She had no idea where she was going.

Vespera stumbled blindly among the branches and hanging leaves of the forest outside of a city she wasn't familiar with, pushing her tiny arms out in front of her to push away the brambles snagging at her black clothing. Earlier, she looked down at her wrists, a few inches below the end of her torn sleeves, and a dark magenta band was on each wrist and the upper arm, right below the billowing pieces of material flowing from her shoulders, but where they came from she could not guess. She had lowered her appearance to the age of six to look like a lost girl to late night travelers.

But, she actually was lost. This area of the Sinnoh region was unknown to her, and, her night vision hadn't developed yet, so, she had a hard time getting through the thick, never-ending forest. The branches slapped at her face, each hit stinging like a whip lash. She shivered. Gods, she never wanted to go through that again…

Her heart felt like it was being gripped by hoarfrost whenever she thought of what her mother had to go through to protect her. She felt so culpable…Her heart panged, guilt surging through her. She immediately concealed herself when she heard something in the forest breathe. She remained out of sight until the breathing had vanished. That was a scout from Team Shadow, and she knew it when she peeked around the tree she had hidden herself behind and saw a flash of dark metal with a dark 'S' on it.

Vespera shivered, not from fear, but from the cold. That wasn't a good sign; since she was still connected to her body by a physical…something. She didn't know how to explain it. She settled herself in a hidden clearing, which was very small, but just big enough for her and two more people. She looked down at her wrist. The magenta band was still sitting there. She brought her head down on her knees, her breath bouncing back on her face. 'Wouldn't it be something if I died here…?'

Sixty minutes ticked by, and with each minute, little by little, Vespera's body shut down. She could barely feel her legs and arms, but, that was probably from the cold, not from the aftermath of the poison, which still lingered in her systems. She felt nauseous, and was ready to throw up whatever was in her stomach, which was nothing. She took her hair out of its usual braid, letting the silvery tresses flow down her back and put the black cloth in a hidden pocket. It was the last of her strength. A small tear ran down her pale, cold cheek, almost freezing when it made contact with it. It was a terrifying sight, melding in with the pure stench of death.

"Are you lost?"

The voice distressed her so deficiently she just about screamed. She barely had the strength to lift her head, which twanged with every movement, but, she made herself look up. She nearly fainted.

It wasn't a wonder why she felt the physical connection between her soul illusion and her body get stronger with each passing minute.

It was in front of her.

That deep neon eye, the red collar, the white hair and the dark skin reminded her all too well of her original form. Not that she was surprised. She nodded, and her head sank back to her knees, unable to keep staying up any longer. Her voice barely worked, and, it felt frozen whenever she actually tried to speak, so, she remained quiet. She felt her tiny form being taken into strong arms.

It hurt.

It hurt so badly that tears squeezed out of her eyes. Whenever she opened her eyes, everything seemed grey. Her vision was giving out on her body. She felt a hand brush away the blasted tears –Goodness, she loathed crying (She found it as a sign of weakness when strength was needed)—and, then, the wind was on her face. Each twist and turn made her want to throw up more badly than before. Her head felt like it was going to split open.

Suddenly, they slowed. The sounds of a rushing river filled Vespera's ears. She relaxed a little as the smooth rhythm took over. She heard nothing but it. Then, a small light cut through the trees, and a female voice called out. Another one, a little older in its age, called out as well, her voice piercing the night. The wind rustled in the river flora, a splash following it, dripping water pounding on the cold ground. Steps moved down the precipitous depression, and a small silhouette scrambled up to him. She heard a faded, irregular undertone of, "Dear God."

"I found this little one in the forest. She's very cold, and death is reaching for her. Anibell, do you have a blanket?"

Anibell.

That name hit Vespera right in the heart. Anibell. She remembered that very name. She was the blonde Pokemon Ranger in preparation that she had met over a week and a half ago, the very one who discovered the bonds she shared with the god of everything, Arceus. But, there wasn't time to fret over past events. Anibell nodded and said, "Bring her up. Manaphy and I will get her warm in no time."

Heavy splashes of water suggested that the other girl, Manaphy, she was guessing, had begun to swim back to their destination. It wasn't a moment too soon. Now, when Vespera breathed, each and every inhale and exhale burned at her lungs, and chilled her other innards. She clawed at the dark chest she was being held against. It felt like she was going to die at any second.

"GO!"

She recognized the powerful, almost frightening voice of her savior ring in the air, making her ears hurt. Pounding footsteps left them, hitting the earth below their feet time and time again. Quick commands were pitched around, and something started rustling and zippers were undone. It was quick work, and the wind started blowing on Vespera's face as they rushed up the hill. Flashlights were quickly covered with medical clothes, to dull the light, and she was wrapped snuggly up in a braided blanket. Something was held against her mouth. Another voice, very different from Anibell's, spoke, "This…I don't know how well this works on humans, but, this is a drastic case. Try to drink at least a little, okay?"

Vespera nodded her head slowly and drank the medicine with a word of protest. It was at that moment she turned her head to face the person who saved her very life, Darkrai, when she noticed his face was shadowed over with pain. Since she was warm, she crawled out of her blanket to him, feigning ignorance of her knowledge. With a single blink, her eyes changed from lavender to dark blue. Oh, having Psychic powers could have its perks.

