Hey guys, it's been a while. A lot's happened while I've been out. So just a few updates before you start the final chapter of the second legendary arc.

TheImmortalWanderer has made a poke wars role playing forum and has my total support. It looks like a lot of fun and we'd love to see you guys join in.

Jantanner has finished his poke wars story Poke Wars: Start of Chaos which has really helped me handle characters that I don't have time to deal with now. The effects of the events in the climactic finish of his story will continue into my next Kanto arc, The Convalescence. So if you don't wanna get lost on why certain things are happening, give it a look and leave a review if you can. Jantanner has also started a new Poke wars addition, Amidst Chaos, and is set 6 years after the undampening. I really enjoyed it and I hope you guys do as well, so please give it some love when you have time.

Noaj-T is also reaching the end of his poke wars story and for those of you who've been keeping up with it will recognize one of his characters in this chapter and possibly a more prominent role. I plan on going back to work on the Truculence after this, which will also begin to eventually feature Kanta and his motley crew of characters and the events in his story will affect Paul and Gary's journey as well.

Zarrelion has really done an excellent job on this last chapter and I'm happy to have him beta for me after all of this time.

And last but not least, the idea for this chapter came from a reader who I want to thank immensely. I kinda feel dumb for not seeing this idea but thanks to HelloMyNameIsName this chapter came to be. Thank you so much for your contribution and thank all of you guys for sticking with me for so long and your own contributions to this universe. I honestly never thought this story would get much attention, and it still baffles sometimes me to see it grow like this . And now, without further ado, the chapter.

758 Years Ago – Johto Region

Every flap of Lugia's wings blew a gust of wind through the forest, the obsidian sea of leaves shifting and undulating as he flew over. Several hours had gone by since he'd taken to the night sky. Darkness shrouded the alien world, giving this mysterious place an unfamiliar and unwelcoming aura. His eyes frantically scanned the area; whispers of doubt chipped away at his resolve.

"I'm sure he told me to take this path," Lugia muttered, studying the foreign terrain for any recognizable marker, to no avail. The silver Legendary sighed and continued onward, figuring he would reach something eventually and ask for guidance from there. A quick psychic scan revealed no woodland denizens to help him.

It wasn't until he'd crossed several acres of forest that a wave of relief soon hit him. The soft silhouette of a tower came into view, silently looming over the woods. Lugia reduced his speed until he hung at the edge of the forest, silently marveling at the tower.

"So this is the place he keeps talking about," he murmured, casting a passing glance at the wooden houses before rocketing skywards, his incredible velocity rendering the floors a mere blur. Mere seconds later, he was confronted with pair of doors — fashioned not to accommodate the small human frame, but the colossal frame of a Legendary. His eyes flashed blue and the great iron hinges creaked as if invisible footmen were muscling open the massive wood and iron door. As he entered, he was met by Stygian darkness.

"Ho-oh." Lugia spoke into the shadows, letting silence reign for a few moments before he called out again.

"Lugia?" A familiar, but weary, voice spoke back to him through the blackness that filled the air. The ocean guardian's eyes glowed, emitting a white light that was quickly swallowed by the blackness. Ho-oh quickly spat out a series of embers, each drifting like motes of dust until they landed on their respective torch, illuminating the rest of his chamber.

"What brings you here, old friend?"

Lugia was in the midst of answering him as the darkness lifted and let him gaze upon his oldest friend. Despite the lack of any visible damage, Ho-oh's feathers were scuffed and dull as though he'd seen combat. A haggard look had taken residence in his eyes; even the deflated way he carried himself radiated mental and spiritual — if not physical — exhaustion.

"I…have you seen my brother?"

Ho-oh looked away, evidently putting the pieces together in his mind. "I take he did not approve of your decision then. Did you tell him of my offer?"

Lugia let out a sight. "I did…or at least I tried. He was so…angry, I couldn't reason with him."

"It may take time for him to calm down. Wait until he does, and maybe then you could present to him the offer anew. But surely you would have come to this conclusion yourself? Why come to me?"

"He left the seas and took to the mainland. I came to know if you'd seen him or had any ideas as to where to find him. You know these lands much better than I would."

"Your guess is as good as mine. I'm sorry old friend, but I haven't the faintest idea where your brother might be. He could be nearby or in an unexplored region in the farthest reaches of the world. If I hear or see anything, you will be the first to know," Ho-oh replied.

Lugia nodded calmly; having kept his hopes low in the likely event his friend had nothing to tell him. Searching for him in darkness would get him nowhere and any possible trail he would have left would've gone cold by morning. His best bet was to wait and see how things played out from there.

But first he would have to contend with whatever was eating away at the sky's guardian. "Ho-oh, I don't have to be a psychic to tell that something happened to you."

