Raikou and the others had left Bouldarin's cave only a few hours after the sun had risen up from the coast that was opposite from the mountains they were trying to get to. Atsila's tribe, as well as Bouldarin's, had wished the exile the best of luck in finding the Team Rocket base that was hiding the Legendaries, and confirmed that their clans would soon be ready to fight and therefore would meet up with them at the entrance into the mountain valleys.

Now, as the thunder tiger and his allies exited the forest, emerging into a set of mile-long grassy fields, giving them a view of the morning sky above, they felt themselves groan as they realized that the mountains, despite their size, were farther away than imagined. Colors of purple fought with the usual tan hues of the mountains' rock, while mild amethyst took over towards the peaks, where snow was drenched upon from the barricading clouds colliding with them. Underneath the monolithic mountains lay a vast range of canyons – like prickly shrubs below towering trees. With the way the tan rocks rose high, forming trenches between scraggy walls, while crevasses on top led into the said tunnels, the valleys that worked alongside the mountains seemed more like a stone jungle than anything else.

Raikou was very tempted to slap himself in the forehead. No doubt would maneuvering through the valleys, looking for one single base that was probably hidden well within them be challenging; not to mention the possibility that the base was somewhere in the mountains themselves, most likely buried within the snow-capped grounds on the peaks. Mewtwo and Deoxys seemed overwhelmed even, although Jeff and Skyler, due to their severe hatred towards Terotrey, looked prepared to travel to the moon and back if that was what it took to locate the Rocket base. The thunder tiger forced himself to feel the same way, determined to rescue Suicune, as well as the other Legendaries.

Terotrey needed to be stopped, and they all refused to allow natural terrain, of all things, to prevent this.

So, exchanging looks, Raikou put his paw forward, the others doing the same, and the journey began.

Days passed as the exile and his allies trekked across various ground, every step they took bringing themselves closer to the mountains. They passed through manmade towns, although they went around them to avoid being spotted, deciding that human contact would obviously be a bad thing. They walked passed lakes and rivers, stopping for a drink and meal when their stomachs grumbled, but apart from that keeping their attention on the path and their focuses on following it.

As time passed and eventually the valleys grew into view, Raikou and the others held their breaths as they realized that the canyon was longer than they had expected, seeming to stretch for miles ahead. Despite that they were happy they had reached their destination, their determination seemed to be replaced by slight worry at the fact that it would obviously take a while to find the base. Not even an aerial view on everything would help, seeing as how the crevasses in the rock were too deep and narrow to let anything in the air get a proper look.

And time was of precious essence now…

"Oh snap…" was all Jeff could mutter.

Raikou and the others' heads snapped around the deserted-feeling trenches within the valley they had begun walking through. The faint cry of a flying Pokemon could be heard every now and then, echoing throughout the canyon like a stalking vulture among the clear sky, in which the sun seem to dominate alone with no clouds to provide shade from its scolding heat. Of course, with the way the walls that made up the trenches were high, the sandy ground was cold, the air filled with dryness, and Raikou felt somewhat claustrophobic from the fact that the walls seemed packed together.

Eventually they entered a large cave, darkness immediately engulfing them, and the faint glow of the outside exit on the far side provided the only light apart from the way they had entered. It felt dryer in the cave than it did in the exposed heat, but nonetheless comfort enshrouded Raikou and the others since the atmosphere was also cool. Using the far exit as a guide, they maneuvered through the dark cave, cringing slightly whenever they stepped on a sharp rock due to the fact that they could barely see the shadowed ground beneath their feet. In the midst of this, a grunt could be heard from Mewtwo every now and then.

The manmade Pokemon was really starting to get sick of caves.

Jeff and Skyler remained in the back, their expressions reflecting curiosity rather than determination like the others. They found the cave somewhat fascinating, while thinking it was weird that the cavern seemed so large but yet appeared to be deserted. Surely a desert Pokemon trying to escape the heat would've found this place to be paradise…

The Roselia suddenly widened his obsidian orbs when, during their slow wander around the barely-visible sights within the cave, came across two red orbs in the sea of darkness. It felt like heat was radiating from them, and Jeff froze, shivering slightly as the obsidian dots within the red circles focused on him, almost as if they were…

…eyes…

"Look over there, dudes!"

