The Ensnarement of Dimensions

by Cyndaquil123

Here we have another pokemon/kingdom hearts fanfic that floats around in the thousands that already exist. This particular one is about three pokemon. Keldeo, Vulpix, and Sneasel. The world that they live in is different from the games and the show. It is also falling apart. So join them in their adventure as they try to save their world, and survive the horrors that they may see.

4. Chapter 4

Hey it's Cyndaquil123 here. This chapter was written by GameManiac.

In other news I will now judge your fanfics. Basically I will judge your fanfiction and tell you how I think you could make it batter. If I end up loving the story, I'll put its name up here for people to read. So tell me if you want me to judge your fanfiction!

And now… THE CHAPTER

Chapter 4

Ever since I left the Moor of Icirrus, ever since I began my journey south towards Castelia City, not a day has gone by where Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion have escaped my thoughts.

…Of course, it's not like enough days have gone by where I've begun to miss them as much as I would like to. It's only been a couple of days actually, with my steady gallops across the main routes of Unova.

Because, despite my planning beforehand (or is it "beforehoof" in my case?), despite having two Pokémon Trainer backpacks strapped firmly onto my sides and their innards filled to overflowing with Berries, medicinal items, and other Pokémon Trainer supplies—such as a couple of Escape Ropes—, It began to seem as though I was carrying extra weight for no benefit to myself. Of course, this didn't really bother me, and there were plenty of reasons for that.

I may not look like it to most stranger Pokémon, but I'm actually quite powerful for my small body. I'm like a Riolu or a Hawlucha when it comes to their strength-to-size ratio…if such a thing can even be measured by what it was that came off of the top of my head. I can definitely hold my own against larger Pokémon and I've definitely defeated a list of Pokémon that, on paper, should be able to overpower me by their size and their weight alone. Like that time when I fought against Kyurem in order to become a Sacred Swordsmen to myself and to my peers.

…Of course, that was only through the second time when I confronted that behemoth of a Dragon-Type Pokémon. Because the first time that I faced such an intimidating and such a powerful opponent, I literally "pussied out", ran away, and my friends paid the price for my shameful cowardice by becoming Kyurem's ice sculptures.

Luckily for me though, they didn't die, or else I would've killed myself for my foolishness and my guilt. My comrades were freed, and I become a Sacred Swordsman, all thanks to the help of those three selfless humans and their loyal Pokémon when they found me in my time of need.

Ash, Cilan, and Iris… sometimes I wonder where they are now, and what they're doing.

They're probably enjoying themselves a delectable bowl of "human food". Especially Ash. We both have quite the voracious appetites, when I recall our time together. We even choked on our food at the same time, when we were both making like Swalot and having the food disappear within our mouths.

Luckily for me, I have plenty of food by my side, literally! And when it isn't by my side, it's inside my belly, in a scattered pile behind my wake (if you know what I mean…), or all around me, as a bounty from nature.

Every few hours or so, when I would pass by a Berry tree, I would knock some of its abundant produce down with an acrobatic leap and a quick swipe of my sharp horn. Then, for extra style points, I would gracefully land, open my backpack, and catch the succulent fruits before they could hit the ground. And most of the time, I caught them without fail, sometimes with my mane. Thankfully for me though, I wasn't picky about the ones that found themselves landing on the dirt, and I simply washed them off with my water hooves before picking them off of the ground with my mouth and making them a part of me with one single swallow.

So in short, while one of my backpacks remained unopened since I left the Moor of Icirrus, the other one has been exercised in opening and closing, stretching itself thin and wide in tandem to my expanding and shrinking stomach.

And during the couple of nights of my wandering solitude, I simply found shelter wherever I went. But ingeniously, I kept my distance from any potential obstacles to my mission, be they human or Pokémon. I simply water jumped myself up onto a high tree branch, balanced myself so that my belly and chin rested on wood, and left my legs and tail to dangle from the wood like clingy Seedot.

Of course, the first time that I tried this, I found myself waking up on the floor, my back to the grass, my hooves to the sky, my red mane ruffled all over my face, and my head aching a bit from what I'm certain was the result of my stirring in my sleep, and not the result of catching fruit. But thankfully for me, a mild headache and a slight bump on the back of my head—that my Ordinary Form's horn dwarfs—didn't influence my next night of sleep, and I learned from my error of yesterday night.

Surprisingly, the pair of Escape Ropes that I had in my possession proved to be unexpectedly useful, even though they were used ironically from their original purpose. Because even though they're intended for escaping from caves, I used them to secure myself, as in the opposite of escape.

I found myself using one of them to properly tie my body onto a tree branch, so that I wouldn't go anywhere if I found myself stirring in the middle of my sleep, or if I just so happened to lean over to my left or to my right, which is probably how I fell out of my temporary bed the other day.

And the best part about this idea is that I exhausted myself in trying to secure myself by using only my hooves and my mouth to make the knots on the Escape Rope. Because only Arceus knows why we hoofed Pokémon are cursed with a lack of opposable thumbs.

…Maybe if I blow into one of my hooves, I can make a few fingers and even a thumb appear on the other.

…

…Where in Arceus's name and to the credibility of my title did that impossible thought come from?

Today was officially the third day since I had left my home and my family/friends. And after dining on a healthy breakfast of juicy Sitrus Berries for energy and a few Lum Berries for nutrition, I continued my progress south, to the city where I saw the sky grow dark from the natural effects of a solar eclipse, and then glow violet with the bizarre light of that purple, six-sided star.

As I continued to make my way down through the land of Unova, while making sure that I stayed close to the water that flowed through this region like blood through veins (my affinity for water, I know…), I found myself entering a forest of some kind. And thanks to a sign that humanity has left for their norm to overlook, I stopped directly in front of it, made my pale ass meet grass, and gazed at its limitless wisdom.

PINWHEEL FOREST

I found myself tilting my body back and forth to look at the forest that resided behind this sign. And while I didn't feel like I was doing so, I was looking with my eyes half open.

"(Leave it to humans to state the obvious, and then stick on a word that doesn't exactly describe this place.)"

With that, I abandoned the "limitless wisdom" of this sign and made my way into the Pinwheel Forest. And as I did so, one word entered my mind several times, more so than "pinwheel" anyway…

That word was "nostalgia". And the reason for that is because some time ago, before Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion came together to become the Swords of Justice, this was where Virizion once lived and called home.