Ho-oh gave a hollow chuckle, shifting uncomfortably atop his wooden perch. "Recent events in my last outing have…shaken me, I'm afraid." The centuries if not millennia that he had lived through become apparent in his voice and features.

"What happened?" Lugia asked, knowing that if his own issues could not be solved tonight, he could at least attempt to solve the ones his friend was dealing with.

"I found a human settlement in a neighboring region. The humans there called it Pokélantis. It was fairly impressive in terms of size and structure, but what I saw there…" Ho-oh's voice faltered, clearly uneasy about his next words.

"What did you see?" the Guardian of the Sea asked.

A shudder ran through Ho-oh before he composed himself and continued. "…They were enslaving our kind, Lugia. Beating and torturing them until they were servile. I imagine that once they were broken, they did whatever they were told to avoid any more pain. Once those humans saw me…I knew they wanted to do the same. They set their captives against me from stone spheres, they…" Ho-oh failed to suppress a shudder before he continued. "My status, my presence as a Legendary, it meant nothing to either of them! I implored the creatures to stop, to join me and to put a stop to this barbaric ritual but they took no heed to my words. And their eyes! Arceus, their eyes! They were shells of creatures, Lugia! Shells!" the phoenix cried, the spike in the room's temperature mirroring the flames of despair and anguish that flared within the Sky Guardian.

"What did you do?"

Ho-oh averted his gaze and closed his eyes. He opened his beak and then shut it a few times. An uncomfortable silence reigned for a seeming eternity until Ho-oh broke the terrible stillness with three simple words. "I…I killed them."

Lugia was about to say something but the phoenix continued.

"I burnt them to cinders! No remains, just ashes! They…they didn't even scream! I've been telling myself it was a mercy killing! That there was no way to save them! But what if I was wrong? What if there had been a way to help them?" The words poured out of the Sky Guardian's beak like the lethal rivers of roiling flames that he had used to condemn his attackers to death.

When Ho-oh finished ranting, Lugia spoke. "You handled it the best way you could at the time." It was little more than an insipid platitude but what else could the Beast of the Sea say?

"Would you have done the same?!" Ho-oh cried, the flickering light of the torches revealed his bloodshot eyes and his voice taking on a high, maniacal tone.

"I…" the sea guardian's voice faltered, unsure of how to answer. There were so many things to consider if he had been put into that very same situation. His momentary pause however, was all the answer Ho-oh needed, his gaze thrown somberly to the darkest corner of the room.

"Ho-oh, had I your powers, I might have done the same thing. I cannot judge you for using what you have. Your powers…they—"

"—only destroy," the phoenix interjected, keeping his focus trained on shadows. The bitterness and hate in his voice was nearly palpable.

"Ho-oh!" Lugia exclaimed in a voice partway between scolding and shock.

That did it. Again, the flames of emotion overtook the Guardian of the Skies. "But it's true! Their human mystics brought out a stone sphere. They meant to capture me and do the same as they had done with their slaves! So I bathed them in flame as well! They screamed. They screamed and screamed, and what's worse, I felt no remorse for the pain I was put them through! Their leader sent his fighters after me, so I smote them on the spot with my fire!"

Lugia's expression remained neutral; his friend's actions were not as monstrous as he was making them out to be. The train of thought behind his actions could be followed and even justified.

"But I didn't stop with just them." The tone in Ho-oh's voice made the blood from Lugia's face drain. He had hoped that his friend was simply being melodramatic, but the iciness of his voice dashed any and all hopes of that.

"What happened?" Lugia asked, already knowing that he might regret posing this question.

Ho-oh shuddered as he opened his beak once more as he prepared to confess the sordid details of his deed to his friend. "Once I finished with the men, I…I went after the females and their offspring. I made sure none of them escaped the city. I razed the city until there was nothing but a smoldering patch of land, mixed with the ashes of the guilty and innocent alike. I burnt the innocent ones, Lugia. They too were condemned to the flames: men, women, children — anyone in the city. I wanted them to suffer just as much as those that had committed the acts." His voice then became more frantic. "They let it happen! They lived their comfortable lives off the deaths and suffering of others! It is what they deserve for—"

"But it's over now," Lugia said, cutting off the rest of Ho-oh's rant. Though his face remained calm, inwardly he was aghast. His friend had just admitted to massacring innocents and razing their home. He said nothing but let the sound of Ho-oh's breathing fill the silent room.

"Is it? I've heard of similar events occurring in another human settlement. Using our kind as weapons against other humans and sealing them into objects until they're needed again. What if this concept spreads throughout the other humans?"

"Ho-oh, we cannot condemn the entire tree for one batch of spoiled fruit."

Ho-oh silently stared into the sea guardian's eyes for a moment and sighed, dipping his beak towards the wooden floors. "You are right, Lugia. I…I suppose I simply fear the frequency of these acts among their kind. They are a kind and smart species. They can go so far. This trend will stunt them, taint their good nature."

