Chapter 4: The Words from the Dark Y and the Challenges Ahead

Once the sun had risen over the horizon, the team continued their journey towards Buried Ruins. The wind was getting stronger and the trees were swaying; indicating that a storm was brewing. Eterna explained to her teammates that she would modify her Shadowable into Jet Plane Form so that she could manoeuver out of the strong headwind easily. They nodded, and on her queue, her Shadowable transformed into a black jet plane. As soon as she felt that the headwind was hitting it, she moved it up. Eventually, it was high above the mountains and fortunately, the headwind was slightly weaker.

Within their sight, they noticed an unusual grey plateau above the clouds. Vivi told Eterna to land on the plateau as there could be Buried Ruin Mystery Dungeon's entrance somewhere on it. Eterna gradually slowed the speed of the jet plane, and once it reached the plateau, she circled her Shadowable around to look for the portal. The group eventually spotted it: a red outer ring and black swirl at its middle at the centre of the plateau. Eterna lowered her Shadowable and they alighted off; staring at the portal in front of them.

Eterna questioned Vivi, "Is this really the entrance to Buried Ruins?"

"It should be. There are no other Mystery Dungeons within the mountain range." she answered.

Maginvade commented, "Goodness, this portal gives me the creeps. So how are we gonna travel in this dungeon? Walking? I don't think we need to cheat anymore since we stored the important stuffs in Eterna's Vault."

"I think this will be a great experience to walk on the cliffs as I have not seen that kind of dungeon layout in my world." said Shuy.

"Okay. Can I be the leader this time? I explored this kind of dungeon before."

"Sure. You can detect hidden traps right?"

Maginvade giggled, "Nope, but I can destroy them!"

"Won't it better if I take the lead instead? It is better to avoid the traps than activate them intentionally." suggested Shuy.

"That is boring! Besides, there are situations we can't avoid them anyway."

Shuy decided not to argue at Maginvade and placed her trust in her, "Hmm. I guess I could see how well you could lead us to safety then."

Maginvade laughed, "Haha! You will be surprise how I conquer a dungeon! Alright girls, let's go!"

They entered the portal. To their surprise, they could see the entire layout of the dungeon, and the resident Pokémons roaming on the cliffs and narrow pathways. As the residents could see them as well, they made their way towards them. Vivi noticed a Clefairy among them, and she knew that it was the one that Mew had warned them about it. She took out a Surround Wand in anticipation of its move.

The team managed to walk to an adjacent cliff, but the two routes were blocked by Clefairy, Purrloin, Pidgey and Pichu, which Clefairy and Purrloin were blocking the route that led to the cliff with the stairs. The Fairy Pokémon acted first. It used Follow Me, warping Maginvade towards it. Maginvade was surprised of the move, but wasted no time using Leaf Tornado at it. Vivi on the other hand waved Surround Wand at Maginvade; warping Shuy and Eterna by her side to assist her in battle. Then, she took out Petrify Wand to stun Pidgey from making a move, and she attacked Pichu with Razor Leaf.

As for Maginvade's side, she was amazed that Clefairy could endure three attacks from her and her companions, and Purrloin used two moves for an attack due to Unburden ability. After Clefairy was defeated, Purrloin used double Fake Outs on Shuy. Shuy flinched from the attack, so Maginvade backed her up using Aqua Tail. It survived the attack, and kicked double Sand Attacks at her. As the sand splatted into her eyes, she was momentarily blinded and she fumbled onto the ground. Eterna was not pleased that a mere cat could render two of her teammates defenceless. She casted Heat Wave and toasted all her opponents till they fainted and warped out of the dungeon.

After Shuy and Maginvade managed to recover, they discussed with Vivi and Eterna about the battle they faced.

"It seems we had underestimated those cute Pokemons. They had strong natural defences and irritating status infliction moves." said Shuy.

"Isn't it is unnatural of them to be so powerful?" commented Eterna.

"It is the effect of the Mystery Dungeon. All resident Pokémons had their stats maxed out. That is why I had to depend on items to help you all." replied Vivi.