…Only now, with the four of us together for most of the time, the word "home" is used loosely amongst us. We honestly just roam around Unova as we please, seeing the sights, seeing if anything has changed and needs to be updated within our memories, seeing if there's a helpless Pokémon that needs saving. And that "Helpless Pokémon" could be anything, from a frightened little Pokémon fleeing from evil pursuers, or a Meowth stuck on top of a tree.

There are actually a lot of those assignments, for us four Sacred Swordsmen. And while that's most certainly not a bad thing for the widespread reputation of our shared titles, it just might be for our skills.

You see, I've grown a little rusty several months after I've become a Sacred Swordsman. And as a result of that, I've found myself using my signature SECRET SWORD attack less and less, to the point where I now find myself in my Ordinary Form most of the time. I can still very much use SECRED SWORD and transform into my stronger Resolute Form. But such a thing, as I've become used to, only happens when I'm in a heated battle. Not quite a battle at the extreme levels that I experienced when I clashed my "horn sword" with Kyurem, but a match where my heart races and I begin to find myself panting and sweating.

…

Speaking of sweating…

When I made my way deeper through Pinwheel Forest, enough so where the towering skyscrapers of Castelia City loom even from here, I don't know why, but I found myself feeling slightly nervous. Enough so where I could feel my red mane become a bit more luscious than it normally is.

Why is that exactly? Is it because I was feeling, deep down within myself, a bit uneasy about what I might confront?

If that's the case, then it's not at all surprising. After all, I don't think I'm the first Pokémon to be unnerved of the thought of the sky turning dark, and then changing colors to something other than a blue as light in shade as that of my tail and fluffy fur around my neck and over my pectorals.

But for the sky to actually turn purple… Is that even possible? I mean, perhaps it is, if Arceus feasted a face full of fermented fruit and felt that flickering the firmament's flat would be funny (what do you know about the letter "F"?).

I suppose, in the end, I just don't know if what I saw in my dream could actually occur in reality. Or, perhaps more likely, if what I saw in my dream was just that. A dream. A figment of my imagination.

But I wouldn't be trotting clockwise halfway around Unova if I disregarded my dream. After all, I had that same dream replay within my mind too many times, give or take a slightly different scenario in between the beginnings and endings. And just last night, I had that dream play through my mind again. The only difference was that the "Xeno" Lucario was there with me, guiding me like a blue angel.

…!

Before I knew it, I was halted in my tracks and my train of thought was cut off at what I saw appear in front of me.

Maybe "appear" was too misplaced a word here. I think "collapse" better describes this.

Almost automatically, I found myself saying "Who are you?" before I took a moment to look down and better inspect what it was that made my words a bit redundant at that moment.

I saw a Vulpix, a youngling, most likely female just based from the way her throat squeezed and whined like a punctured accordion whenever she took a breath. She…didn't appear in the best of shape either. She looked like she had run a marathon, because her body was drenched in her own sweat, which made her fur look oily and faded even. But I noticed that it still looked as red as it should be in small areas, but that was only because of the dried blood that seeped out of some of her external bruising, which were all symmetrically aligned in the way that only happens if something tried to take a bite out of you.

I found myself focused much more on her constitution rather than the purple gem that she appeared to have worn around her like a collar.

Overall, she defined the word "fear" in my mind, from the way her ribs flexed with her every hyperventilation and from the look in her dilated eyes when they looked up at me, an unquestionable stranger and exotic sight around these parts. But even here, as this Vulpix was collapsed on the grass and looking on at me, as my shadow was cast over her, I could tell that she wasn't feeling fear towards me.

She was feeling fear towards what lurked behind her, what resided within the underbrush directly in front of me.

When this enemy appeared, I immediately identified this adversary as a Houndoom, an aggressive male, and one that was no doubt very pissed off at this fatigued and frightened Vulpix.

"There you are, you troublesome bitch!" Houndoom snarled as I saw him glare at target, stalking her. "There's no more escape for you from me and my—!"

There it was, in Houndoom's eyes. There was that look that he gave me when he suddenly noticed my presence over this helpless Pokémon. And whatever words and whatever frustration Houndoom had earlier in the narrow time frame that he exposed to me, it disappeared and was replaced with curiosity and a lack of action when his mind went absent at what he didn't know what to do.

Then I heard another voice coming in further within Pinwheel Forest, alongside some running. And before I knew it, I saw what appeared to be a human being, dressed almost entirely in black, save for a big red "R" in the center of his torso,

"(…Oh crap…)" I thought to myself at what I knew that infamous red "R" belonged to.

"Honestly, you worthless mutt?" I heard this man begin to scold his Houndoom. "You had one job. I give you one simple task to accomplish and I come here and find out that you've stopped in your tracks before our target and—!"

There it is again, in this "Team Rocket" man's eyes, the same look that he was now sharing with his Houndoom, that same mental absence at seeing me, someone that was so foreign to them and so…rare.

…Did I have something on my nose? Was that why they were ogling me so attentively? Then again, I don't really need to have anything on my nose for onlookers to look at it. I have an abnormally large proboscis after all, as though I was stung by a Beedrill and the swelling didn't leave me.

I'm not sure why Arceus gave me a nose like this. Maybe my God forsook me when He…She…It made me. Or maybe Arceus was drunk when It added the final touches to my nose.

My mind returned to "Realityland" from "Daydreamland", and I could see a smile form on that evil man's face, after he had seen me long enough and accepted who I am.

"Well, well, well. This is something that I don't see every day." He began to monologue. "I came here in search of that elusive Vulpix, so that I could claim that stone in her possession."

I swear, I could see a glimmer in that avaricious man's eyes right now, if I squinted my eyes and concentrated on them.

"But I find out that the Vulpix was just the first step to the yellow brick road that led me to this grand prize." His eyes widened some more when he emphasized his last few words. "One of the four Swords of Justice: The Colt Pokémon Keldeo."

It didn't take a genius to realize that this man saw me as a trophy, and a prestigious one at that. And as for the Vulpix that he mentioned before, I could feel the little rascal hide behind my back left leg, cling onto it tightly, and was no doubt still trembling from the mere presence of her pursuers, while looking on at them as though they were evil incarnate.

This "Rocket" man then looked over to his pet Houndoom. "What the hell are you waiting for? Attack Keldeo!"

"…" Houndoom, despite receiving a direct order from his "master", simply stayed put, intimidated by me and having second thoughts in attacking me.