Lugia nodded in agreement. "I know. And while I don't entirely agree with what you did to that city and its inhabitants, I understand why you did it. I cannot judge you on your actions. For all I know you may have stopped greater suffering by doing what you did."

Ho-oh averted his gaze as he let out a sigh. "I'm not proud of it. I'm ashamed that I let my anger and fear take over. Their complacency towards it was…off-putting to say the least. I haven't been able to look at my worshippers since that day."

"That's understandable considering what you've been through. Give it time, old friend. Rest and let this nightmare fade from your memory," Lugia said as he made his way towards the exit of the tower.

"Yes. Hopefully with time," Ho-oh added, watching his silver companion preparing to take to the air. Just before Lugia took off, he spoke. "Is she happy?"

"Hmm?" Lugia asked.

"Your mate, is she happy?"

Lugia, caught in a moment of deep thought, silently peered down at the human dwellings before the tower. "Yes," he replied, leaping from the precipice and entering freefall for a few seconds before he silently glided into the forest.

Present day: August 30th – Tree Of Beginning

"What're you thinking about?"

"Hmm?" Lugia turned, finding his life-mate moving towards him. She arched her neck and nuzzled against him, slipping her wings around his own.

"I don't have to read your mind to know something's wrong," she whispered, reveling in the warmth of his body against her own.

"I can never hide anything from you, can I?" Lugia chuckled.

"No, you can't!" She smiled, her reply taking on a melodic lilt.

"I was thinking of Ho-oh," he said with a sigh. His former friend's name shattered the intimacy between the two — it was reminder that they were at war.

"What in particular?" she replied slowly.

"I can't help but think that I should've done more."

"You've done enou—"

"—No, you don't understand!" Lugia exclaimed. He shuddered as memories from centuries past rose to the surface. "I watched it happen! I was there as he started to change. He loved humans; he watched them grow with familial love and dedication — much like we watch Silver grow."

Lugia bowed his head and let out a sigh. "I let my friend slip from me, ignoring all the signs."

"If what happened was as you said, you would've only been delaying the inevitable," the Lady of the Sea replied. "You cannot control humanity no more than you can keep the sun rising and setting. But you know this already. There's something else that's bothering you. It's been troubling you for quite some time now."

"Since we began discussing the reasons all of this started, I couldn't bring myself to mention my part in his change during any of our previous meetings. I was…scared of shouldering the blame for all that's happened."

Lugia shuddered as he continued speaking. "What frightens me most is that if our roles had been reversed, would I be any different? Had I seen the world while he stayed in one area, would I have come to the same conclusions? I don't approve of his methods, but were his reasons purely without merit?" For a few moments, he and Ho-oh switched places — the Beast of the Sea, a cruel, misanthropic crusader seeking a pokémon utopia; the Sky Guardian, a just and noble leader seeking to stop the Guardian of the Sea's hateful crusade. He pushed the disturbing reversal out of his head.

Before Lugia's mate could reply, a presence suddenly entered the range of their psychic awareness. They imagined it wouldn't be long before Silver came to them, telling them of Groudon's newest modifications to the Tree of Beginning. Both of them had seen enough rock formations to last multiple lifetimes, but would humor him regardless. When he wasn't training to learn his father's signature move, he was apparently mapping out the entire tree.

The Regi trio and their master mainly stayed around Groudon, offering their advice for the newest additions to their home. Having heard of the success with Latias's mission in Alto Mare, Darkrai left to try his luck in Alamos. Lugia had sent his creations to the Orange Islands to do the same. Finally, Mesprit, Mew, Latias and Cresselia had each left on an undisclosed mission. When asked, they replied that they could not specify the details, but asked that they be trusted nonetheless. It was at that moment that the single presence was joined by another, and another. Then dozens and several hundred more after that.

Mesprit had told them of her brother's army of psychics and that with her brother's vast knowledge and experience it wouldn't be long before he found their base of operations. Lugia had simply hoped that their discovery would be months, not weeks later. The Beast of the Sea turned to his life-mate, steeling himself for his next command.

"Take our son and flee. I will hold them off." His eyes hardened as he prepared to make his last stand.

"I'm not leaving you again," she replied firmly, holding her place in the air before him.

"You're not leaving me. I'll hold them off for a bit while the two of you get some distance. We'll regroup at Shamouti Island."

"I don't have to read your mind to know that you're lying to me!" The Lady of the Sea was resolute.

"We don't have time for this!" Lugia growled, "I won't be alone. Groudon and the Regis still need to be warned! We may be able to eliminate them together, but the Tree is no longer safe. I can't afford to lose you or our son. Now go!"

"That won't be necessary," a voice from behind them announced.

