand STORM!] Tourmaline crossed his arms, then simultaneously uncrossed them and raised them to the sky. Immediately, supernatural dust, grit, and sand formed a shell around him, then rapidly expanded. The storm blasted Hermit back, and raked everyone else in Ash's group. Chariot, though, managed to push on through, creating small gusts to dampen the winds striking him.
"Ack! Can't...breathe..." Ash choked. Most of the other pokémon were also having problems with the stinging blasts. Guarding their eyes as best as they could, they retreated back in a storm of coughing and choking, hoping to get away from the worst of the attack.
"Gneiss! Hornfels! Charge Tourmaline!" Brock yelled. "His sandstorm can't affect you!"
{Already on it!} Hornfels called back. {Tourmaline, I know you can keep the sandstorm up and also fight.}
{I'd have to lessen the radius, though!}
{That's the whole point.}
{Are you forgetting me again?} Porphyry showed her displeasure by firing water gun blasts at Gneiss and Hornfels. They roared in pain as the jet blasts tore away at their exoskeletons. {Now, to get you out of range...} Porphyry rolled into a ball and charged for the two rock pokémon. Gneiss, realizing what was about to happen, slammed the ground to invoke a magnitude attack, hoping it would prove strong enough to shock Tourmaline's sandstorm away. A half-second after he smote the ground, Porphyry rammed him and Hornfels, upsetting their balance. However, the attack was still so strong that Tourmaline, too, lost his balance--and his concentration on the sandstorm. The grit that had been weakening and repelling his enemies suddenly winked out of existence. With a squeak of relief, Chariot flew right into the corridor leading to the chapel.
Ash smiled. "That's better. Hurry up and follow Chariot, Herm--huh?" Ash suddenly looked worried. "What's Ruby doing?"
Ruby, ever since the sandstorm had gone up, had been apparently concentrating on her sword, and murmurring some strange language. Now, as though in answer to Ash's question, she raised her sword straight up...
"CAPRICORN PRISON!!"
As she finished saying "prison", the guard of her sword flared with light blue light, which tracked along the sword's blade, then kept going straight up. Upon reaching the ceiling, it flared into multiple rays, with a thin sheet of energy between each pair of rays. The rays arced downward along the walls, and did not stop until they reached the floor. Then, Hierophant, who had been backed particularly close to the exit to the main hall, found himself repelled further into the center of the room, snarling with indignation as he bounced to his new destination.
"Great," Brock groaned, "she just has to use her spells here, too!"
{But what kind of spell is it?} Travertine asked.
"In necromancy, the spells relating to gravity are classified as 'Capricorn'," Ruby said. "In this case, I created a fairly weak shell of anti-gravitational force around the chambers. If you try to leave in either direction, you'll just be pushed back if I still have my katana. Only a wraith could get in or out of here."
"But..." Ash's voice trembled with terror. "That means that, except for Chariot, we can't help Misty..."
"That's the idea."
"Get her!" Ash, Brock, and their pokémon charged Ruby and her two pokémon.
"Now that is foolhardy...LEO CUTTER!" Ruby swept her sword in front of her several times, each time creating a flying arc of fire. The charge quickly collapsed as everyone ducked the burning death headed for them.
Magician looked around for some kind of vantage point for attacking Ruby. But not only did he find none, he saw that Tourmaline and Porphyry were preparing another series of attacks. {Spells, sand, crushing weight...yeah, I'd say this is pretty bad for us all.}
{What are you complaining about?} Tourmaline was smiling evilly. {You'll be headed for Heaven, right?}
"Tourmaline has a point."Ruby held her sword in front of her, readying another spell. "Are you ready for your final journey?"
*****
{Well,} Azurite thoughtcast weakly, {it seems I was a bit mistaken about the Arbok comparison.}
{Do tell,} Justice shuddered. {This thing makes Jessie's look like a Hoppip!}
{Well, there should be enough Hoppip and Skiploom ghosts around here to tell you if that's a valid comparison.} Anmabar glared at Misty. {As for you, stop retreating. As far as I'm concerned, you're here only to die!}
"No," Misty whispered. "I thought I was rid of you forever..."
{No, you weren't.} Anmabar's antennae twitched with irritation. {You certainly couldn't hope to say that and be really accurate about it unless you had already died and gone to Heaven, could you?}
Justice rushed between Misty and Anmabar and activated his flare patches. {Enough talk, widemouth! Almost all bug-aura pokémon I know of, except for Shuckle, can't stand fire. Something tells me oversized centipedes like you aren't going to be an exception!}
{Centipede?!} Chalcedony had been cowering behind Misty since Anmabar had begun emerging from the shadows, she was so afraid to see it. However, Justice's words had just reminded her of the incident in the forest. She carefully peeked around Misty...
She quickly wished she hadn't. Anmabar was that fearsome looking. As Justice had said, he was an enormous centipede, probably at least ten meters long when fully stretched out. Currently, the horror had half his body planted on the ground, and the other half towering above Misty while arcing back a little to enable eye contact. The main differences from real centipedes, other than his size, were his antennae, which swept backwards rather than forwards, his mouth area, and his eyes. Instead of poison claws and mandibles, he had a mouth that strongly resembled a lamprey's, the teeth within shining with acidic gels. Finally, his eyes were somewhat like a Ledyba's, if a Ledyba's eyes could be filled with cruelty and malice.