That's not very surprising actually. I'm not exactly a common Rattata. I'm one of the four Swords of Justice, and all four of us are Legendary Pokémon. So with those two titles alone that I carry on my shoulders like a pair of wrestling championship belts, there's enough of a wall between me and my opponent that I don't exactly have to do anything in terms of confronting my hindered opponent.

That being said however…

"So help me, if you don't obey my command…" The greedy human began to threaten his own Pokémon. "Then I will see to it that I personally feed you to my Boss's Steelix! And it'll swallow you whole regardless of whether it's hungry or not!"

Fear tactics. So that's this man's game. And if that's the case, then there's only one thing that I can do to try and convince this man that what he's doing is wrong.

"(This probably won't work, but it's a good excuse to dust off my use of telepathy.)"

I could see the man staring daggers at his intimidated Houndoom, no doubt already imagining him being ingested by "my Boss's Steelix" for his "defiance". So when the "R" man was just about to curse that Pokémon out again, I cut him off.

And his reaction upon hearing my voice was absolutely priceless.

"Testing…one, two, three…one, two, three…testing." I said, blowing the Spinarak webs off one of my abilities.

That caught this man's attention, especially because I was now speaking his language.

"Did you just…talk?!" He said in awe of me.

"(*Tap*tap*tap*) Is this thing on?" I added in the sounds that you would get if you tap a microphone to test if it's working. And yes, you can add distinctive sound effects to your telepathy, but no one ever seems to bother doing that. I don't know why. It can be fun sometimes.

I glanced down at the Vulpix clinging to my hoof and I can tell that she was puzzled by my unexpected abilities by the curious way that she was now looking at me.

Then again…she could be just looking at my nose. Hard to tell, when it consumes the lower fourth of my perspective.

"Okay…ahem!" I cleared my mental throat and then began speaking to my "worthy adversaries". "I don't know what it was that you did to this Vulpix that made her so fearful for her life, but it's clear to me that she doesn't deserve this much grief."

Like a clop of my hoof, this man's expression changed from astonishment back to his malevolent professionalism.

"This doesn't concern you, 'Sacred' Swordsman." He addressed me formally, albeit mocking my occupation deliberately. "My business is with what rightfully belongs to me! And that is what resides around the neck of that bitch!"

The purple stone. That's what he was referring to, because I glimpsed it a few times prior when taking note of her physical constitution.

"That…that's a lie!" She shouted, the Vulpix behind me shouted, her voice still weak from her debilitated health, but she somehow managed.

Both I and the Houndoom looked at her now, as she was looking at the Team Rocket Grunt that looked back at her.

"Th-this stone…doesn't belong…to you!" She continued. "It b-belongs…to my father… And you h-have…absolutely no right…to take what…isn't yours…to begin w-with!"

This was new information to me, and it actually vaguely explained to me how this Vulpix ended up in this scenario. But at the same time, there was just one thing that I needed to confirm with her.

I looked down at her as she looked up at me, at my nose. "Are you speaking the truth, fair lass?" I said deliberately with telepathy.

She was still shaking from fear, but there was still no mistaking a nod forming on her frightened little head.

"That's all I needed to hear." I added, before stepping forward, away from her and towards her enemies.

"Wait…w-what are you doing?" She continued to struggle to speak.

"Doing my job." I said honestly and without looking back, having heard enough from both sides to establish my verdict and make my course of action.

If I looked behind my back again, I'm certain that I would've seen the damsel in distress begin to shed a tear or two of genuine happiness for my decision to stand by her in her time of need. But because I had to keep my attention put on my enemies now, I couldn't exactly drop my guard for a moment and look back at my injured punter. All I could do now was stand between the Vulpix and her enemies, and keep them away from her with the best of my abilities.

This could not have been more one-sided.

"What did she tell you?" My human opponent asked me.

"Excuse me?" I asked him to repeat himself.

"What did she tell you, to make you do what she can't possibly do in her current condition?" His tone of voice grew darker, muck like his disposition.

"That doesn't concern you." I put it bluntly, knowing that he would just twist the truth into a lie of his deceitful acceptance.

When he saw me crouch down and tilt my head a little lower as I entered a fighting stance, his frustration was made clear to me, for a few seconds anyway. Then, he took a deep breath and smiled at me.

"Fair enough. I see now that the time for words has passed." He said calmly before holding out his right hand and clasping his thumb and middle finger together. "Houndoom, burn my little pony to a crisp with one of your FLAMETHROWER attacks."

A snap of his finger flipped the switch on in Houndoom's choice of actions, and I could see the Dark Pokémon open his jaws wide and inhale sharply, sparks of fire beginning to collect and channel around his fireproof maw.

But I didn't even give Houndoom the opportunity to breathe fire at me. Because like a gunslinger of the west, I drew the barrel of my front right hoof at my target, quick fired one single HYDRO PUMP, and all of Houndoom and his extinguished fire were sent careening back towards a tree.

When Houndoom's back met thick wood, the trunk of it cracked and split apart as though a lumberjack had taken one mighty swing of it with an axe. And as for Houndoom himself, while he wasn't dead because I only exerted a fraction of my power with one of my multitude of Water-Type attacks, there was certainly a dazed, almost derpy look on this Pokémon's face, when he collapsed in a broken heap of himself.

There was a similarly dazed look on the countenance of his "Master" as he double-took between me and the outcome of his Pokémon.

All I did was taunt to the human my effortless victory by holding my soused hoof up to my mouth, licked once away the drops of water that were still dibbling out of it, as though it were the barrel to a smoking gun.

"Had enough yet?" I said, with a bored tone of mental voice.

I could almost see a swollen vein protrude from this angry man's forehead at what I knew I did, which was unquestionably deliver a frustrating setback to his narrow-minded goals.

That being said however, he was far from giving up. Because before my eyes, he assimilated his fainted Houndoom back into one of those man-made "Poké Ball" contraptions, and then replaced him with another Poké Ball in his possession.

"I've only just begun." The man said with a venomous tone of voice. "There's more where my Houndoom came from."

He threw his second Poké Ball high into the air and it opened when it reached the pinnacle of its trajectory. Then, the contents of that Poké Ball appeared in the form of a red light before settling in front of me and dematerializing before my eyes.

In the Rocket Grunt's hand, his Poké Ball returned. And before me was his second Pokémon.

It was an Arbok, and a hostile one at that, coiled around itself and ogling me as though I were to be its next meal. And based on its size over my own, such a voracious feat would be possible. But as long as I lived, breathed, and fired water out of my quadruple-barreled hooves, that will never happen.

