A/N: I'm getting this out of the way right now - this chapter is probably half-filler. I hate random timeskips when something productive could've been explained instead, so I used this for that. It might seem to jump all over the place... because it does. That was kind of intentional, to get across what everyone's doing. And I'm done taking suggestions for the new hybrid, because he's been determined.
Which reminds me, thanks to Klingkan (Edit: Sorry, misread your name the first time) for the idea of which Pokemon to use in the mix. There's not much more to say ahead of time, so I'm probably going to stop talking now and let you read. Just know... things are going to get real interesting, real quick. If my brain takes this story the way I think it will. Read on, and tell me if you enjoyed the chapter!
You might wonder how the arrival to the Hall of Origin went. In a word - chaotic. When we got there, everyone was shouting at once; some telepathically, others literally shouting. It took almost an hour - a full hour - to get everything explained, though that had more to do with everyone interrupting everyone else every five minutes. What I learned, long story short, is that some scientist got picked out by Mewtwo to help us out with... whatever we're supposed to do. Didn't get that far yet.
More interesting was that 'Neureon' - some sort of evolution from Eevee, from what I gathered. Weirdly enough, the Legendaries were all... well, almost scared of the thing. Which I didn't get, because it sure seemed nice enough; though its black eyes were kinda eerie. Looked like a creepy cross between an Umbreon and Espeon.
The introduction to the 'council' as Darkrai called it was... amusing. When Aurora and Ghost came out and saw everyone, I was sure they were going to faint then and there. As it was, they didn't talk outside of over-respectful greetings - probably afraid they'd offend one of them.
But that aside, it went well. We've all been here for a while - Dialga said somewhere around a week, last I checked. Hard to tell, when there's no sun or moon to judge by. In that time, I got to know... pretty much everyone; Keith, the scientist, was alright - he kept to himself, usually with Neureon sticking nearby.
Dialga and Palkia didn't show themselves much - probably too busy keeping things together. Rayquaza was a pretty cool dragon and, strangely enough, liked playing cards. Let me tell you, a twenty-three foot long serpent, coiled up and holding a hand of cards in one oversized claw just looks ridiculous. (I always beat him, of course...)
Groudon... well, he was around, that's about all I could say; he really didn't say much, though I gathered that he didn't like Rayquaza all that much - go figure. From the heat that seemed to surround the guy half the time, I'd think he lived in a volcano - wait... he actually did, at least in the games; that explains that, I guess. Regigigas seemed to like building... anything really. Random structures made of that weird, multicolored stone weren't hard to find. Didn't get much else out of him, though - he'd just look down at me for a moment before going back to his construction.
The legendary birds - including Lugia - were... dangerous to go near when they were together. I stumbled across an argument between them, and let's say I'm staying out of that. I like not being cooked at over nine thousand degrees.
Over all, I got along well with the ones it was safe to approach, and the others... didn't hate me. That was good. But after a week of 'relaxing', although it wasn't very relaxing honestly, Mewtwo and Darkrai decided to get us working.
"Alright, now let's try again. Focus on the blade..."
Aurora was teaching me how to 'channel my Aura' through the now-enchanted Master Sword... and it wasn't going well. But I did what she said, tried imagining a film of blue over the blade; and like every time before, the best I got was a weak glimmer of blue before it faded, leaving me just more tired. Finally I stabbed the thing into the ground and snapped "This isn't working! Hell, what am I thinking? That I can turn into some 'Aura Knight' or something?"
The Lucario put her paws on her hips, looking at me disappointed. "Do you think I learned all of my techniques in a day? No, it took me months - without the focus item you have, that is." Her expression shifted as she added "Although, you might need a different form of training..."
I looked up just in time to jump away from an Aura Sphere, letting it crash into the ground. "The hell, Aurora!?" I shouted, grabbing the sword as I moved. My response was another blast, which I dodged again. 'Alright... we're playing hardball, then. Never was good at sports, but... screw it!' I swung at the third sphere baseball-style, letting it collide with the blade and actually sending it ricocheting away harmlessly.
Seeing I got the idea, Aurora smirked deviously - just like when we'd been training at home. "Ah, crap..." I muttered, tightening my grip on the sword. 'This is gonna be a long day...'
"You want me... to do what!?" I was standing on one side of an obvious Pokémon Battle arena, with Mewtwo in the center and the Legendary Pokémon Uxie floating near the other side. Standing beside me was Ghost, who was apparently the kid's - Dave, was his name - Scyther.
