White and Black Dragons
When Mystery made it close to her house, she saw her parents and waved to them. "Mama! Papa!" she calls out and runs to them.
Shira and Serin wave as well, happy to see her. Holding out his arms, Serin catches her and asks, "And why the special greeting, my dear?"
"Oh, no reason," answered Mystery.
"Welcome home, Mystery," Shira says, hugging her. She rubs Jirachi's head and tells him the same thing. "We were starting to get worried about you two. We didn't expect you to be out playing for so long."
Trying not to argue, Jirachi explains, "But we weren't just playing, Shira. We were at the palace."
Shira and Serin weren't surprised to hear him say that. Jirachi and Mystery did plan on going to the palace. As they went inside for dinner, Shira started asking so many questions and Serin tried making jokes. Even the woman from the marketplace was interested in hearing about what happened.
Now that the story of the Millennium Star was behind them, Mystery could finally mention all the new friends she made today, but before she could even start, Shira said, "So come on, tell us. Did you have fun at the palace? Was everyone nice to you?"
Mystery smiles and nods. She didn't want to mention Luna and her behavior, so she instead talked about Mana, Mahad, and Prince Atem and how friendly they were to her. It made Shira and Serin happy to hear that their daughter finally had human friends to play with. It even made their guest laugh to hear that Mystery was in love with the prince and that she would make a great wife for him.
"Before I forget to mention," then Mystery faces Serin and tells him, "Papa, the king and his courtiers have asked me to tell you they said 'hello' and hope you and Mama are doing well."
"Well, I guess I'll have to go back to the palace myself," Serin says and finishes his meal. Their guest finishes eating as well, thanks them for the meal, and returns to her own home.
The sun finally sets and everyone is dressed for bed. Shira and Serin tell Mystery and Jirachi 'good night' and retire to their room for bed. Before Mystery climbs into bed, she gets down on her knees and starts praying to the Egyptian Gods, thanking them for helping her make her dreams come true and start her destiny. To finish her prayers, she asks for blessings and forgiveness. Jirachi prayed as well, but was too sleepy to finish. Mystery giggles, covers herself up and tells Jirachi 'good night' and that she loves him, and closes her eyes to sleep.
Meanwhile, the members of Council Rock were making a few final rounds out in the desert to make sure everything was all right. They had to be careful since thieves and murderers would always be out attacking at night and some wild beasts would be making mischief.
Flying in the sky, Latias and Latios see two young girls being attacked by several men. One of them looked like Mystery, but Latias knew she wouldn't allow herself to be captured so easily. Other than that, Jirachi wasn't there, so it couldn't be Mystery. In fact, she was a completely different person named Kisara and the black-haired girl standing next to her was her cousin Freya. Latias sees Kisara being captured by the men while Freya escapes with her Umbreon. Latios tells his sister to find Mystery while he follows Freya in case she ends up in trouble.
Watching from the sky, he sees her being surrounded by a group of young boys. They stop her and help her try to calm down. Thinking she's in good hands with them, he leaves her and goes back to look for her cousin.
Leaving her was a mistake. The boys took notice that her eyes were red and they started calling her a witch and other bad names. Not far away, Joseph saw what was going on. He had recognized those boys from his village and often got into fights with them for picking on other children. Unable to stand their cruelty, he runs to them and gets in front of Freya.
"Well, well," said the leader, "look who it is, guys. It's our old friend Joseph."
"Yeah, that's right," he tells them. "What's the meaning of taking advantage of this girl?"
"She deserves it. Look at her eyes. They're red as blood. Don't you know that having red eyes is a sign of demonic evil? She'll bewitch you and kill you."
Joseph does look at the girl, but not in fear. "Get up and escape. I'll take care of these guys." She nods and tells her Umbreon to follow her. After that, he starts growling and steadies himself, but before he can even land an attack, two boys grab his arms and hold him back. Their leader starts blowing punches to his stomach and face. Joseph gasps and groans.
"Have you had enough or do you want more?" The leader asks.
Joseph hisses and spits. "I never back down; not when I'm fighting for a friend." But as stubborn as he was in refusing to give in, he was being pushed past his limits.
The boys start laughing and jeering; calling him a witch lover. But before any of them could finish him off, they stop and hear a loud roar. They face the sky and see a ferocious black dragon with red eyes. Frightened, the boys finally leave Joseph alone and start running. The dragon roars again and shoots a blast of fire at them.
Trying to get a clear vision, Joseph sees the boys being engulfed by the flames. He sees the dragon again, unsure of what to do. Should he thank the dragon for recusing him or watch in fear that it would attack him as well? The dragon just roars again, softly this time, and disappears. Joseph finally stands back up on his feet and wipes the blood from his lips. Wondering where the dragon could have gone, he looks around. He suddenly sees the girl he helped lying on the ground unconscious. Her Umbreon tries to revive her by licking her.
