I stood over the four unconscious Houndour as, one by one, the opened their eyes and regained consciousness. I managed to drag the four of them outside of the chateau with a bit of help from Celsius and set them down just outside the steps of the building. Myst was consoling the ghost types inside the chateau, tending to any of their injured, while also volunteering to clean up the mess I had made.

Of which I was thankful for.

Celsius, thankfully, hadn't seen the act itself, but I couldn't stop him from seeing the aftermath. The young Absol was at my side but, unfortunately, I still never had the time to sit down with Celsius and hear out his concerns. On top of that I now had to make sure he was all right after what he saw. His expression had remained rather blank, almost like he had shut down, and I was worried for the lad. Maybe the whole situation had just been too much for him to handle?

Ugh, regardless I didn't have the luxury of worrying about that. I had to give the Houndour my full attention and figure out their situation. After all they were now just four survivors of a pack with no alpha. The Houndour all gave me scornful looks once they came to, but it seemed as though they knew better than to attack me. I beat them once already and rather easily at that.

"Zangoose..." One of the growled at me. I recognized him as the male who had been guarding the staircase.

"Good to see that you're all awake," I started with a serious tone. The news I had to bring to these Houndour was grim, but it was my responsibility to do so. Being straight to the point was the way to go, "About ten minutes ago I struck down your alpha for the safety of the chateau and it's denizens,"

The Houndour had a few reactions to this news. At first they growled at me in anger and shock, but after a few seconds they exchanged some looks and seemed to calm down. They were certainly not happy, yet they seemed to understand why it ended that way. No doubt they had thought their alpha's aggression towards the ghost types was rash, even if he had his reasons.

"I see..." The same Houndour from before spoke. If he was going to speak for the rest of his remaining pack members then I wanted to hear out his name. I knelt down before him and made eye contact with the canine.

"What's your name, lad?"

The Houndour held eye contact with me and answered, "Garon,"

"Well, Garon...without your alpha what will you four do now?" I asked. Garon looked at the other Houndour, who muttered their concerns and thoughts to him quietly. I waited patiently for them to finish before Garon spoke up again.

"We don't know. Our old territory has likely been taken by a new pack or clan, and there are too few of us to really claim a new territory," Garon began with a furrowed brow, "On the other hand winter draws near, so food sources and shelter will become scarcer still. It will be very difficult for us to last the season without our alpha and no territory to call our own,"

I closed my eyes again and to let Garon's words sink in. The plight of these Houndour was a direct result of my hasty response to the threat that had been their alpha. Any poor fate they suffered henceforth was in part my fault as well. It was a harsh reminder that choosing to end a life affected those that life had been important too. I may have saved the ghost types but I also may have doomed the Houndour.

My mind raced for a solution to their plight. Sinnoh was not my true home and I was a nomad, so I had no territory to offer the Houndour. I could not promise them food either. But I did know of someone who could offer these things to them, so long as they were willing to work for it.

"In the south western part of this forest there is a warrior clan that accepts any species, so long as they are willing to fight and train," I told the Houndour. "Head in that direction and you will likely be approached by one of their border guards. Tell them your plight and I am certain they will take you in, if only for the winter,"

Garon turned to the other Houndour and gauged their reactions. Of course they were still not pleased, but it was a better solution than any that they may have had, if they had any at all. So after some deliberation the gave each other grudging nods.

"It sounds like our best option," Garon stated, turning from his pack members to me once more.

"Mhm, and let them know that Swipes sent you," I hoped that my commendation would help convince Bel to take them into his clan. I was fairly confident that he would, knowing what sort of 'mon he was, but I didn't want to blindly think that the situation would just happen to work out.

"I will..." Garon hesitated. After a moment he gave a curt nod before standing up straight, "Thank you then, Zangoose,"

"Sorry, I just have one last question," The pack paused and waited for me to continue, "Did Yune really...well, attack your pack like that? Do you have any idea why?"

Garon's eyes narrowed and he looked away, "It was rather sudden. She was nice, polite at first, but once our alpha declined her offer she made her move not a minute later," There was bitterness dripping from his tone. The other Houndour growled quietly, as if to agree with him, "I don't know what sparked the change and I don't know why she did what she did...but she's not to be trusted. She's two-faced, a liar, and a murderer,"

His words were harsh but they were sincere, and his bitter tone held finality to it as well. I knew better than to press the subject any further and simply nodded as the pack went along it's path. The whole situation was strange, and I wound up with more questions than answers. Was Yune some sort of sociopath? No, it didn't add up. She was concerned about some evil and necromancy, but she herself slaughtered nearly an entire Houndour pack practically on a whim.

Was she just insane?

"Swipes," Celsius stated my name firmly. I turned to look at him and met his gaze. Right, I owed the young one a conversation.

