Hit Count for "The Path of the Aura: Intertwining Crossroads": 6,782

Hit Count for "The Path of the Aura II: Brothers in Arms": 490

Total Hit Count: 7,272

How's everybody's Christmas day going so far? Getting the presents that you've wanted? Spending time with yourself of with your family?

...That's what I would've said yesterday if I was able to get this chapter in on that day as promised. But because of an unexpected "503 Service Unavailable" error that kept me off of the website for most of the day (and most of you I'll bet), I'm forced to upload it the day after Christmas.

Well...better late than never, I suppose.

I won't keep you guys hanging with what I have in store for this chapter. All that I will say is that, following from what I've said in my last chapter, I make due with removing the cloth over of the anonymous speaker that has been speaking with Arceus, and revealing the true identity of said character. And who knows, perhaps you've speculated enough since the near beginning of this sequel as to who this mystery character is, or have just been going along for the ride and knew that I'd eventually touch up on the subject.

Well, regardless of your opinion, the only few things that I can say about Arceus's anonymous speaker is this:

1. This characters plays a particularly important role from here on out throughout the course of "The Path of the Aura II: Brothers in Arms".

2. The identity of this character is, as I've said before, surprising.

3. The emotional reaction that I establish throughout this chapter is, in my opinion, my best yet.

And now, without further ado, the identity of Arceus's enigmatic speaker is none other tha-


Chapter XXVI (26): Preemptive Battle Strategies

Location: ?

Date: ?

Time: ?

Ending: III. "Wake Me When You Need Me"/Halo 3 Original Soundtrack (Disc 2)/Martin O'Donnell; Michael Salvatori

(Song Begins)

"My friend, the time has finally come."

"Do you mean…?"

"Yes. The time has come for Me to bestow the gifts that I have spent over a year making onto both Eduardo and Xeno Lucario."

"For taking over a year, those gifts better be more than mere trinkets."

"Without question, they are a pair of some of the finest work that I have made in eons, manufactured after numerous moments of researching, identifying the proper materials, and finally fabricating them under precise conditions."

"It sounded like quite the challenge for You, even with Your phenomenal power."

"It was actually, but it was also well worth it, in order to even our odds against the Dark One and His dangerous emissary."

"So now, with those two gifts ready, I suppose that I'm needed in Your next phase, right?"

"Of course, just as I've promised you. I told you before, during the first moments that we met, that I would have you meet Xeno Lucario…again."

"And remind me what it is that You want me to do upon visiting the Pokémon of Prophecy?"

"You are to instruct to Xeno Lucario, as well as his self-proclaimed Man of Bulwark Eduardo, the first steps that they must enact, in order to receive My mystical wonders."

"…I knew that already, but I just wanted to be sure."

"In your particular case and with what I'm certain will occur to you upon visiting Xeno, I can understand that."

"But what I'm not sure about is what You intend on putting them through in order to receive Your gifts."

"Explain yourself further, My friend."

"From what I've heard through Your loyal servants, You have quite the gauntlet of challenges premeditated for them to overcome."

"All of that is imperative in order for them to prove themselves worthy of claiming My gifts as their own."

"Yes, I know that. But don't You think that it's a bit…much?"

"It's not 'much'. It's My personal contribution to their training, which as you can tell from our perch over that alternate Earth, is entirely necessary in order to strengthen them further, against the Void of the Dark One."

"Be that as it may, isn't it also very likely that they will fail?"

"They won't fail. They mustn't. That much I am certain."

"...I suppose simply handing those gifts of Yours is already out of the question then, isn't it?"

"Unquestionably. After all, those gifts that I intend to bestow upon them are powerful weapons, forged swords manufactured through a complicated hybridization of their respective realms' logic and workings, alongside our own, with My power as the bridge that connected them together, as well as their womb from which they were born from."

"Yyyeah… I would be wary of using the word 'womb' when conversing with other Pokémon if I were You."

"I understand your point. After all, Pokémon don't give birth, either to eggs or to live young."

"Not like humans, who do give birth to live young, though I still don't understand how exactly."

""

"Those reproductive organs that human males and females carry on their bodies, the physical attraction and emotional natures that they possess that magnetize those of the opposite sex together, the bizarre rituals that they undergo to attract a potential mate… And then, once their inseparable like the positive and negative charges of Plusle and Minun, there's all of the kissing and fondling and the groping and finally the fu—"

"Stop! Don't say another word on the matter! We're digressing enough as is!"

"…Right, sorry about that. I guess sometimes I let my perception of the world below take me to…unforgettable locations."

"Enough about that. Now…uh…where was I before you went all 'Sex Ed' on Me?"

"Your weapons?"

"Oh, right. Anyway, as I said before, those two swords aren't ordinary swords. They possess unfathomable power, which neither Eduardo nor Xeno Lucario has yet to comprehend until they gather some experience in wielding them firsthand. My eventual trials upon them are compulsory tests that will allow Me to properly gauge their strength, to see their worthiness in wielding My masterpieces to their greatest extent, which I've stated before that they will and must overcome, or else we further eclipse ourselves into the Void of the Dark One."

"Alright then. I understand, and I'm ready to go visit them, to visit Xeno in particular."

"I've already prepared your necessary transportation to their world. When you're ready, just have a word with Dialga, Giratina, and Palkia. They'll transport you over instantaneously."

"Thank You."

"But before you leave, I can't help but ask you this question."

"What is it?"

"What do you think will happen to you when Xeno Lucario sees you?"

"…I just hope Xeno doesn't impale me with its chest spike. After all, I'm not looking forward to dying a second time."

(Song Ends)


34.1: Overdue for an Upgrade

Location: Eduardo's House

Date: February 13th, 61 A.D.

Time: 11:42 AM

Thirteen months have passed ever since Xeno first began teaching Costas, Ian, and I what he knew about his powers with the aura. And through this time, our progress in learning and mastering what he has already learned and mastered has grown admirably. All three of us, through his training, have sensed significant boosts in our overall aura-based abilities.

My brothers can barely comprehend how powerful they've become, practically struggling in comprehending the fact that they are still the same two brothers that they once were over a year ago.

Before Xeno's aura training, they never knew they possessed abnormally high levels of aura, and were rather content with their already respectable skills in weapons-based combat—which they learned back alongside me years ago during our childhood—before I first knew of my Elemental Aura abilities.

But now, after having braved through some of Xeno's training, they can cling onto walls and walk over water with nothing but a bit of mental concentration on their respective aura fields. They can see the world through a second stronger set of eyes, and are now easily capable of sensing the aura of objects over a half of a mile away. They can brandish Xeno's trademark AURA SPHERE technique at will. Their stamina with their aura has exponentially improved as well, through some of the rigorous stamina-based aura training sessions that Xeno has focused upon them.

And alongside my brothers, I've grown considerably stronger through Xeno's aura training as well. And because I had a strong habit of mastering his techniques at a much faster rate than my brothers, Xeno felt it appropriate to go beyond with me, through his training.

For starters, he knew that I possessed considerable psychic abilities, mostly in part due to my Purple (Psychic) Aura. And through some of the advanced training that he knew my brothers would receive when they eventually made themselves ready, he decided to teach me, for time's sake.

In time, Xeno has taught me how to speak through telepathy, by having me concentrate on my mental wavelengths, and then amplifying them through my psychic power. After a fair period of time of practice, I learned how to speak without using my mouth. And then alongside Xeno, we learned how to selectively speak telepathically, being able to direct our minds onto any one individual, or any few individuals. Alongside telepathy, Xeno also taught me how to read minds, by training me in sensing mental wavelengths that any complex individual emanates, and then analyzing them in a way that I can properly discern. Both techniques had their considerable share of uses, both inside and outside of battle.

Alongside this pair of mental gymnastics that Xeno has taught me, he also trained me in learning how to make my body an assimilative "solar panel" for the aura surrounding me. He educated me in how to turn my body into an aura sponge, and how to use it in order to draw in outer aura and use it to replenish my own aura repertoire, as well as to boost my aura-based attacks as I'm charging them with my own power. This technique, in my eyes, is imperative in fights that can potentially exhaust me of my reserves of aura.

Xeno plans on broadening his aura training with my brothers and teaching them how to harness the power of their minds, as well as some of the more advanced aura-based abilities he knows. However, he knows and has long since respected their limits, and chooses not to risk exceeding them as he continues working on evolving them and stretching those limits little by little, but not too fast in order to avoid serious harm.

Despite all of the hardened training that we've all undergone through Xeno's guidance, we all knew that we needed to rest every once in a while. We would usually do so once a day, a few times out of the month, and completely dedicate those days off to just relax back at my house.

And today, it just happened to be one of those days.

As we normally decided to do, the four of us were back at my house, spending today off from our normal training regimen. During this time, Costas, Ian and Xeno Lucario spend their time within the living room of my house, while I spent my time within my underground laboratory, working on my technology.

My brothers and Xeno spent their day off playing chess against each other. Xeno would face off against each of my brothers, and my brothers would cycle their turns against him, hoping for a chance to beat him at this sophisticated game of strategy.

Unfortunately for Costas and Ian, they weren't even close to his level of experience, and failed each and every time against him, ranging from failing miserably or failing outright.

The upside to both Costas and Ian facing off against Xeno at chess was the opportunity to practice their budding psychic abilities, unearthed through earlier training that Xeno gave the two of them. And at the present level of telekinetic expertise that they were at, they could only move an object as small and as light as a chess piece, and only if they concentrated hard enough on it.

In time however, Xeno knew that they could accomplish greater feats of psychic power, but only as they practice and perfect themselves further. So until then, Xeno just played (and defeated) Costas, Ian, Costas, Ian, Costas again, Ian again, in tandem and almost reflexively. He watched on as they stared at the chess piece they were focusing on with their mind suddenly hover over the chessboard and reposition itself on a new square. And then he watched on at his opponents' despondency as he eliminated each and every individual chess piece, until the king piece itself was overtaken by a clever checkmate.

Xeno's present opponent, Costas, acknowledged defeat and telekinetically flicked the king piece down, where it rolled somewhat on the flat board, by most of Xeno's overpowering placement of chess pieces.

"You win…again." Costas admitted somberly.

"How many times does that make now?" Ian asked Xeno. "I've honestly lost track."

"Between the both of you," Xeno mentioned as he was telekinetically resetting all 32 chess pieces back on the board. "You've lost to me exactly 150 times."

Both Costas and Ian felt somewhat ashamed after losing so many times against him, and in such a short period of time.

"And have you learned anything through your numerous defeats?" Xeno questioned them, as their teacher. "After all, you learn more through your losses than you do through your victories."

Both Costas and Ian took a moment to ponder what they've learned through their consecutive losses against Xeno, and quickly came up with their answers.

"Chess is a difficult game to master," Ian said. "It is a game that requires a deep level of strategy to be able to claim victory against your opponent."

"You are…undefeatable at chess," Costas said. "We can't beat you because you're smarter—and stronger—than us."

"Well, virtually undefeatable at chess," Xeno corrected Costas. "In chess, I could never defeat Mewtwo, no matter how many times I played against it, I lost to it probably thousands of times during our brief time together, never once defeating it at that board game. And between personally, I know exactly why."

Both brothers listen closely at his connections with Mewtwo through this game.

"I know that a key tactic in chess is to look ahead, to anticipate what moves your opponent might make before they even make them, to plan ahead and counter their tactics as they surface, or even smother them long before your opponent can initiate them. And personally, I feel as though I've mastered this technique in chess, but Mewtwo has perfected this technique. I'm quite certain that Mewtwo knows how each individual chess match can play out before the first piece is even moved. Compared to Mewtwo, I'm a world champion, while it's a grandmaster."

Both brothers take in Xeno's sincerity on the superior skills of Mewtwo at this game.

"Mewtwo never loses at chess because it's an extremely intelligent Pokémon, genetically engineered for mental superiority through human science. I'm intelligent in my own sense. I know that because I've proven myself during critical situations in my life. But Mewtwo's intelligence is miles off of the charts, with no one or nothing even remotely close to its mental potential, as far as I know and have experienced."

My brothers begin to disagree on that particular subject.

"What about Eduardo?" Ian inquired. "How does he compare with Mewtwo?"

Xeno merely shrugged his shoulders on the subject. "I don't really know. Both of them are extremely intelligent beings, and while you've already told me that Eduardo's I.Q. is practically that of two Alakazam put together, I don't know how high Mewtwo's I.Q. is and therefore, I can't juxtapose their intelligence right there. My best guess is that Eduardo would make a great rival for Mewtwo, though it's clear to me that their intelligence is dedicated into distinct topics. I know Mewtwo's intelligence is dedicated heavily into combat strategy, while Eduardo's intelligence is dedicated heavily into technology. As to who, pray tell, is smarter, as I've said before, I honestly don't know."

My brothers now knew that this was a dead end topic, and the decided to change the subject.

"I wonder how Eduardo fares in chess…" Costas wondered.

"I can't imagine him understanding this game until he's played it a few times." Xeno explained. "Chess doesn't exist in this world until 500 more years, and then it won't be shaped into this modern form that the three of us know it as until over a millennia from now."

"He's a very fast learner though." Ian mentioned.

"Yeah, I know." Xeno responded. "I've seen the results of his near instantaneous mastery first-hand, when he rescued me from Rome through the use of that monstrous, yet majestic dragon form."

"Do you want to go ask him?" Costas suggested.

Xeno merely nodded in agreement. "Yes. Let's go pay him a visit."

With a unanimous decision made by Costas, Ian, and Xeno, the three of them entered my room inside my house, descended through the secret entrance into my underground laboratory, and navigated themselves through its massive corridors in order to seek me.


Location: Eduardo's Laboratory

Time: 12:04 PM (Noon)

Within the lowest room of my underground laboratory—as well as the largest—, a room which I had long since used to store away any duplicate items that I had manufactured, I was busy working on necessary maintenance and upgrading my first three "S-Rank" devices: the "black hole infinite inventory" S1-GS device, the "omni-computer" S2-PTSDOv.2, and the "eye in the sky" set of twenty-six S3-OSS devices.

I first began to work on my S1-GS device, and before I worked on its internal circuitry, I had to reduce the black hole within it down to a sustained microscopic level, enough for me to work on the device with my own two hands without running any risks of assimilating myself into the device. Not that there's any danger in doing so anymore due to the ASP (Animal's Survival Program) that I installed within it years ago. But even so, even under this diminutive size, I still felt the tug of gravity emanating from this black hole, which was comparable to that of holding two palm-sized magnets mere inches from each other, and trying to keep them from connecting.

