It wasn't long before the Northern Ruins of Orre saw Deoxya and Deoxys snap into visibility among its fallen stones, both returning to Normal form and looking warily around. A chill wind blew through the silent ruins and brought with it a low moan, as if the spirits of the castle's ancient inhabitants were calling out from beyond their graves. The decrepit remains were, however, apparently deserted—as far as the living were concerned, at any rate; there was no sign of Lugia or of his captors.

"We'll deal with the trap, huh?" said Deoxys. "I'm actually starting to wonder…"

"We can handle it," Deoxya reassured him.

"We are a regular unstoppable duo, aren't we?"

"There's no need to worry. Things will be back to normal before we know it."

"On that note…"

"Yeah we should probably do what we came here for…"

"See Lord Lugia anywhere? I can't seem to sense him."

"He's not here." They whirled around and beheld Grey, Magus, and Renzan each standing on one of three tall pillars. It was Magus who had spoken.

Neither Pokémon was surprised to see them. "Then where is he? Come on?" challenged Deoxys. "I'll get the information by force. You're fast, but I'm faster."

"Well now," said Grey. "I'd love to put that to the test, but some of us"—he threw Magus a dirty look—"have other plans for you."

"You told us Lord Lugia was here," said Deoxya, glaring at them. "Why lit? You needed us all the way out here just to attack us?"

"He was here," laughed Renzan, "when we told you that!"

"Wait…" Deoxys had his eyes closed. "I can feel it. It's faint, but he's definitely still here, and alive."

Deoxya had already shifted to Attack form. "Well, at least we didn't waste the trip. Now I think it's time we finished these jokers off."

"So you can sense energy signatures," said Magus. "No doubt that ability will be missed by your friends when you're gone."

"Sorry, not really planning on going anywhere." Deoxya stood ready alongside Deoxys.

"Once again, you don't have a choice!" Renzan raised his right arm as Grey and Magus did the same, and the motion was accompanied by a deep rumble within the earth. Both Pokémon felt an unseen force cinch tight around their bodies, immobilizing them completely, as glowing purple trails began to carve themselves into the ground underfoot. The lines curved, split, and intersected, all the while putting a sharp sound like blades on ice into the air, and they formed a large circle inset with intricate bands and spidery patterns.

Renzan grinned as ghostly rivulets of light began to flicker within the lines of the circle. "Good-bye, insects!"

A vast violet flame sprang up seemingly from the very depths of the earth, filling the circle and swallowing Deoxys and Deoxya whole amid the deafening noise of roaring fire. It spiraled skyward, spitting embers at the sky; then it fell and vanished, taking with it not only the luminous circle but everything in the entire space it had occupied.

-s- -s- -s-

They flew through a vortex of color, sound, and twisted shapes. The purple flames were replaced by an unfathomable tunnel through which they seemed to be plummeting headfirst on their journey to — Where are we going? wondered Deoxys, his thoughts broadcast to Deoxya.

We aren't dead, I know that much.

They sailed through one last swirl of nothing and abruptly halted. Then, the now-black surroundings split apart like a parted sheet of water, gradually fading and revealing a forested area. They turned slowly where they stood, each surveying the new landscape. Overhead, serene white clouds drifted lazily through the sun-soaked sky, a gentle breeze rustled the plentiful leaves, and the flow of a nearby brook was faintly audible—there wasn't so much as a remote threat in sight. There was even a Noctowl hooting peacefully…right above them?

Deoxys craned his neck to gaze up at the Owl Pokémon, an average-sized bird covered in a slightly scruffy brown coat dotted with black markings, who was perched on a high branch. "Hello?" he called. "Can you tell us where we are?"

The Noctowl cocked his crested head at a near-impossible angle, and his deep red eyes affixed on them. "Johto," he replied. "This is the Ilex Forest."

"Johto?" Deoxya turned to Deoxys, puzzled. "So…they just sent us over the ocean?" Deoxys gave an equally perplexed shrug.