I heard some rustling behind my back, and I turned briefly to notice that the Vulpix that I'm defending had taken shelter within the foliage. I briefly glanced at her to notice that she was still very much staring on at us through a partial gap in the underbrush, but she had enough common sense to take proper cover.

That was a good thing, because I didn't want her to get caught in the crossfire of our attacks.

And speaking of attacks…

"Arbok, use ACID SPRAY!"

Unlike his Houndoom, which hesitated to attack me because of how different I was to the Pokémon norm, this Arbok had no such thoughts. It immediately glared at me as though I were this month's main course, opened its jaws, and sprayed corrosive venom directly from the tips of its fangs.

I didn't hesitate to step back in order to avoid the venom from this serpentine adversary. The venom that was fired at me missed its mark, and began to eat away at the ground from which it landed. I only looked at this disturbing sight for a moment, before addressing the human I was indirectly fighting.

"I bet Arbok gives the best kisses, doesn't it?" I said sarcastically.

"She gives the best hugs too." He responded to my sarcasm with his own. "Don't be shy. Give her some love!"

"(That Arbok's a girl?)" I kept my surprise inwardly.

"Arbok, use WRAP!"

Like a spring, Arbok's speed when sprung was immediate, and I found myself jumping up to avoid over eleven feet of Cobra Pokémon from giving me the "best" Beartic hug of my life.

But then that Arbok reacted immediately to my move, as though she saw this coming. She coiled her long, slender body back into a spring, and "jumped" right at me.

I didn't even have a chance to see this coming before I found myself "hugged" by this freakishly large Pokémon and dragged back down to the ground.

Because I couldn't move my head away from facing Arbok right in her slit eyes, I'm sure the look on the Grunt's face when I've succumbed to Arbok's WRAP attack was the equivalent of having looked at an unclaimed gold mine. And I'm sure that the look on Vulpix's face was one of fear, for seeing me in my supposedly last moments before I was captured and made part of Team Rocket, or perhaps disappear head first down this Pokémon's gastrointestinal tract.

But the sad truth, for my enemy anyway, was that I was only feigning capture by this Arbok. And even though I was definitely feeling the pain from Arbok's tight coils around my body, I've yet to feel the suffocating effects that followed shortly afterward.

And because of this Pokémon's owner, that strategy wasn't his intention.

…The idiot.

"Now use CRUNCH, and aim for the jugular!" He said almost euphorically.

Once again, I could see Arbok open her jaws at me, and I could see her serrated teeth and iconic fangs drip saliva, like water from stalactites in a cave. And if I concentrated on her ringed throat, I swear I could peer into it and see her elongated stomach.

But before she had the satisfaction of giving me a "kiss", I made sure I gave her one of my own. Although I can't exactly call it a kiss, because it was more like a drink.

Aiming for the inside of her throat, the tip of my horn began to fizzle with water energy, and I aimed one blast of SCALD at the most vulnerable area that Arbok so foolishly made gaping before me.

Instead of tasting my neck, the she-scaly only tasted water, water that was well over boiling temperature, and she felt the forceful attack roll right down her massive throat, down her esophagus, and even down her trachea.

Naturally, her response to feeling the hyperbolic equivalent of having swallowed a mouthful of lava was to immediately uncoil herself (freeing me), lurch away, and writhe in pain from my decisive action.

Thankfully for her, I showed her enough mercy to spare her any further pain.

All it took was a pair of hind leg kicks across her skull, courtesy of my DOUBLE KICK attack.

And then she laid there, down for the count, breathing shallowly through her traumatized windpipe, but breathing nevertheless.

And then she disappeared, back into the Grunt's Poké Ball.

And as for my enemy's facial expression, despite having sustained two pathetic losses back to back, he still had his spiteful glare trained on at me. But this time, there was something different about his countenance. There was an elevated level of determination now…almost unnaturally elevated. It was as though this man was committed now to see me contained in a Poké Ball.

Which, in turn, meant that he wasn't done yet.

With an unsettling smile now curling across his cheeks, he retrieved one more Poké Ball, but this one was aesthetically different. It had a black top and a white bottom, with a yellow "H" noticeable on the upper hemispherical surface.

"…An Ultra Ball?" I asked, only knowing the identity of this particular Poké Ball model through my experience with the lost and found stash in the Moor of Icirrus.

This time, this man was eerily silent. And instead of giving me a remark, he simply gave his Ultra Ball a gentle toss, letting it roll along the dirt before me, as though he had pulled the pin off of a grenade and allowed it to roll towards his enemies.

And much like a grenade, the Ultra Ball suddenly "exploded", and the next thing that I knew, I found myself looking up, at a monstrosity of a Pokémon that cast its shadow down on me.

…A Tyranitar, scarred in body, having most definitely seen its share of combat. Or perhaps torture, considering the dark origins of this particular specimen.

"STONE EDGE!" I heard a command behind this behemoth's back.

Perfectly loyal to his or her, or its (I'm not bothering with genders for this brute), the Armor Pokémon buried both of its arms into the earth, all the way down to…its shoulders, and I could feel the ground beneath my hooves cry out in pain.

Then, without much strain or effort in this beast's part, Tyranitar pulled its arms back out, and tore off two chunks of sharpened solid rock that now surrounded its arms and acted as gauntlets. Dirt flew away from this titan of power as a result of its assault on the ground beneath us.

To any other Pokémon, this would no doubt make them tuck in their tail and flee for their lives. And I'm sure that the Vulpix would've done so if she had seen this Pokémon pursue her. But I looked back for a split second to see her still peeping her head through the shrub that she's taken shelter in.

Perhaps she was frozen in disbelief at what she was seeing. Or perhaps she was interested in seeing me fight. Or perhaps she was still staring at my nose. It was hard to say right now, since I can't exactly abandon my pair of opponents/enemies and go ask her at the moment. All I can presently do is what I do best.

And that's kick some ass and chew gum.

…Only I don't chew gum.

"You don't seem frightened of me, little Colt Pokémon." Tyranitar growled at me, like an earthquake.

"Eh…I've fought bigger beasts." I said normally, with no feelings of intimidation, and deliberately left out the name "Kyurem".

My new opponent has a short temper, because I found it immediately lift one of its arms up and slam it down on its target. But I back flipped out of harm's way and counterattacked with SACRED SWORD, my horn elongating with pure energy as I cut it across Tyranitar's torso.