Nevertheless, for the safety of the entire inventory within my S1-GS device, I removed each and every single item I have ever stored within my device and set it temporarily aside. The items that I had stored within it were more than enough to fill up over half of the rooms within my laboratory, particularly the lowest room that I was presently within, as well as make the greenhouse rooms where I grow my Berry plants virtually impassable.

With the risks of working on my S1-GS device now taken care of, I carefully recalibrated the glass-like Auracite that lined the inner circuitry of my S1-GS device, necessary if I wish to keep its black hole core stable and in existence. And even though I've never encountered the fatal problem of having my S1-GS's black hole disappear spontaneously, therefore losing all of its internal contents until I create another black hole, I don't intend on having that problem ever occur with me, not while I live and breathe.

Once the "mirrors" lining the circuitry were necessarily calibrated—"mirrors" that perfectly controlled the strength and polarity of the S1-GS's black hole core, allowing to be both an assimilating black hole and an expelling white hole—, I installed a small chip into the internal circuitry, in the form of an upgrade to the IP (Inventory Program).

The chip that I had inserted into the S1-GS device upgrades the IP program and allows it to be accessed through my S2-PTSDOv.2 device, in the form of the GSA (Grand Storage Atlas) application that I recently made and incorporated into my S2-PTSDOv.2 device. In short, I can now view my inventory through my Different System, as well as my Grand Storage Sphere.

With my S1-GS device now enhanced and calibrated, I reentered the rooms where I deposited my S1-GS's inventory, and assimilated it all back, before assimilating the last of my surplus inventory within the lowest room of my underground laboratory. I checked the S1-GS's entire contents through my S1-GS's Inventory Program, and also through my S2-PTSDOv.2's newly-installed GSA program. And unsurprisingly to me, everything was running smoothly and without complications. I could view and identify each and every piece of stored equipment, technological item, Berry plant, weapon, etc, that I had stored within my S1-GS device.

No longer needing to work on my S1-GS device, I stored it away on my person before moving on to my remaining two "S-Rank" devices that demand my attention.

For my S2-PTSDOv.2 device, a considerable upgrade was in order, "evolving" it from version 2 to version 3. For the upgrade, I had to dissect my S2-PTSDOv.2 device, separating it from its old Auracite shells. Next, I had to reconstruct and improve upon the motherboard of nanotechnology within the device, inserting new pieces into it that'll further enhance the already herculean versatility of my Different System. For this step, because I'm working with individual chips that are the size of fleas—at their largest—I had to resort to using a microscope, as well as delicate instruments and machinery that can manipulate items this small with ease, in order to ensure everything about my S2-PTSDOv.2 device was upgraded without any complications.

With the internal motherboard—as well as overall button and screens layout—modified to v.3 status, all I had left to do was fortify it all and insert it within its new Auracite shells, the shells themselves already manufactured beforehand.

With the shells now in place and the hardware working as it should be, my S2-PTSDOv.3 now resembled one of the Nintendo handheld consoles that Xeno's helmet has blueprints and specifications on: the Nintendo 3DS.

With my twenty-six S3-OSS devices now remaining and waiting for their upgrade, I dismantled each and every one of them, prying off their Auracite shells and setting them aside for now, replacing them once I've made the necessary work on their internal circuitry.

For each and every single S3-OSS device, I reconfigured the overall layout of its "spherical" motherboard. In the process, I removed somewhat outdated computer chips within each one, replacing them with faster, smaller, and newer versions. In the process, I also created some extra space to slip in two key components that will advance my S3-OSS devices into S3-OSSv.2 devices, as well as make them more than merely twenty-six Optical Surveillance Spheres.

Those two components are audio speakers and holographic projectors.

With the internal circuitry now upgraded to S3-OSSv.2 status, all twenty-six of my S3-OSSv.2 devices were put back into their respective Auracite shells, and then returned back onto their individual slots that resided on the "X" on my torso that my crossing sashes made, with the holsters for my Grand Storage System and upgraded Different System by my left and right waistline.

With these necessary tasks now completed, all I had left to do was give my S3-OSSv.2 devices a proper test run, to ensure that their latest technological additions were functioning properly.

But before I could do so, I heard three pairs of footsteps coming from outside of this room, and then I heard the sharp creaking of the opening of my massive metallic door to this room.

I turned my attention towards the entrance of this room, unsurprised by the individuals there.

"Hello, what brings you three here?" I said.

Costas, Ian, and Xeno entered the room, just as I acknowledged their emerging presence into here. Once here, they moved onto their topic in mind.

"We're here because your adopted brothers wish to know how'd you fare in chess?" Xeno inquired for the three of them.

"Chess?" I respond, never hearing that word used before. "What is chess?"

"It's a board game." Xeno explained to me. "I'd be willing to explain it further to you if you agree to play."

Even though I respected their wishes, I still spoke my mind.

"Now's not a particularly good time." I said. "You actually caught me while I was in the middle of testing out the latest upgrades to my 'S-Rank' devices."

Almost during the instance that I mentioned my 'S-Rank' devices, I could see three pairs of eyes widened before me. They knew already, based on their knowledge of me, just how prominent I was with technology, and were always interested in learning just what I had created presently.

I didn't need any form of extrasensory perception to read their faces as though they were open books with enticing words neatly lined within each page.

"I'll take it you three want to see the full extent of my upgrades, right?"

Without hesitation, the three of them nodded in full agreement.

"And Xeno, after this, I'll take you up on that chess offer, okay?"

"Of course," he responded briefly.

With my small audience now optically glued onto me, I retrieved my upgraded Different System from its holster on my left side, opened it, and then held it out towards them.

Almost instantaneously, Xeno Lucario spotted something familiar about that device.

"Why are you holding a Nintendo 3DS console?"

"It looks like one, based on the files of it that I downloaded from your battle armor helmet, doesn't it?" I mention. "However, it's only the aesthetics that are entirely similar, and everything else is practically eons apart. Because, in short, this is what my S2-PTSDOv.2 has been upgraded to now. My Different System has now been upgraded to version 3."

With my S2-PTSDOv.3 device held out towards them, they approached it and ogled it in better detail.

"So what makes it exactly v.3 instead of v.2?" Ian wondered.

"See the pair of lenses on the front of the device?" I told him, hovering a finger nearby each individual lens.

"Uh-huh."

"Watch."

I took about five steps back from my group and held out my Different System in between us. And with a couple of inputted commands, I caused the pair of lens to display a three-dimensional holographic image before them. This image resembled a sphere in terms of its shape, expanding six feet out in diameter. Within the holographic image, it resembled a constellation map of the stars in outer space. However, upon closer inspection, those "stars" that numbered within the thousands inside of this holographic display were actually various items that I had stored within my S1-GS device.

"…Holographic technology?" Costas said, astonished by the ethereal imagery.

"Of course," I confirm.

Upon closer inspection, Xeno could identify a few of the hovering dots within the holographic display as items originally of his possession. He noticed segments of his battle armor, as well as the Poké Balls of his comrades and of himself. All of it Xeno knew was stored away within my S1-GS device, for convenient safekeeping.

"Is that a holographic display of the inventory within your S1-GS device?"

I suspected that the emulative imagery of Xeno's battle armor would give that aspect away. "It's astonishing how much I can store away within a device no larger than a baseball, isn't it? And through the Grand Storage Atlas program that I installed into both my S1-GS device and S2-PTSDOv.3 device, I can see a live feed of the items within my Grand Storage Sphere through either the source or through my Different System."

Without anything more to display through my S2-PTSDOv.3 device itself, I disengaged its present hologram.

"It's not just the S1 and S2 devices that I upgraded though." I explained. "I also enhanced my S3-OSS devices considerably, making them serve more of a purpose than just as long-range surveillance."

"What did you do with them?" Ian asked.

"Stand back and I'll show you," I said with a confident smile.

Costas, Ian, and Xeno complied with my wishes and stepped back considerably, until they were about twenty feet away from me.

With my comrades having stepped back a safe distance, I inputted a few commands to my Optical Surveillance Spheres through my S2-PTSDOv.3 device, directing all twenty-six S3-OSSv.2 devices to detach themselves from the sash on my person and hover before me. Within moments, all twenty six of them were hovering nearby me, revolving over my head in the form of two "planetary" rings, each one consisting of thirteen S3-OSSv.2 devices.

"You're going to love this," I said. "Especially you, Xeno."

With the appropriate chain of commands towards my S3-OSSv.2 devices, twelve of them—the dozen that resembled the Poké Balls that belonged to Xeno's twelve Pokémon comrades—perfectly emulated Poké Balls and opened, exposing their complicated internal circuitry. But more importantly, their internal holographic projectors were displayed for them to notice.

Before my audience's eyes, each of those twelve S3-OSSv.2 devices, through their holographic projectors, suddenly expelled red energy, much like a Poké Ball would. However, instead of entirely expelling this rendered red energy, each of those S3-OSSv.2 devices was engulfed by it. Once those twelve specific Optical Surveillance Spheres were entirely engulfed by the red energy, the holographic projectors manipulated it, as I had programmed and then commanded them to do so. The red energy began to incorporate the form of the Pokémon that resided within each of their respective "Poké Balls". And once familiar Pokémon shapes were fully formed, the red energy transmogrified in its texture and became each and every one of Xeno's twelve comrades.

Just as Xeno Lucario last remembered them, standing directly behind me was Absol ("Moon Ball" S3-OSSv.2H), Aggron ("Heavy Ball" S3-OSSv.2K), "Aqua" Lapras ("Net Ball" S3-OSSv.2R), Charizard ("Level Ball" S3-OSSv.2F), Combusken ("Friend Ball" S3-OSSv.2I), Dusknoir ("Dusk Ball" S3-OSSv.2W), Luxray ("Nest Ball" S3-OSSv.2Q), Metagross ("Ultra Ball" S3-OSSv.2C), Sceptile ("Luxury Ball" S3-OSSv.2V), "Terra" Garchomp ("Quick Ball" S3-OSSv.2V), Tyranitar ("Premier Ball" S3-OSSv.2N), and "Wanderer" Lucario ("Great Ball" S3-OSSv.2B).

"Hang on, I'm not done yet." I add.

With a few more chain commands, eight more of my S3-OSSv.2 devices (their exact Poké Ball resemblance being random from their remaining group) opened their Auracite casings, expelled red energy, engulfed themselves within it, and took the form of other Pokémon, Pokémon that don't exist within Xeno's party, but are still heavily relevant in his life.

And those eight Pokémon are as followed: the Alpha Pokémon Arceus, the Temporal Pokémon Dialga, the Renegade Pokémon Giratina, the Eon Pokémon duo Latias and Latios, the Genetic Pokémon Mewtwo, the Spacial Pokémon Palkia, and "Tiny" Riolu. These eight Pokémon, depending on their size compared to Xeno's party of twelve Pokémon, either resided as towering behemoths behind them, or as wondrous creatures in front of them.

With these twenty pristine emulations of familiar Pokémon brought into my underground laboratory through twenty of my S3-OSSv.2 devices, the remaining six Optical Surveillance Spheres that were revolving around me returned within their personal slots on my being, shortly after I gave them the command to do so.

And with that, I directed my full attention towards my small audience, plainly seeing the equivalent of dropped jaws on their individual countenances.

"What do you three think?" I said, strongly believing that they could still listen to the words that I was saying. "In my honest opinion, the hardest part about upgrading my twenty-six S3-OSS devices into v.2 status wasn't the reconfiguring of their shared internal circuitry and then merely adding three-dimensional holographic projectors within their indestructible Auracite shells. The hardest part was acquiring, reconstructing and programming, out of the multitude of Pokémon within the Pokédex that I acquired from Xeno's helmet, lifelike third-dimensional renderings out of the Pokémon that Xeno is most familiar with. For a few of them, I had to construct their 3D models entirely out of scratch, because there was so little illustrative information on them. But in the end, it was completely worth it, to bestow upon us four the privilege to see these Pokémon in all of their glory."

Costas, Ian, and Xeno, caught entirely by surprise at the result of my upgrades to my Optical Surveillance Spheres, slowly stepped forward, walking directly by me and towards the "living" statues of these majestic beasts from a parallel planet Earth. They began to examine each individual Pokémon, dedicating an equal amount of time to each of them.

"So, what do you guys think of this?" I said, not necessarily needing their opinion on my personal accomplishment, but wanting to know it nevertheless.

"…It's like you're half man and half machine." Ian said with amazement in his voice.

"…It's like you genuinely have a sixth sense with technology." Costas said with praiseful astonishment.

"…It's like you walked into the open doors of the museum that is my memories, and took to heart every detail about them." Xeno said, his heart stirred by his flooding sense of nostalgia.

"I figured you three would say that," I said, closing my Different System and storing it away for now, before I joined my comrades in examining my holographic work in greater detail.

Má Vlast (My Fatherland): Vltava (The Moldau River)/The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical Music/London Philharmonic Orchestra & David Parry

(Song Begins)

Each and every one of us took a considerable moment to ogle each of the twenty Pokémon that Xeno vividly remembers, before he entered this particular dimension through the combined power of Arceus's first three Pokémon creations.

Costas and Ian remained together, ogling Arceus's Deity Trio of Pokémon within of this holographic collection. They each took turns examining Dialga, Giratina, and Palkia, taking clear note of their astonishing physical features, but unfortunately nothing else.

"Can you believe the raw power that these three Pokémon must possess?" Ian conversed with his brother by his side. "Even by the heightened standards of the entire Pokémon race in Xeno's world, these three Pokémon stand above virtually all of them."

"I just can't wrap around my head at how they are able to do what they just did, in order to bring Xeno to this world." Costas said, practically looking straight up at the Deities of the Sinnoh Region, never removing his gaze from them as he responded to his brother.

"I know what you mean." Ian continued. "Their mastery over space, time, and antimatter can boggle anybody's mind."

"Any more so than Eduardo's and Xeno's power?" Costas wondered.

"Perhaps…or perhaps not." Ian muttered. "It would be nice if we knew more about those three Pokémon though."

"Yeah, you're right."

