I'm going to a writing workshop this weekend. Should be fun. I want to work on one of my other stories while I'm up there. I wonder if I'll get a chance to work on my fanfic.

Red Soul

"I guess so," I sighed, dropping my head. It was hardly a believable tale.

It was a good thing we hadn't told him about Mewtwo, because Lucario asked, "And how can I be sure that you're not in league with Mewthree?"

Mew narrowed her eyes. "Even if I was from this world, I would be the last person to aide Mewthree. Back on our own planet, a group of scientists once captured me in an attempt to clone me. They would have succeeded if… if someone hadn't rescued me. I don't know how much of me would have been left if they'd managed to succeed. Do you know if the Mew and Mewtwo of your world still exist?"

"I do not," Lucario admitted. "Though I've heard that our Mewtwo is gone."

"You think he was sacrificed in order to complete Mewthree?" Mew asked.

"So goes the rumor," Lucario sighed.

Mew looked disgusted at the idea. "I'm alive because they used a Mew fossil to clone Mewtwo," she explained. "I hope the Mew in your world is as lucky as I was. Your Mewtwo wasn't."

Lucario gave a dry laugh. "I see your point. Though you'll find we're pretty suspicius these days. You'll have to forgive me if I don't seem entirely open."

"I suppose so," Mew agreed. "If it helps, you're allowed to be suspicious of me."

"I guess that includes me too," I chipped in.

"Although we all vouch for them," Suicune said.

Lucario smiled. "It's strange times we live in. Trust can be so dangerous, but trust in our friends is the only thing that will protect us. I'll try to limit my suspicions."

"Much obliged," Entei said, smiling.

"After all," Lucario continued, "Mew, Raikou, Entei, and Suicune could all be very helpful to have around. And Cara's proving quite useful too."

"Heh," I said, hiding a smile.

"We'll do what we can while we're here," Mew promised. "Although I ask that you tell as few people as possible about our situation."

"I'll keep it to myself if I can," Lucario promised. He tried to stand, but his legs wobbled unsteadily. Raikou offered his shoulder as a support. He was still weak from the attack. "The fact that our two foes came out of the rest stop worries me. They may have attacked the Pokémon inside. We should check on them."

Link and I followed Lucario inside. Mew waited outside with Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. She was still weak as well, despite the Oran berry. Roselia, Lombre, Doduo, and Quagsire were all passed out on the ground. We used all of our Oran berries to revive them, and Lucario promised to look for more guards to aid them.

"I could teleport over here occasionally," Mew suggested as we exited the outpost. "Not much can stand up against me. They caught me off guard this time."

Lucario gave a half-smile. "I was caught off-guard as well, so it's nothing you need to be ashamed about."

"We can give you a ride back to town," Entei offered.

"Although we'll need a place to stay while we're here," Suicune said.

"I know a place," Link said, eager to be of some use. "There's a valley that reaches down to the ocean, and there's a stream there that you can use for water, and the berry bushes make a sort of cave, so you can use it for shelter."

Raikou nodded. "Sounds fair. Shall we be off then?"

…

For the next several days, Link and I trained with Tyranitar, and went on several smaller missions. They mainly included searching for Pokémon and bringing them to town where it was safe. The towns were becoming a sort of camp for Pokémon that were afraid to stay in the wild. Whatever means Mewthree had of possessing Pokémon, those in the towns seemed to be safe.

During our training, Mew traveled to a few of the outposts along the Coast Road. Lucario gave her directions to some of the other stops, so she was able to teleport to three of them every day in order to check up on everyone there. She masqueraded as an Abra so she wouldn't draw attention to herself, but she never needed to stay too long.

Raikou, Entei, and Suicune patrolled the road, keeping to the bushes to avoid attracting attention.

It was nearly two weeks before we heard more about the box Lucario had retrieved from Treasure Town. We received word during breakfast that Lucario wanted to see us, so we headed over to his office. Lopunny showed us in. We found Lucario asleep, his head on his desk.

"Oh, my," Lopunny whispered. "He was away for a few days. It looks like he stayed up all night to catch up on his work."