Unsurprisingly, Tyranitar staggered back at a blow that, under the laws of Pokémon Type Attributes, should have caused it to collapse. But this Pokémon was hardier than it looked—if such a thing was physically possible—and it would take a few more strikes to fell it.

…Or at least make it faint.

Tyranitar gave off one earth-trembling roar that snapped the neck of sound itself and lunged at me with both STONE EDGE arms, hoping to impale me…or something. But all that I did to counter this show of straightforward, stale strength was acrobatically leap high over its head, front flip, and leave another slice on its back.

This time, Tyranitar didn't wish to show weakness, and its frustration made it swing away recklessly, without any care for a defense.

But from my perspective, Tyranitar might as well have been moving in slow motion, because every horizontal sweep and vertical smash to earth was easily avoided by my sideways strafes and nimble leaps.

Until, at one point, I came in for another SACRED SWORD attack, and Tyranitar met it with both of its STONE EDGE arms. And from here, it became a test of strength, between the brute force from a Dark-Type/Rock-Type, and sheer discipline from a Fighting-Type/Water-Type.

And as most Pokémon Trainers would know, I had the advantage here, and it began to show in our little standoff.

Tyranitar's two STONE EDGE attacks began to give at the strain from being pressed down onto my SACRED SWORD, and began to crack away as my blade began to dig its way deeper, and deeper, and deeper.

Until I had undoubtedly won this stalemate, and Tyranitar narrowly risked having its own hands cut off when my energy blade worked its way through solid rock.

And as Tyranitar recoiled back from the perplexing thought of having David thwart Goliath in a test of strength, I delivered the final blow.

…Right through Tyranitar's belly and out its back.

When my SACRED SWORD disappeared, blood began to steadily seep out of both ends of Tyranitar's wound, in a pitter patter that comes only when you sever an artery. I stepped back in time to avoid this much discharging red and see Tyranitar fall back in a heap of itself. I only had a split second to catch its hollow countenance before seeing the Armor Pokémon be returned to its Ultra Ball, almost hastily, considering the serious injury that I inflicted upon it.

I looked back at the Rocket Grunt and, interestingly enough, he was in a cold sweat now.

"I take it that was your 'Trump Card' Pokémon?"

He said nothing. He remarked me with nothing. He knew I defeated him and left him with nothing to defeat me with. But that being said, he was still an agent from a malicious crime syndicate, and I should fully expect any hostile action he might make towards me, because I'm a rare Pokémon.

No matter how…pathetic.

As a last resort, he tossed a Poké Ball at me, with all of his strength, in a vain attempt to capture me. And as a reminder to him of how desperate he truly is, I cleaved the incoming capsule in two, with another SACRED SWORD, and had both halves fall apart by my side.

Left with nothing, the next action that this man did was one that Team Rocket does best.

He blasted off again, by hightailing it out of here and away from me. And, more importantly, away from the Vulpix that he had his eyes set on, because of the purple stone around her neck.

…Speaking of which, I should go see how the Fox Pokémon is doing.

At first, I walk towards her backwards, making sure that the Rocket Grunt was indeed fleeing away from here. And when I'm absolutely certain that there was no chance of his return, I discarded my attention away from that narrow-minded man and towards the damsel in distress.

Recalling how she took shelter in the brush, I noticed that she had shrouded herself entirely within it, making it impossible to identify her. So to get her attention, I got down to my hocks and my knees, trying to make myself appear as close down to her level of height so that I don't startle her, in case she feels apprehensive of me. I wait by the bush and, with my chin now touching the grass of the dirt floor, I call out to her.

"Are you still in there, Vulpix?" I speak softly. "The threat has passed. He fled after I defeated him and his Pokémon. You're safe and sound now. There's no one here now to harm you. It's only me now to concern over you and your wellbeing."

For a few seconds, there was silence. During that silence, I thought that she had either escaped here when she had the chance and I was now talking to a plant, or that she had passed out from her ordeal and that I should pick her out of the shrubbery.

But it was actually neither of those two possibilities. A third possibility that I didn't account for became apparent to me.

In short, it was when I saw red, felt a pleasant, yet muddled fur coat, and smelled what could best be described as an amalgam of dirt, fear and sweat.

(*Sniff*Sniff*)… Oh wait, there was something else in there too.

"Thankyouthankyouthankyou!" She began to say to my ear, over and over and over, entirely ecstatic and in my debt. "Yousavedmylifewheneverybodyelsewasaftermeandmyfather'spreciousstone! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!"

She was speaking so fast and hugging my face (and snout) so affectionately that even if I wanted to say anything, it would fall on deaf ears. So I just sat there and waited for this moment to pass.

Though personally, I was enjoying this gratitude so much that I didn't want it to end on my terms. It was like being licked in the face by a Lillipup. And no matter how tough someone is or appears to be, there was no denying the gay, innocent love that came in the form of an adorable canine happily licking away at your face.

Eventually though, she did stop, and I saw Vulpix standing short from my face, wagging her six tails like a fan, eyeing me happily after I had just saved her life.

…Hmm, it's funny how some analogies are spot-on like that.

"I'll take it that you're eternally grateful?" I asked, even though it's a rhetorical question.

She didn't really hesitate to answer my question either, because she gave me a nod.

"You're very welcome." I said with a smile, before getting up to a sitting posture. "It was the least that I could—"

Before I knew it, the Vulpix that I saw happily wagging her tail and growing attached to my company suddenly had her eyes withdraw into her skull. And then she passed out and fell to the floor, the magnitude of her compound injuries and fatigue finally growing to a weight that was too much for her delicate body to bear.

…And I found myself staring at her fainted body for an extended period of time, with the smile that I had when I was returning the thanks.

"…Shit…" I found myself muttering under my breath, before I sprung into action.

Knowing that time was of the essence for the overall wellbeing of this Pokémon's health, I reached into one of my backpacks, the one that contained the various medicinal supplies that, coincidentally enough, are ideal for this scenario.

Fristly, I retrieved the spray bottle with the word "Potion" on it and dexterously aligned it, in my mouth, so that my tongue was coiled around the neck of the bottle, the nozzle end was to the left of my mouth, and the trigger was within reach of my teeth.

…Yes, I know it's unsanitary. But I can't exactly hold it with my hands, because I don't have hands.