Hoenn Region – Meteor Falls

Thousands of wings beat as they fought for supremacy over the storm of icy razors that assailed the mountainside. One particular Zubat nimbly dodged shard after shard of ice, making its way just out of the hailstorm's range. A torrent of flame quickly washed over it for its trouble, its blackened and burning body fluttering a few more feet before the flames took their toll and let gravity do the rest.

Entei scanned the skies for any other targets. Finding none, he waited patiently until Suicune's ice shower ended. Raikou emerged from the depths of the cave's maw, tendrils of lightning dancing off his body along the cave's stony walls. Suicune quickly joined them, motioning towards their next objective with wordless nods as his reply.

No longer were they tasked with razing cities or hunting down civilians. Instead they had been ordered to pick up where Gengiga had left off. They were methodical, efficient and utterly detached from their actions as they moved from one affected area to another. Even Entei, whose earlier mission was not too different from their current one, could express no joy in his work.

"What have you done with our master!?" he hazily recalled roaring to the sprite.

Uxie remained unfazed as he continued to explain Ho-oh's current situation. Master had been taken from them. Not by humans, but by an elder Legendary. Whether or not he had allied himself with Lugia and his human-loving heretics no longer mattered as Rayquaza had apparently killed him in his attempt to save their master. The world he was being kept in was separate from their own; the portal to back to them had closed before he could make it back to their dimension.

The All-Knowing held the key to bringing him back, but the sprite assured them that the process would take time. It was not the fear of their master dying that had affected them; death meant little to someone who would simply resurrect no matter how he was killed. What overtook their every thought was the separation from their benefactor.

Ho-oh had apparently left Uxie in charge of carrying out his crusade, meaning that in his absence, he had just as much authority to command them as long as the orders coincided with Ho-oh's plans. The sprite appeared to be a great supporter of their master's vision, having been allowed so much control of their operations.

To disobey Uxie was to deny the will of their master and thereby impede the speed at which he could be returned to them. Their only comfort was that their master was somehow still watching over them, proud of their actions and progress.

New Island

The sound of rising bubbles filled the otherwise yawning silence of the lightless hall. A path of light stretched across the floor to the sound of mechanical hissing at the end of the room. Uxie slowly entered the room, a series of lights lining the way before him winked on as he made his way down the hall.

Rows of tubes lined the walls of the room; each glass canister housed a different and failed experiment. Pale and disfigured bodies floated in the verdant serum, their clammy forms occasionally making dull thuds against the glass. Each tank seemed to house a different monstrosity, but the disturbing reality lay in the fact that each had all come from an original source: Lugia's brother.

Some had grown extra arms, while others had formed multiple eyes on various parts of their body. Several of them had formed redundant, exposed, or faulty organ systems that would spell a long and painful death should they ever leave the safe confines of their silicon womb.

"Specimen XD012 has grown a second circulatory system in its development," Uxie said as he examined the aforementioned specimen. They were just as much his trophies as they were his failures — physical reminders of his journeys into the frontiers of science. Like many of his setbacks they did little to deter him. In fact, they only spurred him to work harder.

As advanced as the cloning facility was, it had only been programmed to handle specimens with triple helix structures. It didn't take long for the sprite to realize that he and the other Legendaries had been made with four helices in their own genetic code. In time Uxie would eventually reconfigure the system to accept and replicate the Legendary's distinct blueprint. But for the moment, that would simply have to wait.

Recent reports from his agents in the Hoenn region had piqued his interest, especially when he combined it with the knowledge he'd extracted from his first exchange with the diving Legendary's duplicate.

Another series of doors slid away to reveal the Legendary in question, suspended off the ground by several rings of Alakazam. His angered expression was frozen on his face, as were the emotions and thoughts that had accompanied them. As far as the double was concerned, seconds, not weeks, had passed since their initial meeting.

Uxie had initially considered placing Ho-oh in a similar stasis prison, but deemed the effort a waste of valuable resources. The amount of psychic power required to maintain them in such a state was incredible — even the most powerful of psychics could not maintain such a field indefinitely. As a result, several Alakazam and even some of the Metagross worked in shifts to maintain the stasis field.

The Beast of the Sea's copy, on the other hand, served several purposes.

Obtaining blood and tissue samples had been easier than if covert attempts had been employed. With a nearly imperceptible nod, the psychics teleported from the room, leaving sprite alone with his captive. What Uxie sought now required something that couldn't simply be unlocked through genetic modification, not for lack of trying. No, he would need to be coaxed into participating in his newest experiment.

"You're insane!" Lugia's brother hissed.

Suffice to say that explaining his newest project had not been met with the most positive of attitudes.

"Incorrect. All mental faculties are stable. Am simply expressing scientific interest," Uxie replied with the tone of a schoolteacher correcting a pupil.

"I don't care what you think you are! I'm not doing that ever again and I won't let you do that to anyone else!"