"Celsius...sorry, this whole day got really hectic really quickly," I said with a weak chuckle, scratching the back of my head with my claws. "Are you okay, though? Things got ugly in the chateau...and I wish you didn't have to see what you did,"

To my surprise, and relief, Celsius nodded. His expression was still even, but his tone held some sincerity, "I'm fine, it's okay," He replied. I sighed and relaxed a little before the Absol continued, "My primary concern is the chateau itself. There's something...wrong, in that place. I don't even think the ghosts should live there..."

Celsius visibly shivered, just like before. Whatever he felt from the chateau was either real or he truly believed it was real. Celsius was young but he wasn't a newborn either, I decided to trust that what he felt was real, though I had no idea what was responsible for that ominous feeling.

"We feel it too, you know," Celsius and I turned around and saw Myst floating over to us, princess Victoria at her side. The Misdreavus must have finished checking up on her fellow ghost types, "But we ghosts aren't exactly welcome in most areas. Many Pokemon distrust us and some...well, you saw today, they'll seek us out and attack us. We'll take an ominous home if it keeps most threats away,"

Her reasoning was sound enough, but her words triggered something in my mind. I remembered that the Houndoom stated a Gastly had been with Yune when she attacked his pack. I didn't want to assume that the Gastly had come from the chateau, but it could shed some light on the situation.

"Say, Myst. That Houndoom in there mentioned that there was Gastly with the Medicham. I'm thinking it's the reason he was under the impression you were in league with her. Any chance that Gastly came from your chateau?"

I didn't need to hear her answer. Myst's eyes widened. She must not have caught that part, or perhaps she hadn't been there when he told me, but she looked like she had been struck with total disbelief.

"It...it's possible...very possible, that it was our leader, Durban. Yune the Medicham did visit us as well, and told us tales of evil in the south, of the dead rising again. She asked for assistance and Durban was the sole volunteer...but..."

"You don't believe he'd sanction such violence," I was right on the mark. Myst nodded and looked away. It was hard to believe and yet hard not to believe as well. We did not know if Durban truly accepted the violence, but the Houndoom said that the Gastly helped prevent him from saving his pack members. He may not have killed directly, but if that was truly the case then he may as well have.

Victoria buzzed over to her friend and looked at her empathetically, but said nothing. She seemed as though she wanted to cheer up Myst but had no idea what to say. I myself was at a loss for words. There was just too much to think about, and too much we didn't know.

" Victoria!" A snappy, femine voice called out. All eyes were drawn to another female Combee, one whose expressions were of distaste, as she buzzed directly over to Victoria. She didn't even spare myself or the others a glance, "Goodness have I been searching for you. The Queen wishes to speak with you,"

Another female Combee? Must have been another of Elizabeth's daughters. The queen's reign was truly coming to an end if she allowed not one but two princesses to live.

"Yes, of course Matilda," Victoria replied. She gave Myst a small smile and a nod before pausing and turning to Swipes and myself. "I thank you for your aid today. You went above and beyond for mere strangers, and your noble acts shall not be forgotten. I am indebted to you,"

I blinked at the Combee's formality and couldn't help but chuckle. I was certainly not used to be spoken to in such a way, "Sure, if you want, but you don't owe me a thing. Just give my regards to the Queen,"

Victoria merely nodded before buzzing over to her sister and exiting the area, making their way into the trees. Once they entered the treeline I saw a fair bit of rustling in the bushes and leaves. It seemed Princess Matilda had brought an escort along with her. Made sense, Combee were not very powerful Pokemon and the females were potential heirs. They had to be protected at all times. I'm certain Victoria herself would get scolded for coming so far without an escort of her own.

A part of me had wanted to ask Victoria about Yune's visit to the hive, but by that point I was convinced I wouldn't get any new information. Clearly Yune did not attack the hive much like how she left Belphegor's clan alone, else I'm positive it would have been mentioned. She recruited from the chateau, apparently from the Fuego Ironworks as well, and attacked the Houndour pack. It just didn't add up...

I looked up at the sky and saw that the sun was beginning to set. With winter approaching the days were only getting shorter and shorter still. I did not want to suffer the nightmare of navigating through Eterna Forest in the dark, so I turned to Myst. Before I could say anything the Misdreavus spoke up first.

"I'm so sorry, I forgot to thank you myself," She said with a tired smile, "So thank you, Swipes and Celsius, sincerely. We suffered no casualties thanks to your help today,"

I returned her smile with one of my own. "Always a pleasure, little miss, but I'm afraid we have to depart. We should be in Eterna for at least another day or so. If you get the chance feel free to pop into Belphegor's clan and say hello!"

Myst nodded, the poor ghost tried to match my energy but came up short. It had been a long day, and an emotional one for her. No doubt she was drained and needed rest. Celsius said his farewells after I did and, with that, we turned our backs to the chateau and headed towards Belphegor's clan. We had permission to spend a few nights there and I at least wanted to spend one night.