"Maybe we should come back later," I suggested.

Lopunny hesitated. "I'm sure he wouldn't ask you to come here if it wasn't important."

She started to move towards him, but the sound of footsteps awoke Lucario. He quickly sat up. When he saw the four of us looking at him, he sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Right," he said. "Team Avalon, I have a mission for you. A very important one, which I'm only giving you because of your strength." He gestured at Mew. She cocked her head. "Usually this is something I would do myself, or ask Tyranitar to do. But you can get there fastest." Mudkip could possibly travel fast. Obviously she didn't know Mew's true identity.

Lucario reached under his desk and pulled out the box we'd gotten from Treasure Town: the spirit of Latias – the Spirit Mist.

"I've been keeping this here, since it's safer here than the cave where Manectric works," Lucario explained. "But she needs to test it on her machine now, so I need the three of you to take it to her for the day."

Link accepted the box and tucked it into his bag. "We'll get it there," he promised.

Lucario gave a weak smile and nodded.

As we left, Lucario picked up his pen, held it to the paper on his desk, and then lowered it again, shutting his eyes once more.

"Is he okay?" I asked Lopunny when we were out of Lucario's office.

Lopunny looked concerned. "There's so much he has to do. I've been doing everything I can to help him, but there's some things that he has to do himself. The sooner all of this is over, the better."

…

"I haven't been to Manectric's place before, so I can't teleport," Mew explained. "But I can fly us, if you know the way."

Link nodded. "Yeah, we've been there before. We can get you there."

Once the town was behind us, Mew transformed into a Flygon.

"Something I've been thinking about," Link said as we hopped onto Mew's back. "If we just teleport and fly everywhere, Cara and I won't get much battle experience. And if there's any possessed Pokémon near the roads, we won't be able to clear them out to make it safe for travelers."

Mew nodded. "We can go by foot most of the rest of the time, if you want. But we have the Spirit Mist now. It's safety should be our priority for today."

"Raikou, Entei, and Suicune are helping to keep the roads clear," I reminded Link.

"Which reminds me," Mew said. "A couple more of our friends should be here by morning. We can pick them up tomorrow."

"That's great!" I exclaimed.

"Are they more legendaries?" Link asked.

"Yes. Us legendaries are the only ones that Palkia would trust to send to different worlds."

Link nodded. "Makes sense. I don't think I'd feel safe going to another world. Unless I had to help a friend, of course."

I smiled.

With Mew flying, we arrived at the hills in about half an hour. We stopped at the bottom of Manectric's hill so that Mew could pick up her Mudkip shape.

But just as we were approaching the cave, a shape appeared from the dark depths, galloping towards us.

Link's cheeks sparked and Mew prepared to attack before we realized that it was Manectric.

She skidded to a halt in front of us.

"Thank goodness you've come. You got my message?"

"About the Spirit Mist?" Link asked.

Manectric looked at us oddly. "About Elekid."

We looked at her blankly.

Manectric sighed. "Early this morning I sent a message to Lucario by carrier Pidgey. Elekid is missing."

"Lucario didn't tell us anything about that," Mew said. "He just asked us to deliver the Spirit Mist. Are you sure your message got through?"

"It may not have," Manectric admitted. "Pidgey may have been attacked and delayed."

"Why didn't you go to rescue him?" Link asked.

"I can't leave the machine unguarded. Both Elekid and I know that this machine is more important than either of us individually. Which is why I sent for help."

"When did he go missing?" I asked. "And where?"

"Early this morning he went out to get water, and he never came back."

"We'll go find him," Mew said. "He was down at the river? We'll probably find evidence if we follow his route. You stay inside and make sure the machine stays safe." Mew didn't mention giving Manectric the Spirit Mist. She knew that the safest place for it was with her. We'd hand it over after we found Elekid.

Manectric nodded and backed into the cave. Link, Mew, and I started to walk away. Once Manectric was out of sight, Mew turned to the cave. She glowed pink for a moment, and suddenly the cave entrance had completely vanished. The cliff face appeared solid and unmarked.

"What did you do?" Link asked, startled.

