Ugh, sorry for the HUGE delay! I meant to get this chapter out sooner, but it was taking me way longer to write than I had anticipated. But it's nice and lengthy. So grab a cup of tea, and enjoy!

Snivy and I continued along the path back to Paradise. The morning dawn brought a bright light that gave the earth a pink hue. The soft grass crunched underneath our feet, and the wind quietly whistled by us.

I thought more about what would happen when Snivy got back. Even though Mienshao told me he'd be happy to see him again, would they still look at each other as "friends?" Would they be able to simply forgive Snivy for leaving them? If I were them, I'd probably give him some kind of punishment. I'm not exactly sure what kind of punishment, though... Hmph, it wasn't even me who persuaded Snivy to come back; He's doing it of his own volition. What will Snivy do if they still hate him?

I looked over at Snivy. His black cloak blew gently with the wind. His cloak wasn't covering his head, though. He had a look of concentration on his face, yet he seemed to be relaxed. He's probably wondering what to say to them when he gets back. If I were him, I'd probably be more scared and worried. A renown hero, coming back to his friends as an infamous, lost soul...

I was tempted to ask Snivy about his sword, to make small talk. But I didn't want to interrupt his thoughts. Plus, I felt that dragging him out of the forest was already asking too much from him.

We continued walking across the land for about another hour. It was around noon time when we made it to Post Town. However, instead of stopping, we continued through the town pass the buildings and other Pokémon that walked about. None of them questioned Snivy's presence.

Outside of town, we came along the split in the path; to the left was Post Town, the right was Paradise. And in between stood that giant, old tree that loomed over the edge of the cliff. I walked to right, but stopped once I noticed that Snivy wasn't following. I turned around; He was staring at the tree.

"Are you alright?" I asked him. He was silent for a moment.

"It was here..." Snivy took a few steps toward the tree. "Right here... This was where I first met Eevee." Snivy put his hand on the base of the tree. "It's a shame I wasn't here to see this tree age. Last time I saw it, it stood tall, and it held an amazing view of the sunset. But now it's died off..." Snivy tilted his head down and let out a sigh. He then proceeded along the right path with me.

When we reached the entrance to Paradise, Snivy stopped and looked at the sign.

"So, Mienfoo and Oshawott... They really did evolve. I wonder how well they took care of the place." We both walked into the main area of Paradise, but right away something felt off... Everything seemed too quiet. There weren't any Pokémon walking around. The stagnant air held a tense atmosphere. Hm... I ignored the feeling for now, hoping it to be nothing...

"Follow me, the team base is this way." I lead Snivy toward our base. Along the way, he kept looking around in every direction, observing how different Paradise looked with its wilting trees and dead grass.

"I can't remember what Paradise looked like the last time I was here, but you were right; This place is falling apart..." I only replied with a sigh and kept walking along into the next area.

We walked along a path outlined by bushes when the base appeared in our view. However, I heard something rustle from the side. Suddenly, Dewott jumped out from the side bushes. He looked like he was in a hurry.

"Hey, Dewott!" I called to him as he ran by. He quickly jumped back in front of me; He talked in short breaths.

"Oh! Braixen, you're back! That's good- but quick- there's no time! Head to the base- There's something important you need to know!" Then, without a second thought, he ran off.

He completely ignored Snivy's presence.

I looked over at Snivy; His eyes were widened. It must be hard to see an old friend that looks completely different after many years... But then Snivy hung his head.

"He- Oshawott... He didn't even notice me..." I felt bad for Snivy. It wasn't like they were loose friends, or something. They were once on the same team, as partners. And Dewott didn't even acknowledge him. Then again, he was in a hurry; Maybe the the important thing he wants me to know about is very serious... However, a tinge of sympathy struck my heart as I looked at Snivy. I was the one who brought him here; But I could see it was difficult for him having to get used to the new environment. With his old memories no longer being reliable, he has nothing else to turn to for guidance.