With the holographic emulations of Dialga, Giratina, and Palkia being admired by my brothers, Xeno Lucario decided to pay considerably close attention to the twelve Pokémon of this group that perfectly resembled his twelve present comrades. He eyed each and every one of them attentively, astonished how perfectly I had crafted these holographic derivatives of them to resemble his comrades, right down to their respective countenances. He was particularly astonished with how I depicted both Absol and Sceptile, both of them being Pokémon that possess obvious signs of lingering scars from their past injuries inflicted upon them during their lives.

For Absol, it was when Xeno clashed with it, back when he was only thirty months old. Xeno remembered with near perfection the substantial battle that they had. Xeno remembered the lasting injuries that he inflicted upon the Disaster Pokémon as well. He remembered using Absol's own SHADOW CLAW technique on itself, in order to slice off Absol's blade-like appendage that was no longer on the right side of its head. He remembered feigning unconsciousness when Absol was about to cleave his neck in one fell swoop, spinning out of the way at the last moment, and delivering a vicious counterattack kick on Absol's left eye, obliterating it like a water balloon.

Lastly, Xeno remembered the black bandana that Absol has worn ever since Absol appeared before him as a reformed Pokémon. It wears that small piece of cloth over its mouth to hide the facial scars from Xeno's decisive and final attack inflicted upon the Disaster Pokémon: one AURA SPHERE punch, point blank on Absol's jaws, practically crushing them to dust. The lingering scars from that one attack now exist on Absol's face in the form of a complete absence of its lips, but thankfully nothing else—thanks to the quick work that Latias did in healing the Disaster Pokémon. In the end, that particular deformity, concealed by the black bandana, effectively serves as a reminder amongst both Absol and Xeno about the past that they had, and how radical a Pokémon's heart can transmogrify from malevolent to benevolent, under the right circumstances.

"(I should just count myself fortunate that I didn't kill you that day, when I knocked you off of the cliff with that last attack,)" Xeno pondered to himself, imagining himself to be speaking to this hologram of Absol, which gave off the believable illusion of live and existence. "(And I should count myself fortunate that we no longer have any ill will towards each other, after we've both grown together as close friends, and have long since set aside our past vendetta.)"

Turning his eyes away from the scarred Disaster Pokémon, Xeno focused his attention on the equally scarred Forest Pokémon. Xeno once again found it astonishing how flawless I've represented Sceptile, one of Xeno's oldest friends. Through the hologram of it, Xeno noticed Sceptile's numerous burn scars, plaguing across the virtual entirety of its finely scaled body, gnarling its body to the point where, at some parts of its body, its individual scales appeared warped from the scarring. Alongside this, Xeno could plainly tell that the imitative Sceptile's entire right arm was missing. Its only pathetic sign of its existence was the small stub of a right shoulder that remained. However, the sheathed buster sword that was almost as large as Sceptile itself compensated for Sceptile's missing right arm. Though simultaneously, it's a wonder how the Forest Pokémon can wield such a heavy weapon so seamlessly, and with one arm as well.

Xeno knew all too well that the people responsible for Sceptile's scars and disfigurations were the people that Xeno was once enslaved to.

"(Were it not for Tiny selflessly sacrificing its life to protect you, I would've never seen you alive again,)" Xeno soliloquized, once again imagining himself speaking to the digital representation. "(Although, I wished you were sane when I saw you again. That would've saved us both from fighting each other before we both cried and hugged over the pure fact that we were still alive and well.)"

With Xeno recollecting his past through the holographic depictions of his twelve closest friends, I was left to admire the remaining five Pokémon.

Firstly, I turned my attention to the Riolu that, according to Xeno, favors going by the nickname of Tiny. But because "Tiny" Riolu was barely over two feet tall, I had to squat down to its level of height. I remained like so for a brief moment, staring on at the puppy dog eyes that the Emanation Pokémon possessed.

"(It's hard to believe that someone as powerful as Xeno once started off as such an adorable—and surprisingly powerful—Pokémon as yourself,)" I pondered, conversing mentally with the hologram. "(And yet, through true happiness, you evolve into an Aura Pokémon.)"

Unsurprisingly, because I didn't hold a particularly strong feeling for Xeno's deceased friend, I turned my attention over to Latias and Latios, as well as Mewtwo, whom "existed" in between of them. And in seeing these three powerful, Psychic-Type Legendary Pokémon, I recollected on the history that they had with Xeno Lucario.

For Latias and Latios, both Pokémon had key roles in aiding Xeno reunite with his friends and accepted family of Pokémon, after Xeno successfully escaped from Team Rocket. Latias helped Xeno reunite with a reformed Absol, as well as lift his begrudging vendetta towards the Disaster Pokémon's original vengeful, blood-stained actions. Latios helped Xeno knock some sense back into Sceptile and bringing it back to rational thought, having to aid the Aura Pokémon in suppressing the unstable Forest Pokémon first.

As for Mewtwo, a Pokémon that stood a solid seven inches taller than me, its history emanated an aura of secrecy, mostly because of Mewtwo's vague agenda. Even though Mewtwo was Xeno's roommate, and even agreed to his Team liberator cause—blessing him with four vital partners that aided him in his group escape—, Mewtwo didn't necessarily agree with Xeno's intentions of escape. The reason was because Giovanni promised Mewtwo that he would make it stronger. However, when Giovanni smugly told the Genetic Pokémon that it only existed to serve him, after being born through his own finances fueling the scientific research that led to Mewtwo's genetic derivation from Mew, Mewtwo escaped from him and from Team Rocket altogether. And before disappearing for reasons known only to itself, it left behind its party of Pokémon and a note to Xeno, apparently hoping the best for him.

The major question that I had about Mewtwo, this man-made juggernaut of a Pokémon, wasn't anything petty, such as gauging its strength or comparing myself—especially my intellect—to it. I suspected that I was probably a good intellectual rival to it, something that was confirmed to me when I noticed, through Xeno's stolen data, that its I.Q. was just slightly higher than my own, by only a half of a percentage point—something that I was able to confirm after using my superior resources for measuring I.Q. over those of Team Rocket.

But that was all beside the point and is nothing more than a selfish digression led by a pitiful drive that I possessed over useless competitions.

After all, the major question that I had about Mewtwo wasn't if it was a troubled Pokémon or not, and wished to search for key answers about its existence. The major question that I had about Mewtwo was if it was a selfish Pokémon, a narcissist, a Pokémon that relies entirely on itself and couldn't give a flying shit about others, despite its actions towards any of them.

And my reason for thinking this way about Mewtwo is because of its actions towards Xeno, back when they were both Grunts—and then Admins—of Team Rocket.

When Mewtwo agreed to adopt four Pokémon as its own in order to help Xeno with his Team Liberator plot, was it genuinely for him, or secretly for itself? Did Mewtwo train itself through its small party of Pokémon, strengthening itself exclusively, while coincidentally training its allies as well? Did it care at all if its allies grew stronger as well, or not?

Most importantly, did it care at all for Xeno? Did it care at all for his ideas of a group escape from an organized crime syndicate? If Mewtwo did, then it would've helped Xeno escape from Team Rocket by offering itself for Xeno's selfless cause, not just its adopted Pokémon. Anybody with a basic mind and a strong sense of friendship would've done so. But instead, Mewtwo abandoned Xeno and turned its back on his cause, without so much as taking anybody with it. And years after Xeno's successful escape and liberation of the Pokémon within Team Rocket Main Headquarters, Mewtwo never bothered showing itself to him again, not even once.

And despite that, Xeno still considers Mewtwo a good friend within his memory of it, through I question what Mewtwo itself thinks about its "bond" with Xeno.

"(Maybe if I just knew you on a personal level, instead of through your Pokédex entry and through Xeno's history alongside you, then I wouldn't have so many questions about you. Then I would know your exact reasons for your choice of actions.)" I pondered, tilting my head upward slightly to see this Pokémon, ash-black eye to purple eyes. "(But I don't see that happening anytime soon. I don't see myself meeting with you yet, face to face, not until the Void of the Dark One is nothing more than a vivid memory.)"

With my attention now departing from this hologram of Mewtwo, the last Pokémon that I directed my attention to was Arceus Itself. And upon doing so, the first thing that I noticed about It was Its regal appearance, Its towering height over me in particular, standing over ten feet tall compared to my mere six.

"(It was particularly difficult of me to fabricate Your holographic representation, because data on You is unfortunately limited.)" I pondered to myself while staring at Arceus's intimidating face. "(At best, I only had a few images of folklore and mythology centering You, with the occasional photographic documentation across decades of time back on that Pokémon Earth that Xeno came from. Thankfully, in the end, there was enough data on You to represent You as You genuinely appear to us.)"

As I continued to stare on at the Alpha Pokémon, both my brothers and Xeno Lucario joined in alongside me, staring on at the most majestic and powerful of all Pokémon.

"Xeno," Costas said to the Aura Pokémon. "That Pokémon is what all Pokémon on your respective earth have accepted as your God?"

"Yes," Xeno said, staring on at the Alpha Pokémon that he's never seen in person.

"And that's the Pokémon that you will rival in terms of power?" Ian added.

"Yes," Xeno said as well.

"And do you suppose that Arceus Itself has a role in preventing the Void of the Dark One?" I added as well.

"I would strongly believe to be so." Xeno said. "Dialga, Palkia, and perhaps Giratina as well when I was unconscious, they were all Pokémon that Arceus created when It hatched and created the world that I was born in. They were the three Pokémon that sent me into this world, because that's where the Void of the Dark One would begin, as evident by the presence of Odraude here. And I would imagine Arceus involving Itself in preventing the Void of the Dark One, because It would see it as a threat to existence."

"I wonder if Arceus is currently watching on at our progress." I mention to Xeno. "Do you think It is, and assessing our likelihood of success?"

"It probably is." Xeno believed. "Though, I wish I knew if it's just us four that are involved in this looming crisis, or if there are others that will be involved as well."

"You mean like your Pokémon comrades?" Ian mentioned an example.

"Perhaps, but I wish I knew for certain." Xeno wondered. "I'm here without much of a lead in what the four of us are supposed to do against the Void of the Dark One. I have zero idea in how to contact the Original One, assuming if that's even possible. And even though the four of us have trained well over the past year, I'm beginning to grow dubious if what we're doing is a proper first step against stopping that impending disaster."

I retrieved my S2-PTSDOv.3 device from its respective holster and opened my device.

"I wish I knew as well." I muttered melancholically. "But for all that I know, Arceus is watching our progress and believing it to be the best actions that we can take at the moment."

My brothers and Xeno didn't know for certain if this was what Arceus was planning, and neither do I. And we all knew that we could only speculate at best at what Arceus was planning to do, until the time came where we four are able to converse with it, either in person or through an emissary of some sort.

With nothing left to do here, I inputted to command to disengage all of my active S3-OSSv.2 devices. Behind our backs, all of the holographic Pokémon disappeared from existence. And in front of us, the Arceus hologram faded away as well. Without any holograms to present anymore, all of the deactivated S3-OSSv.2 devices returned onto my person, and then I remembered the reason that my friends came down here in the first place.

"So…how exactly do you play chess?" I asked Xeno.

Xeno smiled at my eagerness to play against him. "I'll explain the rules as we get back to your house."

(Song Ends)


34.2: Just a Tiny Visitor at the Door for You

Location: Eduardo's House

Time: 12:31 PM (Noon)

As the four of us exited my underground laboratory and back into my room, before proceeding over towards the main living room of my house, I was making sure I understood what Xeno was explaining to me about the basic rules of chess.

"So in chess, two players play on an eight-by-eight checkered board of contrasting white and black squares, classified as eight numerical rows and eight alphabetical columns. Both players begin with sixteen pieces. One player's pieces are white and make the first move, while the other player's pieces are black and move after white's turn, and continue taking turns after each player moves one of their pieces. Each player is in control over eight pawn pieces, two rook pieces, two knight pieces, two bishop pieces, one queen piece, and one king piece."

"Uh-huh," Xeno muttered, making sure I understood the rules of the game, as he explained them to me as we moved.

"Pawns can only move forward and not backward, either one square or two squares from their initial places on the chessboard, as well as 'capture' an opponent's piece by moving one space diagonally, either left or right."

"Right, and despite being one of the weakest pieces in the game, they can 'evolve' into a stronger piece if you successfully move them towards the opposing player's end of the board, where they can become any other piece aside from the king piece."

"Yes, of course. As for the other chess pieces, rook pieces can move horizontally and vertically, and bishop pieces can move diagonally, both of them ad infinitum, assuming there aren't any other chess pieces impeding their movements. The knight pieces are the only pieces that can 'jump' over other pieces, and move in the shape of an 'L', but only moving three spaces per jump. The queen pieces are essentially a combination of both the rook and bishop pieces, making it very powerful and a formidable threat on the chessboard."

"Yes, but even though the queen piece is the most powerful of the six chess pieces, the king piece is the most important chess piece in the game."

"I know. The king piece may only move one space in any given direction. And the primary goal in the game of chess is to place the opposing player's king piece in checkmate, a fatal dilemma where it is impossible for the king piece to evade capture by your opponent's chess pieces. And in chess, strategy is vital in ensuring victory. Though in some cases, a stalemate can occur, where neither side is able to claim victory."

By this time, the four of us have already returned to my living room, and seated ourselves accordingly on my table, with the chess board preemptively ready for another match between two strategy-focused intellectuals. Xeno seated himself on the side where the while chess pieces resided on the chessboard, and I seated myself opposing him, in command over the black chess pieces. Both of my brothers seated together and to our sides, always excited whenever they saw the two of us compete against each other, in some defined way.

"I've explained to you the rules and basics of chess, as well as the advanced techniques in chess, such as castling, en passant, and pawn promotion. And now, with what I've taught you, let's see how well you fare against me."

I knew Xeno would succeed in winning a few matches against me in this board game, because he would take clear advantage of my present neophyte status. However, as he already knows through his critical life experiences involving me, I'm ridiculously adaptable and have a short learning curve. I predict that Xeno will only win the first few chess matches against me because I'll have to cope with putting into play the rules of the game, while simultaneously dividing my attention in learning my opponent's playing style and how to work my strategy around it. But as we keep playing, my attention will grow more and more focused on Xeno and Xeno alone. And perhaps I'll win a few matches against him, as I grow as keenly experienced in chess as he is.

"Go ahead, make your first move."