"Misunderstanding. Have no intention of resorting to methods utilized by your previous captors. Unnecessary stimulus. Unpredictable results due to variable differences in execution. Different specimens have different thresholds for physiological and psychological stress. Believe that this 'shadow state' as your captors called it, can be achieved through other means."

"What are you talking about?"

Uxie was silent for a moment, turning away from the silver sentinel's "sibling".

"Did not understand experiment," Uxie calmly muttered as less of a question and more of a statement.

"They never told me what they wanted! They never told me why they did it! What they did to me was...was…" He trailed off. There were no words in any language that could effectively describe the horrors he'd experienced.

"Process inefficient. However, product of experiment may still be of use."

"What do you mean, still of use?" the double snapped.

"Desired goal is the subtraction of original Lugia, correct?" The sprite's head tilted slightly to the side as he asked.

"…Correct…"

"Mental state acquired during experiment gives significant advantage against original. Attaining said form will allow for your victory."

"I don't need that form to defeat him!"

"Probability of your success is significantly lower than if form is utilized. Have crafted several scenarios using demonstrated abilities and hypothetical limits of both you and original. After several trials, having factored differences due to experience, original succeeded majority of trials. Rates are consistent with results given by Alakazam and Metagross groups that were presented with same information," Uxie continued.

Lugia opened his mouth to speak, but found little he could say in response to the overwhelming amount of information against him. To have the answers laid out for him, so plainly, so frigidly, was difficult to stomach. Lugia directed his gaze to the walls around them, contemplating his next move.

"Goal of experiment was to unlock state of mind most effective to battle. Can be unlocked again. Torture unnecessary. However, trauma associated with process has caused you to create series of mental barriers. Will need to work through them if you have any hope of defeating the original Lugia on your own."

Lugia's eyes fell to the floor. The idea of accepting help from someone to kill his brother was unheard of, something Uxie undoubtedly knew and was preying upon. He and he alone wanted that pleasure. And yet, there was a small part of him that didn't mind going along as long as it meant that he had his revenge.

Lugia lifted his gaze to stare at the sprite, waiting patiently for his reply. "Why haven't you done it already?"

"Will have to be specific."

"Why don't you just remove my mental barriers for me? Whatever ones I had sure as shit didn't stop you from digging through my mind before!" Lugia snarled, his blood beginning to boil at the memory.

"Conscious mental barriers different from unconscious. Forced removal can cause irreparable damage to psyche," Uxie answered back calmly. Of course, he left out just how he obtained said knowledge. Suffice to say, it involved live subjects, a gross disregard for their health as well as a complete and total flouting of every code of scientific ethics.

"Finding other test subjects to perform experiment presents difficulties. You are only known recorded subject to have entered this state. Reentry into this form will be easiest with a subject that has already entered it. Our goals coincide. Am willing to redistribute resources to allow you achievement of this goal."

The Guardian of the Sea's double struggled to drink in the information the Architect of Knowledge had unveiled. His head spun under the deluge of knowledge. "I…I need to be alone," he replied.

"As you wish," Uxie replied, floating away to attend to another task.

Kanto Region - Tree of Beginning

The corners of Mesprit's lips quivered slightly as she fought to maintain her smile. Every second was a newfound challenge, every subtle golden shimmer of her eyes threatened to herald an onset of tears and wails. Hiding her true feelings from so many Gardevoir and Gallade was no small feat, especially when hundreds of crimson stares bored through her carefully forged mental bastion. Their eyes held a frightening amount of eagerness and an equally disturbing degree of loyalty.

To be their goddess was to be an entity for their worship. To be revered as the Avatar of Emotion meant that sacrifice after sacrifice would be laid on altars in her name. Despite the centuries she had spent roaming the earth, she found herself ill-prepared to handle the effects that came with such a title.

Her followers were swift, smart and strong. But many went beyond that — they were willing to fight and die in her name.

And that was the problem.

Mesprit was not like her brother. She could not gaze upon the pokémon before her and see only numbers, resources and acceptable losses. Many of those in her midst were parents, siblings and friends. Even those that had lived more solitary lifestyles still had the hope of a happy future and the very thought of sending them off to fight and die for her was almost too much to bear. And yet, her resolve remained strong; her face still masked in faux contentment at their arrival and devotion.

They could not afford to be picky about allies, not when they had so few of them. She was not at liberty to turn away such eager fighters for their cause. Humanity would need them. But despite the justifications she gave herself; no matter how logical and reasonable they rang in her ears, the choice to use them gave her no comfort.

Other more familiar presences became known to her as they drew close; no doubt Latias had informed the others of their arrival. The Lady of the Sea, Lugia and Silver landed beside her as the remaining Legendaries drew close, but not too close for Groudon's suffocating presence would have had an adverse effect on their newest allies.

