Chapter 21:

Moonlight Queen Cresselia

"Alright, stop," Syoran ordered. At his command, Psi and Rio paused their mock fight, which mostly consisted of Psi teleporting around and landing weak punches on Rio's rock-hard body. Seriously, the kid had gone from being a fluffy little Riolu to an iron-muscled Lucario way too quickly. I mean, right after he evolved he had still been soft-furred and a bit skinny, but apparently the left-over energy allowed him to bulk up very quickly and gain an armor-like layer of fur, skin, and muscle.

"What's up?" Rio asked, confused.

"Psi," Syoran sighed, "I don't know why I agreed to let you do this. You're not doing much at all."

"Spirit! Pay attention!" Z growled. Thanks to my still-sore body, I barely managed to backpedal in time to avoid his claws slashing my throat open.

"Hey!" I snapped, "This is a sparring match! Besides, I'm still sore and we aren't trying to kill each other, are we?"

"Who says?" Z grunted, lunging again. I parried this time and swiped at his face. He didn't bother blocking, choosing to duck under my stroke instead, and lashed out with a blindingly fast punch to my lower jaw. I grunted in pain, which ran all up and down my spine, and fell heavily onto my back. In an instant, his claws were poised over my stomach. "You're dead," he said gruffly.

"No," I countered, "I'm mortally wounded."

He rolled his eyes. "It's the same thing…"

"No," I protested, "Because I can still do..." My hind legs shot out and caught him full in the chest, knocking the air out of him. "…that."

"You're a jerk…" he gasped, clutching his stomach. I grinned triumphantly.

"No, I'm a victor!" I said, correcting him.

"You want to learn a T.M.?" Syoran said, frowning at Psi, "Well sure, but wouldn't it be less trouble to evolve?"

"Don't want a mustache…" Psi mumbled bashfully, making Syoran smile.

"Well, let me think," Syoran told him, "Hmm…well, I know your evolution line uses spoons to focus its power. Let me see if I have one…" He pulled his backpack off his shoulders and rummaged through it. "Um…gee, no spoons…I guess they're still in our room at the Pokémon Center. Let me check one more thing…" Instead of a spoon, he pulled out a butter-knife and regarded it doubtfully. "Well…try this anyway, Psi," he said, offering it to the Abra.

Psi took it solemnly and held it in both hands. Taking a deep breath, he squinted his eyes shut and…

…nothing happened.

"I don't think it's work…" Syoran began to say.

"Shh," Psi shushed him, "I'm concentrating." Syoran fell into disgruntled silence, shushed by his own Abra. Slowly, the blade began to glow. It reached a climax with a bright flash and a light-pink blade extended out of it growing to about two feet long. Psi nearly dropped it in shock, but the instant the knife left his hand, the blade disappeared. He picked it up again and re-created it, making it appear faster this time. "Cool!" he squealed in delight, swinging it around experimentally.

Syoran shook his head in that way humans do when they've seen something unexpected and need to clear the surprise from their mind. After a moment's hesitation, he picked up a rock. "Here, let's see if it works," he said before tossing it under-handed at Psi. The kid swung his sword and cut the rock so cleanly in half we didn't realize he had done so until the rock hit the ground and the two halves came apart at Rio's feet. The Lucario hesitantly picked them up, acting like they might bite him, and stared at them for a long moment.

"Can I have one?" he asked weakly, pointing to the blade. Psi tried to hand it to him, but it vanished the instant it was out of his grip. Rio looked downcast. Smiling sympathetically, Syoran patted his shoulder.

"I think it only works for Psi. Sorry," he said, "Though you could try to create a staff." Rio cocked his head to the side in confusion. "You remember that Lucario we saw in the Sinnoh Tournaments? The one owned by that Riley guy?" Rio nodded, the memory slowly returning to him. "He used his aura to create a staff. I guess you could try something similar."

"Okay…" Rio said uncertainly, "But with my luck, I'll end up burning my hands again." Syoran chuckled. "No, I mean it! Remember my attempts at Aura Sphere? And that aura fire really hurts too!" He let out a little whimper. I smiled. Despite his new, more impressive and muscular form, I suppose he was still the same combination of curiosity and caution as before.