Mewtwo looked at both of us and repeated "You are going to practice being a Trainer. We would use your Neureon for this, but as its capabilities are unknown... it would be simpler to get Ghost's help." He stepped out of the arena and continued. "Your opponent is Uxie. He will fight as skillfully as you do; keep that in mind. Now Trainer Keith, Lord Uxie... battle."
"A-alright, then... Ghost, Quick Attack!" I ordered quickly, trying to recall what I could about Scythers. He blurred forward, only to be repelled by a shining transparent barrier. "Um, shit - quick, Fury Cutter!" Again he listened, but each strike bounced off of the spherical barrier around Uxie. I could've sworn I saw a faint smirk on Mewtwo's face at how this was going.
Finally Uxie decided to attack, knocking Ghost back with a weak-looking psychic attack. 'Um... something that always hits... but what?' I thought, trying to think of a way around that barrier. "Double Team - keep him guessing!" I called, buying some time. When Ghost got back up, there were at least ten identical Scythers all running a circle around Uxie.
"…! Keep on target - use Aerial Ace!" That time, the attack got through. With eleven Scythers at once, Uxie didn't catch the real one in time and bobbed back slightly in the air - it didn't do much, but we landed a hit! "Don't let up - Fury Cutter!" This brought back memories, all right; old GameBoy in my hands, fighting Red at the end of... Pokémon Gold, that was the one.
Ghost kept up a flurry of slashes, if nothing else keeping Uxie too busy dodging to attack. Then the Legendary's closed eyes flashed blue and the Scyther went flying back, skidding to a stop a few feet in front of me. "You're not bad, for never having been a Trainer before. You catch on quickly, at least." I could tell that was Uxie; the voice was different from Mewtwo's smug one. He sounded intelligent, but also a bit laid back.
"I'm a scientist - or I was; we learn quick, if we're good at our jobs." I replied with a shrug. "Ghost, Razor- huh?" I was interrupted by Neureon - I wasn't sure if I should give him a nickname or not - walking onto the arena and next to Ghost.
"I -an- to p-ay!" he 'said', jumping up and down little guy still couldn't seem to get a hang of the whole 'telepathy' thing yet, still speaking out loud at the same time, but it wasn't hard to figure out what he was saying. I looked over at Mewtwo with a shrug.
"I say let him. What better way to see what he can do?" I asked, crossing my arms. "Besides, Ghost isn't even mine - doesn't feel quite right."
Mewtwo seemed to think for a moment before slowly nodding. "Against my better judgment, I must agree. Uxie... battle with your own discretion; he is a hybrid, but also a child." The mentioned Legendary nodded once, but something was off - as soon as Neureon showed up, they both got... tense.
"What's the big deal with hybrids? Why do you all seemed... scared of him?" I asked finally, as Ghost walked off of the field. Mewtwo seemed about to explain, but Uxie cut him off.
"Beat me with your Neureon, and I'll tell you."
I nodded, watching Neureon move in front of me. "Alright, kid - we're gonna fight him, understand? Like when you fought off the... mean golem." I explained, and instantly he was growling at Uxie. Before he could do something rash, I added "But he's not going to kill us, like the golem was. Just listen to what I say, and this'll go fine."
The growling continued, but the 'Eevee-lution' nodded slightly. "Alright, then. Let's get this started! Neureon... uh, go get him!" I called, realizing that I had no idea what he could do... or if even he knew. But all I did was blink dumbly when, in the span of a second, he'd bolted at Uxie and left a thin black cut across his chest. And I blinked again when I saw a glint of red on his paw.
Both Legendaries looked more than surprised, and Uxie floated back a few feet to get some distance. Neureon dropped his 'war face' and tilted his head, gasping when he saw the blood on his paw. "N-, no, I'm s-rry! I di-n't mean to!" he managed to stutter - I didn't know you could stutter with telepathy.
Mewtwo just stared at the sight before saying "A simple Dark attack... no, there was no energy placed into that. Naturally imbued with it, then? But how is that possible..." I quickly realized he was thinking out loud - literally - like I often did.
"Hey, want to continue the battle or what?" I asked, directing it more toward Uxie than anything. "You gonna be alright?"
The Legendary nodded slowly, still half-shocked. "It... it's not debilitating. I'll not lose to a child, after all!" he replied, but I could detect some hesitation. Either way, he wanted to keep going, so...
"Neureon, dial it down a bit next time. We don't want to kill-"
Uxie stopped me, saying "No, this is how a normal battle would go. I'm simply surprised that he could hurt me; most 'common' Pokémon - all but the other Legends - cannot so much as scratch us." He paused, floating back into place before continuing. "I will start this." Without warning he held one arm in front of him and Neureon started glowing green. Thin streams of the glow flew into Uxie's arm, and the cut on his chest healed over even as my Pokémon started to shake.
