Chapter 7: To Worldcore and Beyond

"Ah I see. You should go then. It has been a wonderful time with you Miss Banegonal!"

Banegonal said her farewell to Abomasnow and his son, and subsequently the rest that she was acquaintance to. Today was the departure day and she left the oasis with Maginvade, Keldeo and Hydreigon. The Worldcore was situated at the bottom left of Great Glacier or what Banegonal deemed it as ice fortress and it would take them days to travel by foot. Fortunately Hydreigon and Banegonal could fly so they carried Keldeo and Maginvade respectfully and headed to the direction of it.

In the midst of flight, Maginvade warned Banegonal that the Mystery Dungeon protecting Worldcore was tedious and traps were abundance there. Solid ground was scarce and magma was everywhere. In addition to the harsh terrain, the Pokémon were highly intelligent and able to use items to overpower them.

"…and that was what I know when I watched Osha from above." continued Maginvade.

"What do you mean by watching him from above?" questioned Banegonal.

"Hmm…I watched him in a realm in between this world and my world. Say Banegonal, what makes you so interested in going to the human world? There…is nothing special about it."

"I am curious why the Spirit of Life was able to summon beings from your world. There must be a link to here. Besides I want to know what makes humans so special to be the only ones to be summoned to this world."

"I see... Alright then, make sure you wish it well. Worldcore is like a sentient being. It will grant wishes if It is okay with it. If it starts to rumble, you have the cancel the wish or else the cavern will collapse and no one will be able to make a wish from now on. It only does that when the wish is too atrocious."

Banegonal was not impressed of its way of preventing 'certain' wishes from becoming real. Nonetheless she replied, "I wonder why it is so gracious to grant wishes from Pokémon. Is it any Pokémon can enter the Worldcore?"

Hydreigon replied, "Only with me around. I am the key and the only one capable to relay the message from Worldcore."

"Wow! Is Worldcore really your superior Spirit of Life?" asked Keldeo.

She nodded, "Yes. I did have trouble convincing it with my ideas of bring human to this world to save us. Fortunately, it understood the whole picture and that was how I was able to bring humans to this world."

"Ohhhhh, I am so glad to be with you lots! To unlock many secrets in this world; being an explorer is a thrill!" said Keldeo happily.

"Yup. Good thing I stopped Osha from coming with us. He is too overly protective of me and might want to go to the human world as well." spoke Maginvade.

At afternoon, they took a break just outside the Mystery Dungeon Inflora Forest. The fragrance of the variety of flowers was so strong that it could mask any Pokémon's scent, so they had to be on guard for any battle fanatics. They plucked the flowers for their sweet nectar and munched on them; except Hydreigon since she preferred to eat apples and berries. Her acquired eating habit still baffled them all. After their meal, Maginvade unrolled her map and pointed the next destination they had to go.

"Our next shortcut is Desolate Canyon." said Maginvade. "Tall rocks with shrubs are ideal for Blitzles. We might engage in battle with them when we are flying."

"Oh no. I am super weak to Thunder!" worried Keldeo.

"No worries. I have an item to help you out." Maginvade took out a flag and passed to Banegonal and explained, "Banegonal, I need you to hold on to this. This is an Effort Flag. If the user is closest to another party member, the member can survive one hit KO move and will not faint unless it gets hits more than three times."

"Very well. So there is no point for me to attack them." Banegonal took the flag using her right hood and grabbed hold tight. Her extra 'limbs' shock the rest of the group.

"Woah! Amazing!" beamed Keldeo.

"Well yes, I can use my hoods to grab something or attack. Great for close combat." replied Banegonal.

"I wish I can use my tail as a hand. I can only think of it as producing endless amount of leaves and a fan to relieve me from the heat." sulked Maginvade.

Hydreigon boasted, "Look! I can grab without my hands!"

Nobody was commenting.

After they were rested enough, they took off and flew to the direction of the gray rocky pillars. Thunderclouds showered lightnings and warned any Pokémon dared to venture there would be crisped. Keldeo could not help but shiver. Upon their arrival, Maginvade and Keldeo braced themselves while Banegonal and Hydreigon maneuverer out of harm's way. Blitzles' relentless Thunder attacks plus the lightnings from above gave the group very little space to avoid the attacks even though they were above the rock pillars. And Banegonal could not be far away from Hydreigon so that Keldeo would be protected from critical attacks. The sharp deviations in flight made Maginvade and Keldeo feeling airsick. Hydreigon noticed the problem and asked Banegonal that they need to find a cave to rest for a while. Banegonal disagreed.

"No Spirit of Life, that is giving us more risk should we settle here. How about this, you hold Maginvade while I do something about the sparks."