"Well, I'll be here for you then," Syoran assured him, "We'll work on it. Psi, why don't you practice with your new sword while Rio and I try to figure something out?"

"Kay!" the Abra replied happily.

I stopped watching their little exchange when Z slowly rose, wary of me once more. I grinned at him and popped my neck several times, warming up for another round. Just then, a hail of ice shards shot through the air between us and we leapt apart, alarmed.

"Watch it, your majesty!" I shouted at Lady Glacier.

"My apologies, Spirit!" she responded, sounding very frazzled, "I was trying to hit this impertinent peasant!"

"Oh? Peasant am I now?" Pikablu shot back, "I'm kicking your royal behind!" The two of them were a little ways off from everyone else, preferring to train by themselves instead of under Syoran. Though to be honest, it was more like Pikablu was training Lady Glacier. The mouse had godly speed and stamina, not to mention a mean amount of power behind those lightning-bolts of his. Despite his initial poor performance when we saved his tail from the ghosts, he was much stronger than anyone could have guessed. He easily outdid us all when it came to sheer power. Only Nine had managed to come close to his level, using confusion and disorientation tactics to her advantage and striking whenever she saw an opening. All he needed was one shot, though. The end result of their battle had left her stunned and floored while Pikablu was only slightly winded.

Lady Glacier glared at him and took a fighting stance. She took a deep breath and her fur became coated in icicles. Quickly, she shook herself like I do when I'm trying to dry off and the shards of ice all detached from her, shooting directly toward Pikablu by design. The electric mouse just stepped aside, leaning against the wall casually as the icicles all imbedded themselves where he had been standing.

"Good, you can fire in a straight line," he said, "Now, why don't you try that again, but this time do it better. Aim not just for where I am but for where I'm likely to move." She nodded and turned herself into an ice-porcupine again. A hailstorm of ice shot toward Pikablu, glinting with all their creator's desire to hurt their target. Pikablu snapped his fingers repeatedly and weak bolts of electricity shot out from them, disintegrating the ice storm into fine, and quite lovely, powder. Lady Glacier stood stunned for a moment.

"Wow…" Rio said, having watched the whole thing too. Syoran tapped his shoulder and called his attention back to what he was supposed to be doing.

"Good!" Pikablu told Lady Glacier, yawning, "I actually had to think that time. A few more days of this and you might actually prove a challenge to flatten. Now, I think it's your turn to dodge." His cheeks started sparking.

"Try me!" Lady Glacier challenged. Moments later, she was stunned and smoking on the ground, struck by an electric bolt. Pikablu sighed heavily and offered her a paw up. "Ooh, you brute…" she said venomously. Pikablu raised an eyebrow in response.

"You going to use that sexy body of yours or are you hoping Giratina will fall over when you bat your eyelashes at him?" he asked her.

"No…" she muttered. She suddenly changed tactics, adding a sexy purr to her voice and rubbed up against Pikablu's flank. "But you might," she whispered seductively. Pikablu stood frozen for one moment, stunned by her instantaneous change of attitude. But then, he shook his head and shocked her again. She gasped in surprise and fell to the ground before.

"Not likely," Pikablu chuckled, "I was created to fight. I can ignore personal attraction and, ahem, your distraction."

"Hey!" Z snapped at me, "Get your head out of the clouds! Are we going to spar, or are you going to stand around watching everyone else all day?"

I glared at him. Hoping to take him off-guard and sucker-punch him, I lunged quickly. He side-stepped and tripped me with one paw. Expertly, I rolled and came right back up, parrying his slashing claws. I pressed back against him with my own series of attacks, waiting for an opening. Then, when he his guard shifted slightly to the left, I pushed him off balance and slashed with my tail-blade, sending out a wave of darkness as I did so. He staggered.

"That's a new trick," he said, "Allow me to show you one of mine."

I braced myself, but he simply stood there, unmoving. After about ten seconds, I lunged forward and attacked, only to see him crumble to dust. "What…?" I began to say just as something landed on my back and struck me to the ground. I rolled over and saw Z smirking down at me.