Xeno nodded without saying another word on the matter. His eyes glared on at his white pawn piece, which was presently resting comfortably on its initial "e2" place on the board, directly in front of his white king piece on "e1". He was about to move the piece two steps forward to "e4" with the telekinetic powers of his well-trained mind.

But before he could so much as establish a psychic connection to his pawn piece...

Knock! Knock! Knock!

…an attention-redirecting presence could be heard behind the door to my house, followed by the voice of our sudden visitor.

"Hey Lucy, I'm home!"

The four of us already train our eyes away from the chess board and towards the door to my house. For Costas, Ian, and I, the tone of voice that we just heard didn't sound familiar to any of us, not belonging to any of our neighbors.

As for Xeno, the tone of voice gave Xeno a different reaction entirely. He didn't know for certain why, but hearing it made Xeno feel bizarrely…nostalgic, causing a reminiscent echo within his mind, one that he can't quite put his paw on.

"(That voice…)" Xeno pondered to himself. "(I've heard it before, but it can't possibly be…)"

"Who do you suppose is at the door?" Costas asked us.

"I don't know." Ian responded first. "It doesn't sound like any one of our neighbors."

"…And yet that enigmatic visitor knows Xeno." Costas added that important assumption.

"By calling him 'Lucy'?" Ian recalled. "It may be a derogatory abridged version of 'Lucario', but it could also just be coincidental."

"Well then, whether this is just coincidental or not…" I said with an elevated guard, before pulling my chair back and getting off of it, "…I'll find out momentarily."

With my heart rate increased slightly, I made my way over towards the door and reached my hand over towards the door handle. But just as I was about to do so, Xeno suddenly stopped me in my tracks.

"No, wait!" Xeno shouted as he got off of his chair as well. "Don't open that door just yet! Let me check who this individual is first."

Without saying a word on the matter, I set my hand aside and stepped back a bit, still remaining ready for anything.

Near instantaneously, Xeno's blood vessels surrounding his eyes and skull began to swell from the extra, necessary blood flow and pressure. His scarlet eyes suddenly gleamed gold and his dreadlock-like appendages spontaneously lifted, becoming fully horizontal and defying gravity once more, vibrating in the air as they aided in Xeno's sixth sense of aura perception.

My brothers and I watch on as Xeno glares on at the entrance door, penetrating the faint aura of the door and sensing the aura of the individual that resided directly behind it, the individual that wishes to enter and unexplainably knows the Aura Pokémon.

And as we watched on as Xeno sensed the aura of our visitor, we could see Xeno's overall posture stiffen, his eyes widen, his eyelids disappearing within their sockets, and his skin tone growing pale underneath his fur, enough so where it was mildly noticeable.

My brothers and I look on at this questionably, unsure as to why Xeno is responding this way to whatever was calling out to him.

"Are you alright, Xeno?" Costas wondered.

"You're looking a little pale," Ian noticed.

"It's as if you've just seen a ghost." I speculated.

"Not…just…a ghost," Xeno found it difficult to speak telepathically at the moment, because he was shaken to the core at what he was sensing, "it's also…an…impossibility."

We still found Xeno's reaction to this situation to be puzzling, and decided to mimic his actions and resorted to using our Aura Vision abilities as well. Both of my brothers eyes gleamed gold and became surrounded by swollen blood vessels, while I merely switched my eye patch over and made the most of my enhanced left eye.

Before the gaze of five more piercing eyes, my brothers and I depicted a body shape behind the door. The individual behind the door possessed a similar physical build to Xeno, but was only under half his height. Also, the body shape of the individual appeared uncannily familiar to the three of us.

And the reason for that, without much mental effort in our parts, was made immediately clear when we connected the dots.

That body shaped belonged to the Emanation Pokémon Riolu.

"Am I seeing things…" Costas said, "…or is that a Riolu behind that door?"

"You're not seeing this, Costas." Ian replied. "I see it too."

"I see it as well," I chimed in. "But…what's another Pokémon doing here, in this Earth?"

"" Xeno was far too shocked to speak, his eyes contradicting to what his brain had already committed to memory as solid fact.

And then, almost alarmingly to the four of us, the Riolu spoke again.

"You know, even though the only thing keeping me from you four is this door between us, I can still clearly hear what you four are saying, as well as sense what you're doing." The Riolu noted, well aware of our choice of actions. "And if I can just make a recommendation to you four, may you avert your Aura Vision eyes on me and please open the door? After all, I've waited much too long to see my old friend Lucario again."

That last sentence that the Riolu said was more than enough to snap Xeno's concentration on his Aura Vision ability. He knew now, without question, just who this Riolu is.

"(I don't believe it,)" Xeno pondered, feeling his body growing numb and unresponsive. "(That's…'Tiny' Riolu behind that door. It's unmistakable to me now.)"

Both of my brothers and I looked at each other after having read Riolu's respective aura signature. The three of us nodded to each other, confirming that we didn't sense anything hostile from this enigmatic Pokémon visitor. My brothers disengaged our Aura Vision abilities, and I repositioned my eye patch over my left eye once again.

I walked back over towards the door, made sure that the locks on it were disabled, gripped the handle tightly, and opened the door inward.

And before our normal eyes, we saw standing at the entrance what our Aura Vision abilities already confirmed for us earlier.

"Thank you," Tiny said flatly, stepping inside and entering my village domicile before I closed the door behind it.

Once inside, Tiny Riolu took a moment to eye us in better detail. Its ruby red eyes first trained themselves over towards my brothers, reading their characters in better detail. My brothers looked at this Emanation Pokémon visitor as well, unsure as what to make of this Pokémon's unexpected arrival or presence.

"(It's hard to believe that these two humans possess considerably great aura power, and have learned so much in a relatively short amount of time.)" Tiny pondered to itself. "(They should count themselves blessed to have my old friend happily teach them what it already knows about aura, which wouldn't be possible if I didn't teach Lucario the basis of what it already knows.)"

Tiny then directed its crimson gaze my way, and did its best to remain calm and composed by what it sensed emanating from me.

"(You on the other hand, you're an entirely different story.)" Tiny began to think. "(You effortlessly wield your overwhelmingly vast aura in such a way that a Pokémon would brandish their respective Type Attributes. I never would've thought it possible to do so through aura alone. And in addition to that, you're able to transmogrify into that scaly monstrosity of a dragon, increasing your power exponentially further. And quite honestly, I don't think you really need Lucario's training. You're already frighteningly powerful as it is, enough that I'd believe you'd easily hold your own against most Pokémon, maybe even certain Legendary Pokémon. I've seen what you're capable of when you clashed with Lucario, especially when you were forced to set aside your personal feelings for it. Still, you've learned new skills and techniques from Xeno's training, which is a good thing for the sake of moving you one step closer in preventing the Void of the Dark One.)"

Both of my brothers and I stared on at Tiny's eyes as well when it was staring at our own eyes. We could tell that Tiny wasn't glaring us antagonistically or spitefully in any form. Tiny just glared on at us as a child would to an adult, with respect and in an attempt to make cognitive sense of the towering individual.

Believing that it has waited long enough for this moment, Tiny Riolu didn't waste any more time when it came to Xeno Lucario. The Emanation Pokémon slowly approached the Aura Pokémon, which is the Pokémon that Tiny Riolu has suppressed the physical desire to evolve into…for personal reasons.

And once Tiny was only a few feet from the Aura Pokémon, its neck already tilted at an acute angle in order to properly see the four of us, Tiny stopped directly in front of Xeno, unsurprised by Xeno's disbelief at its existence.

Xeno, losing most of the feeling within his legs, quickly collapsed onto his knees before Tiny, and continued seeing the Pokémon with bulging, tearing red eyes—alongside shallow and irregular breaths—at a more median level of height.

Destiny's Union/Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep & 358/2 Days OST/Yoko Shimomura

(Song Begins)

"I bet you think I'm some sort of optical apparition that's standing before you today, don't you?" Tiny began speaking to one of its eldest friends.

"" Xeno nodded ever so slightly to Tiny Riolu, never blinking or looking away at the Emanation Pokémon's face, even though his tears were slowly clouding his eyes.

"Personally, I don't find that at all surprising." Tiny admitted straightforwardly. "But what I do know is that you find the fact that I'm aliveand well surprising, am I right?"

With great mental effort against the combating, conflicting messages and established facts within his mind, Xeno responded to its "deceased" friend.

"I…I…I watched you…you and Sceptile…"

"I know…" Tiny lamented and recollected on its final day. "I was there…protecting our good friend Sceptile against those Team Rocket Grunts with all of my strength. But it wasn't enough, not even close, especially against that Koffing and Weezing kamikaze mob. They engulfed us, detonated, and sent the two of us flying, causing our entire bodies to bitterly taste Hellfire itself."

Xeno quietly listened on at Tiny's soliloquy, his body growing unsettling numb from this present situation, his mind barely remembering Xeno to blink his gaping eyes, to the point where he couldn't feel the warmth of his tears roll down the fur and flesh of his cheeks and soak into the excessive fur over his thighs.

Both Costas and Ian listened on at this as well, feeling sadness swell within them as well. I on the other hand, kept firm on my emotions, and presently didn't let them get in the way of my assessment on what Tiny was saying, because I noticed some unusual notes at what it was saying.

"(I wonder how Tiny knows that those human criminals were Team Rocket Grunts…)" I contemplated as I listened attentively to Tiny Riolu.

"I'm sure Sceptile explained to you already its side of that requiem, right?" Tiny continued. "Sceptile explained to you how the Koffing and Weezing EXPLOSION knocked us back in a conflagration shockwave, how it lost its right arm and received burns all over its body. It also explained to you how I got injured just like Sceptile, but lost my right leg and the tip of my tail as well, and then shortly died in its remaining left arm, right?"

Hearing those grim memories being spoken by the victim itself of that heinous action by Team Rocket was too much for Xeno's emotions to bear. In hearing them, Xeno's heart began to swell unnaturally with rising levels of guilt, at actions that it wanted to enact successfully that day—actions that would've eternally changed the course of its life—but were sadly unsuccessful.

"I…I wasn't able… (*sniff*)" The Aura Pokémon's telepathic voice shattered like cheap glass from his self-inflicted fault. "I wasn't able to (*sniff*)…to save you that day! I was too weak! I…I waited too long…and acted out too late!"

Before the eyes of Tiny—of Costas, Ian, and I—, Xeno Lucario had completely broken down emotionally, and then physically. The upper half of his body collapsed before Tiny Riolu's feet. His tears, nasal mucus, and salivary fluids dripping down onto the floor that his face was now pressed on. He sobbed uncontrollably, loudly, and in a surplus.

To all four of us who watched on at Xeno's erupting sorrow, we've never seen this side of him before, and never expected this from him, not even Tiny. The four of us felt his pain, Costas and Ian growing teary-eyed at this, and Tiny stared on at this with calm composure and sympathy for the Aura Pokémon.

Even I felt sadness for him, but I was still focused and thinking at what Tiny was saying.

"(How does Tiny know that Sceptile spoke to Xeno about that fateful day?)" I pondered, never letting my eye glance away from Tiny and Xeno, and never redirecting my ears from them either.

Tiny continued speaking, despite Xeno's emotional overflow.

"…Lucario? No, wait, that name's not accurate anymore. It's Xeno Lucario now. You've been referring to that addition to your identity ever since Team Rocket forever altered your future."

Xeno Lucario still heard Tiny Riolu speaking to him, but he was too busy crying by its small feet to respond. He knew that he was sobbing enough to the point where it was difficult to speak telepathically to it. And even if he wanted to continue speaking to Tiny, it would just come out as a garbled, punctual mess. It was like trying to hear the sagacious, deep voice of an adult through the words squeezed out of an emotionally-stricken toddler. The thought of that alone was somewhat unsettling.

But before he could say anything to Tiny, his numbing nerves felt the gentleness of both of Tiny's forepaws being placed on his shoulders. And with its impressive strength, in comparison to the size and weight of its body, Tiny brought Xeno back in a more upright body posture, though still kneeling from a lack of feeling to his legs. Xeno's head was still tilted down, his tears dripping away as he continued to weep and whimper, the fur and skin of his face dampening and reddening further and further. Tiny merely put a paw on Xeno's chin and raised his head so that he could see Xeno's drenched face more clearly. And in order to see him straight in the eye, he caringly wiped away Xeno's tears from his eyes.

"Xeno Lucario…" Tiny continued solemnly, his face full of understanding and free of even the slightest signs of spite towards Xeno's failed course of actions on that day. "You shouldn't mourn over what happened that day. You shouldn't mourn over my death any longer than you already are."

"" Xeno listened on, his emotions showing pathetically mild sings of them beginning to stabilize. He continued to cry, though he began to put in the physical and mental effort to muzzle himself.

"After all, I'm physically standing before you today. I exist before you, to all six of your powerful senses, to your three human friends." Tiny continued, compassionately ogling the weeping Aura Pokémon. "And do you want to know why I'm able to?"

"" Xeno still abstained from speaking telepathically, and simply responded with a feeble nod.

"It's because I've been reborn."

The five total eyes of my brothers and I widened upon hearing Tiny use such a specific word to its existence as "reborn".

"What occurred to you that day shouldn't be a day that scars you. It should be a day that you can recollect on fondly now. And do you know why, Xeno Lucario?"

Xeno was still too shaken to think rationally. He merely shook his head ever so slightly to Tiny, waiting for it to answer its own question.

"It's because that day marked the beginning of your destiny, a stepping stone against the Void of the Dark One. In Team Rocket—as antagonistic and malicious as that human organization is—, you met new Pokémon, Pokémon that have become lifelong partners and comrades to you, Pokémon that you can trust, Pokémon that you hope to see again someday, once you fulfill your destiny. You've grown exponentially stronger, in ways that neither Sceptile nor I could ever show you, or you yourself have ever learned in our former forest abode. You've liberated hundreds of Pokémon and selflessly trained alongside them, strengthening them and reducing their risk of a repeat capture against malicious hands. You've even visited Spear Pillar, and have crossed over to this parallel Earth through the combined power of Dialga, Giratina, and Palkia, in order to fulfill your destiny."

Before Xeno could respond in any way to this, Tiny moved in closer to Xeno, shifting its small body slightly towards Xeno's left side, evading his protruding chest spike and moving in for a much-needed hug. Tiny's feet climbed on Xeno's soggy lap, and its arms clung tightly onto Xeno's back. Xeno himself embraced Tiny Riolu back, holding absolutely no emotions back at Tiny's actions, for he knew that it's been a hyperbolical eternity since he last embraced his very first friend in the first hours of his life.