I walked next to Snivy, lowered myself to his height, and wrapped an arm around him. His face lit up. "Listen Snivy... Regardless of what they might say in there, just remember one thing: I don't hate you for what you did. I understand why you were gone, and if they become difficult about it, then I'll defend you."

I let go of Snivy. He closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. His voice was stern. "But you're a new member. They don't have to listen to you..."

"Hmph. I have no problem with leaving the team right now if I have to. And I know they want all the help they can get, so there's no chance of that happening. I honestly doubt they'll kick you out of Paradise, if that's what you're thinking." Snivy looked up at me. I could see the determination flowing in his eyes. He wasn't going to quit; Like he said, he has to make up for his mistake.

"Hm. Let's go then..."

We approached the base; Snivy hid behind me. I slowly pushed open the door leading us inside. Upon entering, I noticed Mienshao sat in between Dewott and some other Pokémon at the center table, which had a giant map covering it. The unknown Pokémon looked like a monkey, with orange fur, a blue border around his eyes, and a flame-tipped tail. He was holding a look of concentration, but my entrance caught his attention. Before I could say anything, the three of them stood up and Mienshao greeted me.

"Ah, Braixen! You have returned! And just in time, too."

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Don't worry about it for now; We'll talk about that in a moment. There are two things I need to discuss with you first." Mienshao walked behind the monkey. "This here is Monferno. Just like Dewott and me, he is also one of the original members of Team PokéHeroes."

Monferno waved his hand at me. "Hello there, Braixen! So, you're our newest member, huh? Y'know... I don't think I've ever seen a Pokémon like you before..."

I shrugged in response. "You're not the only one..."

Monferno shook his head. "Eh, that doesn't matter, though. It'll be nice to have another Pokémon help us out."

I nodded my head at him. "Well, it's nice to meet you too, Monferno. Hm... Since you're one of the original members, that means you worked with Snivy too, right?"

Monferno rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah... But... Well I- Honestly, I felt like I was a nuisance to Snivy most of the time. Truth be told, I was afraid he would outright kill me..."

"What!? Why would you think that?"

"I dunno. Like I said, I felt like I was always in his way. I didn't hate him, though. I mean, he had all those powers and abilities; Maybe I was scared that he would use his sword against me, or something..."

Before I could say anything else to Monferno, Mienshao stepped in our conversation.

"Ah, yes. This talk of Snivy reminds me..." Mienshao turned directly towards me. "Did you happen to find him, Braixen?"

Monferno burst out. "Wait, that's what you sent her off to do? Are you crazy!? Of course she isn't going to find him!"

"We don't know that; We never even tried looking."

"That's because we don't even know where to look!"

"But we made a logical guess; We had her search the last place we knew he had gone to."

"What made you think that-"

"Excuse me!" I interrupted their short argument. "Instead of acting childish about it, why don't you take a look yourselves..."

I slowly stepped out of the way; Snivy came forward.

Instantly, the room grew quiet. An awkward and uncomfortable silence pervaded the air around all five of us. Mienshao, Dewott, and Monferno stood there, flabbergasted; Their mouths hung agape. Snivy kept a stern posture, but frequently kept shifting his eyes between the three of them and the other objects in the room. Through his cloak, I could see his hands shake uncontrollably; He wasn't use to having the spotlight thrown on him. But I wasn't exactly sure what to say or do, myself. If Snivy wants to make things right, then he's the one that has to do it. Eventually, Snivy rubbed the back of his head, and spoke.

"Uh... H-Hi."

Dewott stepped forward. "S-Snivy...?"

Snivy looked down at the floor.

Monferno spoke up. "This changes everything..."

Dewott and Monferno looked at Mienshao, who continued to stare at Snivy. I tensed up when I noticed that Mienshao was giving Snivy a patronizing glare. He took a few steps towards Snivy, which began to build a sense of friction between the two of them. Suddenly, I felt very uncomfortable...

Before I had a chance to say anything to break the tension, Mienshao clenched his paw into a fist; He threw a punch square across Snivy's face at a blindingly fast speed. The amount of force and momentum from the punch caused Snivy to fly backwards, rolling along the ground, and then slam into the back wall. He grunted at the pain.