"Isn't that a neat?" I growled, rising, "But it's not enough to win this fight."

We went back and forth like that for a while, not taking a break until we were both breathing hard and heavily. I was certainly faster, but he seemed to shrug off anything I could throw at him like it wasn't even there. Besides, I wasn't trying to inflict any lasting injuries. We weren't really trying to hurt each other, at least I don't think we were. This was just practice. But our match ended suddenly when he lunged forward with surprising speed and slammed me into the ground once more.

"I win," he said, and I didn't feel like contesting it. The look in his eyes was warning enough.

"I got it!" Rio shouted, waving his arms excitedly and showing off his newly-formed staff of aura. I shook my head and sighed. I knew how this worked. Rio wouldn't be able to keep that thing stable for long.

"Wait for it…" I whispered to myself.

It exploded right in his face, showering him in blue flames. He ran around screaming his head off for a few seconds, desperately beating at it to put it out. From where she lay, Nine sighed and shook her head. Her red eyes glowed more brightly for a moment and the flames disappeared.

"Keep trying, Rio," she said. She turned toward me. "How are you coming with your training, Spirit?"

"Tch," I responded, "If Z plants me into the ground anymore, I'm going to have to start calling myself a Grass-type."

"Whiner," Z muttered.

I glared indignantly at him. "I'm curious just how are you going to fight ghosts with your normal moves?" I demanded.

"Simple," he said, holding up one set of claws, "Like this." They took on a pale glow and extended a few inches beyond their natural length, becoming like knives. "This is called Shadow Claw."

"Impressive," I drawled, "You're on the cutting edge." He sighed and tried to massage his forehead, but remembered just in time that his claws were much longer and more dangerous than normal.

"I wish I had my fire still," Nine sighed, "It would be really helpful right about now. Without it, I'm very limited in what I can do."

"Hey everyone!" Syoran called, "Stop what you're doing and get over here! Latios is back!"

"Oh good," I said wryly, "That means we don't have to fight the forces of death quite yet." I rose, shaking the dust out of my fur, and strode over to where the blue dragon hovered, waiting patiently. Once we were all gathered, Syoran asked the question on everyone's mind. "So…what did they say?"

"They like the idea of driving Giratina away, but they want to see you for themselves and determine if you can defeat Giratina," Latios responded matter-of-factly, "there, I just summarized a five-hour debate in a single sentence. Fortunately, I wasn't dealing with the entire shade-population, only the Section Leaders. The reason I wasn't back sooner is they also elected a leader to represent them all to you, but the only really important thing you need to know right now is that they want to talk with you."

Syoran nodded in agreement. "Can't blame them," he said, "I'd be cautious too." He turned to us and smiled warmly. "Looks like we have something to prove. Will you all be ready?" We all gave various signs of affirmation. "Excellent! Latios?" The legendary shade cocked his head to the side, indicating for Syoran to continue. "When do they want us to meet them?"

"During the next rest cycle, tomorrow evening," Latios answered, "Until then, I suggest you train as hard as you can. I'll even help you, though I can't say I'm an expert fighter. My sister and I were more free-spirited in our role as guardians."

Nine stepped forward. "I recently lost my ability to use fire-based attacks, but I've been trying to use my psychic abilities as a replacement. They are not strong enough, though. I would be honored if you would teach me whatever you can."

"Of course!" Latios replied, delighted, "In fact, that gives me an idea! Giratina's often prided himself in having the greatest ever collection of heroes and fighters in his realm. I'm sure I could find some who were willing to teach each of you, if you wanted it. And assuming we have enough time."

"I don't need any more training," Pikablu declared, "No one here could teach me anything."

"Well, aren't you arrogant," Lady Glacier sniffed.

"No, I'm being candid," Pikablu responded, a smirk on his face, "But when you are as awesome as I am, people often mistake it for bragging."

"Right…" I drawled.

"We'll handle that later, Latios," Syoran told him, "Right now, let's see how far we can go on our own power before we resort to someone else's."

