The pedestal stood in the centre of the room, an irregular stone sitting atop it. He had seen it before. Steven breathed out a sigh and looked around the room. The cavern it had been in previously, was replaced with what appeared to be a bedroom. The room itself was large, and incredibly spacious. A king-sized bed was positioned in the centre of the room; the head resting against one of the cream coloured walls. Large pillars were attached to the bed's frame, rising clear above the mattress. They connected at the top together and a red canopy rested over it. Several paintings hung on the walls, beside the bed and Steven moved toward them. The largest of the set, was of an elderly man, with a long, grey beard. He was dressed like royalty, a Ninetails at his side. Steven walked past it and to the next set of paintings. They were mostly scenery, but he could not pinpoint where they depicted. He moved away from the walls and surveyed the rest of the room. Other furnishings took up the rest of the walls. A fireplace, with expensive-looking vases and items on the mantle. A chair, rustic in look, beside an even older table. Beyond this, was a balcony- the doors shut and curtains drawn. Where in the world was he?

Steven moved back to the pedestal where the stone rested. Why was it no longer in the cave? He stopped before the stone, but made no move to touch it. Instead, he studied the writing etched into the side. It resembled that of the epitaph on the tombstone. 'It's the same.' He thought to himself as he squat down to look at the pedestal as well. 'Again.' He rose to his full height and brought a hand to his chin in thought. So then-

Rumble! The ground trembled fiercely and Steven flailed his arms to keep his balance. What was going on? "It's under attack! We must defend this castle!"

"Castle? What?" Steven said, looking around for the source of the voice. The room suddenly became distorted, twisting in different directions. "Wh- Wait." The scene around him crumbled into pitch blackness. The young man slowly turned in a full circle. Nothing but an empty void again.

Drip.

'Steven.'

A soft groan escaped his lips, as Steven began to stir. He could feel something heavy on his forehead and rose a hand up. Cool and damp.. A towel? He went to pull it away, when a hand caught his wrist. Steven opened his eyes, his vision blurring in and out of focus. A shape came into view, a familiar one. The man closed his eyes briefly, before opening them again. "Wallace?" He questioned as the man before him came into focus. He was dressed in his usual Gym Leader attire which consisted of a long-sleeved, white shirt with green covering most of the front, waist and arms. His pants were purple and he wore the same white hat.

"Well well. Enjoy your nap, Steven?" Wallace commented, letting go of the other's wrist. "You've been out for like an hour and a half. Thought you were going to call it a day."

"Where?" Steven began to sit up, when the Gym Leader pushed him back. "Where are we?"

"We are at my Gym. You passed out at Mount Pyre and really had me a bit freaked out. You were spewing nonsense words and thrashing about. I thought you were having a seizure at first. Once you calmed down, you lost consciousness again. I got you here with Metagross' help. Turns out, you were running a mild fever. Do you remember anything at all? And if you weren't feeling well, why didn't you say something?"

Steven listened to his friend speak, before he let out a soft breath. "First off, I was feeling fine. I'm actually not sick at all. Second, I don't remember any of that. The last thing I recall, is talking about a shadow? I can't remember anything else."

"Mmmhm." Wallace nodded at his words and picked up a thermometer. He stuck it in Steven's mouth. "Keep this in your mouth a while. Okay?" His friend opened his mouth to protest and the Gym Leader tapped his jaw shut. "And no protests." He rubbed his eyes and sighed to himself. "Honestly, Steven. I would really like to know what is going on with you. Your dad is pretty worried and I am too." He caught the look Steven gave him, and waved a hand. "Don't worry. I didn't call him, though I probably should have." Once the thermometer beeped, he removed it and read the window display. "And just like that, your fever is pretty much gone."

"Because I'm fine." Steven said as he removed the cloth from his forehead. "I just did not get much sleep last night. I was probably more tired than I thought."

Wallace looked at him deadpan. "Are you really saying the same thing you had said to your father, to me? Really. Do I look gullible to you?"

"Worth a shot." Steven shrugged before letting out a sigh. "I wasn't lying when I said I did not sleep well. I had a nightmare."

"Care to give details?"

"I'd rather not."

"Suit yourself." Wallace shrugged before starting toward the kitchen. "Don't go wandering off. Just because you're fine, as you put it, doesn't mean you can't relax a little bit. I'm making some tea so stay put will you?"

Steven sat up as he watched his friend disappear into the kitchen. He closed his eyes and sighed to himself quietly. Everything in his head was a giant, muddled mess. He was unsure of what was up or down. Was he slowly losing his mind? He could not be. This had to have something to do with Mount Pyre. With that thing.. That shadow that had appeared. As soon as they figured this out, Steven was sure everything would go back to normal. The way things should be. He ran a hand through his hair and opened his eyes, looking around. He recognized that he was in Wallace's room. The Gym Leader did not have many guests over. Which meant there was no need for guest rooms. It was normally Wallace who was crashing at his place in Mossdeep City.