"You also shouldn't mourn over that day anymore because, as you know, Sceptile survived the explosion. Yes, it became scarred and disfigured from that day, but that didn't matter to you when you reacquainted yourself with it. And as you learned not too long ago, I'm alive and well, reborn as I was before that day. I'm here right now, after such a long period of time, standing before you, speaking to you, comforting you, hugging you, making sure that you haven't forgotten me and still remember me fondly, and reassuring you that you're not to blame for my death."

"" Xeno sobbed silently into Tiny's left shoulder, knowing that Tiny spoke the truth, and embracing the truth as tightly as Tiny itself.

"I could never be angry at you for what happened to me that day. You know that I love you with all of my heart. And you know now that I still love you, because I'm personally here, telling you about that. I love you just as much as you love your Pokémon comrades, all twelve of them. Even Absol, who has repented and let go of its past and joined your side shortly after Sceptile did."

Tiny hugged Xeno Lucario all the more tighter. And it even began to cry on Xeno's shoulders as well, the emotions of their reunion, after so many years apart, proving too much to suppress and keep buried.

"I love you…Xeno."

"I (*sniff*)…I love you too…Tiny." Xeno said, his telepathic voice still quivering from his present emotions. "I always have…ever since the day that I was born… Ever since you and Sceptile…first found me and adopted me…into your family…into your lives."

Before the ears of my brothers and I, we heard nothing more from them that they were saying, nothing more that needed talking about. All we heard from them was tearful bliss, dripping euphoria, liquid happiness. All we saw from them was a much-needed assurance that reached both of them to their cores, in the form of an embrace that only lasted as long as it needed to between them.

We merely watched on, knowing that we didn't have any part in this, but still feeling the strong emotions emanating from this unexpected reunion. My brothers could feel their eyes water, crying over this spontaneous miracle

I did so as well, though I also felt my eye patch begin to sponge away my tears instead of letting them roll down my cheek.

(Song Ends)

Eventually though, after what acceptingly felt like an eternity between Tiny Riolu and Xeno Lucario—when in reality it was about a few minutes to Costas, Ian, and I—, their physical embrace disbanded. Tiny removed himself from Xeno and stepped off of his lap, allowing the Aura Pokémon to rise back on his feet, now that his basic physical senses have reset. Both of them wiped away the tears from their eyes with their paws—Xeno naturally being careful to not poke his eyes with his protruding paw spikes.

Once their emotions have quelled, Tiny Riolu turned its attention over to me.

"I already know what you're about to inquire me." Tiny speculated. "You're going to question me on my present existence before you, before the four of you, as well as how I know about those events involving Xeno Lucario, even though I had long since perished before then."

Unanimously, the four of us nodded in response to Tiny's speculation.

"I thought so, and I didn't even need to read your minds to know that."


(Tiny Riolu's Flashback)

Requiem ~To Those Who Meet Their End~/Dragon Ball Kai: Original Soundtrack/Kenji Yamamoto

(Song Begins)

Sceptile, with its remaining left hand, gently picked Tiny up, being very careful—as well as having considerable difficulty—not to touch any area of its body that was burned by the spontaneous inferno. Being equally as careful, it had the critically marred Emanation Pokémon rest on the top of its arm, superseding Tiny's condition over its own.

"Tiny…are you alright?"

Tiny's eyes were simply closed, its face cadaverous and its entire body dripping of blood, a worrying sign indeed for the Forest Pokémon, because it could feel the blood running down its left arm. It felt, much to its growing apprehension, colder than usual.

With more concern, Sceptile worryingly shakes Tiny's body, hoping for an answer, and temporarily absent of Tiny's physical state of being. "Answer me, please!"

Tiny's eyes opened, albeit with a despondent, hollow look in its countenance. "I can't tell you…how much pain…I'm in right now." Tiny spoke softly, straining itself just to speak.

Sceptile instinctively reached for a seed-like nodule that grew on its back, utilizing PSYCHIC instead of its remaining left arm—because Tiny was occupied by its arm. Its eyes temporarily flashed blue and it had one of its seed-like nodules plucked from its back and hovered before its eyes.

Much to Sceptile's disappointment, the explosion that Sceptile endured also targeted the seed-like nodules, leaving them burned to a crisp, rendering them useless. The Forest Pokémon simply threw this piece of itself away, where it crumbled into ash upon hitting the dirt.

As a substitute—a poor one to say the least—, Sceptile asks of Tiny's current condition.

"How are you holding up, Tiny?"

"…Had better days…" Tiny mumbled, hardly able to smile from the burns inflicted onto its face, before noticing what remained of Sceptile's right arm. "…You…?"

Tiny's response almost brought tears to its eyes. "I've had worse," Sceptile lied, concealing its growing emotional pain to the best of its ability.

"…Okay…" Tiny said incoherently, hardly caring if Sceptile lied or not.

"(*Sniff*)" Sceptile's eyes began to water, knowing well enough that Tiny's condition was already causing the Emanation Pokémon to falter physically.

"…Where's…Lucario…?" Tiny wondered, feebly rolling its eyes around itself.

"I'm not sure," Sceptile speculated. "It was in the explosion when trying to save us both. I honestly don't know if Lucario survived."

"…And…Wanderer…?"

Sceptile honestly had no idea of Wanderer's current situation, so it had this to say.

"Wanderer might've been targeted by those people that attacked us." Sceptile never knew that it was beginning to cry. It was too focused on Tiny's wellbeing, which in turn was causing an emotional overflow within itself.

Tiny didn't seem to show any obvious interest in either Lucario's or Wanderer's current condition. It didn't seem concerned if they were alive or not. All that it knew was that its time here was numbered.

Tiny looked at the sky, for as long as its vision allowed it to, forming a small smile in the process.

Sceptile worried for its life, believing that Tiny will die momentarily. It seemed—quite literally—painfully obvious that Tiny's injuries were too great for it to cope with.

"…My fallen friends…I can see them…reaching out to me…" Tiny mumbled while reaching for the sky with its left paw, waiting for them to hoist it up.

Sceptile, out of confusion, looked at the blue sky above it, noticing nothing of relevance. The only thing that looking at the sky did for the Forest Pokémon was help it realize that Tiny was blood-starved to the point of hallucination.

"I'm coming…guys…" Tiny said before its left arm went limp.

Sceptile looks back at Tiny, seeing how its eyes are closed and its left arm is lifeless. Sceptile attempts to get its attention once more by shaking it mildly, only to realize that Tiny passed away in its arm.

A few of Sceptile's tears dripped down from its eyes and fell on top of the face of the Emanation Pokémon, once it knew for certain that one of its longtime friends had died.

(Song Ends)


(End of Tiny Riolu's Flashback)

34.3: Chosen by the Original One

Location: ?

Date: ?

Time: ?

A Time Eternal/Final Fantasy Tactics A2 - The Sealed Grimoire Original Soundtrack/Hitoshi Sakimoto

(Song Begins)

In one moment, Tiny was cradled in Sceptile's remaining left arm, and remembered hallucinating its former Riolu comrades reaching out towards it, as though they were pulling it towards Heaven. It had sustained the worst injuries that it had ever acquired in its life, burns, mutilations, and hemorrhaging in surplus.

But now, after passing away from that physical world, the next thing Tiny Riolu knew, it was in the middle of nowhere. It hovered about, a detached spirit away from its deceased body, amongst an open sea of white as far as the eye can see. It could no longer smell, taste, or touch as its soul drifted. It could only see this blank canvas of an ethereal realm for what it was, and listen on to what sounded like a gentle breeze blowing by—which perhaps was the sound that its spirit made as it wandered about this realm like dust in the wind.

"(Is this…what the afterlife is like…?)" Tiny pondered to itself, feeling its thoughts echo within this hollow plain. "(If it is…it's so…empty.)"

Tiny continued to hover aimlessly within this realm, nothing to do and with little to think of as well. It quickly lost its sense of time here, alongside the urge to eat and sleep—both of which were no longer necessary without a body to supplement. And as an untraceable amount of time past before Tiny, it was nearing the point where it was losing its mind of both its constitution and its memories, due to the nothingness occurring within here.

But before it felt as though it was reaching that point, Tiny eventually saw something standalone within this realm, something that quickly caught its attention.

It was the sight of other Pokémon spirits, filling this realm with their presence.

All around the Emanation Pokémon, it could see Pokémon collecting themselves within this blank dimension. It could see dozens, then hundreds, then thousands, then millions, then billions, even trillions of other Pokémon within this realm, for the exact same reason that Tiny had just undergone: abandoning their bodies through death.

All of these Pokémon, of different shapes, sizes, habitat preferences, and Type Attributes, hovered on as aimlessly as Tiny Riolu. Some of these Pokémon were completely foreign to Tiny, while others appeared nostalgically familiar. Some of these Pokémon resembled its friends that it left behind when it died, but Tiny knew that they weren't actually them. It still remembered its friends quite vividly, and knew that they possessed certain attributes, certain physical distinctions, that made them stand out slightly amongst their own race.

Luckily for Tiny, its inner sanity was retained as it finally found something to do to pass the time within this limitless void. It counted each and every single Pokémon that it saw before its eyes. And although Tiny could never count every single Pokémon within the area, out of the actual number of Pokémon within this vicinity—they constantly hovered about before Tiny's eyes—, they provided sufficient enough activity for the little Emanation Pokémon.

Though as an unclassifiable amount of time continued to roll on, it noticed that many of the Pokémon suddenly disappeared from this hollow realm, by the thousands per what vaguely felt like a second within here. For Tiny, it became slightly easier and easier to track the Pokémon that it shared this dimension with.

However, as more time went on, and as more Pokémon faded away from existence, Tiny quickly realized that its little hobby was growing more and more useless, until it became entirely useless when there were no more Pokémon to count within here.

No more Pokémon, except for itself, as one Pokémon that was once again alone within this world.

(Song Ends)

But before Tiny could even ponder its loneliness within this world...

"…Tiny…"

…It began to hear a voice within this world…

"…Tiny…"

…A voice that was calling out to the Emanation Pokémon.

"…Tiny… Where are you…?"

Tiny Riolu listened closely at this voice, hearing its echoing omniscience around this dimension. At first, it sounded like a faint echo within this dimension, but in time grew louder as the voice repeated itself.

"Where are you, Tiny?"

The voice sounded so authoritative, imposing, as though the entity that it belonged to possessed a considerable amount of experience in leadership. And even though the voice was targeted towards Tiny and Tiny alone, Tiny felt no fear towards it, and it wouldn't feel fear towards this voice, towards the entity that this voice belonged to, not even if Tiny was physically alive or not. The reason for this was because, underneath that layer of control that the voice possessed, Tiny sensed genuine gentleness and even welcoming parenthood within the voice.

Accepting this detail as fact, Tiny listened on at the voice again, waiting for it to echo about once more.

"Where are you, Tiny Riolu?"

And when the voice did echo again and Tiny heard the voice of the entity searching for it, Tiny's response was loud and clear.

"I'm right here! Over here!"

Tiny listened on again, waiting for a response by the entity wishing to contact it. But after about ten seconds of listening on, there was no audible response whatsoever.

Tiny was about to speak out again, in an attempt to contact this entity once again. However, just as it was about to open its mouth.

clop…clop… …clop…clop… …clop…clop…

Tiny could begin to hear the faint echoing of galloping footsteps in the far off distance.

Bridge of Immortality/The Matrix Revolutions Extended OST/Don Davis

(Song Begins)

Clop…clop… …Clop…clop… …Clop…clop…

They grew incrementally louder as time went on, much easier for Tiny to listen on to. And when it was able to listen to these footsteps in the distance, Tiny could pinpoint the location of the entity. To Tiny, it sounded as though the entity was approaching it from its front.

Clop clop... Clop clop... Clop clop...

Within a relatively short amount of time, Tiny eventually noticed a small speck that stood out within this void of virtual nothingness. The speck, Tiny believed, was actually the entity that attempted to make contact with Tiny, which is why Tiny no longer heard the entity's voice after it shouted out in response to it. Tiny watched on at the speck as it slowly began to grow closer to its field of vision, allowing the Emanation Pokémon to catch a better glimpse of it.

Clop clop… Clop clop… Clop clop…

Louder and closer the entity made itself before Tiny Riolu. In doing so, Tiny could begin to identify the distinct physical features about this entity.

Tiny saw that the entity was mostly white in appearance, with a gray, vertically-striated underside. It walked like an equine, with four pointed feet, each of them tipped with gold-colored hooves. It possessed a long mane, which stood pointed above and away behind Its head. Its face, alongside Its mane, is gray in color as well. It has green eyes and red pupils, as well as a green circular pattern below each eye. It possessed no mouth on Its face, and a streak of gold coloration on the center of Its forehead, directly between two ear-like structures that point upward. Its neck is significantly long as well, possessing two pairs of outward-pointing extrusions to the side, and a flap-like projection on the underside as well. The pattern of striated gray that It possesses on Its underbelly stops and resumes past Its waistline, stretching into the underside of Its limbs, and stopping near the upward-pointing extrusions on each of Its legs. Its tail is shaped much like Its own mane, and possesses a similar coloration as well.

Clop clop. Clop clop. Clop clop.

But perhaps the most distinct feature of this entity is the golden, cruciate wheel attached to the center of Its body, wreathing Its round abdomen. On each of the four ends of this "wheel", it has jewel-like structured on them.

At first, Tiny Riolu didn't know what to make of this individual, never seeing anything like It before in its life. But once this entity stopped directly in front of the Emanation Pokémon and stared on at it with Its piercing green sclera, Tiny sensed an overwhelming aura emanating from this being. This aura, before Tiny's sixth sense at analyzing it, didn't come off to the Emanation Pokémon as intimidating or hostile. That couldn't have been any farther from the truth.

This aura came out to Tiny as godly.

And upon that realization, Tiny Riolu looked up at this entity, knowing now the identity of It.

"…Arceus?" Tiny said to the towering entity.

"I am," It responded back, with a small nod.

(National Pokédex Entry #493: Arceus, the Alpha Pokémon. It is a Normal-Type Pokémon that measures in at 10' 06" and weighs in at 705.5 lbs. It is described in mythology as the Pokémon that shaped the universe with its 1,000 arms. It is told in mythology that this Pokémon was born before the universe even existed. It is said to have emerged from an egg in a place where there was nothing, then shaped the world. Unquestionably, this is why people have christened this holy Pokémon with the title "The Original One".)