Latios nodded. "As you wish. I shall teach Nine what I can, little as that may be, and then get back to work. After all, it wouldn't do for the guards to get suspicious and come down here, would it?"

We trained and trained and trained for the rest of the day. I was sore, cranky, and really wanted to tear Z's head off by the end of it. He's a good ally, but is also really annoying with his smart-aleck comments and dry sense of humor.

Something kept nagging the back of my mind all day. Even with all this, I didn't think we had any chance against Giratina. I alone had felt his power and, were it not for my darkness, it would have torn through me in an instant. I never had felt anything that powerful before, and that was only one attack! How would we be able to fight him if he could demolish us in five seconds?

No, for our plan to succeed, something needed to draw him out of the fortress, preferably with a good portion of his army. I didn't know what would do that, but if we could get a message to Mew, then he might be able to do something. Now, we had no way to contact Mew, but I only had to go to sleep to get another Legend's attention. Darkrai, the Nightmare King.

I hesitated to try and contact him, though, for understandable reasons. I was even more afraid of him and what he could do to me than I was of Giratina. After all, Giratina could only kill me. Darkrai could destroy me. But if I could and hold his attention on me for long enough, then Cresselia would come. And she would be able to get a message to Mew. She would help us. Or so I hoped.

So that night, I went to sleep as quickly as possible. The next thing I knew, I was back in that horrifying, twisted dreamscape that Darkrai made from the dark corners of my mind. This time, it was in the shape of a graveyard, with twisted, tortured aspen trees and black crows swirling through the sky. The birds twisted together, forming a black twister of feathers, cruel claws, and shining eyes, slowly taking the shape of the Lord of the Old Night. With a final flutter and flurry of wings, he fully manifested himself in my dream. I felt my throat go dry, all thoughts of Cresselia and Mew gone as he loomed over me, a terrible revenant staring with his one, malignant eye.

"Why do you call me, my child?" he asked, "Has your situation become too much for you to bear? Will you call upon my power to save you?"

"P-power?" I repeated the only thing that had stuck in my brain.

"Yes, my power," Darkrai said, "Is that why you have called me?" I did not reply, not trusting myself to speak. "I know of your plight, Absol, and it pains me. I pity you. I truly do. You are caught in a war that is not your own. If you do not fight, fight for yourself, you will be overwhelmed before your true potential can be realized."

"What…what potential?" I asked, curious despite my fear. It seemed that, even though he was talking to me, he was also talking past me at the same time.

Darkrai leaned down over me, causing me to cower away from him as the terror within me grew to almost deadly levels. "Would you accept my power? The power to destroy kings? The power to overcome Death himself? I am willing to offer it to you, but nothing is for free. I would want, I would take something in return. Though I promise you, without my blessing you will not triumph. Death will take you, and your friends, into the deepest, darkest pits where even I cannot reach. And once there, nothing short of the Apocalypse will save you."

I did not reply. I did not want to reply. I wanted to wake up immediately. This seemed like a very bad idea. In that moment, I would rather have fought Giratina all by myself than stand before Darkrai and endure his terrifying stare. He was fear incarnate and I was ill-prepared to deal with it. I feared too many things to fight him. But he would not allow me to remain silent.

"Answer me! Will you accept my power?" he demanded. I stared up at him with wide eyes like a terrified kit. He sighed heavily, and the sound was like the moaning of a damned spirit. "Absol, allow me to explain this in the simplest way possible. This is a fight you cannot win. I have helped Giratina before and I know his power. However, I will lend you my power and my strength to match his, if you call out to me. Now, I must leave or that cursed Lady of Moonlight will find me. Think of my offer and, when you find yourself unable to prevail against Death, call out my name and I will come to you."

The darkness melted away and was once more replaced with blinding light. In the very place where he'd been moments before, brightness twisted into Cresselia's shape. Her face was sad and hostile at the same time. I was startled to realize that she seemed to be preparing to attack me. I opened my mouth to speak, but she beat me to it.

"Absol!" she cried, "Why did you call the Dark Lord to you? Did I not warn you that if I found you consorting with him, I would destroy you? Now, explain these actions of yours or I will be forced to fulfill my promise to you."