"Are you in pain?" She asked quietly, her voice almost giving away her true wisdom underneath her young exterior. That deep, haunting neon blue eye turned to face her. "No." He said simply.

She knew he was lying.

He was trying to spare them.

"Please, don't try to mess around with me. You're lying."

There was silence. Unknown to the duo, Anibell and Manaphy were silently pushing each other, trying to listen into the conversation. They knew this was rude, but, there was something about that girl that haunted Manaphy, as if she had seen her in a dream. She could barely remember the past nightmares she had had earlier in the night, but, she could remember that young, gripping voice that gave her the plea. 'Be the sacrifice.'

"Before I say anything…Tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"Why do you look like me?"

Panic and alarm rushed through Vespera. 'Think fast! Think fast!' She screamed at herself. Then, she put a hand in her pocket and said, "I'm a cosplayer, a person who dresses up as a special person." To prove her point, she pulled out a name tag she had made out of the black cloth in her pocket. The little black tag said, 'Hearthome Cosplayer's Convention – V.I.P, "Vespera" '. Seeing that Darkrai was satisfied with her story, she put the tag back in her pocket (which turned right back into her hair ribbon), and continued. "Me and my sister got separated when some scary people pulled us aside and started saying some weird stuff. I didn't understand it. I ran away from them, but I got lost…"

"Hearthome…" Darkrai muttered under his breath, but, Vespera heard it all the same. "That means we're getting closer to civilization."

At that moment, out of the corner of her eye, Vespera saw something glimmer down in the river. She crawled away a little before standing and going the rest of the way to the rushing water. She was faintly aware of the floating presence behind her, but, she paid barely any heed to him. She reached down into the water, leaning down she close it nearly covered her face, and touched the glimmering object. She pulled away for a moment, repositioned herself, and reached into the river again, but, this time, her face went under the water as well. Grasping the large object, which was very smooth, she tried to pull it out, but, no avail came out of it. The object was covered in mud, so, that really didn't help, either.

Vespera pulled back her torn sleeves and pulled the loose ends of her dress back and tied it in a very small knot. She knew it wouldn't hold long, so, she made haste. Readying herself, she lunged for the object, the water going over her head. She grabbed the object and pulled. It came loose from its silt prison, and the force brought her out of the water. The thing she was holding was about three inches wide and nine inches long. Since it was covered from top to bottom in mud, she held it in the river and washed it off, under the observant eye of Darkrai. Then, once all the mud was washed away, she held the dripping object out of the water. She couldn't believe her eyes, and, judging how Darkrai's visible eye widened, she took it that he couldn't believe it as well.

In her hands was one of the largest opals she had ever seen in her very, very short life. There was only one other like this that she knew of at the moment. Its fire was different from the other one: Its fire was colored yellow, blue and red. It gleamed under the very dim starlight, no moon to cast its light on them. But, suddenly, it got brighter. Looking up into the sky, she saw the new moon transform into a very thin crescent. All the evidence from that pointed to only one person, whose name fell off her lips as graceful as a dancing butterfly.

"Cresselia."

She said it softly, so, no one had heard her. Then, for the third time in that hour, Vespera heard splashing. She saw the blue haired girl, Manaphy, walk her way to a rock in the middle of the river, just big enough to hold her. She crawled onto it, her hair clinging to her thighs. She crossed her legs, looked up at that lonesome crescent moon, and began to sing her song. It wasn't any words, just haunting, lonely notes. Within moments, Vespera could see the faint silhouettes of water Pokemon that had suddenly flocked to hear the forlorn song. She stood, her sleeves palling back around her forearms and the knot in her dress giving out.

"Princess of the Sea indeed." She murmured to herself. She looked back at Darkrai for a small moment before turning back to the sitting form of Anibell on the hill, who was muffling a flashlight's light with her hand, giving off a red glow. She absentmindedly ran her fingers over the back of the huge opal, when her fingers fell upon depressions. Faster than lightning, she turned the jewel over, and traced over the three island shaped things on the back. Behind each island was a flame, a bolt of lightning, or, a snowflake. She called Darkrai over, and showed him the shapes on the back. "Are you familiar with this?"

If a Pokemon could turn white from shock, Darkrai would have lost all the color in his body.

"I thought these didn't exist…this is bad. Very bad. Vespera, come with me."

She knew that he had gotten that name off of her convention tag, so, she wasn't troubled…too badly. She followed him up the hill and back to the spot where her life was saved, when, quite suddenly, the back of the gem started giving off a strange aura. It started to heat up, and, soon it got to the point where it was so hot Vespera thought she was holding a piece of the sun in her hands. But, she didn't make a sound, or drop it. She allowed the aura to take over her body, making her clothes and hair flap back from the energy flow it created. She faintly heard her name being called, but, she paid no heed. Her eyes lost their bluish color, only a few speckles remaining as her eyes changed back to lavender. Then, she heard a tiny voice in her head. It sounded like a young woman, but, it was a very intelligent voice.

'The three islands of Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno…engraved on this gem…one of sixteen…leading…to the All-Light Jewel….All-Light Crystal…'

Then, the voice vanished, as did the aura. The hot feeling departed from the gem, leaving Vespera flabbergasted. She looked down at the jewel and said,

"What was all of that?"

Then, she looked over at Darkrai and Anibell, who were looking at her with shocked eyes. Vespera gulped.

'Oh, boy, I have a lot of explaining to do.'