I finally figured out why I wasn't getting any notices from fanfic. Everything was getting sent to spam. -_- I think I've got everything fixed now, so hopefully I'll be seeing your comments again. ^-^'

I have the next chapter mostly finished, so I should be able to get it up soon (since the last couple chapters have been shorter)

Polaris–Ponyta, Tsuki–Serperior, Mamoru–Samurott, Tlaloc-Braviary, Carrara – Liepard, Croatan - Scolipede

Frozen Warriors

I leapt form Polaris's back as I registered the look on Keldeo's face. The resolute look of someone who's been cornered and is ready to fight back. Whatever he was running from, he thought we were there to get in his way.

"What's wrong," I said, pausing ten feet away from him. "Who's after you? Can we help?"

Keldeo cocked his head, taking this information in.

"Are you saying you'll fight with me?" He spoke with telepathy in a way that even Ben could understand.

Before I could answer, Two shapes burst from the bushes: Klinklang and Gothitelle. They were clearly the ones in pursuit of Keldeo.

"We'll help!" Hari shouted in reply.

Polaris charged forward to face the foes. So did N's Sawsbuck.

N rushed past me and started checking Keldeo for injuries. Keldeo submitted reluctantly. He didn't seem convinced that we were really weren't going to hurt him.

Sawsbuck charged down the startled Gothitelle, and Polaris engulfed Klinklang in a cloud of flame. The battered Pokémon fell back, apparently unsure of what to do now that they were faced by more than just Keldeo.

A rumbling sound caught my attention, coming from the direction that Keldeo had appeared from. A car, maybe?

Not a car. A motorcycle. It burst from the bushes and screeched to an abrupt halt as the man riding it saw the lineup of Pokémon facing him. Ben, Hari, Tauros, and Gro had all placed themselves protectively in front of Keldeo as well.

"What are you doing?" the man asked, bewildered by the hostile reception.

"Why are you attacking Keldeo?" I demanded.

The guy blinked. "I need to catch Keldeo."

I scoffed. "You need to catch Keldeo? Does he look like he wants to be caught?"

He cocked his head. "What are you talking about? Catching Pokémon is never easy."

I stopped to gather my thoughts. I'd been trying to defend the relationship between people and Pokémon against N. I'd almost covered it over in my own head how people normally acted when they saw a Pokémon they wanted to catch. Wasn't that the very thing I had done with Croatan? And many other Pokémon besides him. Pounced on them without asking, only later making friends.

I glanced back to see N glaring at the motorcycle guy. Trying to calm myself, I moved forward to speak to the man. He was maybe in his 20's, with dark wavy hair. When I was close enough to speak at a normal volume, I said "please stop. Keldeo's upset. He's a special Pokémon and shouldn't be bothered for no reason."

The guy narrowed his eyes, apparently resentful of our interference. "I have a very good reason. Now, go away and let me finish this."

I shook my head. "I can't do that." I dropped my voice, just to make sure my friends couldn't hear, because this was probably a stupid idea. "Do you know Team Plasma?"

"I've heard of 'em."

"Well that guy over there is their leader. And he won't let you near Keldeo. Don't you ever consider the feelings of Pokémon before you attack them?"

A troubled look appeared on the guy's face. After a minute, he said, "listen. This is really important. I need Keldeo's help."

"Keldeo can speak, you know. You should have just asked him."

This comment seemed to floor him. He opened and shut his mouth a couple times and then looked at Keldeo. "Well… will you let me speak to him then?"

"Please return your Pokémon," I said. "I'll check with Keldeo. But I need something to tell him."

"Mmmm, well, my name's Drew. See, I need Keldeo's help because I have to help Virizion, Terrakion, and Cobalion."

It was my turn to be floored. "You need to help those three?" I asked, somewhat stunned.

Drew nodded and reluctantly returned his Klinklang and Gothitelle. "They're trapped. I think that Keldeo's power might be enough to free them."

"You're serious?"

He nodded gravely.

I sighed. "Okay. I'll go talk to them. Can you wait here, please?"

Drew nodded, and I returned to my companions to explain the situation.

N frowned and Keldeo looked thoughtful.

"What if he's lying," Hari asked.

"If he is, we'll find out," Ben responded.

I nodded. "We'll keep an eye on him while he talks to Keldeo. Is that okay with you?" I asked, turning to the Pokémon.

Keldeo sighed. "Well, I'll hear what he has to say. I came here because I heard that my friends were in trouble. If he's right, I need to help them."

Drew approached and began his explanation. "I'm sorry I upset you, Keldeo. I really needed your help, and I wasn't sure how else to get it. I suppose I should have just asked you."

"See, this is how people treat Pokémon without even thinking," N murmured. I waved a hand, hoping that would shush him up. It worked.