Joseph approaches them and asks, "What happened? I told her to escape." Then he kneels down to her. The Umbreon growls, then sniffs his hand. Her ears perk up and she licks him to show her gratitude for helping her and her companion. Joseph sighs and rubs her head. "Don't worry, I'll take care of you two." He looks at Freya again and sighs compassionately, finding her beautiful. Ignoring his pain from his beatings, he picks her up and carries her to his home. Her Umbreon follows him.
Latias finally makes it to Mystery's house and wakes her up. Mystery stirs and gasps. "Ah! You scared me! What are you doing?"
"I'm sorry for trespassing and I know it's late, but I need your help."
"What's wrong, Latias? Is someone in danger?"
"Uh-huh, a young girl who looks just like you has been captured by bandits. They're keeping her in a cage out in the desert. You've got to help her before something awful happens to her."
Mystery gasps and wakes Jirachi. Knowing there is no time to explain, she climbs out of her room, but rather than riding on Latias, she unfolds her wings and takes flight. On the way, Latias teaches Mystery how to use her wings and fly. She takes her friend's advice and her flying becomes less difficult. As wonderful as it was for Mystery, she had no time to enjoy it like it was an enchanted dream.
Down below, a young brown-haired boy with blue eyes was riding his horse. He stops and notices Mystery and Latias in the sky and decides to follow them.
The girls get closer to the camp. "This is it, Mystery. You rescue the girl and I'll distract the men."
"Thank you, Latias," Mystery tells her.
"Help!" they hear the girl cry.
"We are coming!" Mystery calls to her. The young boy following them stops as well. Hearing the cries, he knows someone is in trouble and he becomes determined to help. Mystery approaches the cage first and speaks to Kisara.
She gasps and asks, "Who are you?" Her blue-eyed, twin-tailed cat also jumps off of her lap and pokes her nose at Mystery.
"We're your friends," she answers, "and we've come to rescue you."
Noticing Mystery's wings, Kisara gasps again. Then she whispers to her cat, "Kirara, my prayers have been answered. An angel has answered my call and come to help us."
Mystery tells her to be quiet. She tells her the truth as well and says, "I'm not an angel, but I will help you and make sure you get out of here safely." The laughter of the men gets louder. Mystery gets behind the cage and watches to make sure no one is coming. Thankfully, they are still distracted by Latias' displays.
Some of the men talk about their plans for their next attack. "That prisoner's been nothing but trouble since we've captured her."
One of the thieves agrees and tells his friends, "Yeah, we should've let her out in town like the rest of them." Then they start laughing again.
The leader speaks up and says, "Word of advice, men. In the next village, take no prisoners!"
Mystery slowly makes her way back to the front of the cage. She gasps and sees the boy who was following her from the desert. She silently gasps, but he claps her mouth and tells her not to talk.
"Quiet. I came to help. Do you want to rescue this girl?" he asked. Mystery and Jirachi nod. "Well, come on! Help me get her out!" and he starts beating the bars on the cage. He wasn't even surprised that the two girls looked alike and didn't even assume they were related.
Facing the camp, Mystery starts to worry that the sound of hitting the bars would get the attention of the thieves. "I need the both of you to stand back," she tells her new friends. Knowing what she needs to do, she holds up both of her hands and closes them into fists. Concentrating, she feels her left hand becoming as hot as fire and her right hand becoming cold and wet. She opens her palms and fire and water come rushing out of them; making the cage easily breakable. The boy hits the bars once again and creates an opening.
"You're safe now," Mystery says, helping Kisara climb out of the cage. "Let's go."
But as a man is sent to check on the prisoner, he notices what's going on and calls out, "Hey, what are you kids doing?"
"They're taking our prisoner!" another thief yells.
"Come on!" the boy says and jumps on his horse. Kisara holds her cat in her arms and jumps on after him. Mystery unfolds her wings, but stays low to the ground and close to her friends.
"After them!" a thief shouts as the children escape from the camp. "The girl is getting away!"
Hoping that they have gotten far away enough, the boy asks Mystery, "Anyone there?"
She looks back and tells him, "They're gone!"
"Then our job's done." He faces Kisara and tells her, "Take this horse to the next town. Trust me. The people there will be able to help you. Ride through the night if you must!" Suddenly, he jumps off, but keeps up with the horse.
"But what about you?" asked Kisara.
"Worry not about us," Mystery tells her. "Just go!"
"Who are you all?"
The boy is the first to tell her his name. "Seto!" Mystery and Jirachi tell her their names also.
"Goodbye, Seto! Thank you, Mystery! I shall repay you someday!" she calls as she rides away.