"How?" Lugia simply stared at the throng of pokémon.

Mesprit was silent for a moment, her eyes hovering over the field of psychics, hoping someone would spare her the trouble of explaining it to him. When no one else came forth, Mesprit sighed and turned to face their elected leader."Latias came to me some time ago with a vision from a Xatu in Alto Mare. She told me that the Gallade and Gardevoir would come to our aid if I went to them and explained the situation. Mew, Latias, Cresselia and I went throughout the regions and gathered as many as were willing to come."

"Where are the others now?" Silver's mother inquired.

Mesprit slowly turned towards her and gave her an extended and loaded stare."They're…away."

Lugia's life-mate understood and held her questions for another time, a thought which had apparently not occurred to her son.

"Why Gardevoir and Gallade specifically?" Silver chimed in, being one of the rare individuals spared from Mesprit's glare.

"Kadabra and Alakazam worship my brother for bestowing all sentient life with intelligence — the thing they value most. As you might remember, Azelf gifted everyone with free will.

"I am the Architect of Emotion, without me, no one could feel. Several psychics, like the Psi line and Metagross who have joined my brother, require focus and concentration to utilize their powers effectively. Gallade and Gardevoir, however, are empaths and become stronger based on their emotions like those each of us here," Mesprit replied.

One of the Gallade made his way to the front of the group with a teal colored Gardevoir in tow. Once close enough, he bowed. The embrace pokémon shadowing him eventually followed suit, noticeably unsure as to what she was bowing for.

"Bred in captivity," Mesprit mused. She flinched and averted her gaze when she noticed that the shiny Gardevoir's left arm was missing from the shoulder down. It was another reminder of what they had gone through in the last few weeks. Another reminder of what they'd overcome to be here before her today.

"I am called Etienne, and this is my…companion." The Gallade paused, looking at the Gardevoir for a sign of approval. She gave him a gentle nod and smiled, letting him continue. "I speak on behalf of the Gallade of Sinnoh. We are your sword." Etienne bowed deeper as he spoke.

"And the Gardevoir's representative?" Lugia asked, earning a sour look from blade pokémon.

"She will be teleporting here shortly with the remaining members of her group," Etienne replied, clearly annoyed at having to speak to anyone but his apparent goddess. "In the meantime, most of my brothers are here and we await your orders."

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, Etienne, but I would like to wait until all are present before we begin assigning missions," Mesprit calmly replied.

"If that is your wish," the Gallade's leader said as he stood up and began turning away.

"If you don't mind me asking, how many are in your group?" the diving Legendary called out.

The swordsmaster paused and let out an exasperated sigh. "If you must know, there are forty seven of us. There may have been more, but there are a few of us who view injustice differently. The numbers that did not come were small and we did not feel the need to coerce them to the point of battle. As for the Gardevoir, I cannot speak for their numbers but their leaders will give you a more accurate number."

Without another word, Etienne strode away, his companion tailing him back into the crowd.

"Did I say something to offend him?" Lugia asked across a private mental link.

"No. What you must understand is that they are fighting on my behalf — and my behalf alone. Gallade are chivalrous creatures who seek to bring justice where there is none. pokémon who had nothing to do with this are suffering for the decisions made by Legendaries like us. In their eyes, humans are often wicked enough that they have brought this disaster upon themselves. The only reason they are even considering helping humans is because I've asked them."

Lugia nodded. His face remained neutral but there was a clear undertone of discontent underneath that calm façade. The knowledge that the Gallade in front of him were mujahideen fighting in the name of Mesprit did not sit well with him. He surveyed the field of shifting green and white and crimson spots.

"I don't mean to darken this hour, but as grateful as I am for their support, in terms of numbers they will not be enough." Lugia mentally sighed.

Mesprit threw him a vicious glare before floating away into the tree. Her sudden absence was not lost on her followers as the green sea of empaths ceased all movement to track her sudden departure. Hundreds of scrutinizing crimson stares locked onto him, thirsty for answers.

"Keep them busy while I bring her back," Lugia whispered to his lifemate before diving after the architect of emotion.

"I'll do what I can," the Lady of the Sea replied. "Assuming they'll even pay me any heed," she muttered as she now became the new focus of Mesprit's legion of followers.

"Mesprit!" Lugia cried, as he wound his way through the Tree of Beginning's cavernous twists and turns. He didn't have to travel far to find the sprite floating down the stony tunnel with all the vigor of a dead leaf in a stream. "Mesprit, you need to come back!"

The Avatar of Emotion said naught but one word. "No."

"Why not?"

"I…I can't…I…I can't keep this up. It's too much!" she replied, her voice shuddering and cracking like glass under a hammer.