Tiny didn't know what to make of this, of having the Alpha Pokémon standing before it, within this realm.

(Song Ends)

"What are you doing here?" Tiny asked the Original One. "How did you get here?"

Rather than answer Tiny's question with a direct answer, Arceus felt it necessary to digress from that topic, for a moment anyway.

"Do you even know what 'here' is?"

Tiny, taking a brief moment to scan its surroundings, had this to say to Arceus.

"It just looks like a realm of nothingness, Arc—I mean, Your…Originality." Tiny said with formality towards a Pokémon of a higher status than itself. "Before You appeared, there was an uncountable amount of Pokémon within here, not too long ago. Or maybe it was a long time ago for all that I know. I don't know how much time has passed here actually."

"I can understand that," Arceus said with a tender tone of voice. "Without a constant day and night cycle within this place, time just invisibly slides by within here, piercing our bodies without causing physical harm, much like how Ghost-Type Pokémon would phase though walls."

"Do You know where we are?" Tiny questioned the Alpha Pokémon.

"As a matter of fact, I do." Arceus responded back.

Tiny remained respectively silent towards the Original One and listened on at what it was about to hear.

"This is a realm distinct from the physical world, from the realms of time and space, from the Distortion World, My own world, and most of any other world. Within this blank zone, Pokémon only exist in spirit, after their respective bodies have expired. How their bodies have ceased could've been caused by virtually uncountable situations. They could've ended from age or from disease or from injury. Nevertheless, they all share the same end, the same end titled through that timeless, five-letter word that cements fear into the hearts of many of those that hear its utterance."

"Death?" Tiny believed.

"Yes…death." Arceus nodded at the little Emanation Pokémon.

Tiny then took a bit of a moment ponder its situation.

"So if I'm dead…" Tiny began, the weight of its present state completely nonexistent to it. "Then…what is this place? Is it Heaven? Is it…Hell?"

"It's purgatory." Arceus answers Tiny's questions. "All Pokémon are brought into this world after they die and reside within here, within this colorless, limitless abyss. All of those Pokémon drift on within here, until time erases their minds entirely clean. And once they themselves know not of their past, or even their present within this hollow place, they're expelled from here and reincarnated into the physical world, sometimes as the same Pokémon or as an entirely different Pokémon. They are resurrected under a clean slate, reset and ready to begin anew once again, and so on and so on until time indefinite."

"So why are You here?" Tiny wondered. "Did You…die?"

Arceus merely shook its head at this basic assumption. "No, I'm not dead. I just possess the power to cross over into other worlds and other dimensions at will."

Upon hearing that, Tiny was beginning to make some connections.

"Are You here…because of me?"

"Yes I am." Arceus confirmed Tiny's suspicions. "And I should count myself fortunate that I'm standing beside you, before the properties of this world have altered you irreversibly."

Tiny remembered earlier, as it was floating aimlessly within here, how it was beginning to feel its own mind empty of its experiences and memories of its entire life. And upon looking back on that, Tiny realized just how unfortunate that would've been to itself personally.

"I don't want to be reborn anew. I held onto too much of importance before I died, my memories of Lucario, Sceptile, and Wanderer. I don't want to part with them."

If Arceus had a mouth, it would be warping its lips to give the Emanation Pokémon a comforting smile.

"I understand your wishes, Tiny Riolu. And that is what I am here for, to personally reincarnate you, with My own power, because I need you back alive as you already are."

Tiny didn't know how to properly react at what Arceus—the individual Pokémon that the entire Pokémon race have comfortably accepted as their God—wished for it, as well as what Arceus needed it for. And thankfully, its present curiosity on this event as a whole is what's presently occupying Tiny's attention, as well as its desire to continue to press on at the Alpha Pokémon for more specific information.

"You make it sound as though I hold some importance in Your eyes."

"Yes you do, and more than you know." Arceus responded truthfully, keeping nothing shrouded from Tiny's curiosity. "I entered this realm in order to locate you, because of your connection with your friend Xeno Lucario."

The mere mention of its friend Lucario was enough to raise Tiny's eyes on this whole subject, but not as much as the nickname that Arceus gave him.

"'Xeno' Lucario? Are You sure You're referring to the same Lucario that I know and love?"

"I'm as sure of that as I am about you being 'Tiny' Riolu." Arceus said.

"Yeah, but…Lucario doesn't have a nickname."

Arceus expected this response from the Emanation Pokémon.

"You've been hovering about within this realm for a considerable amount of time." Arceus stated. "Your knowledge over your friends is naturally outdated."

Tiny would've taken that as a small insult, were it not for the fact that it was entirely true. And even though it didn't quite know how long it has been roaming about within this realm, it knew that Arceus knew information that it wanted to learn about.

"You obviously know more about my friend than I do right now." Tiny speculated. "So based on your present knowledge of Xeno, what has it been doing lately? And not just Lucario, but I also wish to know how my friends Sceptile and Wanderer are doing as well."

Arceus understood Tiny's natural curiosity on that subject, and was willing to feed Tiny's hunger for current knowledge.

"There's much more to the Pokémon that you founded, befriended, and trained, back when it was still a Riolu hatchling. Xeno Lucario—as it now refers itself to this day—is what few Pokémon, Myself included, have confirmed to be the Pokémon of Prophecy. This particular Pokémon, as is inscribed on Spear Pillar by the Language of the Unown, is a Pokémon that will rival My power, will unlock the true potential of other Pokémon, and will hopefully prevent the Void of the Dark One."

Tiny didn't know how to respond to this new information, this sudden information that shed new light on the Lucario that it and Sceptile adopted into their family. So instead of confusing itself with this new information, it desired to digress into a topic that would be much easier for it to accept.

"And what about Sceptile and Wanderer? How are they doing?"

"They are both alive and well, and presently alongside the Pokémon of Prophecy."

Tiny felt relieved to hear that its three closest friends were still well after its departure.

"And what I've just told you right now, I haven't even scratched the surface of what has occurred to your friend after your death."

Before Tiny's eyes, Arceus lifted one of Its forelegs and held Its foot out towards the Emanation Pokémon, wanting Tiny Riolu to hold onto It.

"I'll explain everything that I know, everything that you want to know about what I've just told you. But before I do so, I must revive you and take you out of limbo. Hold onto My leg firmly, and you will be reborn anew. And I mean firmly, because I'm not exactly willing to spend any more years searching for you within this place again."

The word "years" caused Tiny's eyes to widen in alarm.

"Have I really been in here for that long?"

Arceus merely nodded.

"And you've been spending…all of that time…searching for me?"

"Yes, but not every waking moment, if that's what you're thinking."

Tiny felt itself coming close to bursting into tears at how selfless Arceus was in person.

"Thank you…for bringing me back."

"You're welcome, though you're a bit premature in thanking Me, as I have yet to reincarnate you."

"Oh, right."

Without a moment to waste, Tiny Riolu gripped onto the lifted leg of the Original One, finding it mildly bizarre how it is unable to feel Arceus's flesh, despite the fact that it is so plainly holding onto Its leg. Because of this, Tiny could only speculate its grip on the Alpha Pokémon, and concentrated heavily on holding on as though its life depended on it—which in reality, it did.

Once Arceus knew that Tiny held onto Its leg, The Alpha Pokémon concentrated its power into transporting both itself and the Emanation Pokémon out of this white void, while simultaneously restoring Tiny's normal flesh and blood.

The results of Arceus's concentration was a brilliant, engulfing white light, whiter than the blankness of their present setting, and bright enough to prove blinding to Tiny, to the point where it shielded its eyes with its other arm.

And once this flash of light faded away, neither Arceus nor Tiny Riolu were anywhere in sight.


34.4: Coadjutor of the Pokémon of Prophecy

Location: Hall of Origin

Date: ?

Time: ?

Dearly Dreams/Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep & 358/2 Days OST/Yoko Shimomura

(Song Begins)

The next thing that Tiny knew, the overall background scenery of its surroundings changed, once Arceus's great display of power had ceased, and its eyes no longer reacted sensitively to the blinding light. When Tiny's eyes opened once more, it was immediately taken aback by its new settings.

As far as the eye can see, Tiny Riolu saw the entirety of outer space, and all of its marvels. Within the circumference of its vision, Tiny saw thousands of glimmering stars, from deceased black dwarfs to breathtakingly red super giants, most their lights shining radiantly across the blackness of space. Dozens of revolving planets, embodied with earth, rock, or gas, decorated many of their respective stars and revolved around each of them in simple harmony. Hundreds of tailed comets, frigid and elongated bodies of ice and rock, traveled near and far across the cosmos, transcending across the stars and planets. A few revolving black holes, a collection of distant galaxies, and a handful of gaseous nebulas also marked their presence here, their sheer shapes and natures proving mildly intimidating to the Emanation Pokémon. But not before the sheer celestial beauty and magnificence of all of these cosmic bodies overwhelmed all of Tiny's senses.

…Tiny's senses?

At first, Tiny was temporarily distracted and unable to take a moment to realize the entirety of Arceus's revival of its being. Not until it focused its attention on the subject did Tiny realize how it resided physically within this new dimension.

Firstly, Tiny could plainly feel the grip it had over the leg of the Alpha Pokémon. Its grip was vice-like, as though its paw mimicked a Kingler's pincer, clamping down on its prey.

Almost immediately, Tiny Riolu removed its grip on the Alpha Pokémon—whom didn't appear to mind Tiny's paw strength. And the next thing that Tiny realized was the fact that both it and Arceus were standing on this plane, on nonexistent terra firma, on ground that possessed similar extraterrestrial background as the overall area.

And despite what this deep space area depicted, there was fresh air aplenty to breathe. Tiny knew this when it took notice of the unconscious act of inhaling and exhaling, how it felt across its chest to have its ribcage, its lungs, and its diaphragm work synchronously at providing its body with fresh oxygen.

"(I can't believe how after all that time in purgatory, I would miss the most basic aspects of physicality.)" Tiny pondered euphorically.

During this time, Arceus was looking down at the Pokémon that was only slightly taller than Its own knees. The Original One could effortlessly sense Tiny's surprise at the cosmic theme of this habitable dimension.

"Breathtaking, isn't it?" Arceus asked the Emanation Pokémon.

Tiny slowly walked forward and away from the Alpha Pokémon. It continued staring on, unable to blink, at what the night sky could never display to the Pokémon on Earth. It walked over towards the nearest hovering star and held it briefly in the center of its palm, astonished at how the size of itself and Arceus are drastically scaled up within this dimension.

"If there wasn't any air in here, then it would truly be…" Tiny said, its disbelief quite clear in its present tone of voice.

"This is where I live, in the Hall of Origin." Arceus explained. "I manufactured this domain with My thousand arms, after being born into nothingness and then creating what you, what all Pokémon, and what humanity know as the physical realm."

Tiny already was made unable to blink at the sheer scale of this place, and turned around to face Arceus once again, nowhere near able to comprehend the scale of Its power within its mind.

"I reside here, alongside other selected Pokémon and individuals, and observe the cosmos through the palpable and three-dimensional topography of this realm."

With Tiny watching on—and remembering to blink every once in a while—, it saw Arceus proceed over towards one of the dozens of solar systems presently viewable within the Hall of Origin. It saw stars and comets pass by before the majestic being of the Alpha Pokémon, as It clopped its way over towards Its destination.

Once there, It stopped at the solar system that revolved directly by Its long neck. It ogled the star—the Sun—that resided in the center of its eight respective revolving planets: Mercury, Venus Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. And with Its TELEKINESIS, the Original One mentally locked onto the Earth planet, picked it out of its interstellar orbit, and had it revolve around Its head, just as Arceus was proceeding over towards Tiny. And once before Tiny, Arceus maneuvered the small, handheld planet Earth directly in front of the Emanation Pokémon.

"Take this Earth replica, for example."

With nothing more than a gentle tap on it with Its hoof, the tellurian facsimile spontaneously expanded into multiple times its original size, stopping once it was about six feet in diameter, a perfect average of size difference between the two-foot-tall Emanation Pokémon, and the ten-foot-tall Alpha Pokémon. Tiny recoiled slightly back at how quickly this Earth duplicate expanded in size, almost losing its balance in the process.

"Much like everything else within the Hall of Origin, this Earth is a perfect, portable representation of its original counterpart. And through this planetary reproduction, I'm able to observe the living activity of the earthbound populace."

Once Tiny stepped forward after reeling back, it ogled the planet Earth curiously, impressed at the sheer level of detail, of activity, of realism that the planet possessed. On the surface of the planet, the atmospheric layers—from the base troposphere to the apex thermosphere—were distinguishable by the concentration of air, as well as the cloud variations presently hovering on them. The seven continents and other landmasses scattered about appeared as perfectly roughed (forests and cities), as flattened (deserts and arctic tundra), and as arched (mountains and volcanoes) as what they were all representing. Even the oceanic waters were derived perfectly, displaying numerous currents and overhead hurricanes spiraling about in a stalwart tempest.

All in all, it was surreal of the Emanation Pokémon to be able to see its home planet Earth, in its entirety.

"It's almost a shame then that so few planets can actually support life." Arceus digressed. "...Well, from a universal perspective anyway."

Upon closer inspection of Earth's landmasses, Tiny Riolu noticed a few abnormal distinctions on them, on both the Sinnoh Region and the Unova Region. In Sinnoh, on Mt. Coronet's Spear Pillar, Tiny noticed a multitude of glimmering dots—twelve of them—clustered before three other glimmering dots—colored blue, gray, and purple. And in Unova, on Castelia City, two glowing dots—colored Blue and Red—were flying away from the massive city. Alongside this, a bright white light darted upward from Castelia City, at speeds exponentially faster than light, even when scaled properly to this Earth representation.

To Tiny, it was instantaneous, and it almost missed it when it blinked. And the other lights appeared unusual to Tiny, with virtually little meaning otherwise.

To Arceus however, It knew exactly what these shining dots represented, and knew that the appropriate measures should be taken to meet with the Pokémon that these dots represented.

So without warning, Arceus gently kicked the Earth replica, causing it to revert back down to its original state within the Hall of Origin. Then, the miniscule biosphere flew back into its original place, revolving around the Sun within its respective place in the solar system. Lastly, without warning to Tiny, Arceus bent Its head down to Tiny's level, startling the Emanation Pokémon somewhat, with a serious glare in Its eyes.