Maginvade spoke, "Now this is troubling. We might expand too much of our energy before we can even reach the eighth floor. I am thinking we should split up so that the enemies will divide their forces. Besides, if one of us reached the stairs, we will be instantly warped to the next floor as well."

Shuy realised her strategy, "I see. So this is how you conquer a dungeon."

"Yup! It is an effective strategy in a visible floor dungeon. So what do you say girls?"

Eterna agreed, "Fine with me. I can handle them easily without using my Curse Power anyway."

"But is this a good idea? Isn't that means that will have a higher chance of one of us fainted in the dungeon?" concerned Vivi.

Maginvade grinned, "Haha. We aren't that weak, Vivi! Each of us had saved the world isn't it? So there is no need to worry; we will make it to the end of this dungeon!"

"If you say so…"

The team went to their separate ways. They stuck to this strategy till the nineteen floor. Astoundingly, Maginvade's strategy worked smoothly without any one of them fainted. In this floor, they encountered a huge issue ahead of them: a huge cliff with the stairs which was just across of them was surrounded with delightful items such as rare Emeras, wands, stat boost drinks, and sparkling floor that could be gold hidden in there. However:

"This is definitely a Monster House." cautioned Shuy.

Maginvade understood the situation, "I know! But we have to go through this! Eterna, can you be The Sweeper?"

The vixen smiled, "What an enticing offer. Sure, why not?"

"So what are you going to do, Eterna?" questioned Vivi.

"Just watch. It can be hilarious though."

Eterna took out her wand and strode her way to the next cliff, and as she expected, numerous Pokémons were warped in front of her. Before they could use their moves, Eterna told them:

"Oh what a crowd. That makes you all easy targets…to bump on each other."

She waved her wand to direct her Psychic at her foes. The opponents closest to her were knocked back and hit their allies behind them, and the 'dominos effect' continued till all of them collapsed on the ground, moaning in pain.

Vivi, Shuy and Maginvade giggled at the scene; that was certainly 'spectacular'.

Eterna shoved the wand into her tail, and hollered at her teammates, "Okay! We should move on now!"

They made haste to the stairs, while avoiding traps based on Shuy's cue. They drank a bottle of Max Elixir and ate Oran Berries before climbing the stairs to replenish their energy and quenched their hunger since they had not eaten their breakfast yet. Once they reached the final floor, the floor layout changed drastically. The dark black room was slightly illuminated by the glowing blue crystals and luminous green mosses. As they walked to the other room, they saw a huge black tri claw-winged Pokémon, and its frontal body illuminating a red glow. Hovering in the air, he peered down at Vivi and her companions. He spoke:

"Vivi, I must apologise for what I did to you and your friends. Even though I am known to take lives, I only do what a reaper is supposed to do: take Pokémon lives if they are old, sick, or badly injured. For me, a dark one succumbed to a greater darkness, I felt ashamed. To repay for I had done, I shall join you in your rescuing mission to save lives; if they are well enough to live of course."

Vivi replied, "Sure, welcome to Team Interstellar! And Yveltal, I don't resent you for turning the Pokémon into stone. You were controlled by Dark Matter after all."

"I…you have my gratitude Vivi, though I have a question to ask of you; your companions are not part of your rescue team isn't it? I never seen their faces before, and I sensed strong spiritual energy in them…they are humans am I right?"

"Yes. They are here with me on a mission to defeat Dark Matter from space."

Yveltal was astonished, "What!? This is preposterous; there are more than one in The Universe? This is puzzling why It was created. There are not many planets that can host life so what is reason for their existence in the first place?"

Vivi tilted her head, "I wonder about that as well."

"Maybe the answer will reveal to us one day. Anyway, what makes the four of you visit me in this remote place?"

"I would want to ask you how we can defend ourselves from being possessed by Dark Matter."

"Ah, it is not easy. Everyone has darkness in their hearts so Dark Matter can easily slip into the gaps of the heart. But there is a way to prevent this; get the Wind Looplet from Rayquaza in Dragon Gate, situated at the southern point of Grass Continent and North-East of Sky Ruins. It can shield you from status inflictions and self-status decrease due to moves. If possible, request him to give you three Wind Looplets. But be warned, you might have to battle him and the two other legendary dragons that one controls time and the other distorts space. They are not to be taken lightly."