"What are you going to do?"

"A move to save us from the trouble. I shall be ahead of you."

She zoomed away her top speed and once she was far enough from Hydreigon, she created a ball of purple light and shot it into the clouds. Then she shouted.

"Gravity!"

A huge amount of thunderclouds were sucked in and the lightnings were striking towards the gravity ball. The sudden brightness in the sky blinded Blitzles and they stopped attacking. Hydreigon, Keldeo and Maginvade were appalled that even with ninety percent of Banegonal's power was sealed, she was still capable of using such a powerful move.

Exhausted as Banegonal expected for using almost ten percent of her power she was allowed to have, she floated down and rested on one of the rock pillar. Hydreigon approached her and saw she was laying down breathing heavily.

Hydreigon asked, "Banegonal, why must you use all your power for that? You could kill yourself!"

"Ha…ha… I didn't know you care. I did…this so that we don't need to fly so hastily over the rocks to avoid attacks. I hope you can 'bite' me…and fly out of this area. The gravity ball can last about thirty minutes which is…plenty of time for us." she coughed.

"You are so relentless! Alright, I have to carry all three of you to safety. Maginvade and Keldeo aren't in a good condition to speak so this time I shall head somewhere near here. And that is…Windy Shoreline if I am not mistaken. That is somewhat close to once your confinement home Glacier Palace."

Banegonal objected the name, "I call it an icy fortress…It is not a name of importance and certainly not…grand enough to be called a palace. But why you mentioned that a shore is near my place? I don't remember…seeing a shoreline."

Hydreigon hesitated for a while before answering, "Okay I shall lift you up now. You will see the reason why once we reach that place."

She grabbed her using her left head and cruised in the sky to Windy Shoreline. Once she was out of the rocky pillars and above the forests, Banegonal ended her gravity ball and the thunderclouds slowly spread out across behind them. It was late afternoon now and the air became cool due to the winds from the north. She could see the Great Glacier and she noticed something amiss. It was not as widespread as she thought it would be and the tallest peak that was Glacier Palace was no longer there.

They reached Windy Shoreline by sundown and the scene had proven her findings; the glacier ice had retreated tremendously, leaving a huge body of water from the shore to the remaining glacier. Banegonal felt the need to question Hydreigon of the rapid degradation of the ice.

Hydreigon answered, "The ice here is unnatural. It existed when you were confined in there. But since now you are freed, the whole glacier ice will melt and leaving nothing but the lake that is called the Lake of Porigin. Funny as the name suggested but that place is really the origin of the birth of many Pokémons. I don't think any Pokémon in this present will know the lake actual name. Oh well they can decide what to call it then!"

"Interesting. So the lake is a place of importance. But why am I imprisoned here?"

"I don't know the answer. Maybe is the will of the Worldcore."

"Things that are unexplained are due to Its will? Well then, thanks for explaining Spirit of Life."

Hydreigon just merely nodded her head.

Banegonal felt that she had missed the place she was in for millenniums. However, there was nothing much she could remember except the need to destroy, her ex-servant Kyurem and the beautiful scenery of the sea. The disappearance of the Great Glacier could bring more happiness for all Pokémons. Besides even when the ice disappeared, this area would be still cool enough for Ice Pokémon to roam around as there were many mountains in that area that were covered in snow. But it was certainly saddening that one of the wonders of the world would soon cease to exist.

Hydreigon put them the rest on the grassy lakeshore. She plucked some leaves and folded them to act as pillows. Then, she placed each of them on the folded leaves. She told Banegonal that she would gather some herbs and flew off.

"Argh…the rough flight is worse than sitting in the car." murmured Maginvade.

"My head is still spinning!" complained Keldeo.

Banegonal turned her head to look at them and said, "And I pretty much used all my available energy to save all of you. What do you mean it is worse than sitting in a car?"

"Oh it is a human machine. It is our form of transport since we are lazy haha. By the way, Hydreigon knows the best herb for us. What we can do now is rest."

Banegonal spoke, "Hmm I would like to see that 'machine' you spoke off. And I don't need to rest. I shall act as a lookout for you two."

"You have my gratitude Banegonal, but don't push yourself too much. Hardly any Pokémon comes here so you don't need to worry." replied Keldeo.

"I know. Have a good rest; both of you."

As they took a nap, Banegonal got up and looked at Great Glacier one more time. Echoes of falling ices can be heard. Feeling slightly recovered, she walked into the water for a soak. She felt cool instead of cold since she was used to sub-zero conditions.

She muttered to herself,

With the curse is gone,

The ice shall return to naught.