The room was practically bare, save for the few pieces of furniture in the room. A bed, which Steven was currently occupying, and a nightstand beside it. A dresser was positioned across the room, with contest trophies on top of it. The silver-haired man smiled at this. That was right. Wallace was quite the Pokemon Coordinator. He and his partner, Milotic. The man did not do it very often anymore, since he became Sootopolis' Gym Leader. He left the contests to his niece, Lisia, but still participated once in a while. Steven enjoyed watching his friend compete, for he was a very talented trainer.

He set the damp towel on the nightstand and pushed himself off the bed. There really was no time to be lazing around. Not when they had so much work to do. But convincing Wallace would be another story. The man had seemed a bit adamant about him resting. The silver-haired man sat back down on the edge and heard a small pop. He looked to the side and spotted Aron beside him. "Letting yourself out again, huh?" Steven commented as he stroked her head gently.

"Ron." The Pokemon smiled and snuggled up against Steven's thigh. The man watched his Pokemon for a moment, before memories of the dream surfaced. The nightmare that shook him to the core on Mount Pyre. What had that voice meant by 'future of things to come'? If so, was Wallace in danger if they continued trying to locate the stone? Even decipher what was on the wall even? The last thing he wanted was for his best friend to be hurt or worse.. Killed. Unless, there was a way to keep him safe. According to the dream, he was the one responsible for Wallace's death. If so, then what if-

"Good, you didn't leave out the window."

Wallace's voice snapped him from his thoughts and he looked up from Aron toward the doorway. The Gym Leader stood there, holding two cups of tea- one in each hand. "That would accomplish nothing." Steven said simply as he accepted the tea handed to him. "Thanks."

"Mmhm." Wallace hummed as he sat down beside his friend. "So. I'm thinking maybe you can take a day off from everything."

"I really can't Wallace. What if those people find the stone before us. And it is some sort of powerful object? Things could go devastatingly array."

Wallace stayed silent a moment as he sipped his tea. "I knew that was going to be your answer. Why did I even bother asking?" He said before looking at Steven. "You are my best friend. And I don't like to see you like this. It's actually starting to scare me. I understand what is at stake here, believe me. And if you want to keep going, I will follow you. But can you do me a favour? Talk to me more. Stop keeping things to yourself. Because you wouldn't like it very much if I did that to you. I'm not saying to talk about everything right this second. But when you want to talk, just do so."

Steven listened to his friend and stared at the contents of the cup. He really had been putting a lot of pressure on Wallace. The man deserved to have some sort of explanation. But what could he offer him right now? He did not want to even think about that dream he had had. And the others were to fuzzy to remember. "I'm having a hard time remembering certain things. That's why I can't talk about what is going on. A lot of it, it's fuzzy." Steven began, before setting his tea aside. "I want to fill you in, Wallace. But I can't even fill myself in. I'm so confused by everything going on. And no, I don't think a doctor can help me with this. I think the only thing that will help, is solving this mural and finding that stone."

The Gym Leader frowned at his words. "Do you think it has something to do with that shadow? I mean you started talking about it and then passed out before." 'What if it had attacked him? This could be the work of whatever that shadow thing was. It could explain a lot.'

"I don't know. Maybe.. But regardless. I think we need to head to the library and start researching." Steven said as he got up and looked about the room. He spot his bag on a chair in the corner and walked over to it. He ruffled through it and made sure that his camera was still intact. Once that was done, he replaced it and took out a spare set of clothes. "I'm going to just change real fast. Then we can download these pictures at the library and print them this time."

Wallace nodded. "Right. We don't need you burning down the entire library like you did with your laptop and phone." Steven shot him a look and the Gym Leader laughed. "I'm just joking. I'll leave you to it. In the meantime, I'll feed the Pokemon."

"Thanks Wallace." Steven said as he walked over and handed his Pokeballs over. "You go with him, Aron. I'll be right out."

"Ron." The Pokemon seemed reluctant to leave her trainer. Even if she did like Wallace very much. She knew something was wrong and hesitated.

"Go ahead." Steven said, waving the little Pokemon to go.

She looked at him quietly, before hopping off the bed. She stared at Steven for a moment before she waddled off out the door.

Wallace watched this and fell into thought. 'So Aron knows something too. If only she knew how to talk.' He waited until the Pokemon left the room, before he closed the door.