"Who are you?" queried the Noctowl. "Where did you come from?'

"I'm Deoxya; he's Deoxys," responded Deoxya. "We were in the Orre region, across the sea, but we were transported here somehow."

"Ah, I see—you are Legendary Pokémon." The Noctowl spread his wings and nimbly fluttered to a lower limb for a better look. "I am called Knell. I will be your guide."

"Guide?" repeated Deoxys. "Thanks, but we're just going to fly up and head back to Orre."

"You cannot simple fly out of the Ilex Forest." Knell gestured skyward with one wing. "These woods are under the protection of Lord Celebi, and only at certain locations may you enter or exit."

"But we were recently with Lord Celebi, in Sinnoh," said Deoxys. "Shouldn't he be able to allow us through?"

"He isn't here in the forest? Well, I wouldn't know about that," said Knell, "but I assure you the fastest way out is to follow me."

"All right, then," said Deoxya. "You're our guide." Knell nodded, and took off.

"Mewtwo," spat Darkrai as if it were a curse. "I…hate…Mewtwo…"

He had Mewtwo slung over one shoulder and was making his painfully slow way back to Spear Pillar—it was the fastest he could go given his passenger. Every minute of the journey was stretching itself into an agonizing eternity.

"Maybe I should just kill him…"

The pair of DNA Pokémon skimmed over the forest floor, keeping pace with Knell as he weaved among the branches overhead. The noontime sun was directly above them; this struck Deoxys as odd, and he mentioned it to Deoxya as they flew.

"You're right," she mused. "The time zone's different, obviously, but…does it really account for this big of a jump? I though it was morning."

"My reckoning of the distance must be off…"

"Tell me," said Knell, "why is Lord Celebi in Sinnoh?"

"A strange energy began to affect the moon a while ago," Deoxys explained. "We think we've discovered something of a plot surrounding it, and we were in Sinnoh pursuing three beings we believe are connected to this 'Reverse Moon.'"

"Beings? Of what sort?"

"Not Pokémon, not humans," said Deoxya. "Although they look human, and they have powers a lot like ours."

"I see." Knell was silent for a moment. "I haven't noticed anything strange about the moon myself, but if what you say is true, I know someone who may be able to help you." He abruptly banked left and alighted on a conveniently located branch, and they stopped as well.

"Who, exactly?" said Deoxys quizzically.

Knell only held up his wind, pointing off into the forest. "Simply move in that direction. I will go no further."

"And if we got lost?" Deoxya spoke with a raised eyebrow in her voice.

"You won't."

Deoxya half-shrugged and set off in the direction Knell indicated, Deoxya right behind him. As they went, they entered a swirling mist that grew denser the further they progressed, and the sunlight was lost in the whiteness. Soon, the air was heavy with moisture. Light from an indeterminate source caught the tiny water droplets of the mist, creating shimmering rainbows throughout the area. Everything shone; the mist was now a spectral white and even the trees seemed to emanate a faint, liquid, blue-green glow.

"Shiny," muttered Deoxys, looking around.

"I wonder who he wants us to meet." Deoxya examined one of the luminescent tree trunks. "I don't see any regular forest Pokémon, so I'd guess the one who lives here's…"

"A Legendary?"

"Most likely."

"Actually, I can't sense anyone in this entire section of forest…"

For the second time, he and Deoxya turned swiftly at the sound of a new voice behind them. "So I'm nobody?" This time, however, the newcomer was not one of their three enemies.

Stepping out from among the trees, silent as a ghost, was a graceful canine Pokémon with skin of an almost translucent aqua hue, a flowing violet mane, and brilliant, streamers trailing from her body. The mist seemed to wrap around her like a blanket or cloak, and it was obvious how she had approached them unnoticed.

"Suicune! I didn't know you lived here!" exclaimed Deoxya. She wrapped her arms around Suicune's neck and gave her a squeeze. "How are you? It's been such a long time!"