Seto and Mystery thank each other for their efforts. They both notice an orange glimmer coming from their front. "No! My village!" Seto gasps, seeing it was on fire. "It must have been those scoundrels. They'll pay for this!" he shouts and starts running. Mystery starts flying again and follows him to the village. She gets there first and starts casting water magic to put out the fire.
"Who do you think you are?" Seto shouts as he makes it to the village.
At first, Mystery doesn't know who he's talking to until she sees the same men from the camp running around the streets setting every house they encounter on fire. The leader holds up a torch and declares, "This land is ours! And we're taking it back!"
Instead of running with his fellow villagers or looking for his family, Seto gets closer to the thieves and tells them, "Get out! You don't belong here!"
They give Seto and Mystery their attention and say, "Look, it's those kids who freed our prisoner! Tell us where she is!"
"Leave us alone!" Seto tells them as he dodges them.
One of them grabs his arm as he tries to run away. "Get back here!"
"Wait!" Seto calls to Mystery as she escapes, but even more thieves catch him. "Hey, get your filthy hands off! Mystery, help me!" She finally stops running and heads back for Seto. As she tries to make them lose their grips and release him, she tells Jirachi to get help.
Amused by her efforts, the leader says, "So the girl wants to be a hero, huh? Then let's make her one!" as he throws his torch and sets another house on fire.
"No-o-o!" Seto screams. "Stop this! How could you? My home!"
Suddenly, everyone stops in their tracks and face the sky as they hear a strange roar. They all look up and see a white dragon with shining blue eyes above the burning village.
"What is that thing?" A thief asks.
"A monster!" Another yells. They all let go of Seto and start running. As Mystery helps Seto gets back on his feet, the dragon roars again and shoots a blast of white lightning from its mouth to the thieves.
"Get down!" Seto cries and pushes Mystery to the ground. He gets down as well, covers his eyes, and groans. Mystery screams watching the dragon kill the men. She and Seto both face the sky and look at the beast in amazement. But Mystery knew she had no time to be afraid or amazed. No matter what, the fire had to be put out. She no longer felt exhausted from performing so much magic either. It was as if the white dragon was giving her its strength.
People continued to run from their homes, some with small children and elders. Terrible screams ran through from those who were trapped and burned. Seto saw that Mystery needed help, so he helped those who were trapped escape. At the same time, he hoped he would find his family. Jirachi returned with Keldeo and Suicune and they used their powers of water to douse the flames.
The hours passed and the fire was finally put out. Mystery, Jirachi, and Seto remained in the middle. As it turned out, there was no sign of his mother. He wasn't able to find her in his home, so he assumed she escaped. But he also feared he lost her. He found his two monsters Bagon and Swablu, but not even they could tell him where she was. "Gone. Every part of my village, gone," Seto said on his knees, looking at the destruction from the fire. Some houses could be repaired, but the damage was too great for other homes.
Mystery sets her hand on Seto's shoulder and apologizes. "I tried my best," she said sincerely.
Fighting back the tears in his eyes, he smiles and tells her, "It's not your fault. You saved my life and that's what's important." He was very fortunate to be alive even though he lost his home and family. He knew he had to be strong and move ahead because it was something his family would want. "I know who you are," he suddenly tells her. "You're the hero of the desert. I never thought I'd live to actually meet you."
"Perhaps you also need to know I am the true heiress of the Great Goddess Millennia."
"I know. How else could you fly or cast magic?" asked Seto. He and Mystery both chuckle. "Hey, Mystery? I'm sorry about my rough behavior with the thieves and back at the camp."
She holds out her hand and tells him, "Apology accepted." He smiles at her and shakes her hand. He also rubs Jirachi's head. Mystery pets Swablu and Bagon as well. Mystery didn't want to leave Seto alone with no place to go; especially at night. So she asked him to let her stay with him until morning.
"You don't have to stay," he tells her. "If you want to go home, you can. Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."
She lies and tells him, "Actually, I'm a little tired and it's been a long night. I really don't mind staying with you. Besides, I don't want you to be alone. And tomorrow, I can help you find your family or a new home."
Seto smiles at her and decides to let her have her way. So they find a less damaged house to settle in for the remainder of the night. They step inside and find some blankets to prepare beds for themselves. Seto covers himself up and asks, "Hey, Mystery?" She faces him and asks him if there's a problem. "Why do you want to help me? I mean, I know you're a hero and Millennia's heiress, but you just met me and barely know me."
Mystery lies down and answers, "Because we're friends now and friends never abandon each other." She silences herself for a minute and asks, "Do you want to be friends with me?"
Seto was unsure of what to say. Growing up, he never had many friends to play with. Then again, he never cared much for play. He protected small boys and girls when they were in trouble and got into fights with other children his age. He had a lot to learn about what it meant to be friends with someone and he could learn by first being friends with Mystery. "I do," he finally answers.
She smiles hearing him say that. They both say 'good night' and shut their eyes to sleep.