Drew continued, this time talking to humans as opposed to Keldeo. "Have you heard of the story of how Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion protected Pokémon from the huge forest fire?"

I smirked. "We were just talking about that, actually."

Drew nodded. "Well, something like that happened again."

"A fire?" I exclaimed.

"I heard about that," N admitted.

"Yeah," Drew said. "It started from a factory near here. I think something must have blown, and caught the grass. It's been kind of dry recently, so the first jumped up to the trees and started spreading. It could have burnt down most of the forest, along with Driftveil City. Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion came back, to try to help the Pokémon.

"How'd the fire get put out?" I asked, amazed.

Drew gave a hollow laugh. "I managed to lure Kyurem here."

"How'd you do that? Hari exclaimed.

The rest of us nodded agreement.

Drew didn't respond, but instead said, "it worked, mostly. Except Kyurem was angry and being brought here. He froze much of the forest, which managed to cut off the worst of the fire. But he also was harming a lot of the nearby Pokémon. Cobalion and the others came to stop him, but he froze them too. For some reason, the ice around them still hasn't melted. That was over a week ago," he said, obviously distressed. "The ice should have melted by now! I tried to find ways of breaking or melting the ice. And it looks like only certain legendary Pokémon have that power. And Keldeo was the only one I could locate. So I need Keldeo to break the ice and free the others."

For a minute, everyone was silent.

"I'll help you," Keldeo announced, breaking the silence.

"So will we," Hari and I said in unison. Ben nodded in agreement.

N looked thoughtful. "Yes, we should definitely check this out."

"How close are they?" I asked.

"Pretty close. They're in the woods beyond Driftveil. We'd have time to check everything out before night."

"Let's go then," N said, approaching Sawsbuck.

"You're not in charge," Hari hissed. But as Ben got on Tauros and Polaris let me climb back on, Hari reluctantly jumped up behind me with Gro.

Drew revved his motorcycle. N's Sawsbuck bolted in alarm. Tauros and Polaris shied away from the noise as well.

"Can you drive ahead of us," I suggested. "Your motor is scaring the Pokémon."

N and Sawsbuck had finally come to a halt some distance away. Sawsbuck seemed reluctant to come closer.

Drew sighed. "Yeah, sure. You can follow the noise of my wheels."

"Thank you."

Drew revved his bike and zoomed away down the road. We rallied the Pokémon together and followed after him at a trot. Keldeo kept pace beside Polaris, Tauros, and Sawsbuck.

Drew was waiting for us in Driftveil City.

"Do you want to ride with us?" Ben suggested. "That way we could travel together."

Drew's eyes widened and he glanced at Ben's Tauros. "No thanks, man. I've never ridden anything without wheels. I couldn't stay on."

Hari giggled and whispered, "He'd get a sore butt too."

I smirked. "Okay. Lead the way then."

We were off again. I noticed that Keldeo was moving with a bit of a limp.

"Are you okay?" I asked, concerned. He could have easily hurt himself during the chase.

"I'll be fine."

I wasn't convinced. "Listen, if you are hurt, we should take a look at it. We don't know what we'll need to do to free your friends, and you might need all your strength."

Keldeo snorted. "Are you offering to carry me?"

I laughed. He was over half the size of Polaris. If I could lift him at all, it would only be for a moment. "I wasn't planning on that. But I have some other Pokémon that might be able to. Unless you'd like to rest."

Keldeo shook his head. "It's really not that bad. I'd rather walk. Riding something sounds uncomfortable. Especially that motor bike thing."

An image of Keldeo propped behind Drew on his bike popped into my head. I laughed. "Okay. We'll walk then."

Polaris slowed from her trot, and Tauros and Sawsbuck followed suit.

We headed off of the main road, and continued down a smaller trail.

That was when all of us gasped. Ahead of us was a charred black wasteland of crumbled tree stumps and ash. Here and there a charcoal beam reached into the air – a tree trunk that had remained upright. The area looked a lot bigger than it was. At least, I could see the edges of the burned area where the forest remained mostly intact.

The most eerie thing about it was what appeared to be jagged, glistening statues of glass scattered around the perimeters of the burnt area. They distorted the images of everything beyond them, like peering into a Reverse World. Kyurem's magic ice.

Drew's bike was already part way into the ashy earth, a gray cloud kicked up by the bike's exhaust. He sent the bike forward, and ash plumed out to either side of him. A couple of my friends coughed as we entered the cloud of ash.

Drew led us around the back of a hill, and that was where we saw it.

Up against the hill was a gleaming hunk of ice, about the size of my family's living room. And within it were the three motionless statues of Virizion. Cobalion, and Terrakion. The three of them looked like they were charging together for an attack, but were frozen in place, trapped by Kyurem's power.