Chapter 21.

Blade, Torch, Mud & Wish

"Ack!" Wish fell backwards as the three young Pokemon suddenly appeared in front of him. He winced as the three fell into a mud puddle.

"Great!" spat Torch, climbing out. She shook herself violently to get all the mud off. She did not want to preen her feathers with mud in them. Another reason why she couldn't wait until she evolved. Then she would have hands to clean with instead of doing it the bird Pokemon way.

Mud climbed out without a complainant. She was a water Pokemon after all and like her namesake, she didn't mind mud that much. Plus mud was used to help the injured Pokemon sometimes so she had to get used to using it at an early age.

Blade on the other hand just sat in the mud, dumbfound. He still could not believe what had just happened. He was actually the prince from two hundred years ago. Just trying to wrap his head around that idea was hard.

"Blade," Wish stretched down his long neck and looked Blade straight in the eye. "Snap out of it! We have a mission remember!"

"Wow. I wouldn't expect you to be saying that," spoke Mud. She blinked. "Hang on. You look different."

"Wait!" Torch ran over and almost collided with Wish. "Where's Calm? What happened with him?" Wish didn't seem like much of a fighter so did that mean that Calm was alive? Or did Wish have some sort of secret power and Calm wasn't?

Wish shook his head, backing away from Torch. "I'm sorry. I don't remember…" He scrunched his eyes closed. "No. I can't remember anything that happened after I met up with your brother but I know he's alive."

"He better be," said Torch under her breath. Although she was afraid he would attack them again, she was still glad. He was her brother. They had grown up together. Plus her father. After her mother's death he had been devastated and seeing him like that again after Calm's disappearance…it was too much for to handle. So, whether he liked it or not, she would drag Calm back.

"What do you mean I look different?" Wish asked.

Mud shook her head. "I don't know. You just do." She shrugged. "It can just be my imagination."

Blade climbed out of the mud slowly. He shook his head. There was no time to be thinking of this. They were on a mission. There was danger. That thing had absorbed Sar. He jumped. Serenity! He forgot to ask her to help. Wait. But knowing her, she would have already known what was going to happen. Was that the reason she didn't offer? Or was she not needed to help?

"So," spoke Wish. "Umm, the desert is that way." He pointed with a hoof. "I didn't see the thing at all."

"Of course you didn't," replied Torch, "Cause that thing attacked us." She paused. "Hey. I hope the thing didn't get its tentacles around her."

"It didn't," said Blade quickly. More forcefully than he should have said it.

Torch jumped in surprise, her face betraying a slight amount of hurt.

Blade shut his eyes. Great. "I mean," he said, "She wouldn't get caught. Remember? She can jump into a different time period."

"Of course I can."

The four Pokemon jumped as Serneity appeared before them. Her arms were crossed and she was looking at each one of them expectantly. When her eyes fell on Wish she chuckled. "So, there you are. I was wondering where you had disappeared to."

"Huh?" asked Wish.

"Hang on," said Mud. "You know him?"

Serenity laughed. "Of course." She winked. "I can't tell you though. It'll ruin the future if I do."

"How?" asked Wish stepping forward. "Please. Tell me who I am. I don't know. I mean, I wish I knew. But…"

Serenity shrugged. "Sorry. But ain't saying anything." She looked down at her grandson. "Blade. I know what you want to ask and my answer is yes. My aid will be given but only at the point it is needed."

"Thank you Serenity," said Blade. He knew he needed to be content with just this. He wanted to yell at her, to tell her that she had to come along with them to help them find the rest of the legendaries. But that was unfair. Plus Serenity knew more about the outcome than any of them did.

Serenity nodded. "I can give you a lift to the desert though." She moved her hand and the grass around the four lifted upwards until it encased the four Pokemon in a ball woven from grass.

"Hang on!" cried Torch, scratching the sides of the grass cage. "I'm not liking this. I want to be let out! I want to be let out now!"

Serenity chuckled. "No can do!" She twisted more grass until it was shaped like a slingshot. The grass ball was loaded and the slingshot was pulled back. "Good luck on your quest," she said over Torch's threats to be released. Feeling mischievous, right before she released them she said. "Hey brother. Don't mess up your part now alright?"