"Mesprit…" Lugia trailed off, not sure what to say to the sprite. He took a deep breath. "I…I understand this is diffic—"

"No." Her back was still turned to the Beast of the Sea. A sound, halfway between a sob and a broken laugh escaped her. "No, you don't understand."

"Mes—"

"No, you don't!" Mesprit suddenly exploded as she turned to Lugia. "You can't possibly imagine how hard this is for me!" Her soft melodic voice had become hard and razor-edged with venom dripping from every word.

Tears ran down Mesprit's face as her bottom lip quivered uncontrollably. Surrounding her was a pink aura that blazed in the cool tunnel. By now, she was trembling with pent-up rage. Pink darkened into purple and then darker still until it the aura became a black so dark that it was akin to staring into the gaping abyss of a black hole.

Lugia carefully backed away, unsure of what to do before the Avatar of Emotion.

The sprite's eyes had narrowed into thin slits, the soft amber color of her irises now blazed gold. It was nothing like Mew's earlier outburst; this was not the anger of a child who had just learned of displeasing news. This was the wrath of a cosmic being — a being as old as time and space itself.

Watching her outburst was akin to staring at a dying supergiant star as it tore itself asunder in a supernova. In front of the Guardian of the Sea was the collective anger of all existence, condensed and focused into the small sprite that hovered before him.

The Avatar of Emotion stood on the precipice of true rage — feral chaos without reason or thought. Whatever relations she'd built with him in their time together now held kept her from leaping from the precipice and into the realm of wrathful and wild abandon.

Her pleasant demeanor belied the fact that Mesprit was a being nearly as old as the cosmos itself. She had borne witness to creation and laid the foundation of everything that came after it.

In that moment, floating before her, Lugia began to truly understand how helpless he was against her. The emotions of all existence were her hostage. Any move against her was a move against emotion itself.

"The humans of Shamouti Island worship you like a god," she whispered. Despite the low, icy tone she took, the air and Lugia's mind reverberated in tandem as the Beast of the Sea listened to a voice that had come from beyond time and space. "Would they rally to your call? Come to your aid in battle?"

Lugia scrambled wildly in his mind to find something to say, futilely hoping anything he said would placate her.

"Answer me!" Mesprit demanded, causing the walls and possibly even the entire tree to shake.

"Yes." The diving Legendary averted his gaze from the enraged sprite.

"So if there weren't enough people on your island, would you scour the other settlements in the Orange Islands for more fighters? Could you knowingly send them to fight and die for you!?"

Sand and stone rained from the ceiling and the Beast of the Sea's body discovered paler shades of white.

"It hasn't gotten that bad for you to make that decision, has it?" Mesprit said in an icy whisper. "How long will it be before you, Darkrai and Latias need to resort to your own lands for sacrificial pawns!?"

Beads of sweat rolled down Lugia's neck as heat radiated off of Mesprit.

"I pray it never comes to that. I pray you never have to see what I've seen and feel what I have felt." Her voice had taken on an eerie timbre, one of two voices speaking near simultaneously.

Lugia opened his mouth. "I—"

"Do not pretend to understand what I feel!" she screamed. The world seemed to shimmer and pulse as if her shout had distorted the very fabric of reality.

Lugia's breathing and heartbeat had suddenly become uncomfortably loud once silence saw it fit to intervene. Mesprit was wheezing now, her aura had brightened back to its rosy color before dissipating from view. It took every ounce of control she had left to stay afloat. She knew well enough she would devolve into a quivering mess should she let herself fall and touch the ground.

She let loose a wet and trembling wail, wrapping her arms around herself as if to hold herself in place. The sound of it struck a chord in the ocean guardian's heart; the cry that rang in his ears came from deepest parts of her soul. Sadness settled in his core like a lump of coal, icy tendrils slithered through his veins. He wanted to hold her, cradle and comfort her. But alas, he knew full well the consequences of contact. The surge of emotions she would gain from such contact would have dire consequences for her psyche, even more so in her currently fragile state. To say nothing of the least that the merest touch from her could strip all emotion from a living being.

So he waited, waited until her tears had been spent and her cries had softened. She lifted her shimmering gaze up to him, surprised to find that at some point during her outburst he had pressed himself against the wall as if trying to sink into it.

"I'm sorry," she said between tearful sniffles, instantly mortified at the sound of her own voice. He smiled as she desperately tried to compose herself for him, waiting patiently until she was sure she could talk normally. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I guess I was just…venting."

"Venting…" Lugia trailed off. He shuddered as he recalled the primordial wrath that Mesprit had just exhibited. "Venting" was a gross understatement.

"Yes…"

"…You were right though."

Mesprit gave the Beast of the Sea a quizzical look. "Hmm?"

"About everything. I can't fathom the pain you must be going through. The pain you've gone through and may yet still have to endure. I've been insensitive to your feelings, and for that I'm sorry," Lugia said.