But even Misty's fear of bugs shouldn't have accounted for this much terror. What was going on...?
Meanwhile, Anmabar was answering Justice. {I am vulnerable to fire, yes, but I think you'll find me much more resilient than even the strongest Scyther or Heracross. I am the primary of Ruby's pokémon, remember, and thus have had more experience than any single one of them. Thirteen years, in fact. And even before that, there was my time of maturation in Manala. How can you come up with such a pedigree? My surface scan told me that you haven't been a warrior for even five months!}
{Shut up and fight, toothface! I'm not reluctant to protect others!} Justice launched an ember plume at Anmabar, aiming directly for his eyes. Anmabar, however, lunged backwards, ducking the flame, and melted back into the shadows.
Misty was now especially terrified, with Anmabar nowhere to be seen. "Where did he go?" She turned to Jasper. "Can I hope for information from you?"
{No. But you'll find out soon enough.}
{So much for this fight being fair,} Justice grumbled.
{I just want to get out--} Chalcedony stopped as she felt Anmabar's aura again. She looked in the aura's direction in time to see Anmabar suddenly fly out of the darkness of the opposite wall, fully extended, in Justice's direction. The Cyndaquil heard him, but could not turn around in time to defend himself. Anmabar plowed into him, and sent him reeling into the wall.
Anmabar nodded in turn to Jasper and Jet. {You may begin mopping up the retinue. I think I can take Misty, Carnelian, and Chalcedony myself.}
{Let the dying begin!!} Laughing maliciously, Jet lunged for Lovers. {Trust me, Lovers, your hide will not deflect my claws!}
Lovers swept at Jet with a cutting sweep of his left claws. {First, you've got to hit me with your claws!} He noticed that Jasper had already begun his attacking by grabbing Azurite and using him as a pokémon projectile against Justice, keeping them trapped at the wall as he advanced. {And you'd certainly better not hit me.}
{Lempo's sting, you're impudent. I can chill you with my ice, outsnipe you with everything else...Even Ukko might not be able to save you from me!} Jet invoked another icy wind, forcing Lovers back. {And if Ukko can't...Wait a minute. Who's--}
{Do you mind if there are more reinforcements?} Chariot charged at Jet, tackling him and knocking him to the ground. Jet prepared to fire an icy wind at Chariot, but instead had to roll away from Lovers's water gun.
{Yes, I do mind!} Jet snapped. {Anyway, aren't you afraid of getting frozen by me? You know your psi-force can't grab onto my aura...}
{It'll give Lovers an easier time of attacking you.} As though to prove Chariot's point, Lovers scratched at Jet from behind, with the Sneasel just barely dodging the attack. {I can even blast Jasper with my psi-attacks to even things up for Justice and Azurite.}
{Let me put it this way, flyboy. When Anmabar gets through with Carnelian, you are a dead bug.}
Chariot took a look at Anmabar, and shivered. {I think I can see why the Heracross don't like his species...}
Carnelian, meanwhile, was making a stand in front of Misty and Chalcedony. {I'm just one, but that'll do for now. If Justice can break away from Jasper, we'll really be in business. Although...what is your problem with Misty?}
{Only that I must finish my business with her.} Anmabar's eyes glittered evilly. {When we last met, I only managed to deal with the elder Seagraves. Now, Misty herself shall die.}
{But, that means...her parents' deaths...} Carnelian's thoughts quavered with rage. {You killed them?!}
{Yes. And I've been waiting for ten years to finish the job.}
{We'll send you back to Manala first!!} Carnelian fired an ice beam at Anmabar, the blast enhanced by its fury. Anmabar was only knocked back a little by the beam. The creature then retaliated by breathing forth a burst of acid. Carnelian managed to spin away from the acid--inadvertantly leaving an opening for Anmabar to attack Misty and Chalcedony through. Anmabar lunged for them, but was stopped in mid-strike by Carnelian's rapid spin.
{Mom...} Chalcedony's thought-voice had become very small and frightened indeed. {Did he really...k-kill...}
"Yes, he did," Misty whispered. She quickly picked up Chalcedony, and ran away from Anmabar. The exit, unfortunately, was occupied by Jet and Lovers--and she had a fairly good idea how Jet would react if he saw them. "He even tried to kill me and Lily, too! It was a sheer miracle that we escaped him!" She ran to a far corner of the chapel--at least there would be a good bit of distance between her and Anmabar, unless he decided to use a faint attack again. "I think only a Titan could bring him down consistently...I just hope the combined pokémon here are that powerful..."
{Even if they are,} Anmabar growled as he weaved around Carnelian's bubblebeam, {it means nothing if I can kill you.} He spread his foremost legs, which fired a rain of poison stings at Carnelian. Carnelian was clipped by a fair number of the bolts, although they didn't seem to actually poison it. {The Seagraves had been a thorn in the Order's side for too long. Your sisters are not enough of a danger. But we knew from the beginning that you would be more dangerous than your parents ever were combined.}
"What is this, destiny?"
{Well, partly. Even without that, you picked up enough of your parents' chivalry to make you like them in spirit. We know that you have a paladin's heart. Between that and your latent potential as a pokémon general, and your destiny on top of all that...
{For the Crystal Order to win the world, you absolutely must die.}
End Chapter One.