So anyway, with the bottle, I made sure I sprayed down Vulpix's external wounds, particularly that inflamed bite mark that, by my speculations, were given to her by the Houndoom that most likely chased her down.

"(She's lucky that Houndoom only bit her, and that she's a Fire-Type Pokémon,)" I thought, spraying this liquid healing tonic on her injured body until there was nothing left in this surprisingly shallow bottle. "(Because if she was burned by Houndoom's fire, then there's a particular toxicity to those flames that supposedly never goes away.)"

With the bottle emptied, I replaced it for another item, one which would snap this Vulpix out of her fainted status immediately.

The potion in my teeth, in a flash, was replaced with a pale, diamond-shaped Revive item. And with this interestingly shaped pill, I've heard through other Pokémon how this pill works.

Basically, there were two routes that this revive can enter where it'll dissolve within the target and bless them with its medicinal effects. And to keep the medical lingo simple, this item can enter either the front door…or the back door.

…I'm not that kind of Pokémon, and luckily for me, I'm not that desperate. So into the mouth this Revive pill will go.

However, this presented itself with another dilemma to me. Because Arceus found it oh so humorous to not give me hands, or bless me with telekinetic abilities, I had to get creative in getting her to ingest this Revive.

And within my mind, I only saw one option, though it was hard to say if this was a bad thing or not when I thought about it.

"(I've been hugged and licked by women already today.)" I thought, feeling myself begin to grow red at these recollections. "(And after this, I'll check off 'kissed' to my growing list.)"

Starting to feel like every second counted, I gently flipped Vulpix over until she was comfortable on her back, her snout to the sky, and her face still comatose. And with the Revive tablet still secured onto my dental grip, I bent down and "kissed" Vulpix, dexterously moving my mouth and my tongue alongside her own, to make sure that she swallowed this recovery item.

And then after giving her the "Kiss of Life", I just waited patiently for the Revive pill to take effect.

I didn't exactly wait long though, because those man-made medications are fast acting to us Pokémon. And shortly after the "kiss", her eyes lit back on and she stirred back onto her feet, feeling as healthy and as energetic as a hatchling.

She yawned cutely before noticing me standing there, waiting patiently for her. "W-was I asleep or something?"

No point in hiding the truth from her. "You actually passed out. That's not surprising, considering the extent of your overall ordeal."

All of a sudden, her sleepy demeanor disappeared, and she began to act as though one of her tails was cut off. "I w-was…unconscious?"

"Uh-huh. But not to worry, fluffy." I reassured her, before reaching into one of my two backpacks and showing her another diamond-shaped Revive lozenge, and then tucking it back away so that I can talk. "I sprayed you down with a Potion bottle to disinfect your cuts and bruises and help them heal faster, and then I administered to you that Revive pill, snapping you out of your little coma."

Her next question came with some curiosity on the latter of my subject. "H-how did you give me a Revive?"

"I kissed you." I said with a blush, a smile, and a small laugh.

Whatever affection and thankfulness she had for me disappeared alongside her skin color through her tainted, crimson fur. Her eyes widened, her ears and tail dropped, and her lips soured. And if it wasn't for the fur on her face, I'm certain that she was blushing for what I did to her.

…For what I was forced to do to her, given the scenario.

"Don't give me that look," I said innocently, finding her face to be somewhat funny. "It was either that or, and I'll be frank with you, use this Revive as a suppository and stuff it inside your little bum. But that would've meant getting my mouth dirty, depending on your needs, and I'm just going to shut my mouth up right now before I say something scarring."

Now she tucked her six tails under herself, and I'm certain her fur grew paler than normal.

"You…y-you pervert!" She addressed me, feeling her privacy shatter like glass.

"I'm genderless." I reminded her. "And I don't exactly have any hands. See?"

I waved both of my front hooves at her, to prove my point, and then I continued on with my debunking of her shallow claims.

"Besides, I didn't have to save you." I added.

That snapper her back into the topic at hand…er, hoof…and paw.

"Then…then why d-did you save me?" She said quietly, waiting for my response.

And my response could not have been more natural and from my honest, righteous heart.

"It is both my job and my passion to come to the aid of Pokémon that require it. You found yourself at the wrong place, yet at the right time, and encountered me. I asked you some simple questions to analyze your side of the story. Though I didn't really have to, because I know for a fact that Team Rocket is bad news, and any Pokémon running away from them is doing so to save their lives. And also, you mentioned how that purple stone around your neck belonged to your father, so I knew that it didn't truly belong to that man. But he did want it and had his eyes set on it, for reasons that I should only know if you feel comfortable opening yourself up to that topic to a total stranger, such as myself."

Like a window, she opened herself up to me. And the tension that she had towards me, for actions that were against my power in enacting on, dissipated like the heat when the cool afternoon breeze seeped through.

"F…f…f-foxfire…" She mumbled shyly.

I almost thought she was going to drop an "F-bomb" on me. "Come again?"

"…F-foxfire." She said, a bit more audible. "M-my name is…Foxfire."

"Keldeo," I returned the gesture. "But you most likely overheard my name when I conversed with our enemy."

She nodded, and she appeared much more accepting and approachable to me. "Do you have a n-nickname, Keldeo?"

I didn't think she'd ask me this subject, and I didn't expect to have this question ricochet back to me. But I didn't bother lying about it to her. "I used to, but I outgrew it."

"What was it?" She asked, curious now.

I became dramatic, my eyes narrowed, and my tone of voice grew somber. "…Pinocchio…"

One retake of my nose and before I knew it, Foxfire was on her back, laughing her tails off. I looked down at her and, despite her laughing at my snout, I still found myself smiling. Because I knew she had been through enough as is, from what I know and from what she's yet to tell me. And a little laughter does a body and soul good.

After all, laughter is the best medicine.

…Yet another analogy that is spot on.

When she stopped laughing, I changed the subject, and focused more on the Pokémon that I rescued.

"Do you live here or something?"

She simply shook her head at me. "My home and m-my father are at Castelia City."

"Really?" I said in surprise, thinking that she was just a denizen of Pinwheel Forest and that Team Rocket just saw her—or her "collar"—as a prize for them to claim.

"…?" She looked at me and questioned my reaction.

"Would you believe that I was on my way towards Castelia?" I told her.

"Is that so?" She responded with a bit of astonishment. "W-why is that?"

"I can tell you along the way." I said, before getting up and off of my fat rump and turning around to face the towering city across the horizon. "And just to make sure that you have a safe return there, I'll personally escort you. Because I'm sure that Team Rocket hasn't given up their search for you and for that purple stone of yours, and I'm certain that your father is worried sick of your reluctant absence."