To her astonishment, blue light radiated out of her body and it spread itself as lines on the surface of the lake unto the whole of the glacier. Then the glacier crumbled; created huge waves rushing to the shore but miraculously avoided Banegonal and the other two. The slushing of the waves woke up Maginvade and Keldeo abruptly and they were shocked to see the lake water surrounded them before retreating back into the lake.

"Wha…what what is going on?" frightened Maginvade.

"Did you do something Banegonal?" asked Keldeo.

"I…didn't expect this. I hasten the destruction of the Great Glacier…"

Keldeo exclaimed, "What? Really?"

Hydreigon returned from her herbs gathering and asked what had happened as she heard the sloshing sound from miles away. Banegonal again explained what had happened to her.

Hydreigon replied, "Oh. I never thought the glacier's ice would respond to you. But for its destruction, something beautiful is revealed. Look."

The lake was finally freed of the ice and the water reflected the night sky perfectly. It was like seeing another world identical to here. But their mesmerising of the scenery was disturbed by a huge crowd of Pokémon emerged out of the forest to find out what caused the commotion.

The conversations unnerved them and they decided to head to a forest clearing for their dinner. They had no other choice but to eat the herbs but good thing that Hydreigon managed to blend bitterness and sweet herbs together so that they would not have a hard time chewing them. After some times, they felt a little better and Keldeo was back to his cheerful self.

"So do we have to call it a day? We are quite close to Worldcore anyway." he asked.

"Might as well. We were feeling like in the pits for quite some time so we shouldn't exert ourselves." said Maginvade.

"I don't think the cold will help you all much in recovery. We should head to Worldcore now since I always have the energy to carry all of you." suggested Hydreigon.

"Count me out." answered Banegonal. "I can carry Maginvade now."

"You're sure Banegonal?"

"I never lie about my strength."

Maginvade intervened, "Hydreigon, she said she is okay so let's go!"

Banegonal and Hydreigon carried Maginvade and Keldeo and flew off. Even though Keldeo said that Worldcore wasn't far away, it took them an hour to reach there. The entrance to Worldcore is a sizable 'bottomless' pit near the lake. Orange light came out of the hole and steam can be seen emerging out of it. The heat and the cold create humidity in the area, which were suitable for tropical plants to grow near it. For some reason, there was a special barrier around the hole. Hydreigon explained that she was the only one that could temporary stop it so that the Pokémon that wanted to wish could go through. Banegonal approached close to the hole for a better look. There was no stairs leading down to Worldcore.

Maginvade seemed to read Banegonal's thoughts and said, "Once we entered the barrier, we will be warped to the Mystery Dungeon. We won't be falling right into the hole."

"Intriguing. Anything else you need to say?"

"Well…so far the habitants of this dungeon were Zweilous, Salamence, Purugly, Toxicroak, Munna and Whirlipede. I don't have the slightness idea why they were living in such a hot terrain though but since they can stand the heat, they are certainly tough to deal with. Oh yes, give me back the Effort Flag. You should have this instead."

Banegonal gave back the item and received a Trap Scarf.

Maginvade continued, "This scarf prevents the traps from activating. The traps in there were brutal, especially the Grudge Trap. That trap will cause all Pokémons in that area to curse you till all your energy is gone if you defeated them. Good thing I brought four of these."

"Thanks. We could avoid most of the traps by going above the magma isn't it?"

"That's a great idea, but in the end we still need to use the stairs in the dungeon. We should avoid all battles if necessary unless we stumbled upon a Monster House. Sometimes the stair is located where the Monster House is, so I will need your strength to kick them out of the dungeon floor!"

Banegonal laughed a little, "That is easy for me. Well then, since we aren't going in today, we should rest."

Maginvade nodded, "Yup, but I want to eat a proper meal. It is funny that I being a Grass type hate herbs. Besides, Hydreigon will definitely grab some apples around here. She never feels full!"

The group settled in for the night. Before sunrise, they awoke and found themselves covered in mountain dew due to the moisture. Hydreigon set up a fire to dry up their bodies and the later they plucked the berries from the trees nearby. They got Iapapa Berries. Their sourness taste was able to fully snap out any sleepy Pokémon. The good thing about this berry was the size and the amount of fibre in it. Banegonal and Maginvade could not finish the whole berries and gave them to Hydreigon, but Hydreigon buried the half eaten berries in the ground instead. After breakfast, Maginvade gave the rest of the group Trap Scarf and she told Keldeo what to expect in the dungeon. Fully prepared, the Spirit of Life removed the barrier temporary for them to enter and immediately, they were warped to the B1 of Worldcore Mystery Dungeon. Magma pools were everywhere and there were not many rooms and corridors to roam around. There were items on the floor. Banegonal picked up a seed in green with purple stripe and asked what it was.