Everybody snapped around to face the Roselia, who was pointing his rose hand towards the darkness a few feet away in which he had seen the floating eyes.

They were gone.

Jeff stuttered over his grumbles of bewilderment as Raikou and the others eyed him with hopelessness. Even Skyler, whom the Roselia had been riding upon, shook his head in slight disappointment, not believing his friend. "You're just hallucinating from the heat, mate…" he muttered, earning a deathly glare from Jeff, although, despite how much he wanted to retort, held in his urge to and kept quiet. Maybe he was just imagining things.

But still…

The Roselia couldn't help but turn to eye the spot as they continued moving, slight worry gracing his eyes.

Unbeknownst to all of them, though, the eyes had returned, staring at them as they headed towards the exit out of the cave. Remaining silent, the owner blinked at the sight before getting up on all fours and slowly moving closer, deciding to linger with them but yet stay far away enough to avoid being detected.

"So, Raikou was the one who has gotten exiled from the Legendary council…" he murmured to himself. "At least I now have someone I can relate to…"

Terotrey Horrifiance darted his eyes between the computer screens among the surveillance room. The room itself was dark, outside light from the window among the door serving as the only source for any apart from the glowing screens of the computers that displayed the views of the cameras within each Legendary holding cell. The scientist was practically part of the shadows, although his eyes, which glowed as well, gave away his position, as did the faint waves of blue from the computers as they reflected off his front. His stern expression tightened as he turned his eyes to the view of the cell that was holding Suicune, as well as Darkrai, Cresselia, and Entei.

He remained silent, the room doing the same despite that the soft purring of computers could be heard. He blinked a few times, his eyes becoming watery and therefore blurry as they bore into the light screens within the dark, although he still managed to keep his view narrowed into piercing proportions. For some reason he was determined to not let the Legendaries out of his sight – to not let them be without his demonic glare, regardless that they were oblivious to the fact that he had the ability to watch them.

He hated Legendaries; he despised them.

To him they were arrogant Pokemon who did not know how to take care of the planet. Every so often they would fight with each other, bringing destruction wherever they went just because they could not settle a simple feud peacefully, but rather viciously like the horrific monsters he was certain they really were.

They wanted to protect the planet – survey the rules of natural balance? Terotrey couldn't help but snort at the thought. If they cared so much about the inhabitants of the planet then they wouldn't have put them in harm's way so many times in the past because they could not get along, leaving it to important Pokemon trainers like Ash Ketchum just to work out the war and save the world when it was the Legendaries' job to do so. It seemed oxymoronic for them to actually be the cause behind the apocalypse, but despite the times they were they had no remorse for what they did, and instead continued with their lives, paying no heed to any creatures lost during their personal vendettas.

The humans of the world never minded this, it seemed, but Terotrey noticed it. He wanted change; he wanted a single Legendary to control all rules of natural balance – one that would not bring death to loom over the world due to a rivalry or stupid mistakes caused by blinding arrogance.

He did not lust for power, even if what he was trying to do seemed to be a weapon to dominate the world. No, he didn't just want that; he wanted more. He wanted to contort the world to his liking – a world without sin where hate was never felt and tears would never be shed. He wanted pain to be nonexistent; he wanted the inhabitants to look up to him like a savior…

…like a God.

He wanted the world to cherish his name – to know him as their creator. He wanted the Legendaries to only be myths – stories told to children when they couldn't sleep, tales of arrogant creatures that brought the world fear until the reign of Terotrey became its guideline to peace. He wanted to be immortal, living upon the world forever, watching it like father would to a delicate baby, or a king gazing upon his people.

He wanted them to be loyal to him, giving him their blessing, treating him like a God. He wanted to be their hero when there was no one else, and he was determined to take this away from the current Legendaries.

Because, to him, the Legendaries deserved nothing but to be just that:

Legends.

Terotrey surfaced from his thoughts when the door opened, allowing none other than Giovanni Rocket through, whose stern expression barely outmatched the one planted on the silver-haired scientist's face. He didn't bother to turn and face the leader of Team Rocket, instead keeping his narrowed eyes on the various screens in front of him, passing an equal amount of glares between them. Giovanni didn't mind his purposed ignorance, although the man's gritted teeth seem to signify conflict of some sort with the scientist.