I gulped as the light began to brighten again, threatening me. "It was the only way I knew to get in contact with you!" I shouted. The light faded, revealing a startled expression on her face.

"With…me?" she said, taken aback.

"Yes!" I affirmed, bobbing my head up and down, "The legends say you're never far behind Darkrai! My friends and I are in desperate trouble and we need your help, so I had to use whatever means I had to get you to come to me!"

She stared at me impassively, digesting this information. "I see…" she said reproachfully, "But I am not a genie in a lamp from some story book that you can call upon to solve your problems for you."

"But…we're trapped in the Reverse World!" I protested, "Giratina is holding us hostage to force Mew's hand! We have a plan to weaken him and help Mew, but it won't work without Mew's help!"

She stared at me in wonder. "There is no lie in your words," she said, "And I would detect it if there was. I surpass even Lady Ho-Oh in that respect. I am reluctant to leave my sacred duty of tracking down that demon Darkrai, but…" Her face hardened in resolve. "Giratina has always been a law unto himself. I cannot tell which of the two is a greater threat to this world, the Lord of Nightmares or the Lord of Death. What is your message? I will bear it to Mew."

"Tell him he has to draw Giratina out. Give him a challenge he can't refuse, but get him out of his fortress. We will lead a revolution and take his fortress while he is gone, leaving him homeless and vulnerable. And once we've escaped, then Mew can attack without fearing for our safety," I told her, "If this works, we will cripple him. If not, it will distract him. Either way, it gives Mew an advantage!"

"It is a daring plan," Cresselia admitted, "I wish you all of Fortune's blessings and re-affirm my own." She smiled. "You were very courageous to brave the face of Darkrai again just to deliver this message. I wonder if he realizes you called out to him to save your friends and not to deliver yourself to him. I shall remember to ask when we next meet, before I destroy him utterly." The light began to intensify once more, forcing me to avert my eyes. "Now, I must take my leave, but I shall give you a parting gift. Your dreams shall be peaceful and undisturbed for the rest of this night. Darkrai will not be able to enter in again."

True to her word, I slept well and deeply, waking up feeling more refreshed than I had ever been. All my soreness and the weariness of the past few days were gone, replaced with a feeling of life and well-being.

I didn't tell anyone what I had done because they'd have trouble believing me and, if they did believe me, then they'd know I'd been visited by Darkrai. Twice. And that would not inspire confidence in me. I doubt Pikablu would have hesitated to blast me into oblivion for it.

Our training continued. As much as we disliked it, it was exactly what we needed. Even if we weren't fighting Giratina, a fact only I knew, we still needed to be in top form to fight an entire army. I sparred with Z until neither of us could move. Then, Nine used psychic attacks on me until she had a splitting headache. After that, Syoran had her use Confuse Ray on us all repeatedly '…so we could get used to its effects', he told us, 'because ghosts use it so much it's not even funny.' In a flash of inspiration, Nine targeted him with it as well. We all got a good laugh watching him stagger around drunkenly for five minutes before he recovered.

"Hey!" he snapped, "What was that for?"

"But Syoran!" Nine said innocently, "I thought we were all supposed to be get used to the effects of Confuse Ray."

"Maybe understanding you isn't so great…" Syoran muttered, ticked.

We took a two hour break before our meeting with the shades. After all, it wouldn't inspire confidence if we were all tired and worn out. Latios came for us and led us stealthily up through the endless halls of the fortress, avoiding the sight of the watchtowers. Without warning, we entered into gallery which rivaled Giratina's throne room in size and was filled with the shades of the dead. However, almost instantly, Latios shoved us down into hiding.

"Crud!" he hissed, "Wraith is here!"

"Wraith?" Rio gasped, "The Gengar?"

"The very same," Latios answered grimly.

"What's he doing here?" Nine whispered.

"Trying to recruit more shades for Giratina's army. Listen," Latios instructed. He smiled grimly. "Don't worry. Even if some do accept, they won't be able to betray our plans. Only the leaders know of them right now."

