Chapter 0: The Sacrifice.

A form clad in white dashed through the facility, navigating the dark tunnels with ease. Footsteps rang through the halls along with shouts, but the figure didn't take much notice of them. They were on a mission. A mission that could… There! A set of small objects on the table caught the figure's attention. He hurriedly searched through the clutter, and muttered, "Come on. I know that they're all here. I counted them myself." He set three aside and frantically searched more for the fourth one. "Got you!" The figure held the four objects in his hand. "O guardian of doorways, please hear my plea. Save me from danger and grant me an audience!" The four objects in the figure's hand flashed, and a circular opening in space appeared before them.

"Stop him!" The pursuers shouted, but it was too late. The figure stepped through the doorway, and it vanished. "What are we going to tell the Boss?" The voice asked. "We failed."

"'e can't do much. No one who steps through that doorway lives. We report a success." A second voice replied. "Come on. We need to make it look like we weren't here. Make sure that you leave…" the second voice faded off into the distance.

The figure opened his eyes to see a rather curious sight. All around him, rings floated in the air, with images in the middle of them. A rather small figure was watching through one of the rings. "You requested an audience with me?" The figure said.

"Y-y-yes. I suppose I did." The white-clad figure said. "I need some help."

"That's what I'm here for!" The small figure said gleefully. "I am Hoopa, the ruler of doorways, and one of two granters of wishes. I love making bargains. Come, let us discuss terms. What is it that you want done?"

"I want this war to end, without one side killing the other."

A silence followed this statement that seemed to stretch on into infinity. "I can't change people or Pokemon's minds." Hoopa said. There was a pleased gleam in his eye, that indicated that this was something he'd been desiring for a long time.

"I'm not asking for it to be done now. I just want it to happen. I don't care how long it takes. I just need to know that the senseless violence will end with peace between the two." The figure looked hopeful. "Surely you could set some events in motion that would cause that."

Hoopa considered, weighing the options and the scope of his abilities. "This is a huge wish. I cannot do it on my own. It will take me and Jirachi working together to set the events in motion, and even then, I cannot guarantee that it will end the way you want. However, the way things are currently going, there is no chance that the war will end with both sides intact."

"I'm willing to take that risk. Too much has been lost because of this war for me to stand by and watch." The white clad figure announced.

"Except you haven't been 'just watching' have you?" Hoopa played absentmindedly with the ring on his left ear. The white clad figure flushed slightly, remembering who he was speaking to. Seeming to come to a decision, Hoopa removed the ring and tossed it into the air, where it expanded slightly. "Jirachi. You awake, or do I need to come get you?"

Another small figure sleepily poked her head out of the ring. "No need to be rude. You wanted…" Jirachi yawned expressively, "me, Hoopa?"

"This one wishes for a peaceful end to the war." Hoopa replied.

It seemed to take several seconds for the words to pierce the sleepiness of Jirachi, but once they did, her eyes opened wide. "Finally, someone asked for that. It will not be easy, for anyone involved. Especially you." Jirachi looked at the figure standing before the two legends.

"I am willing to pay any price needed."

"But are you really? Normally we would test your will before granting the wish. However, since Hoopa and I have both wanted this for a long time, this one's going to be a little different." Jirachi and Hoopa looked at each other for a second. "You will be dead to all those who knew you, yet still live. Unknown to those around you, and unable to communicate with those you love. Some of your memories will be claimed as well, to prevent you from seeking them out. Yet, you will also serve a great purpose. You will have the power to sense the path that leads to peace, and will be able to appear when things are not going down that path." Jirachi's eyes softened. "This is simultaneously the fulfillment of your wish and the price. You will have the sense of foresight, and the responsibility to act on it. You will save many lives with your abilities, yet you will seldom be appreciated. We will set in motion everything we can do, but the rest will be up to you, and several others. Do you understand what will happen?"

The figure seemed taken aback. "I thought- no. It couldn't be that easy, could it."

"Few things are. If you'd asked for something that'd only affect yourself, it would be easier for us and you. The more people a wish affects, the more energy it takes, on everyone's part." Jirachi said.

"I understand, and I accept." The figure said.

"Then the pact is sealed." Hoopa stated. "I hope you succeed, for the world's sake." His form began to shift, and suddenly a much larger being stood in front of the figure. Jirachi's chest fluttered and a third eye appeared, which immediately began to glow. The giant Hoopa began chanting something in a mystical language, and several of the objects which the figure had used to enter this realm began to appear, swirling around him. The symbols on the objects peeled off, and began spinning faster and faster, while Jirachi's eye glowed more and more. The figure began wondering if he was making the right choice. Too late for that now I guess. Let's see where this takes me. A beam of light shot from Jirachi's chest and slammed into the white clad figure at the same time as the swirling symbols shot from their orbit around Hoopa and into the figure as well.

The last thing the figure knew before he blacked out was pain. Intense pain.