Just as the walk to the chateau was at first, the walk back from the chateau was quiet. Except this time I could feel that Celsius wanted to say something, but the lad was hesitant. I didn't push him, and instead waited for him to be ready to speak. A few moments passed before Celsius finally spoke up.

"Swipes," His voice eventually came.

"Yes, lad?"

"Why did you help the chateau?" I blinked and looked back at him. He didn't seem angry, but he was serious. That wasn't necessarily what I had been expecting out of him. I thought on it for a few moments. Why did I help the chateau? Well, I knew why I did, but I had to think of a simple answer for Celsius.

"Well...do you ever really need a reason to help someone?" I asked. Celsius was quiet, so I continued, "Imagine, if you will, just how wonderful our world would be if more people stopped to help out others. It doesn't matter whether they know them or not, or whether the problem is big or not. I get that not everyone can help out either. Some are busy or physically unable to...but so long as I'm free and able, I want to lend a paw to all who need it,"

"And Yune?" Celsius asked, "Would you lend a paw to her, too?"

Tch, the Absol was too damn smart for his own good. I understood the point he was trying to make but it did not change my answer, "Yes, I would help her too, just perhaps not in the way you think. Sometimes what people want isn't what people need,"

Celsius looked to the ground in silence. There was more he wanted to say, and I had a hunch as to what it was, but it never came. To be honest I was glad. He was going to question what right I had to decide what people needed, and I didn't have a solid answer to it. Sometimes you were just able to tell with intuition, but sometimes that intuition was wrong.

There was some silence between us once again until Celsius spoke up, "We never found out about the two crowns,"

"Aye, not yet lad. But we will. We'll still stick in the area for a few days yet. I'm sure Bel won't mind," I answered. I had been so caught up in the Yune situation that the two crowns had practically slipped my mind. There just so much happening that we had no answers to, it was downright maddening, "But either way I think we're both in need of some sleep, hm?"

Celsius nodded, but pressed on, "One last thing, Swipes. I'd...like it if you trained me. To battle like you,"

I stopped walking and turned to Celsius, my brow raised in curiosity. Celsius had shown absolutely no interest in battle before. He'd seen me train and said nothing, he'd seen me fight and said nothing. So why now? What changed? But, despite my curiosities, I decided I was better off not questioning him. My answers would come with time, no doubt.

I knelt down, patted the Absol on the head, and gave him a smile before answering, "Sure thing, lad,"

Eterna Forest was a rather mystical place, both at daytime and night. However at night time that ambience was even greater. The feeling that you were walking through history itself was more present than ever, and the sight of moonlight slipping through the branches and leaves was gorgeous. It was a truly beautiful area, and no small wonder it was home to so many Pokemon whether they were in one of the clans or not.

I laid down on my back and smiled up at the stars, just like the night before. I had to take advantage of nights I could spend in the open before winter hit Sinnoh. It was only a few months away now, but the northern region would be feeling it's effects far sooner than that. Between Yune and the two crowns there was so much to think about, but I didn't want my mind to linger on those. I just wanted to enjoy the atmosphere of the forest and drift off to sleep.

"BWAH!"

Alas, that would have to wait just a moment longer.

"Celsius!" I called out in a loud whisper. I forced myself to my feet and turned around to see the Absol breathing heavily, his eyes wide. "That dream again?"

To my surprise he shook his head.

"A new one this time, then?"

"Yes..." He started to catch is breath before continuing, "There was fire...but it was in a field, this time. Farmlands, the countryside...it all became ashes,"

That was a grim premonition and not nearly as subtle as the two crowns. Odds were there was going to be just that: a great fire somewhere in the countryside of Sinnoh. Yet despite the dark nature of that premonition Celsius seemed to relax rather quickly.

"I see...anything else?" I asked.

"When the fire died down there was something left in the fields..." His voice was softer now, quiet and reflective. "It was...bright...and it was blue. It was a good blue,"

I quirked my brow. I had no idea what that part could be, but if something good was to come of that event then it was imperative we were there to find it. Farmlands in the countryside...there was an area out by Eastern Sinnoh that matched that description quite well, with a farming town right near it to boot.

"Do you think we should go?" Celsius asked me. I met his gaze and gave him a smile.

"Aye, lad. I think it'd be best,"

Yune, the two crowns, and this hope in a great fire. So many events and people to uncover and understand, and many more we still hadn't heard about. I wasn't certain we'd be able to resolve all of Sinnoh's problems on our own, but we had to try. We had to. There was no way I was going to give up on this region so easily.

Yet I didn't have the foggiest idea just how dangerous, how vast the goal I had comitted myself to would be. And I couldn't have possibly dreamed of what Celsius and I would find in that great fire.

Hello all! And welcome to my story! If you've made it this far then you've made it to the end of the prologue! There is much more to come and I'm so excited to share it all with you :D. So please, stick around, and enjoy your stay