"I cast a mirage to hide the cave. It'll keep Manectric safe, since she's there alone."

When we'd reached the bottom of the hill, we hurried to the river where Elekid would have gone for water.

The wooden bucket was about 30 feet from the river. The ground around it was damp. He must have been attacked when he was on his way back. The dirt and grass was torn up, as though there had been a scuffle, and there were some scorch marks from Elekid's lightning. Footsteps led away torward the north.

"What do you think made these?" I asked. "Something bigger than us, at least. And pretty heavy to leave such deep tracks."

"Donphan and Graveler," Mew said, examining the prints. "He probably didn't stand a chance against two ground types."

Link nodded. "At least it'll be easy to follow."

"That's right," Mew agreed. "Climb on. We should hurry." She transformed into Flygon once again, and we hopped onto her back.

Mew took off, flying close to the ground. Her eyes remained glued to the trail of footprints left by the Pokémon that had attacked Elekid. We ended up at the main road, heading northwest.

"Do you think they kidnapped Elekid because they figured out about the machine?" I asked.

"Well, if they have, Manectric will need some more help defending this place. Maybe Suicune will come down to help them out."

"It looks like they're taking Elekid to Mount Labyrinth," Link said, his eyes following the road through the hills until it disappeared into the distant mountains.

Mew angled upwards, gaining altitude until we were high above the road. We coasted above the path. The further we went, the higher the hills got and the wilder the forest became. At the point where the trail entered the hills, it began to move further and further from the ocean. From here, we could barely see a strip of blue in the ocean. From Mount Labyrinth, the sea probably wouldn't be visible at all.

"There," Flygon said.

Link and I peered over her shoulder. Sure enough, far below us, a figure was traveling north, towards the mountains. Or was it only one? As Mew dove closer, I saw that it was a Donphan with a Carnivine riding on its back. And Carnivine had its vines wrapped around something yellow – Elekid. Donphan and Carnivine didn't notice us approaching from behind.

"Elekid looks unconscious," Link whispered.

"I'm going to collide with them and knock them over," Mew said. "Hopefully they'll drop Elekid during the panic. When I hit, you jump free. I'll take Donphan, you take Carnivine."

"Right," Link and I chorused.

Mew angled sharply down, falling into a dive. I clung to her shoulder, bracing myself for the impact. Then Mew drove her shoulder into Donhan's hip and caught Carnivine with her wing. Donphan flipped over, and Carnivine went tumbling to the ground. Elekid flew free and rolled to the ground, where he lay unmoving.

Link and I didn't so much as jump off as fall off. We scrambled to our feet and faced Carnivine, who was trying to right herself. But we didn't give her the chance to do so. I used Ember, and Link used Thunderbolt. I jumped forward to use Fire Fang, but Carnivine turned around and opened her jaws wide. I skidded to a halt, tring to stop myself from running right into that huge mouth. With a quick zap, Link sent Thundershock to the side of Carnivine's head, making her mouth snap upwards. I quickly jumped forward and used Fire Fang.

Carnivine groaned and crashed to the ground.

"Phew," I said. "Much easier than the last big battle, huh?"

Link laughed. "I think we were more at our own level this time."

Behind us, Mew was battling Donphan. Donphan, it seemed, was at a higher level. And he'd gained momentum with Rollout, so Mew had trouble aiming as she hovered above in her Flygon form. Donphan hit a rise in the road and shot up towards Mew, who dodged to the side. Donphan landed, and continued rolling.

I turned to check on Elekid, but as I did so, I heard a crashing sound through the trees. We looked up to find a Graveler rolling right at us.

We didn't get time to react. It crashed right into us, sending Link and I flying. I managed to get my bearings and turn my fall into a roll. But the impact had left me bruised and dizzy.

Link hadn't landed quite as well. He was in a heap next to me. He moaned and sat up.

Graveler turned around and came at us again, gaining more momentum with Rollout. Link wouldn't be in time to get out of the way.

I jumped in front of him and used Dragon Rage on Graveler's left side. The impact was enough to make him swerve and avoid us by inches.

I dragged Link to his feet and we faced Graveler.