"I'm well," said Suicune, smiling. "It hasn't been that long—I'm surprised you're back so soon, actually."

"Special circumstances," said Deoxys, "but she was gone a while all the same. Hello, Lord Suicune."

"Lord Deoxys." Suicune tilted her head upward and gave him a playful haughty look. "Didn't I tell you to call me Lady Suicune?"

"Perhaps," replied Deoxys with an equally unconvincing air of indifference. "I see your talent for hiding your presence is still strong."

Suicune shot him a look clearly intended to mean something like That or your energy senses just suck before turning back to Deoxya. "However long you were gone, it's great to see you again. What brings you here?"

Together the two of them presented Suicune with a condensed version of the events that had taken place since Mew had first noticed the Reverse Moon. "A Noctowl named Knell said you could help us," concluded Deoxys.

"Well…" said Suicune, a mischievous smile spreading across her elegant features. "I might just be able to help you…but I'll need you to do something for me first."

"And what might that be?"

Suicune turned and took several steps into the vast expanse of forest, her feet making virtually no sound as they padded against the grass, then looked over her shoulder. "Follow me."

Suicune led them to the edge of a great chasm, the bottom of which was so far below them that it was not visible—though the depression was open to the sky, the tall trees surrounding it coupled with the gradual dip of the sun meant only a small portion at the top of one side received direct light. The hole was roughly circular, and its sides had a slight incline to them. "Thousands of years ago, an enormous meteor impacted here," explained Suicune. "There's a legend that says a certain stone lies at the bottom of this crater…"

"What kind of stone?" asked Deoxya.

"The 'imbued-with-an-ancient-power' kind," replied Suicune, a gleam in her eye. "It's called the Aurorastone in the legend. It's a very special piece of rock which I could use to increase my powers of purification and symbiosis with nature." She gazed down into the pitch-blackness below. "With it, I could easily neutralize negative energy affecting even the moon, and I've been trying to get it for some time besides."

Deoxys sighed. "And you haven't been able to because…?"

By way of an answer, Suicune spat a beam of irised energy into the crater. It rushed down at a blazing speed, its illumination on the dirt walls gradually growing dimmer, and eventually it winked out of sight. Suicune looked sidelong at Deoxys. "We won't even hear the explosion. You think I'm just going to jump in? Supposing I didn't die upon landing, how would I get back out? What's the matter, anyway—have you forgotten how to fly?"

"All right, all right," said Deoxys. "Point made."

"Come on," said Deoxya, hovering out and floating over the crater. "Let's get to it."

Together they began their descent into the depths of the depression, Deoxys sending a steady pulse of light from the gem in his chest to provide visibility in at least their immediate vicinity. "It doesn't make sense," said Deoxya as they went. "Why just transport us away? It's true we're delaying now, but we could fly back Speed in half an hour."

"It certainly is strange," agreed Deoxys. "And there's still the time issue…"

"A really slow teleporting ability?" suggested Deoxya with a shrug.

Still the plunged downward. As the errant reflected light from above was reduced almost to nothing, Deoxya lit her own crystal, softening the eerie glow of Deoxys's purple light. After a few minutes more of silent travel, the wall began to level out, and, after slowly curving more and more, became parallel to the mouth of the crater. They had reached the bottom.

A ways ahead of them, at the very center of the basin, was a strong, dimensionless glow. Moving closer, Deoxya saw it to be a smooth, polished stone, clear but colored from within by pulses of a vibrant blue light. She picked it up, and as she turned it in her hands, a rainbow—Or an aurora, she thought—of colors played across its surface despite the dimness and single hue of the light shining on it.

Deoxys gazed laconically at the Aurorastone. "And back up we go."

A/N: And here's that other update for you.

Just why the heck did our antagonist trio send Deoxys and Deoxya to Johto? Will Darkri-or Mewtwo, for that matter-survive the trip to Spear Pillar? What are Jirachi, Mew, and Celebi even doing now? Find out in the next exciting chapter...!