I can practically see the fire light back up in her eyes, when she got up on all fours and her tail was wagging happily towards me.

"I'll take it you're ready to go, then?"

"I just hope t-that I don't become…a burden to you."

With that, we were off, towards Skyarrow Bridge and to Castelia City. But we didn't even manage to take a few steps forward before I heard what was unmistakably the sound of a light body being caught by the ground.

I about-faced to quickly note that Foxfire had collapsed and was getting up feebly back onto her four paws. But no sooner had she done that, she collapsed again, face intimately reunited with the floor. Only this time, I rushed right over and used my bulbous nose to catch her.

And then, with her belly on my snout, I lifter her up and proceeded to put her into one of my backpacks.

"Y-you don't have to…" She said with a bit of fatigue and weakness in her voice. "I can walk and—"

"Correction: I can walk. You'll just fall on your face again if you take another step forward."

She wanted to argue against me, but I had already tucked her away within the backpack that contained the assorted Berries that I had gathered over the course of my trek here.

"You're still weak and exhausted from your stressful ordeal earlier, and it would be wise of you to reclaim your lost strength. Just let me do the walking and you do the relaxing. Is that clear?"

Her response to me didn't come with a "yes" or "no" answer. Her response came when she dug her way deeper into my strapped backpack, her movements somewhat tickling my sides because she was in so close of proximity to me through the durable fabric. I simply heard her stuff a few Berries into her mouth, happily mumble at the deliciousness of these miracle fruits, and continue eating them as long as she was able to.

"I'll take that as a yes."

With my cargo and a passenger in tow, I hightailed it from Pinwheel Forest, all the way to Skyarrow Bridge. But instead of taking the scenic route, where the majority of the public were navigating across, either on the center road of the bridge where Pokémon and people walked or on the two-way highway where cars and trucks of all shapes and sizes were crossing to and fro from, I took a different route entirely.

Because I felt it best to remain incognito, due to my rarity when compared to the Pokémon norm, I took advantage of my abilities and crossed the water without using the bridge at all.

All I did was make like a Surskit and tread over the water. And with my characteristics, galloping across water was no different than galloping across land.

And in retrospect, I could not have made a wiser decision.

All across the water, as far as I could see, the only boats in close proximity of me were miles off, and would remain so for some time, even if I were to just remain put on the water's surface. And on the Skyarrow Bridge itself, when I looked up at the activity that was going on above me, I could hear the faint sounds of police sirens going by, one after the other after the other.

"(Sounds like that Rocket Grunt won't be getting far from them.)" I thought, certain that the humans could handle where I left off with him, and that he'll be punished for his wrongdoings.

Feeling Vulpix stir to my side, I looked at her to notice that she was doing what I did seconds ago, and look up and hear the police sirens going by. And on her face, I could tell she had a look of satisfaction on her face, of what she thought that I just thought.

…Of course, she could have that same look after having eaten about a dozen or so Berries on my possession.

Soon after though, her attention turned towards me.

"W-why did you say that you were on your way to Castelia City?" She asked me.

"It's a bit of a long story," I said with my mind, because my mouth was occupied with the exercise that I was getting in crossing this body of water. "But since I'll be running here for a while, I might as well tell you it in full."

"I'm l-listening." She responded, willing to her my logic.

With a nod, I understood her curiosity and I began to explain myself. But because you've heard this story already a few times over, I'll just give you the summarized version of it.

Blah blah blah my recurring dream. Talk talk talk solar eclipse. Yadda yadda yadda purple sky. Speak speak speak six-sided star in the sky.

And after explaining to her, to the best of my abilities, what it is that I saw in my dream, she returned the favor and told me one that she had recently.

And to make a long story short, it was just as bizarre as my own, especially the part where the majority of her dream was similar to my own, save for the fact that it didn't reoccur at all and was just a one-time deal, as well as what Pokémon she saw in her dream.

"A Pokémon with a long, purple horn, was it?" I repeated her words.

"Yes…" Foxfire confirmed for me. "Do you know of any Pokémon like that?"

I thought about it for a moment, but the closest that I could think of was me in my Resolute Form. But my horn in that mode is a dark blue color, not purple.

…Then again, my horn might turn purple if I found myself being asphyxiated by a formidable foe. But it's hard to tell when I can't see my own forehead and my own horn that well.

So with a shake of my head, I answered her question.

"Not that I know of…" I answered. "And for a Pokémon of my experience, that's saying something, because I've faced off against hundreds of different Pokémon over time, and can recite their identities by memory."

"So what do you s-suppose I saw in my dream?" Foxfire asked me, wanting answers.

"It's hard to say, because there are a handful of possibilities," I began to theorize. "It could be a new Pokémon yet to be discovered, trying to make contact with you through your dreams. It could be merely be a figment of your subconscious imagination. It could be a vision of the future. Or it could be some or all of the above. Then again, it could be something else entirely."

"…Like?" She wondered.

"For all that we know, in your dream, you glanced at something…that is not a Pokémon."

"N-n-not a Pokémon?" Foxfire stammered, a bit more than usual, at the thought of that possibility. "Does such a thing even e-exist?"

"Only Arceus knows, Foxfire." I responded vaguely, committing that thought to my heart. "Only Arceus knows…"

Our little conversation helped pass the time, and I found myself successfully making my way to the other end of the bridge, with my cargo and my passenger safely in tow.

And once there, I made sure that I remained as hidden as I possibly could, by staying put by the foundation of the bridge, where nobody was and nobody bothered to look. Because I knew that, from here on out, I would be seen if I roamed Castelia City, at this time of day.

Knowing that I might not get much accomplished for the two of us if I have half of the city knowing that I was here and threatening to capture me and try to make me their own, I decided to play the waiting game.

However, Foxfire didn't know that just yet. And when I saw her suddenly come out of my backpack soon after we hit dry land, and see me decide to take shelter by one of the legs of this titanic Scolipede of a bridge, she looked at me quizzically and couldn't help but ask me what I was doing.

"W-what are you doing, Keldeo?" She asked.

I found a particularly soft spot of ground that I felt comfortable resting on by stomping on it a few times with my hooves, and then lied down on it, beginning to rest for the day.

"I'm beginning to feel a little tired," I explained. "And it's still an early day today. The sun has just reached the top of the sky, and people are all about Castelia City."