Just then a rush of water flooded across the path and sent Graveler sprawling. We turned to face a Blastoise. I hissed and got into battle stance before I realized that it was only Mew. She'd transformed again, and managed to take out Donphan and Graveler.

"Thanks," I huffed.

She sighed and transformed back into a Flygon. "We should get back to the cave. How's Elekid doing?"

"Unconscious," Link said, walking over to him. "But in one piece."

Link bent over and picked Elekid up. She offered us her shoulder, and we hopped up between her wings. Mew jumped up into the air, and we headed back to Manectric's cave. It didn't take long, and soon we were circling down towards the cave.

"He's waking up," Mew said as we neared the ground.

There was a cry from somewhere beneath Mew. Elekid was probably startled at finding himself carried by a Flygon.

Suddenly, a blinding flash of electricity lit up the sky. Fortunately Mew's Flygon form deflected the bolts, so they didn't reach us. But Mew let out a startled cry and automatically dropped Elekid. Except we were still about 50 feet from the ground.

Mew quickly swooped low, getting beneath Elekid. Link and I reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him down next to us. He began to spark, preparing for another attack.

"Stop it!" I shouted.

"Elekid, it's us! We came to help you!" Link exclaimed.

Elekid's static fizzled out as he got a good look at us. "You guys. You came here before."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Why don't you think before you attack next time?"

"I could hardly see you from down there, could I?" Elekid demanded. "Consdiering I was being kidnapped before I lost consciousness, it's normal that my first reaction would be to try to escape."

"And how will escaping fifty feet in the air help you?" I demanded.

Elekid glanced down at the ground as Mew landed.

"Reflexes," he explained.

"Don't let your reflexes kill you," Link suggested.

Mew landed, and the three of us jumped off. Mew had managed to dispel the illusion before we landed, so Elekid hadn't noticed the cave's supposed disappearance.

Manectric galloped out to greet us. She breathed a sigh of relief to see Elekid safe.

"You made it. Thank you so much. Are you okay, Elekid?"

He nodded.

"Even though he attacked us," Link grumbled.

"Before I knew it as you!" Elekid said defensively.

"And who are you?" Manectric asked, looking at Flygon-Mew.

We exchanged glances. Mew had been planning to transform back into a Mudkip before Manectric saw us, but Elekid woke up before she got the chance. We'd probably have to explain things to her and Elekid. I sure couldn't think of a good cover story.

"Uh, can we talk inside?" Mew suggested.

"Yes, let's go in," Manectric suggested.

Once we were inside, Mew took her real form, and we explained my story to a startled Manectric and Elekid.

Elekid looked skeptical, but Manectric looked thoughtful.

"It makes sense. Why else would Lucario trust a new Rescue Team to deliver the Spirit Mist?"

"Oh, yeah, we still have it," Link said, reaching into his bag and pulling the box out.

Since Manectric didn't really have hands, Link lifted off the lid. I reached in and lifted the item out.

It was round and smooth, like glass. It was red, with a pale pink sort of mist pulsing within. Golden flecks glimmered inside it. It was warm, and I felt a faint sort of shifting motion inside, as though it were alive.

"Wow," I whispered, running my hand across the top of it. "I… I think I've seen something like this before. Except… a different color, maybe?"

"It was probably a Soul Dew," Manectric explained, gesturing for me to follow her. "A Soul Dew is the spirit of a Latios. It's blue." She beckoned for me to place the Spirit Mist onto a niche in her machine. I did so, but nothing happened.

"Still some adjustments, it looks like," Manectric muttered.

"I'll send one of our friends over to help defend this place," Mew offered.

"That would be great," Manectric agreed, dipping her claw in a dish of ink and making several marks on her schematics. "Especially since we have the Spirit Mist with us now. That is certainly something we need to guard. We wouldn't want Mewthree to get his hands on a power source like this."

Mew nodded. "I'll get them here as soon as possible."

I wondered who she meant by "them." Was she planning on sending more than just Suicune?

Manectric turned and raised an eyebrow at Elekid. He groaned. "Uh, thanks. For saving me."