"Agh! Damn..."

Immediately, I jumped in front of Mienshao. "Hey, what are you doing!? I thought you said you weren't angry at Snivy..."

"You're right, I'm not angry at him. I have no desire to kill him for what he's done..." Mienshao looked at his paw. "I guess seeing Snivy, after knowing he left us, filled me with a a bit of rage; A rage that I've been suppressing for many, many years..."

I continued to defend Snivy. "Hmph. Regardless, Snivy isn't as strong as he once was, y'know. That punch could've nearly knocked him out!" Before I could say anymore, Snivy spoke up.

"Braixen stop..." I turned around. Snivy was standing, holding his hand over his face. "It's alright. Mienshao has every right to be upset with me. And not just him, but Dewott and Monferno, too." Snivy slowly dragged his feet as he walked back over next to me. "I'm... sorry for leaving you all behind." He apologized.

Mienshao turned around so that his back faced Snivy. "Hm... Well, it's a good thing you decided to show up now. You and that sword of yours will be very useful in-"

"Actually, my sword lost its powers..." Snivy interrupted. Mienshao slowly turned around, his eyes were wide with shock.

"What!?"

Snivy slowly pulled out his blade, and held it out horizontally. "This sword is nothing more than an ordinary blade... It no longer possesses any divine power."

A look of fear spread all over Mienshao's face. Dewott and Monferno also seemed to shiver uneasily.

"How did you lose your powers?" Mienshao asked.

"It's... a very long story..." Snivy recounted all the events that had happened five years ago. He included every detail about the forest, Dusknoir, how Eevee died, and how Giratina sent him into a raging frenzy, which lead to him losing his sword's powers. He told them he wasn't able to leave Eevee alone, because he felt that should be his punishment for failing to protect her. Then, he talked about when I met him.

"Just a day ago, as I was scavenging around for food, that's when I noticed Braixen walking through the forest. I considered her an enemy at first because I didn't want anyone to come near where Eevee was. But it was Braixen who told me what happened to Paradise... And it was then that I felt really horrible about myself. In fact, I even turned Braixen away, because I felt too ashamed to come back here."

"Then why did you come back?" Dewott asked.

"Braixen... When she said told me to come back 'for Eevee,' it made me think... It made me think a lot. I kept asking myself, 'What would Eevee want me to do?' And I came to the conclusion that sitting around doing nothing wasn't helping anybody. I was only making things worse." Snivy looked down and held Eevee's pendant in his hand. "But Eevee's pendant reminded me that we stopped the Bittercold. And if we were able to do that, then we should be able to save Paradise. So I came back because I didn't want everyone else to fall into the same despair I once had before I joined the team. I came back because Eevee and I are the only ones that can keep this place alive. I didn't want you guys to suffer because I was too narrow-minded to think of how you guys felt..." Snivy closed his eyes and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm sorry I left you guys behind. I'm sorry I didn't tell you what happened to Eevee. I don't expect you to forgive me, and I know I can't undo what's been done to Paradise. But hopefully, we'll be able to restore it."

Mienshao, Dewott, and Monferno were silent; Just like me, they weren't able to handle all the information at once, either. A moment passed before Monferno spoke.

"So... We finally know..."

Dewott sat down and closed his eyes. "Hmph. Eevee's dead, huh? And you lost your powers, too? That sucks..."

Mienshao slowly closed his eyes and turned around again. He took a few steps away from Snivy. Was he angry? A moment of silence passed before he let out a small laugh.

"Heh... Suddenly, I feel really guilty for punching you in the face."

Snivy laughed, too. "Hah, don't worry. I deserved it. I'm considering that my wake-up call."

Mienshao turned around smiling, and walked over to Snivy. He knelt down. "Whether or not you did deserve that, it does not matter. If you truly mean what you said, then we are very grateful for your return." Mienshao patted Snivy on the head. "Welcome back, Snivy!"