Now she was grasping the picture that I was painting for her.

"Maybe Team Rocket is no longer in the picture and you're in the clear from them for now, but there's still the chance that the two of us can become captured in some way by the human populace, if we both choose to roam the streets right now, in search of your father."

She began to approach me and rest right alongside me, snuggling her furry body right up to me for warmth against the pleasant marine breezes blowing by.

"And unfortunately for us, we're both particularly coveted by certain humans. You for the purple stone that you wear around your neck, and me for the painful fact that I'm the only one of my kind on this planet left."

Once she was comfortable, she closed her eyes and yawned once, feeling that she wasn't at her prime just yet and knowing now that a bit of rest would be best for now, after what she was forced to endure. She looked at me after her little yawn and continued hearing what I had to say.

"I know you've endured enough in your hometown, but can you just imagine what I would go through if I decided to gallop around the city? Because, I have a pretty solid idea of what they would do to me if I tried to blend in with the human populace."

(Keldeo's Imagination)

I found myself parked in front of a burger joint, tied to a nearby post with a halter around my muzzle.

Approaching from behind me are two incoming customers, but they stop when they see me.

"Hey look, Mr. Krabs put in a kiddy ride." The first one said, in a California surfer accent.

"Why don't you try it out," the second one suggested, speaking with a similar accent. I even caught him elbowing his friend when he talked.

Looking behind me through the corner of my eye, I can see the first man approach me, holding a coin, and looking at my Pokémon. He spend a short period of time inspecting my backside, before he squinted once and then scratched his head, looking at me quizzically.

"I can't find the coin slot." The idiot goes, but then he finds his target. "Here it is!"

POKE!

I feel the coldness of the coin try to dig its way into my flank. And naturally, I grow startled by this, neigh as though I was being raped (which I think I just was), then buck the victim well over the horizon.

When his friend sees his foolish comrade soar across the sky and land some ways off, he grows worried for him, then turns to me, screams, and runs away in a panic.

"Help! Kiddy ride on the loose!"

(End of Keldeo's Imagination)

At the end of my overactive imagination, I find myself shuddering, from imagining the feeling of cold metal…disappear…inside of me.

Luckily for me though, Foxfire was too tired to think otherwise of my strange thoughts, and she fell asleep just before I did soon after her.

When I woke up, the moon had replaced the sun in the sky, and with it came darkness instead of light.

During this time, I knew that Castelia City was much more dormant at night than in the day, and that only a fraction of the populace would be awake at this time. Plus, as an added bonus to me, I had the advantage of stealth and could make darkness my ally when I navigate through the streets.

All I had to do now was wake up my little friend, who no doubt missed her father very much and should be reunited with him.

Getting up, I look down at my sleeping pup and gently tap her sides with one hoof.

"Ching-a-ling, Foxfire. It's time to wake up." I made like a Chingling and acted as her alarm clock.

"…Zzz…" She wouldn't budge.

I kept at this for ten more seconds, and stopped myself when I began to think of stomping on her to get her to wake up.

"(*Sigh*) Kids…" I gave up and bent my head down so that I could gingerly scruff her with my mouth and tuck her away in my Berry backpack once again.

With her still sleeping inside of my inventory, I looked over at where Castelia City was, and began to make my trek there.

Navigating across the vastness of a man-made metropolis, as I recall from my past experience, isn't as hard for me as it would be for other Pokémon. The reasons for that was because they're unable to fly and are grounded, or are just unable to move at speeds fast enough where navigating across the labyrinths of streets is efficient and effective.

While I can't exactly fly, I can jump, and jump extremely well, like a Blaziken can in a single bound over a skyscraper. Though, the way that I jump is a bit different than the norm, but only if I need the extra height.

For example, as I was climbing up the rooftops of this city, while remaining hidden from the few humans here and there that I can see, I was doing what is commonly called a "Rocket Jump", where I took advantage of the propulsive properties of the water that I can fire from my hooves and used it to acrobatically make my way higher and higher across this urban jungle.

The only problem with my water jumps is that I have to be relatively close to the ground, in order for my water to possess enough force to carry me higher. I can't exactly do this trick when I'm fifty feet off of the ground, or it'll lost its potency unless I'm at least ten feet off of the ground.

That being said, the "ground" that I was using to rocket jump my way higher and higher up Castelia City was the very roofs that I was galloping across.

And the benefit of this was that I was spraying my water on and only on the rooftops. Which meant that whatever humans resided right below at the streets wouldn't feel a drop, maximizing my undercover behavior.

Eventually though, through my persistence and my vertical ascension, I made my way to the tallest building in Castelia City. And once up here, all that I can see for miles in any direction were thousands upon thousands of earthbound stars, flickering artificially and polluting the night sky of its own natural luminescence.

Of course the smog pollution could be doing an equally effective job of making all but the brightest stars, as well as the full moon, visible during the midnight hours.

Seeing as I now had a Braviary's eye view of the city below me, I tried again to wake Foxfire up. And luckily for me, I had better luck this time.

A little bit of rough shaking of my sides was enough to stir her out of her sleep. And soon enough, her head emerged from my backpack and she hopped out of it, rubbing her eyes with her paws, and then opening them wide when she noticed that she wasn't standing on grass anymore, and on concrete.

"Am I…b-back home?" She asked me.

I simply nodded, and then proceeded over to as far out of the edge of this roof as I physically—and comfortably—could.

She didn't need to ask me another question, because she already had the answer to it just from reading my body language. She immediately took up another corner of the roof and proceeded to look down at the populace below us.

From down there, the lights blinded the view above for any humans that curiously decided to look up at the roofs, but from up here, we faced no such hindrance.

…Except for one. And that was time.

The minutes that we spent surveying the grounds below began to tick by, and we had no luck in locating Foxfire's father, Firestorm.

So we tried moving over towards another roof, and another, and another. We continued looking down from them, looking for the telltale appearance of a Ninetales. But all we noticed were the occasional Houndour and Growlithe, as well as a Meowth and Purrloin. In other words, common alley Pokémon folk that have made the back streets of this city their home.

I didn't know how much time had passed since we began searching, it could've been a few hours by now. And pretty soon, the dawn would be upon us, and after that, we'd be forced to abandon our search until the next night.

But then I heard those magic words coming from Foxfire's mouth, and a feeling of accomplishment course through me.

"Daddy!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.

Thus concludes the fourth chapter.

Remember to breathe!