She acknowledged, "Alright, we will try to convince him to give the Wind Looplets to us. But why do we need three? Isn't it should be four of them?"

"As a being of 'true' darkness, I am immune to any dark powers." revealed Eterna.

"She is right. I cannot comprehend how she holds so much dark power and not resorting to violence." admitted Yveltal.

Maginvade nodded, "Yeah, she been through a lot to keep it under control too. By the way, isn't it is safer for you to wear a Wind Looplet as well?"

"I have fortified this Mystery Dungeon to repel any Dark Matter's power from entering the portal. I will be safe as long I don't leave this dungeon."

"That's good. Oh well, we have another important place to go then." She turned to face at Vivi, "Have you been to Sky Ruins before, Vivi?"

She shook her head, "No. I don't have any rescue missions at the south of Grass Continent though, but I been to Little Canyon before. Allow me to take out my map."

She took up the map and judge the distance from Little Canyon to Dragon Gate. She continued, "It seems that we will be mostly flying above the mountains and hills. At least, there is a grass plain in between our flight. We might take two days to reach there by cruising speed."

"Oh no. Another long flight? If that is the case, we can ride in my Shadowable Jet Plane Form and fly there as speedy as possible." recommended Eterna.

"Maybe not that fast; we might puke." pled Shuy.

"Okay…maybe I can just increase till four hundred kilometres per hour, then we might reach there in just one day."

Yveltal looked at her, "That is a problem with long distance travel isn't it? By the way, is your name, human?"

Eterna smacked her forehead, "Oh yes, we haven't introduce ourselves! My name is Eterna, and Shuy is Turtwig and Maginvade is Snivy. Is there anything you want to discuss with me?"

"Yes Eterna. Please don't use your dark power in front of the legendary dragons; they utterly resent it. If you use it, Rayquaza will not hand out the Wind Looplets to your companions."

"But that means they have a lot of advantages against us!"

Shuy assured her, "Not to worry, I can turn the tide to our favour. Anyway, we shall discuss our strategy while we are on our way there."

Vivi agreed, "Yeah. We shall depart now Yveltal. Thank you for your time in helping us to defeat Dark Matter."

Yveltal replied, "Not a problem, Vivi. I apologise that you have to save us once more. And due to my circumstances, I can't accompany you all in your quest."

She responded, "It's okay, it is best to be safe from It. I shall see you then!"

The team left the dungeon, and warped to Little Canyon via Abyss's Door. The orange-coloured canyons were not shallow; they were quite deep, and some of the tall protruding pointy rocks were covered in snow. It was late afternoon; so they decided to travel via Shadowable Jet Plane Form till the sunset. As usual, Vivi instructed Eterna where to fly across, and fortunately by sunset, they had reached the green landscape. They set up a camp on the grass patch with numerous bushes, and plucked some berries around their vicinity. The berries they harvested were called Ganlon Berries. Their fresh were dry and had strong bitter taste, and they grew well in areas that had little rain. Eterna distasted bitter fruits, but she knew that eating sweet fruits all the time would make her belly bigger. When she had a little bite out of the berry, Vivi, Shuy and Maginvade laughed when they see her face twitched from eating it.

After their meal, Vivi told them that Dragon Type Pokémons were tough to defeat as they tended to keep using long and wide range attacks. She was not sure how they were able to bring three uber legendaries down.

Shuy spoke, "I can use Dimensional Scream and foresee what attacks they will use in a near future. However, that would mean that I can't engage them in battle."

Maginvade responded, "Eterna and I can help in offense, Shuy! We been travelling together for missions for a long time so we are perfectly synchronise in our attacks! By the way, we can also use stat infliction items to impede them. But based on my experience, it seems that their effects lasted shorter than usual due to the effects of the Mystery Dungeon."

"That's sucks that I have to resist using my Curse Power against them," groaned Eterna, "but combining my Pokémon's moves with Maginvade, we make a good team. Leave the distraction to us Shuy!"