"Shake it off, come on!" I called, watching Neureon get... drained, I guess. 'What's a common Dark move, come on...' "Dark Pulse!" As soon as I said it - actually, a few seconds before, strangely enough - the Pokémon released a loud growl and a blast of dark energy shot from his mouth right into Uxie. When the attack hit, the Legendary's concentration broke and he had to focus on simply staying upright. 'How hard did that hit?!'
"Very - and I believe that's enough." Mewtwo said almost angrily, stepping onto the field. "You asked why we 'feared' hybrids; now you have seen why. They are unnaturally strong, and often without any control of that strength." He glared down at Neureon, who quickly ran over to me, shaking. "I know more than any that such... creatures are not meant for this world."
I narrowed my eyes and stepped forward. "You mean like all of you? This was my world, humans' world - not yours." I saw Mewtwo's eyes widen slightly as I continued. "Don't get all high and mighty about this; you're all outsiders here, all of you equal. Deal with it." Without giving him a chance to retort, I started walking out of the room. "C'mon, Neureon."
"I do-'t li-e him." I heard, making me chuckle.
Reaching down to pet the Eevee-lution, I couldn't help but smile at how... childish he was. "Yeah, me neither." I said, glancing back at the 'doorway'. "Let's go find the other guy - Dave." He nodded once happily, quickly forgetting everything else in the face of talking to someone else. "Right... now where is he?"
It was both astounding and... somewhat depressing, being allowed in the legendary Hall of Origin. On one hand, I was sitting in a place no human has set foot in within written history; on the other, I wasn't able to show my team what it was like. In fact, with Aurora off training Dave - that thought was ironic, actually... a Pokémon training a human - there was little for me to do.
The researcher from this world was getting training as well, apparently because the two of them were to play some part in... whatever was happening in the future. But me... I was beginning to seem like an extra; no true purpose in the group, without my Pokémon. It was obvious that Aurora had, to some extent, taken a liking to my 'twin'; something I held no ill will towards him for, of course - from what I'd learned of how he welcomed her, I expected nothing less.
'Why was I brought here?' I thought idly, sitting against the wall in the room we'd arrived in. The Tree of Beginning's branches were sticking through the wall only a few feet to my left, but the meeting hall was empty except for myself. How long I'd been here today, I wasn't sure - keeping track of time in this place was difficult, but there was plenty of the Hall to wander. 'So why am I simply sitting here?'
That question in mind, I pushed myself up off the floor and picked a corridor at random. With my backpack slung over my shoulder, I started exploring the Hall once again. It was strange, honestly; for such a large place, it was... empty. My footsteps echoed through the hallways and rooms as I walked, giving the place an eerie feeling to it.
After some time of wandering, I saw something dart around the corner ahead - a nearly transparent red blur. "What...?" I sped up slightly, reaching the corner and looking down the corridor... to see nothing. Just another hallway lined with those huge doors that seemed to open into whatever they pleased at any time. With a shrug, I started down the new hallway - it was just as good as any other, I supposed.
But as I passed one of the doors, I heard... crying? When I stopped to listen, I confirmed it; it was muffled by the door, but it definitely sounded like somebody crying and attempting to be quiet about it. '… who could that be?' I thought, placing my hand flat against the door. "Hello?" Whoever it was fell silent for a moment, but I didn't get a response. "… If it's alright, I'm coming in..."
As I slowly pushed the large door open, I fully expected to get blasted - or at least thrown out of the room immediately - but what I saw surprised me. This particular 'room' looked like it was outside: it took the form of a too-large garden, with trees lining and forming the edges. Lively green grass made up the floor, and all sorts of flowers were scattered throughout the area. There was even a small river that ran from the far side of the room to just beside the door, disappearing past the 'walls'.
In the very center, splitting the river, was a fountain - a circular, two-layered one just taller than myself. And inset into the middle of the fountain was a translucent, blue-green orb of... crystal, maybe? Whatever it was, there was a bright blue 'spark' of light held inside it, making the entire fountain glimmer.
But as honestly serene as the 'room' was, there was no sign of who'd been inside. I looked around, but there was no mistake - nothing but the plants and fountain filled this room. As I started to close the door and leave, however, something made it stop. "Wait… d-don't go..." I heard faintly, a definitely feminine voice echoing in my head.