"Oh don't mess with it. It is a Vile Seed. Once eaten, it can lower your defences a lot!" warned Keldeo.

"If that's the case, wouldn't be better if I throw this into the magma?" asked Banegonal.

Hydreigon replied, "You could since they can throw this seed at you and the effects will activate immediately."

Banegonal had another question, "Does this dungeon prevents me from phasing through the walls as well?"

"Yeah. No cheating in this dungeon so Ghost Pokémon cannot run away from the battle easily."

Maginvade spoke, "Well just follow my lead to minimise the encounter with Pokémon holding items. I know roughly where the stair is and I can detect a Monster House for every dungeon floor. If we come across a Pokémon in a narrow corridor, defeat it without using the most powerful move. We need to conserve energy just in case we need to fight against a strong opponent."

"Understood!" they acknowledged.

They moved on as they could stand the heat for too long. Floor by floor; they did the same sequences when they encountered a Pokémon. Maginvade used Leaf Tornado, followed by Keldeo's Aqua Jet for the Pokémon in front. And for the Pokémon behind, Banegonal used Shadow Ball while Hydreigon used Dragon Breath to defeat it. Using their quickest attack would prevent the resident Pokémons from using the items. Once they reached the BF13, Maginvade and Keldeo suffered from heat exhaustion even though they did not battle much. Keldeo had an idea and used his one and only Hail Orb to cool the heat down to a comfortable level. The mist covered the entire dungeon floor.

They took a break in a room to recover their strength. Maginvade on the other hand seemed anxious. She told them she sensed a Monster House and unfortunately sensed the stair was in that room as well.

"Hmm. I predicted that the Worldcore is teasing us for this." said Banegonal.

"You may be right. Even so we have to battle them to reach the Hill of Universal Order. It is the place where you can say your wishes." answered Maginvade.

"If that's the case, I can deal with them now. I am not that tired at all." she requested.

"It is better if we go as a team. You can be in the lead for this then. I will direct you where to go."

With their strength returned, they headed towards the Monster House. Once Banegonal entered the room first, it was filled with Pokémon and there was hardly any space to move. Even the stair was occupied. Banegonal immediately used Ominous Wind at the residents and soon they felt too ill to stand up.

"Now is our chance!" she told the rest of the group.

The group made their way towards the stair and defeated Zweilous that was blocking it. Finally, they reached the Hill of Universal Order. It was a splendid sight; stars and floating rocks filled the 'sky' and even galaxies could be seen. The area was cool as well and there was a sense of calmness in the air. Keldeo immediately drew the scenery he saw on his note board. Strangely enough, he could use his hoofs to grip a sharpen clay.

Hydreigon led Banegonal near the edge of the cliff and asked her to make her wish.

Worldcore, I wish that Keldeo and I can travel to the human world with Maginvade as our guide. Should we have to discard our powers to go there, I will accept it. she wished in her mind.

Some of the stars illuminated brighter. It seemed It had responded to her wish.

Hydreigon elaborated, "It said It wants to hear what Keldeo and Maginvade have to say first."

"I say what?" bewildered Keldeo as he was concentrating on his drawing.

"Do you want to go to the human world with Banegonal and Maginvade?"

"Hold on. I didn't say I want to go back! I don't wish to either." protested Maginvade.

"Why?" asked Keldeo.

"Well…it is not really a place to be awe at."

"I need a guide in that world Maginvade to show me around what makes you all so unique. Is something troubling you?" said Banegonal.

"…yes. Sigh…okay as apology of what I did to you Banegonal, I shall guide you around in my world. But only for two days okay?"

"Well if you say so, I am grateful for your assistance."

"That's great! So I can come along too riigggghhhhhhht?" excited Keldeo. He had finished his drawing and put the stuff back into his sling bag.

"Yes you too." replied Maginvade.

"As you all know it, I cannot come along as I am the spirit of the living here. I am bounded to this world." mentioned Hydreigon sadly. "Please tell me your adventures once you all come back! And Worldcore accepted the wish and It will create a portal now."

A loud swish was heard and a golden portal appeared. It was surrounded by two spinning circles with symbols of Pokémon and another two-legged creature that Banegonal had no idea who that was.

Hydreigon gestured them and said, "Okay! Step right in! The portal will reappear at the same spot you all emerged out of it exactly two days later. So…see you then!"

They entered the portal and it vanished. Hydreigon then asked Worldcore, "Why do you accept Banegonal's wish so easily but not for Osha's?

The only thing she heard from Its reply was a giggle.