As soon as the Pokemon were fed, Wallace returned them all to their respective Pokeballs. Everyone except Aron. Instead, he kept the little Pokemon out and sat on the kitchen floor with her. He gave her a pat on the head as she cocked her head. The Steel Type knew something, for Steven's Pokemon never hesitated to follow a command given to them. They were quite well trained, even Aron, who was the youngest and most recent addition. If she was doing this, then it meant that she was concerned for her trainer. Wallace placed his chin on his hand and thought a moment. "Hey Aron. Are you worried about Steven?" The little Pokemon gave a slight nod at the question, concern in her wide, blue eyes. "Did something happen on Mount Pyre when you were there with him?"

"Ron. Aron." The Pokemon gave another nod and walked in a small circle. "Ron." She was unsure what had happened, but she knew something did. She had found Steven unconscious after all. "Aron." She flopped on her side and pretended to faint.

"So he passed out? Did he look hurt?"

The Pokemon got up and nodded. "Ron.."

Wallace pat her on the head. "Thanks Aron." He continued to pet the Pokemon as he fell into thought. 'So.. Aron found him passed out and quite possibly hurt. Something must have attacked him. I'm betting that shadow. If so, then this is probably the cause of his behavior. But will it get worse over time or better?' The Gym Leader frowned. That was a possibility was it not? That Steven would keep getting worse as opposed to better. However, he seemed like his usual self, minus the blackouts. 'But, Mr. Stone did not mention anything about mumbling or thrashing..' So was he actually getting worse? And how much more could the man take before it was too much strain on his body? Wallace pushed those dark thoughts to the back of his mind. He would have to keep a very close eye on him. He felt a nudge and looked down to see Aron looking up at him. Wallace gave a grin and picked her up. "Don't worry, Aron. Everything is going to be just fine. We will help Steven out and he will get all better. I promise."

"Ron!" The Pokemon said excitedly, smiling.

Wallace smiled and set her back down. "Okay back into the Pokeball now." He held it out and Aron returned to it. He got up from the floor and heard footsteps approaching. Steven entered the room, his bag slung limply over his shoulder. He had changed into attire that Wallace was customary to seeing. Steven was dressed in a black suit jacket with steel cuffs and black slacks. Under the jacket, he wore a purple, buttoned down vest and white collared shirt; around his neck a red ascot. The Gym Leader smiled and said, "All business now, huh?"

The silver-haired man cocked his head in a confused manner, before looking down at his clothes. "No.. I like this outfit." He closed his eyes and shrugged his shoulders. "Besides, it's the only outfit I have besides the other one with me."

The taller man shook his head and walked over to his friend. He placed both hands on his shoulders and looked at him. "We really need to fix you up, buddy. You are losing your sense of humour too."

Steven rolled his eyes. "Wallace. I appreciate your banter but we really need to get going." He moved away from his friend and walked out the door. Wallace watched him leave and sighed to himself. He followed after him.


A flower delivery van sat beside a curb near the Devon Corporation, a few blocks down. Two men sat in the front seat, wearing plain jumpsuits. On the right breast pocket, was the flower company's logo. "So, Bryan. What's are plan here? I mean this building is guarded all day and night. How are we supposed to go about kidnapping the President? It's impossible." The man behind the wheel complained, leaning forward. He folded his arms and rested them atop the steering wheel and sighed. "We are going to wind up in jail is what we're going to do."

Bryan looked over from a small book he had in his hands. "We aren't going to end up in jail, you idiot. We just have to be smart about this. Anyway, have you seen the President enter the building yet?"

"No. I doubt he's going to show up today. This is just a huge waste of our time."

"Elliot." Bryan put his book down and glared at the other. "It is not a waste of time. I don't really agree with this plan either. But think about it. If Rodger finds that stone, we will be unstoppable. Team Rocket will be the top dogs around here. Think of all that power. The money! Any Pokemon we want at our fingertips. And the girls-"

Elliot scoffed and looked at his partner. "Do you think that guy is really going to give up the Blood Stone to Giovanni once he has it? Bry think about this. It's more powerful than a Mega Stone.. According to Rodger. With that strength.. He could surpass Giovanni and become the boss himself."

The man beside him fell silent as he thought about this. Was what Elliot saying true? If so, the way Rodger was.. He could wind up being worse than the boss himself. The man had a point. If someone came into such power, then they would never give that up. It would consume their entire being. Especially the raw energy the Blood Stone was said to wield. A breath escaped him and he looked at his partner. "Just… shut up with your conspiracy theories. We are going to do as we are told. We are going to kidnap that old coot, and use him as bait. And we are going to do so, without complaint. Nothing will be worse than to disregard an order given by a higher up. Want to end up Giovanni's personal punch bag?"