(Song Ends Abruptly)

"Tiny Riolu, what I'm about to tell you should in no ways be meant to alarm you, but is meant for your safekeeping."

"What is it?" Tiny asked, almost put off by Arceus's spontaneous behavior.

"The reason that I located you was because you hold a close connection with Xeno Lucario, the Pokémon of Prophecy. What this connection means to you—alongside the handful of other Pokémon that Xeno Lucario holds dear to its heart—is that you have been 'unlocked' by its power, and therefore are capable of greater power. In short, you have become—what I will henceforth call from this time and time onward—one of presently sixteen Coadjutors of the Pokémon of Prophecy."

"…I am?" Tiny said, bewildered by what it was hearing from the Alpha Pokémon.

"Yes." Arceus confirmed. "But unfortunately, there is a small price to pay because of your exclusive title."

Tiny merely raised an eyebrow at the Alpha Pokémon, not seeing a downside to this, but knows it will be told of one.

"With a potential for power far greater than you would ever normally reach, power that even I don't fully comprehend, you are a potential target for the Dark One. And because you are, in a sense, the newest Coadjutor of the Pokémon of Prophecy, you are the most vulnerable of Xeno Lucario's beloved comrades."

"What did you have in mind, for my safety?" Tiny inquired, already beginning to speculate what Arceus was about to say.

"We must remain here, within the Hall of Origin, where the Dark One has—to My confirmation—no ability of entering this dimension, and no knowledge of it in general. And within here, I will train you in all that I know, to the best of your ability in understanding My abilities and assimilating them into your own. As for Xeno Lucario, and all of its comrades, I've watched on closely from within here, observing their progress, trusting their growing strength and their aptitude to be able to perfectly ward off the Dark One and His nameless emissary, as a perfectly synchronized team consisting of all of those involved against this."

Through this conversation, Tiny was instantly thankful of being trained by the most powerful of Pokémon. But before it displayed its enthusiasm to the Alpha Pokémon, one key topic illuminated itself within its mind. This topic related to Tiny's imperative and logical reason for remaining here after being revived, but related to Arceus instead of itself.

"Why must You remain here?" Tiny's question came out audibly and succinctly to the Alpha Pokémon.

"" Arceus merely glared on at Tiny, unblinking in Its emerald sclera eyes.

"I understand why I must remain here, because you just told me. I'm much too weak and helpless against this 'Dark One' individual. But…why must you?"

"" Then again, Arceus doesn't have eyelids and can't blink, even if It wanted to.

"The only reason that I can see is that You're just as vulnerable as I am." Tiny hypothesized.

"" Arceus did look away from Tiny a few times though.

Based on Arceus's uncanny silence on this subject, Tiny knew that it was right on its speculation. It continued to glare on at the Alpha Pokémon, its eyes widening somewhat after this realization.

No longer needing a reason to hide this topic, Arceus felt it appropriate to display it. It lifted Its head back up, stepped back about ten paces, and then concentrated Its power into Its golden, cruciate arches.

Before Tiny's eyes, it saw Arceus's grandiose wheel emanate a bright white light, before that light stretched partially outward and dimmed, leaving behind one and only one elemental plate revolving around Its midsection. But before Tiny could catch a better glimpse of it, it dove back into Arceus's body and disappeared into Its abdomen.

"What was that all about?" Tiny asked.

"My source of power, My link to immortality, My life force..." Arceus listed. "Across time, people have referred to these seventeen elemental plates through different titles."

"'Seventeen'?" Tiny quoted. "But I only saw one."

"Yes, you did." Arceus confessed. "That plate in particular, the one that I just showed you, grants Me the overall power of Fairy-Type Pokémon. And outside of My Pixie Plate, My remaining sixteen elemental plates are scattered about the Sinnoh Region, which twelve of the Coadjutors of the Pokémon of Prophecy are about to seek. Those seventeen plates together bring Me to My full power, and just one of them keeps Me alive through immortality."

"And what happens if You don't have any elemental plates on you?" Tiny wondered.

The answer to this question was a grave one to Arceus, one that It understands too well, because It has experienced this possibility only a couple of times throughout Its life.

"I enter a comatose state, grow vulnerable, and temporarily lose My immortality." Arceus said somberly. "And it doesn't take a genius to know what can result from that."

"I see…" Tiny droned, understanding well enough what Arceus was referring to.

Arceus then recalled the Earth duplicate, as well as the shimmering lights that it displayed over Mt. Coronet's Spear Pillar. Without much of a warning to Tiny, Arceus used TELEKINESIS to hoist the Emanation Pokémon off of the ground, carry it across the air, and finally place it on Its back, directly between Its cruciate arches.

"I believe that's enough talking for now." Arceus said, just as It began to proceed forward across the Hall of Origin, is very footsteps echoing hollowly across the limitless, representative cosmos of this unique dimension.

"Where are we going?"

"We are going to begin our destinies, our roles, our parts against the Void of the Dark One." Arceus explained. "My Eon Pokémon emissaries should be returning soon, after their meeting with the Genetic Pokémon and the Hand Duo. And alongside them, My creations, the Deities of the Sinnoh Region will return, after speaking to those particular twelve Coadjutors of the Pokémon of Prophecy. Dialga, Giratina, and Palkia will have explained to Xeno Lucario's party of Pokémon My assignment in retrieving My scattered elemental plates across the Sinnoh Region, to return Me to My full power. Latias and Latios will have convinced Mewtwo to follow both Crazy Hand and Master Hand in joining their tournament, more importantly aiding the Genetic Pokémon in learning its purpose in life, and Mew will keep Mewtwo fellowship and guide it as well."

Tiny hardly understood whom Arceus was referring to for half of Its explanation, but knew that it would understand in time. Most importantly though, it had one thought in its mind, one lingering wish that it hopes is granted, after having grown a bit alongside the Original One.

"Will I ever see my friends again?" Tiny said with concern, a frail fragment of hopelessness in its tone of voice.

Upon hearing this, Arceus stopped in Its tracks, almost causing Tiny to lose its balance off of Arceus's back. The Alpha Pokémon found it unusual for Tiny to, not necessarily say such a question, but to say it with that solemn tone of voice.

Arceus turned Its head 180 degrees around to face the Emanation Pokémon, possessing a look of disbelief on Its countenance. A limited look of disbelief however, because It lacked eyelids, a mouth, or even the most basic facial muscles to help It represent Its own emotions towards others.

To Tiny however, it saw enough of what Arceus was presently feeling, through Its shimmering, jade eyes and radiating, ruby pupils.

"Why would you ask that question with that tone of voice? You should know that I will have you join Xeno Lucario again. It's not in My nature to deny these types of wishes of others, and I will see to it that yours is granted. But for now, the time is not yet right for that. You have very much to learn, much room for growth and improvement under My golden arches. For now, you must wait, for your safekeeping. And for now, we must play our parts against the Void of the Dark One, to prevent this frightening calamity from decimating all that we know and love."

"I understand," Tiny said, accepting Arceus's wisdom and protection to heart.

"That's good to hear."

Arceus turned Its head back forward and resumed Its march across the vastness of the Hall of Origin, watching on as distant stars and galaxies moved past Its being at scale speeds faster than that of the speed of light.

"On the upside, I can see this as a powerful motivation for my training alongside You." Tiny said optimistically. "And in time, if everything goes well, this motivation will eventually become a reward to me."

"" Arceus listened on at Tiny's positivity on this subject.

"I'll be sure to not let You down." Tiny explained to the Alpha Pokémon. "I will train alongside You with everything that I've got, even if my body collapses under exhaustion or injuries at times, even if I've had enough against You."

Even though Tiny couldn't presently see Arceus's face, the Alpha Pokémon was presently "smiling" at what It was hearing from the Emanation Pokémon.

"I believe…that this is the beginning of a stalwart friendship between the two of us."

Tiny smiled at hearing this, not knowing that it was smiling alongside Arceus as well.

"Yes… Yes, I'd very much enjoy that."


34.5: Your Next Objective

Location: Eduardo's House

Time: 1:57 PM

"And that pretty much summarizes what happened to me, right after I died." Tiny said. "I was revived by the Almighty Alpha Pokémon. It took me under Its golden arches and taught me a handful of abilities and techniques that It knew. And all throughout the assorted and strenuous challenges that Arceus threw my way, we've become close friends ever since."

Tiny then ogled Xeno Lucario, whom was much too busy imagining Tiny's words into actions that he could play within his mind.

The same could be said for Costas, Ian, and I.

"Over time, Arceus explained to me what the four of you have been presently doing, alongside the present sixteen Coadjutors of the Pokémon of Prophecy. The twelve of them that remained at Spear Pillar—Xeno's party of Pokémon—were given an assignment to locate the sixteen scattered elemental plates. Latias and Latios are presently aiding Arceus in reconnaissance, providing the Alpha Pokémon with a couple of extra pair of eyes to survey important landmarks, or act as envoys for Arceus's plans. Mewtwo is presently off on a different world altogether—alongside Crazy Hand, Master Hand, and Mew—on a self-journey in seeking its purpose in life. And as for the last of the present number of Coadjutors of the Pokémon of Prophecy, I'm here before the four of you, on important matters that the Original One instructed me to enact."

Once Tiny Riolu stopped speaking, the four of us took all of this information, this bolus of words fortified by undeniable facts, to heart.

For Xeno Lucario however, this information is quite literally a godsend, and it was spoken from the mouth of the very same Pokémon that he has long since regarded as deceased.

For starters, he knows now that Arceus Itself revived Tiny Riolu, and has taken it upon Itself to provide both hospitable shelter and necessary training to the Emanation Pokémon. The proof of that is Tiny's presence before him, before Costas, Ian, and I.

Second, through Tiny, he has learned of the present actions of his twelve Pokémon comrades, as well as of the Eon Pokémon duo that he has given his thanks to for aiding him when he needed it, and most importantly of the present whereabouts of his former Team Rocket ally Mewtwo.

Third, he now knows that Arceus Itself is involved in preventing the Void of the Dark One, alongside all of his friends back home, whom he now knows will join him when the time is right. He knows that Arceus is acting as the watchful eye to their overall progress, though very unlikely as their protector, due to Its presently diminished strength.

And despite this much-needed information provided to them, there was just one last thing on Xeno's mind that was bothering him, a question that he needed to ask Tiny.

But before he could say what was on his mind, I beat him to the punch.

"Why exactly are you here?" I asked the Emanation Pokémon.

Tiny simply smiled at this, because now it wouldn't be giving the four of us information about its past or the present, but now of the future.

"Well firstly, my visit here is temporary, under Arceus's orders. Once I've finished my part here, I'll be taking my leave and returning back into Its respective dimension at the Hall of Origin."

For a brief moment, Xeno felt mild grief upon hearing Tiny say that. Thankfully, that moment quickly disappeared, almost as instantly as it appeared, because he now knows of Tiny's wellbeing and is content with knowing that his favorite Emanation Pokémon breathes again.

Breathing in and out once in order to gather its mind, Tiny began to explain its reason for being here.

"Now, as you four already know through my earlier back story, Arceus and I have been observing the four of you grow in strength, ever since that day where Eduardo first met Xeno and rescued it from that Roman Emperor Nero's shackles."

Both Xeno and I temporarily looked at each other and smiled at this fact, the memories of it freshly vivid in our minds after having experienced them last year, before facing Tiny once again.

"And as Arceus observed your growth in power over the course of those thirteen months since that momentous occasion, It has come to the conclusion where the prevention of the Void of the Dark One no longer appears like a lost cause. Arceus is confident that as you four—alongside everybody else involved—continue to grow, there's a solid chance in all of us proving successful in obliterating the Void of the Dark One, and ridding this potential plague upon all of existence."

Before the four of us could celebrate over the hard work involved in our training, Tiny quickly cut us off.

"However!" Tiny spontaneously boomed its telepathic voice. "Ever since that day where Eduardo rescued Xeno from Nero, the odds have begun to lean over towards the Dark One."

The four of us listened on, sensing the urgency of the matter.

"The hooded figure—or 'Odraude' as you four have agreed amongst yourselves in referring him by—"

"Three of us actually…" I corrected Tiny.

"It was still a unanimous vote though, right?" Tiny assumed.

I merely nodded, knowing that to be true.

"Yes. Anyway, ever since that day thirteen months ago, and according to Arceus's surveillance on the matter, Odraude has decided to ally himself with Nero, for reasons that remained vague, up until recently."

"What has he been doing with Nero?" I asked, knowing for a fact that it was something antagonistic against Xeno and I.

"Through his co-alliance with the Roman Emperor, Nero has provided Odraude with thirteen of the finest soldiers that Rome has to offer. One of these thirteen soldiers is a veteran Roman General. The other twelve soldiers are ripe, malleable minds, taken straight from Rome's military education students. And under Odraude's particular training, he's shaped them all into a small strike force, exclusively intended to be unleashed against the four of you."

Upon hearing this, Ian, Xeno and I felt ourselves grow uneasy at what Tiny just told us.

Costas however, didn't quite understand the severity of this situation.

"That just sounds like a waste of time in their part." Costas said virtuously. "The four of us, against thirteen Roman soldiers? We would crush them outright."

Tiny almost expected such an amateurish response from one of us.

"You forget just what a threat Odraude is, Costas." Tiny reminded him. "Under any normal conditions, yes, you four 'would crush them outright'."

Before Costas's eyes, Tiny's glare on him gnarled and intensified, to the point where Tiny almost looked like a stranger to him, to the four of us. And alongside this minute change to its countenance, Tiny's voice grew gravely serious.

"But these aren't normal conditions now, aren't they? This is Odraude that we're referring to, the same exact person who narrowly killed Xeno."

Not enough time had passed on that subject for Xeno's emotional wounds to have healed. He still felt a cold chill run down his spine when he reflects back on that day, where he came closest to death.

"And that's not even the worst of it." Tiny added.

The Emanation Pokémon disengaged its intimidating glare on Costas and then turned to face me. In the process, I knew that this related to me in some way, and couldn't possibly be anything good for me to hear.

"Those thirteen soldiers all brandish the same exactpowers that you wield, each of them having specialized on one particular Elemental Aura attribute."