I glanced around, and the air next to me shimmered before revealing the white and red, floating form of Latias with one claw holding the door open. Her expression was sad enough to make it blatantly obvious who I'd heard. After getting over the slight surprise at her appearance, I asked very simply "What's wrong?"
Her response was to let go of the door and float slowly into the center of the room, near the fountain. I took that as a sort of invitation inside, so I slowly shut the door behind me and walked over to the Eon Legendary. She was silently floating a few feet above the grass, staring sadly at the crystalline orb. For a few minutes, neither of us said anything - I assumed that she would talk when she was ready to, whatever this was about.
Finally, Latias began to speak, though her gaze never left the strange orb. "… why couldn't he make it?" she asked quietly, her telepathic voice barely above a whisper. It took me a moment to realize who she was talking about - there was said to be another, similar Pokémon... Latios.
I tentatively stepped closer to her and asked "Your... brother?" It was a shot in the dark, but her faint nod confirmed the guess for me. "… what happened?" I asked carefully, fully aware that I was dealing with an obviously very upset Legendary that could likely kill me by accident.
However, I had nothing to worry about. Latias turned her head slightly to look at me, and now I could see tears sliding down her face. "R-Regice... was going berserk. We tried to... I don't know, stop it from freezing over everything in its path. It was headed toward a city, we... we had to do something!"
Seeing how distraught she was - and having lost nearly everyone, myself - I rested my hand on her side with a sympathetic look. "Go on - I'm listening." I said softly, making sure not to pressure her.
She hesitated for a moment before being able to continue. "We... we took turns d-distracting it. Latios, though... h-he was so focused on keeping me safe..." The dragon's 'voice' seemed to break, and her neck bent down to bring her head slightly closer to the water.
I could already see where this was going; Regice, I knew, would've had a distinct advantage over the two, being the Dragon-type Legends they were reported to be. "The two of you... you couldn't drive it off." I didn't phrase it as a question - the answer was obvious, anyway.
"Regice... whipped up a horrid b-blizzard. I tried to s-stop it, but... my wings were f-freezing over..." I'd never been aware of just how... charged with emotion telepathy could be - I was starting to feel depressed myself from all I was feeling from her. "H-he... made me leave... said he'd be 'right behind me'…"
Her voice completely trailed off after that, and I heard tears falling into the fountain's water. I'd never thought I would see a Legendary Pokémon breaking down, but that was exactly what Latias was doing. After everything that'd happened, I simply couldn't not comfort her... so I pulled the floating dragon into a hug.
"I understand..." I said quietly, feeling her tense up before letting herself rest against me. "You're not alone. Just let it out." I was always a 'man of stone' in Sinnoh - no expression, never letting emotions affect me visibly... it was necessary, to be taken seriously in the League there. But as I felt Latias shuddering in my arms, and remembered my own lost family, I allowed myself an exception.
We both simply stayed in that garden-room, a human and a Legendary Pokémon, and cried for our families.
-Real World: ?-
"We've found them, sir."
I turned in my chair to look back at who was quickly becoming one of the few members of my 'organization' that I respected, Weevil. "'Them'?"
He nodded once. "The Spatial Pokémon, the human wielding your power... they are in the same place. And you may appreciate where they are, sir." The 'Admin' paused for effect before continuing. "A place that seems to only half-exist - the so-called 'Hall of Origin'."
I couldn't help it - I began to laugh. Everything was going almost perfectly! But I had to be absolutely sure... "You're certain. There is no mistake?"
Weevil pulled out a clipboard from behind his back. "There is almost no way it could be otherwise - it definitely holds matter from the other world, and seems to barely be connected to ours at all. But it is, and we've tracked where that connection leads." I saw a ghost of a smile cross his face. "It is definitely the home of the Legendary Pokémon."
I did something that surprised him, then - I got up out of my chair and walked over to him. Clapping him on the shoulder I said "Excellent work. If we can forge our way into this Hall..." I shook my head - that would come later. "Tell the Dragoons to begin their work. Phase Three... begins now." The surprised Admin nodded quickly and left, eager to get the real work done.
"Do I... get to hunt, now?"
The raspy voice made me turn to where 'Predator', our only... successful experiment, always stood - in the darkness. "… yes. I want the human's sword - intact. Do what you will, otherwise." I heard a disturbingly twisted laugh and a single, ringing step on the metal floor. A fierce, almost jagged-looking face entered the light from the open door.
Red eyes flashed from behind an almost helmet-like section of green plating - someone else might have mistaken it for armor, but I knew that he was covered head to toe in it... and that you would only find muscle and bone underneath. His mouth split open in a sharp-toothed, almost manic grin.
"… excellent."