Seeing as how this was an important moment for Snivy, I began clapping for his return. Dewott and Monferno joined me, before Mienshao did, too. Snivy looked over at me and gave me a friendly smile. I nodded my head in response, and let out a sigh of relief. The conflict between old friends has finally been resolved, and now Snivy is back on the team. Somehow, seeing Snivy smile made me feel really good about myself.

"Thank you all so much for accepting me back. Again, I'm sorry I haven't helped much; But if there's anything you want me to do, then please let me know."

We all stopped clapping after that. Monferno spoke up. "So, now that Snivy's back, does that mean that Snivy is the leader again?"

I tilted my head in confusion. "Wait, Snivy was the leader?"

"He was, more or less, second in command if something happened to Eevee." Monferno answered.

"I guess that decision lies in Snivy's hands." Mienshao turned towards Snivy. "What do you think, Snivy?"

Snivy put his hand to his chin. "No... I don't think I should be the leader. Again, not only do I not deserve it, but I don't think that I could handle it, either. I can see that you've kept the team together all these years just fine. So, I think right now, you'd make a better leader than me."

Mienshao nodded his head. "Very well, then. I shall continue to lead the team. Plus," Mienshao walked over to Snivy. He gave him a smile before placing his paw on top of Snivy's head, teasingly. "I'd find it rather odd if someone this short was the leader of a bunch of taller Pokémon." Mienshao laughed. Snivy gently pushed Mienshao's paw off his head, laughing too.

"Hey, it's not my fault I haven't evolved yet..."

"Ah, but I do find it strange that you haven't. You must have acquired a good amount of experience over the last few years, yes? So how have you not evolved?"

Snivy crossed his arms. "Hmph. I may not have evolved, but that doesn't scare me. If I have to, I'll take you on, even without my sword!"

I noticed Dewott's ears perk up after Snivy said that. He spoke up. "Uh... I hate to ruin the mood, but maybe now we should tell them about-"

"Oh, yes... Right..." Mienshao let out a sigh of disappointment. "Snivy, I'm sorry to tell you this, especially after your return, but it is important that you hear this. Braixen, you too, should listen." Mienshao walked behind the center table, standing between Dewott and Monferno. As I said before, a huge map was spread across the table. Snivy and I stood across from them. Already, Mienshao's voice was in a serious tone. "Perhaps you should tell them what you told us, Monferno."

"Right... So, over here-" He pointed to a red circle near the north side of the map. "This is where Team Go-Getters is. You remember them, right?"

"That's the team with a Charmander, a Chikorita, and a Squirtle, right?" Snivy asked.

"Wait, I thought they were a Charmeleon, a Bayleef, and a Wartortle?" I questioned.

"Hm, technically you're both right. Snivy, those Pokémon evolved while you were gone."

Snivy let out a sigh. "Looks like everyone evolved, but me..."

Monferno ignored his comment and continued. "Anyway, Team Go-Getters is located here-" He pointed at the red circle again. "Now, last time I saw them, they reported suspicious activity from the mountains in the north, here-" He pointed at a blue circle just a little bit above the red one. "And... when they went to check it out... they saw..." Monferno paused.

"What did they see?" I asked.

Monferno let out a sigh. "Another Glacier Palace..."

I heard Snivy gasp, and his eyes widened with shock. But I was confused.

"What's a 'Glacier Palace?'" I asked.

"Don't you remember the story with the Bittercold, Braixen?" Dewott asked me. "The five of us, and Eevee, were the ones who stopped it. It was held inside a place called Glacier Palace." I made the same reaction Snivy did. I looked over at him. Snivy had his head down, his eyes were still wide with shock and fear, though.

"Are... Are you sure? I thought we..." Snivy's voice trailed off.

"They lead me to it and everything." Monferno answered. "I saw it myself. It was a crystal palace that stood out from the other mountains. It just wasn't floating in the air. At least, not yet... During the day time, they never saw anyone go into the palace. And they didn't enter it, themselves, because it was too risky. But at night, they could see the silhouettes of Pokémon going in and out. They weren't sure how many Pokémon had gone in and out."

"Wait, so what does this mean?" I asked.