I anticipated something serious from what Tiny told me. But even then, despite my expectations on the severity of this message, I found myself reeling back by this grim fact. My brothers and Xeno Lucario did so as well, flabbergasted by this astonishing turnaround.

Before Tiny knew it, I rebounded from this informative knockback and bent down to its level of height.

"You must tell me what else you know on that subject!" I demanded.

"I would if I could, but I don't have anything more to say about that." Tiny clarified. "Even with Arceus's impressive abilities of surveillance, only so much could be revealed to It that the enemy is unknowingly allowing It to see."

I got back upright and tried to make sense of how my power could be bestowed onto others. But unfortunately, I couldn't, and merely showed signs of anxiety on my countenance, at how severe this type of information could prove to the four of us, if we ever clashed with them.

Tiny sensed my stress on the subject, and knew exactly what to say to mollify me.

"What I can say is that there's some good news on this pressing matter." Tiny added. "And it comes in the form of what Arceus has in store for both you and Xeno Lucario."

My uneasiness quelled and both Xeno and I listened on at what Tiny was about to tell us.

"Arceus has set up a grand test that the two of you must overcome. This test will contain vital combat experience that will further strengthen the two of you against the Void of the Dark One, but most importantly against Odraude's present Roman strike force. And when the two of you overcome the Alpha Pokémon's challenge, It will reward the two of you handsomely."

"Really? Like what?" Xeno asked, curious what Arceus had in mind for him and me.

"Arceus gave me strict instructions to not reveal, to the both of you, what these gifts are. It believes that by keeping them as a surprise, it will provide the two of you with a beneficial boost in both morale and motivation, as you progress through Its trials."

Both Xeno and I—as well as Costas and Ian—felt a bit bummed by the secrecy involved in these gifts from the Pokémon God.

"Be that as it may seem, Arceus did instruct me to tell you a few things about those gifts."

"Explain away." I said.

"When you overcome Arceus's Game, you will each receive a powerful addition to your abilities, in the form of a unique weapon, both of which will greatly even our odds against Odraude's Roman strike force, and in the long run, perhaps even against the Void of the Dark One."

The mere mention of the word "weapon" stirred the primal instincts for battle within Xeno and I, curiously drawing our ears all the more onto Tiny's words.

"Now, this pair of weapons is by no means feeble or ordinary. They are—from the deliberately limited information that Arceus has explained of them to me—some of Its finest work. They are a pair of weapons that took the Alpha Pokémon over a year in fabricating. The reasons for that being the effort involved in constructing them, through a mixture of Its own power, as well as spending a vast majority of that time doing research on both weapons and gathering necessary materials to forge them. What they are exactly, as I've mentioned before, I have genuinely no idea. All I know is that they best resemble swords in appearance and core functionality. Beyond mere aesthetics and basic use, they are genuinely extraordinary weapons. And that is why Arceus must first deem the two of you worthy before It passes them on to the both of you."

Both Xeno and I could scarcely believe what we were hearing from Tiny Riolu. For Arceus Itself to invest Its time and effort in manufacturing these gifts for the both of us was beyond an honor that we are both fortunate to have from the Alpha Pokémon. And for Arceus to have enough trust in the two of us to actually wield these weapons—assuming we prove ourselves worthy to Its eyes—was just beyond our feeble comprehension.

"When is this test of Arceus's?" I asked Tiny.

"Conveniently, it's tomorrow." Tiny continued explaining. "Arceus is presently working on the final touches of Its test for the two of you to succeed in, from the combative opponents involved, to the exact where and in what form will It make this test known to the two of you."

"Do you know where Arceus's Game is to be held?" Xeno questioned Tiny.

"Of course I do. It would be pointless of Arceus to test the two of you if you two don't know where the test is being held."

All four of us listened closely to what Tiny Riolu was about to tell us.

"All I know is that Arceus will place this trial in an area secluded from the human populace, within an area that virtually anybody wouldn't dare to enter. Arceus has told me that this area that It has in mind will be the Sahara Desert."

The four of us pondered at this location of choice, and the sagacity of placing Its trial there.

"Arceus has instructed me to suggest the two of you to rest up and relax for today, to conserve your strength for Its Game tomorrow." Tiny instructed us. "And once tomorrow arrives, be sure to reside in an area nearby the Sahara Desert, such as the city Cairo in Egypt. The reason for that is because the four of you will sense the exact moment that Arceus's Game will arrive, in Its own special way."

"You and Arceus have nothing to worry about," I assured Tiny Riolu. "Xeno and I will be ready for Its little Game tomorrow."

"For the sake of the two of you, I hope you both are." Tiny said with a small smirk on its face. "You'll need to be ready, because Arceus intends for Its challenge to be as rigorous as It can make it, to prepare you all for the near future."

sayonara -refrain-/Pokémon Black & White Super Music Collection (Disc 4 - Bonus Tracks)/ Shota Kageyama

(Song Begins)

With nothing more to say to the four of us, Tiny looked up at the ceiling of my house. It saw right through my ceiling, and imagined seeing Arceus overhead, looking down upon itself, as if on standby to return Tiny back to the Hall of Origin.

"My role here today is finished. I've passed on my message, your next objective, onto the four of you…"

Tiny then proceeded over towards the door, turning its back on the four of us in the process.

"…And now, it's time for me to take my leave."

Upon reaching the entrance door to my house, Tiny gripped the door handle and opened it wide.

"Wait!"

But before it took its leave, Tiny turned around to face Xeno once again, the Aura Pokémon stopping it with one word.

"Will I see you again?" Xeno said with the slightest hint of trepidation in its telepathic voice.

To Tiny Riolu, this sounded very similar to the moment in time when it first met Arceus, when the Alpha Pokémon revived it and took it to Its home in the Hall of Origin, when Tiny asked a similar question to the Original One, involving ever getting the chance to see the Pokémon of Prophecy—its friend Xeno—again.

And in response to Xeno's question, Tiny turned back around to the Aura Pokémon, to all four of us, with a smile on its face.

"Of course I will. And when we meet again tomorrow, I won't be coming here alone."

With those final words, Tiny Riolu turned back around to face the entrance of my house. It stepped towards it, through it, and made its way outside. As it did so, the entirety of its body became cloaked in white light, a sign that Arceus was connecting to the Emanation Pokémon and transporting it back to the Hall of Origin.

And before our eyes, once the brilliant luminescence faded away, Tiny Riolu disappeared altogether from this location, having returned back with Arceus through Its power.

Xeno Lucario stepped forward towards the door entrance and stared outside, looking at the exact patch of sand where Tiny's footprints ended. And after a few seconds of this, he merely looked away and closed the door to my house.

(Song Ends)

"What do you suppose Tiny meant when it said those last words?" I asked the Aura Pokémon, knowing of his experience and friendship with the Emanation Pokémon.

"I don't know." Xeno responded, clueless by that final message. "But whether we do or do not know, we will know tomorrow, when we participate in Arceus's Game."

I turned my attention away from the Aura Pokémon and stared at the table that resided within this room. I recalled the chess board that was presently set up on the wooden surface, with all thirty-two chess pieces on their initial starting places, and remembered the promise I made to Xeno Lucario, regarding playing against him in a game of chess.

"We'll have plenty of time to rest and pack our belongings today, for what tomorrow has in store for us." I said, facing Xeno once again. "But for now, let's have a little fun."

Xeno turned its attention towards the chess set that was placed there beforehand and smiled upon recalling what I was referring to.

Both Costas and Ian did the same, and recalled our earlier actions before Tiny Riolu first stepped into my house.

"Alright, but don't be surprised if I end up winning most of our matches." Xeno responded confidently.

"I was about to say the same thing to you." I said haughtily.

Xeno simply smiled and chuckled at my confidence in my ability of playing this game for the first time.

And with that, the four of us sat down on our original chairs alongside the table's edges, as we once were before Tiny Riolu first made its presence known to us.

Xeno and I, over the course of a few hours, played a few dozen matches from start to finish. During the first few matches, Xeno defeated me outright, because I dedicated a portion of my attention towards understanding the mechanics of the game, in favor of learning Xeno's playing style and strategic habits.

However, as the matches followed and I comprehended the mechanics of chess, I won some of the following matches over Xeno, once I dedicated my full focus to foresee Xeno's strategy and formulate my own. And then, once Xeno understood my strategic impulses, and we countered each other through our sense of anticipating the opponent's move, we found ourselves remarkably even in chess, winning and losing the same amount of matches as time went on.

Costas and Ian joined in alongside these chess matches as well. Sometimes they would play against each other, or either one of them against either Xeno or I. They never won against the Man of Bulwark or the Pokémon of Prophecy, but our overall good sportsmanship kept us focused on the fun and strategic experience involved in this complex game.

Up until late afternoon, near the end of our chess matches, my brothers appeared lackadaisical when playing this game, free of responsibilities and having their share of fun in the process. However, both Xeno and I couldn't help by ponder what lies in store for us tomorrow, what Arceus has in store for us through Its grueling test.

Just as importantly, Xeno and I wondered what Odraude has in store for us, through his small strike force of thirteen Roman soldiers, each specifically trained in the use of Elemental Aura.

For Xeno, he pondered just what kind of a formidable threat these thirteen Roman soldiers possessed. As for I, I pondered the same, alongside one key detail from what Tiny Riolu mentioned.

"(Tiny said that those thirteen soldiers have each specialized in a unique Elemental Aura attribute.)" I pondered to myself. "(In my present state, I only know twelve.)"

Thirteen Roman soldiers, thirteen Elemental Aura attributes.

"(What is the thirteenth Elemental Aura attribute?)"


34.6: Roman Organization XIII

Location: Rome (Construction Site)

Time: 5:28 PM

Organization XIII/Kingdom Hearts Original Soundtrack Complete - CD3 - Kingdom Hearts II OST/Yoko Shimomura

(Song Begins)

Within the locale in Rome that once existed as an Empty Lot—the same area where Xeno was once held as a prisoner to be executed by Nero—, the time that has passed within this place is reflected through the construction project already well underway here.

What was once a broad expansion of dust-covered land, covered with a thin layer of growing sand, is no longer such now. After a year of rigorous construction, the foundations of an oval-shaped arena were beginning to form within this area.

And within the center of this arena to be, a total of fifteen people stood.

Twelve of these people all stood soldierly and in single file, all in unison as a horizontal line and all of them facing forward. They were all shrouded in a black robe, all of their faces entirely concealed by their hoods. The edges of the sleeves and hood segments on each of their robes accurately highlighted the color of their respective Elemental Aura specialty.

Red (Fire) Aura, Orange (Melee) Aura, Yellow (Lightning) Aura, Light Green (Wind) Aura, Green (Healing) Aura, Dark Green (Nature) Aura, Light Blue (Ice) Aura, Blue (Water) Aura, Purple (Psychic) Aura, Brown (Earth) Aura, White (Light) Aura, and Black (Darkness) Aura…

Alongside these twelve robed soldiers, their designated leader stood amongst them as well. He stood in between the sixth and seventh of these robed people, but about five feet in front of them, symbolizing his position as the centurion to their legion.

And just like his robed subordinates, he wore a similar robe alongside them, his entire body and face shrouded underneath it. The edges of his sleeves and the edges of his hood possessed a silver-colored fabric, standalone amongst the other twelve colors that represent Elemental Aura attributes.

Before these thirteen soldiers that make up the latest in Rome's small and elite strike force—appropriately titled "Roman Organization XIII"—, both Nero and the hooded figure (Odraude) stood facing them and in front of them, looking at them like a soldier would look at an armory.

Odraude's face was presently exposed before his thirteen Roman tyros made into a synchronized squad. To them, he presently expressed a calm, collected, disciplined nature within his evil aura.

As for Nero, he presently expressed a look of great satisfaction, almost that of a child being given a new toy to play with.

"Well, what can I say, aside from the clear fact that I'm pleasantly impressed with what you've promised to give me." Nero said, admiring the obedience and military regimen that Roman Organization XIII presently displayed. "In thirteen months time, you've accomplished what you've promised me. You've molded thirteen of my soldiers into an elite fighting force, all brandishing aura-based abilities that rival those of both Eduardo and Xeno Lucario."

"You flatter my capabilities, Nero." Odraude responded. "Though in reality, it was virtually effortless in my part to mold them into what we both wanted. You supplied me with fine men, each of them brimming with potential, and I merely gave them both guidance and power through my training alongside them."

Nero merely smiled at what he heard from Odraude.

"Well, regardless of the past and the processes involved in bringing my loaned soldiers to this present, what does matter now is how Roman Organization XIII shapes the future of Rome."

"And in order to light the future of your growing empire, only two obstacles stand in your way." Odraude said with utmost confidence in his tone of voice. "And through the tempered power of your new strike force, both Eduardo and Xeno Lucario will fall under their power."

The sheer assurance emanating in Odraude's voice reflected positively on all thirteen of his trained soldiers. The twelve that resided behind their designated Roman general cheered at the thought of bringing down two of the most powerful enemies that Rome has ever confronted. In the process, due to the sheer confidence in their own abilities, their cheering caused each of their respective auras to radiate outward, highlighting their respective Elemental Aura attribute.

As this was going on, Nero looked on with elevating emotions, to the point where he couldn't help but cackle evilly at the end outcome of unleashing Roman Organization XIII onto his most dangerous enemies.

As for the general of this Roman strike force, he remained unmoved and composed, despite all of the noise surrounding him. Within his mind, he pondered his two future targets with an experienced military mind, honed through his previous martial experience on the battlefield. And in the process, he couldn't help but ponder how likely it is for both Eduardo and Xeno Lucario to have grown stronger alongside Roman Organization XIII.

The thought of victory or defeat between himself and his twelve soldiers, when they all inevitably clash in heated combat against Eduardo and Xeno Lucario, never once entered his mind. Instead, within his mind, he pondered just what kind of nature his future opponents possessed.

In the process, the name of the being Eduardo was cemented into his mind, a name that he knows all too well.

(Song Ends)


"They may have the guns, but we hold the keys of heaven and hell," —Orson Scott Card ("Speaker for the Dead") (157)


So much revealed in this chapter, so little time to explain it all. Some questions have been answered, some questions need answering.

In time, all will be made clear, later on throughout this story and in-depth through another "Afterword" chapter.

But for now, enjoy your day after Christmas and have a happy new year. All I ask as a...rather late Christmas present is your honest opinion.

And for this particular chapter, I crave hearing what you all thought of it.