"I shouldn't have said those things about your people."

Lugia shook his head. "No. It's better that you did. You have a point. If things get worse, Latias, Darkrai, and I will have to consider what I—we need to do when that time comes."

There was a companionable silence between them, offset slightly with Mesprit's occasional sniffles.

"How do you do it?" she asked with a weary sigh.

"Do what?" Lugia replied.

"The people of Shamouti Island. How were you able to keep being their god for so long?"

A low rumble built up through Lugia's throat before coming out as a soft chuckle.

"What? What's so funny!?" Mesprit demanded, a rosy hue now atop her puffed cheeks.

Lugia stopped his laughter cold. "Sorry, sorry. It's been a while since they viewed me as a god. Time and knowledge have stripped that title from me. Now, I'm just a pokémon. Although it might be harder to capture me than others, I'm still considered attainable. But I'm avoiding your question now, aren't I?"

Mesprit smiled and silently nodded.

Lugia let loose a sigh, his body relaxed against the stone once more as he thought about his next words. "Honestly, I don't think I ever tried to be one. I didn't want to be something that I wasn't. I've never personally thought of myself as a god. I doubt Groudon has either, even though he played a large part in the formation of this planet."

The Architect of Emotion visibly deflated as Lugia spoke, whatever unspoken hope she'd gather was now fleeing from her.

"But that's not what you want to hear, is it?" Lugia asked. "You want me to tell you how to handle your new followers?"

Mesprit blushed and nodded as she fiddled with one of her tails, nervously wringing it between her fingers.

"First let me tell you this: I don't have a straight answer. However, in my experience with pokémon and humans there will be those that will continue to view us as a higher power — regardless of how we view ourselves.

"They look to us for answers. Yet you and I both know that there are times when we know just as much — or as little, as it may be — as they do. Yes, our longevity may have given us experience, but time does not grant wisdom. Especially when most of us spend our solitude in slumber," Lugia said.

Mesprit's head lifted, as she let go of one of her tails, leaving it to float behind her. "We were given tasks and we did them. We were told what do with our wishes and then what to do afterwards," she muttered. "Some gods, huh?"

"More like children left to their own devices once their chores are done," the diving Legendary replied.

Mesprit smiled; the expression lasted mere seconds before it melted away as she gazed down the passage back to the tree's exterior. "I don't know if I can go back out there."

"Why?"

"The Gallade and Gardevoir…If they see me crack…if they see me sad…they'll lose faith in me, in what we're doing. They'll leave and…and then we'll be back where we started. Why would they follow a crying deity? What good to us is such a fragile goddess?"

"I don't see a frail goddess."

Mesprit turned and stared deep into his eyes. Gold met deep blue as she awaited an answer.

"I see someone who cares so much about others that it wounds her to see the sight of others suffering if she can keep it from happening. I see someone whose love is stronger than all the fear or hate or greed this world has seen.

"I see someone who has seen the best and worst that her gift has created. Yet, she has chosen to see the good it can do. You're stronger than you know, Mesprit. Stronger than many of us here. I can't tell you what to do; I can only trust that you'll do what needs to be done," Lugia replied.

Mesprit dipped her head; her eyes closed as she drew in a breath and let it out slowly.

"There are others." She released her breath with a sigh, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"Say again?" Lugia asked.

"You said that there weren't enough Gardevoir and Gallade. I'm telling you that I know where we can find more."

"Etienne said he had gathered as many as he—"

"In that region, yes. There's only so many we can expect to come from these nearby regions but that's not where they're originally from. A few of them migrated here ages ago," Mesprit replied.

"Where is this land?" Lugia asked. Despite trying to keep his voice neutral and flat, excitement and surprise was clearly audible.

"It's far from here. It would take me some time to find it again and I haven't been there since they migrated."

"But you could convince them to join us as well?"

Mesprit gave a noncommittal nod of her head. "Things could be different now. The Gallade or Gardevoir may no longer reside in that region anymore. They might have all migrated away. We might come back empty-handed."

Lugia was silent for a moment, studying the walls as if he could see through them and find the answer he was looking for. "We've always needed allies, Mesprit. And right now, we need them more than ever before. This is a risk that you—we have to take. "

Mesprit pondered the Guardian of the Sea's words. She nodded as she finished thinking. "Yeah. You're right. Okay. All right, I'll head out first thing tomorrow, but…"

"Yes?"

"I'd like some…company," Mesprit sheepishly added.

Lugia nodded as a small smile split his face. "I wouldn't dream of sending you out alone and unguarded. Take your pick. I'll lead the Gardevoir in your absence. We'll begin retaking Kanto while you gather more reinforcements in..." He trailed off, unsure as to the region's name.

"Kalos," Mesprit helpfully provided. "The region's name is Kalos."

Next, Epilogue: Meet With The Maker