Vivi commented, "But, if the legendaries read our strategy, Shuy will faint even though the two of you have tried your best to distract it. I think it is better for Eterna to protect Shuy instead since she can conjure Light Screen and attack from afar. I shall head close to the legendaries and use the items so that they will be focus on me instead, and Maginvade will have an easier time attacking them."

Maginvade was astounded of Vivi's "Woah, you really think this through Vivi. What do you think girls? Should we follow Vivi's strategy instead?"

Shuy nodded, "I think it is a good plan. It is reassuring to have a strong shield user by my side."

Eterna opposed, but she knew it was crucial to protect Shuy as she was a key player to help them succeed. She replied, "Well…I prefer to attack the legendaries head on, but my Light Screen is pretty sturdy as well. Alright, I will defend Shuy and assist in wide range attacks."

Maginvade grinned, "Okay. We shall stick to her plan then! By the way, how many Revival Seeds do we have in Eterna's Vault?"

Eterna summoned her vault and browsed for them inside. She told her, "Eleven of them."

"Great! Give me four of them so that I can revive Vivi, and you carry four as well should Vivi and I fainted in battle."

Eterna passed to her as requested, and also two Max Elixirs just in case she tired off. Eterna also placed four Revival Seeds in her bag, and retrieved eight Slow Wands and four Surround Wands for emergency use.

Maginvade spoke, "I think we had a good discussion tonight. Is there anything you want to add?"

Shuy yawned, "Sleep please. I need about nine hours of sleep to be my optimum level to use my ability many times."

"Alright, goodnight and see you all in the morning!"

Shuy and Maginvade fell asleep on the grass. Eterna on the other hand was jotting her adventures in her diary. Vivi peered at the words she wrote, and Eterna did not mind it.

The fire vixen questioned her after she was done writing, "Is there anything you want to ask of me?"

Vivi replied, "Well…I wonder why you always write stuffs in your diary, and when did you started it?"

"I guess…I should allow you to read the first page of my diary."

She flipped the pages till the first page and passed it to Vivi. She read:

Never forget the journey that you had been through

so that one day you can repay the ones that aided you,

and things that you should avoid doing from now on.

However should you decided to go astray,

pass this diary to someone you trust

that contains your memories

to defeat you.

Vivi understood that the memories to Eterna was important, that was why she told her that it was unnecessary to have her memories erased. She returned the diary to Eterna and was puzzled of the fourth line of the poem. She asked:

"Why would you go astray? Is it because of your power?"

Eterna answered, "When the situation comes, I might have to tap into my entire reservoir of Curse Power, which may cause me to become someone that you hate. And that is the point of time if that someone has my diary, he or she will know how to stop me. Ah yes…I didn't explain about Darkness and Light entirely to you all. Will you keep it a secret?"

"I will."

"From what I interpreted from the poem in Skyward Block, Light had died because Darkness's power eventually swallow It whole. Darkness then created New Light and gave it a gift of emptiness, which New Light understood Darkness wanted something around them. That was how Life was created, or it can be referred to the universe. But the part that Darkness had trouble containing its power might apply to me as well. My power might 'overflow' and causes chaos to anyone. I hope this will not happen though…"

Vivi stuttered in astonishment, "That…that…is too mind-blown for me to understand! Uh hmm…so far, you managed to keep your power in check right? I don't think your power will overflow; or else why do they let you reincarnated?"

Eterna smiled at her, "I am glad that I talk to you; you know how to state the obvious answer. I guess I am pondering over things too much since I hold a lot of power, and growing in strength from time to time. Alright Vivi, let's go to bed shall we? We have a big day ahead of us."

She placed the diary into her sling bag, and created Shadowable Dome Form to protect her teammates.

They flattened a grass area to rest onto it, and they fell into a deep sleep almost immediately. Vivi dreamed that Eterna just wanted to have friends that she could rely on. So she spoke to her in her dream:

"We are already your friends so don't shoulder all the burden on yourself. Should that time comes, I will do anything to…"

Her dream had suddenly changed into watching Shuy won the Berry Eating Contest. Vivi shrugged and snickered at the act; allowing the dreams guided her till daybreak.

Here is another art that resembles a scene from this chapter!

art/Meeting-Yveltal-588057240