"What I want to know," the Gengar was saying loudly, addressing the shades from a raised platform, "Is how long you lot are going to let yourselves be slaves. You're being offered a second chance at bein' in the world here! What good is your old life when you're dead? Give in and give it up! Take the big Boss' offer! It's worth it, I tell you!"

"Do not listen to him!" To my great surprise, it was Seth. The little Yamask actually looked…angry. "I made the mistake of listening to w-words like these once! Now I'm…I'm…" He brandished his mask, holding it up for all to see. "This was what I was! I was…I wasn't the best person, but I was myself! Now I'm a m-monster! If you listen to him, you...you will never be yourself ever again!"

"HA!" Wraith chuckled, "That's funny! 'You'll never be yourself ever again!' Well, what are you now? I'll answer that, you're DEAD! Dead and buried and the worms are living in your skulls! Is that what you want to be? Worm-food? Mulch, maybe? Doesn't sound like a party to me. So, who wants to be part of the biggest party in the history of the world, hmm? Anyone?"

Most of the shades shouted angrily at him, but a few did not. We watched in horror as several shades slowly walked up and stood beside him, ignoring the cries of their friends and fellow shades. None of the ones who were beside Wraith looked terribly happy about it, but they still went nonetheless. Wraith grinned triumphantly at Seth.

"You know, Sethy-boy, one of these days we're going to decide you're too much of a nuisance," he said smugly, "And then, well, we might just, I don't know, blast you out of existence!" He pointed one finger at the Yamask and a dark-red beam shot out, slamming into the stammering ghost's chest. Seth flew back with a cry of pain and alarm, slamming into a pillar and falling still. Wraith laughed loudly, though the rest of the hall had fallen silent and it echoed eerily in the vastness of it. "Little nuisance, that one," he said, "Needs to learn his place. Now…" He turned to the shades around him. "Let's go to the Hall of Rebirth, shall we? Your new life is about to begin!"

He led them out of the hall, leaving it silent behind him. As soon as we were certain he was gone, Latios flew over to where Seth had fallen and picked him up, cradling the diminutive ghost in his arms.

"Latios?" Seth sniffed, "I-I tried b-but I couldn't s-s-stop him!"

"I know, Seth," Latios cooed, "You did your best. Now, why don't you go rest for a bit? That Night Shade attack was full-power." Seth nodded and levitated out of his arms, floating unsteadily off into the distance to go rest.

"Latios," a female voice called to him, "Is it just you, or did Syoran and his team show up as well?"

Latios straightened and bowed toward a dark corner, where a small throne was outlined in shadows. "Yes, they are here."

"Then they and you are welcome," the voice replied.

"Would I be unwelcome if they weren't here?" Latios asked, raising what passed for an eyebrow. The voice sighed melodramatically.

"Oh Latios," she said, "Promise me never to change. You are so ornery sometimes and it is a welcome distraction from the realities of our existence."

"Oh, my pleasure," Latios replied, chuckling, "You may be the elected leader, but I am a legendary dragon. It's my duty to look out for those weaker than me, even here. Though I find my 'distractions' are more pointing out in an ironic way the facts you've overlooked. So it's not so much a distraction as a reality-check."

"Thank you for explaining that," the voice drawled, "Now, would Syoran Syke please step forward? I have wanted to speak to him for a long time."

Syoran rose and waded through the sea of the dead. (That sounded creepy. I mean, I know they were on our side and all, but still! They're dead!) "Who are you?" he called, "What did you want to say to me?"

"Only this." From the throne, a figure rose. It was shorter than Syoran, stood on two legs, and had a foxlike face. As it strode into the light, I saw Syoran stiffen in surprise. Nine gasped in delight, but I didn't see what the big deal was. It was just a regular Kadabra, right?

"Hello, Syoran," the Kadabra said with a sad smile, "It's been a few years."

Syoran's mouth didn't seem to be working properly. It kept opening and closing like a fish gasping for water. What was his problem? "C-Caddie?" he stammered.

Wait, what? Caddie? Wasn't that the name of the Kadabra that Proton killed and was the whole reason he was searching for Team…

…Oh…I feel like an idiot now…