"Well, there's only one thing it could mean..." Dewott replied. "It means Kyurem's back... And he's got another group of Pokémon to give orders to." Dewott paused. "Possibly, they could be there to defend him while he makes another Bittercold..."

Again, I felt the same fear that Snivy had. The Bittercold could be back!? So... The fate of the planet is once again on the verge of ending!?

"What are we going to do!?" I hastily asked.

"There's not a whole lot we can do at the moment..." Monferno answered. "If we charge in there without a plan, we could easily be crushed by Kyurem, if he's in there... And even if he isn't, then charging into the unknown isn't exactly a good idea, either."

"But you guys defeated him and the Bittercold before, right?"

"No..." Unexpectedly, Snivy answered. I looked at him. He was staring into space. "We were able to stop the Bittercold the last time because of two factors: My sword with its powers... And Eevee with her pendant." Suddenly, Snivy slammed his fist on the table. "Dammit! Why is this happening again!?"

Monferno sighed in response. "I told Team Go-Getters to keep investigating the place to see if anything else happens. Then, I made it my mission to inform the other teams... I'm glad I came here first, so now I can also tell them Snivy is back."

"And that's it? We're just going to sit here and do nothing about it?" I argued.

"We're going to see what the other teams think, first." Dewott replied. "Then we'll make our move once we have enough input from each other."

"But we can't sit and wait..." Snivy said. His hands were clenched into fists.

"The idea of another Bittercold frightens me, too." Mienshao finally spoke. "I understand your need to take action. However, I have to agree that charging in would be reckless and foolish. We're going to need a well-developed plan for this..."

I nodded my head in agreement. "I don't mean to be rude to Snivy, but without his sword's powers, and without Eevee, going there now would be a stupid idea." I added to the conversation. Although, I wondered what Snivy thought. I looked over and noticed him still shaking his hands in frustration.

"Do not worry yourselves over the issue. Stressing out before the battle will only cause you to make faults. Just relax and prepare yourself for the inevitable fight." Mienshao's advice was somehow reassuring.

Snivy stopped shaking his hands. He let out a sigh. "How long will it take before you can report back to us, Monferno?" Snivy asked.

"If I were to leave tomorrow morning and pace myself, I could probably visit the three other teams, and then head back here in about four or five days."

"That will be plenty of time." Mienshao replied. He walked over towards a window and peeked through it. "Hm... It appears night crept up on us during this discussion. I can definitely say this reunion was quite an eventful one. If there is no further discussion, then I recommend we all rest now, until tomorrow."

The silence that followed told Mienshao that there was nothing more to be said. Dewott and Monferno agreed on going to bed. I looked over at Snivy. He had his arms crossed, and his eyes tightly shut. Must be thinking hard about something...

Ignoring what Snivy was doing, I also decided to head to sleep, too. I walked over to the back end of the room and jumped on top of the soft bed I always slept on. Ah~! It's been a whole day since I last slept. It felt so nice to finally stop worrying about my job and responsibilities. Just time for me to unwind and rest. Before falling asleep, I took my wand out of my tail and placed it on the floor. As I did so, I noticed everyone else head off to a bed, too, including Snivy; He sat down on the bed next to mine.

"Braixen..." I looked over at him. "Thank you..." I smiled at him in response.

I looked up at the ceiling and slowly closed my eyes, drifting into a deep slumber. But before I was completely asleep, I overheard Snivy.

"Hey Monferno,"

"Hm?"

"I don't know what gave you the idea that I thought you were a nuisance... Well, honestly, I did find you to be annoying at times. But I never felt you were a real hindrance at any of the work I did. Basically, what I'm saying is, I'm sorry for making you think that I wanted to hurt you. You hold an important role to the team. Without you, we wouldn't have been able to use the power in Eevee's pendant, remember? And now, we wouldn't have found out about Glacier Palace if it weren't for you, either. So, don't worry about bothering me, okay?"

There was a pause.

"Heh, thanks Snivy. Although, I still think you're overall a much more important member than me."

"Hmph... Without my powers though, I'm nothing..."