The driver simply stared at the other silently. He shook his head and stared out the window once more. "You're right. I don't agree with this idea, but I'll give you that. Nothing beats getting in trouble with the boss. But I hope I'm not right about this. Rodger… he's a few cards short of a deck. If you know what I mean."

"You won't be. Now be quiet and keep watch for the President."


They had been at it for over an hour. Wallace let out a deep sigh, looking at the desk the two occupied in the Sootopolis library. The entirety of it was covered with printed photographs of the wall, maps, text books, a notebook and old newspapers. He sat back in his chair and rubbed his temples, before looking over at Steven. The young man was sitting in a chair, his jacket draped over the back end of the chair. He had a text book open, pen behind his ear and a serious look on his face. If he concentrated on the text any harder, he would burn a hole through the book. Wallace closed his eyes and tilted his head back, before staring at the ceiling. If he read one more word, his head would bust. They so far had found absolutely nothing. There was plenty of lore on the Hoenn Legends, but nothing mentioned the wall art at all. That only left them with one more option. The Cave of Origin. The only book with complete research on it, was resting under Steven's unwavering gaze.

Wallace looked back at his friend, before he turned his attention to the library. It was very spacious, with organized sections of books. A child's section toward the back of the library. Adult level books rested on the second floor. Research materials were housed on the main floor, along with a small video section of rentable movies. As for the occupants, it was sadly very vacant. Not many people came to libraries often anymore. Everything was easily obtainable online. It was a little disheartening to see. But he knew that Sootopolis' library would last forever. The old shelves the books rested on were here since the building was built. So much history in these walls. He smiled faintly, before hearing a sigh.

The man turned his attention to Steven. The man was now slumped a bit, his chin on his hand. He flipped to the next page, a somber look on his face. "Hey, Steven. You look like you could use some coffee."

"Mmhm." Steven hummed an answer, not looking up from the text he was reading.

"I'll be right back."

"Okay Wallace." The silver-haired man glanced over as his friend got up and walked toward the entrance of the library. Steven sighed to himself and looked back at the book. So far, they had found nothing. No answers, only increasing questions. It almost seemed hopeless. The man picked up the remainder of the book's pages and flipped through them. He watched the pages fall, before he shut the book completely. He pushed it away and rubbed his eyes. There had to be something they were missing. Steven picked up the photos he had taken and shuffled through them. He stopped when he reached the one he had taken of the tombstone. He looked at the epitaph, reading the description the best he could. It was indeed worn, but one word was still easy to read. 'Libero'. But what did that mean? He had never heard of the word before and it seemed important enough to be etched in stone. Steven pulled the pen from his ear and wrote the word down in his notebook. He set the paper aside and looked at the collection of books on the table. None of them would be useful in deciphering the word. Perhaps the computer.

Steven gathered up the papers and put them in a pile, before he walked over to one of the computers nearby. He sat down and clicked on the search engine. He typed and hit the enter button. As it loaded, he felt a surge of pain. 'This again…' He thought to himself as he brought a hand to his forehead. He ignored it, and began to read the links that popped up. Clicking on one, he began to read. 'To release.. deliver.. But why would that be written on a tombstone?' Steven frowned as he stared at the computer screen.

Footsteps sounded behind him. "I see you moved from the books. What have you found?" Wallace asked as he set a cup of coffee down.

Steven gratefully accepted it and picked it up. He took a sip and pushed the chair back a bit. "On the tombstone, there was this word. It read 'Libero'. Now I looked it up, and it apparently means 'to release' or 'deliver' in ancient Latin."

"Latin?"Wallace frowned as he straightened and folded his arms. "Why would that be written for an epitaph?"

Steven nodded, sipping his coffee. He lowered the cup and continued. "I was thinking the same thing myself. It does not make any sense by itself. But unfortunately, it's the only word I could get off of it. The storm really destroyed the tombstone. This is not much, but it's a start." He set the coffee down, and clicked back on the webpage, bringing it up to the links. He was about to close out, when something else caught his eye. He scrolled down and clicked another link. Steven began to read the text as soon as it popped up.

"What's up?" Wallace asked, as he looked over his shoulder. His friend appeared to be glued to the computer screen, not uttering a single word.

Steven turned toward Wallace and looked up at him. There was excitement in his face. "This… I think I've found something!"


Well this chapter took much longer than I had anticipated. Mainly do to work. Wahoo. (And seeing the Pokemon: I Choose You movie in theaters. Which was epic.) Anyway, thank you to all the readers who have stayed with this story thus far. I do hope you all continue to enjoy and read the further chapters. What has Steven discovered? And will Mr. Stone be kidnapped by Team Rocket? Tune in for Chapter Nine.. whenever I get the chance to type it up. Thanks for reading! :)