Terotrey had yet to inform Giovanni of his real plan – to tell him the truth that he hadn't been working alongside the boss, but instead only using him to help fulfill his own intentions. Giovanni was unaware that Terotrey found no satisfaction in helping him achieve world domination, and was only determined to gain control of the role of God among the universe with or without his will. When the silver-haired scientist finally turned to face Giovanni, it was obvious from the boss's now snarling expression had he finally realized that Terotrey was indeed betraying him.

"I know you have been lying to me, Terotrey," the old boss spat, although he kept the voice of his tone under a civilized manner. "I've heard you talk with the grunts on an intention different than from what we agreed on."

Despite his serious expression, Terotrey couldn't help but throw his head back to let out a harsh laugh. He then turned his maroon eyes to Giovanni, his vile frown returning. "Can you not see what one can do with the power of the Legendaries?" he retorted viciously. "They can bring so much more than just domination over the planet…they can bring a new beginning – a new way of life! A life much better than the one we're in now!"

"And why would we need this?" Giovanni replied, eyes narrowing.

Terotrey snarled, as if he had been provoked to let out his true feelings - to reveal his hidden emotions. "Because the world has gone to hell!"

Giovanni swallowed his tongue, not expecting such an answer that would seem to come from the mouth of some sort of harmonizer.

"Everyday you wake up," the silver-haired scientist began, his voice deep with anger, yet carrying more emotion than ever as he slowly started to pace a circle around the boss, "what's the first thing you hear on the news?"

Giovanni remained silent, his stern expression tight, shooting a glare at Terotrey as the silver-haired scientist chuckled sarcastically towards the rhetorical question.

"'A young girl found raped and murdered by the town's creek'?" he started again, hues of what looked like slight insanity growing across his glowing eyes, causing them to brighten into scarlet. "Or perhaps you get a call from your sister, telling you her boyfriend broke up with her and she no longer finds her life worth living? It must be terrible to know that your sister committed suicide due to a simple case of deep depression!

"Well, I can't take it anymore! I'm sick of seeing bad news everywhere I go – I'm sick of knowing that there are Legendaries watching over us, but yet if they're supposed to be protecting us, then why the hell aren't they preventing this kind of stuff from happening, huh? Can you answer me that, Giovanni?"

Giovanni no longer looked angry, but instead surprised, stunned by the angry outburst from Terotrey that still seemed to be emotional on a high level. All he could do was slightly gape his mouth.

Ignoring his shocked expression, Terotrey continued to pace, his mouth snarling, his narrowed eyes producing pure hatred. "They allow evil to rest upon the world in order to balance out that which is good…" he then muttered quietly, as if he had calmed down. He turned his head to Giovanni, and the boss only gasped at the sight of Terotrey's face contorted with furiousness. "THAT IS A BUNCH OF TAUROS SHIT!"

Terotrey returned his eyes to the floor like a predator scanning for prey. It seems he was no longer proud at the fact that Giovanni was oblivious to his betrayal, but now seemed determined to reveal his thoughts and opinions as if it was the most important thing in the world. The silver-haired scientist had even snatched a metal pole from a group of them in the corner, which were used to usher Pokemon into different cages. "They say there is an equal amount of good and evil…" he added in a saddened whisper, his back facing Giovanni, who was staring at him with bewilderment. "But now I only see evil…never any good…

"I will create a world without sin – a world without pain or suffering…a world made for good…a world under my control – not any other's.

"Legendaries will be nonexistent – only one, and that will be me. I have destined myself to bring this world into the light – to fix the chaos the current Legendaries never bother to prevent. Evil will not be tolerated." He chuckled slightly, although it was obvious it wasn't for humorous purposes. "I wouldn't expect you to understand…all you bring is pain to others…"

Giovanni blinked, finally noticing that he was referring to him.

"…a world without sin begins with the destruction of those who bring suffering."

And as that last sentence poured from Terotrey's lips, the silver-haired scientist suddenly swung around, bringing his pole with him and slamming the end right into Giovanni's face.