Welcome back.

It's closer than ever now, within sight but not yet within reach. I speak, of course, about the climax. The high-point of the story, the decisive turning point, the culmination of everything that came before, the last moment of turbulence before we once again reach the calm, the last step before we set foot on what was our destination from the very beginning: the end. But, you know, you've got to learn how to walk before you can entertain the concept of running. One thing at a time.

Let's walk one step at a time, shall we? Firmly and without hesitation, but taking care not to make a wrong move, taking care not to trip.

Now, let us resume our tale.

A lustrous red dome was the distinguishing mark of the Garnet Oriole. This was perhaps the single node that held no significance for any of the eeveelutions. The Coral Sittella was Scylla's birthplace, and the eeveelutions were members of the other five nodes, but none had ties to the Garnet Oriole. That's why, perhaps, it might seem strange to find them dwelling in the red node. Everyone but Kizuna, Safira and Lumis – who were in the Observatory – was present. The Delphox chronicler, Kriemhild, had assured them that they would arrive to the Oriole when it was time to leave the Observatory, at night, so they were waiting for the trio to arrive.

Other than the five Eevee forms, there was a sixth pokémon present, one they were all acquainted with, one that had family ties to two of the eeveelutions present. And right now, this cream-furred Ninetales was staring at her Flareon half-brother with wide blank eyes. "Is that some crude attempt at humor? Some kind of quirky joke?"

"It's not a joke," came the Flareon's dry reply.

"So let me get this straight. First you manage to make some friends, and now…" Her eyes drifted off to Scylla. "…and now you get a mate."

"No – We're not mates, Opal," he was quick to correct.

"Are you a Ditto in disguise? A Zorua? That Zoroark trickster?" The Ninetales let out a hearty chuckle, giving the Flareon's shoulder a strong push. "My brother has a mate. For the longest time, I thought this would never happen."

"We're not mates," Agni repeated once more, managing a furrow in his embarrassment. Opal was reacting exactly how he had feared she would react.

But no matter how many times Agni denied it Opal ignored him, turning instead to the Vaporeon. "You have to tell me what kind of sorcery you used to convince him. Might be useful for when he doesn't want to take out the trash."

Scylla giggled. "That's a maiden's secret."

Agni gave her a tired look. "You're gonna give her a very wrong idea, and her mind is not one to readily entertain innocent thoughts."

Pressing a paw against her chest, Opal raised her head with an indignant scowl. "You lie. My mind is as chaste as the methods I assume she used to gain you over."

"Opal!" Agni shouted, trying to cover his embarrassment under a guise of rage. Ugh, why did she have to be like that? Opal had always been the sibling that most closely resembled their father. "We just kissed, okay?" Why was he even trying to reason with her? It was a losing battle.

"Only? And what are you waiting for? My approval? Go wild!"

Agni wasn't having much fun right now, but at least Scylla was. She looked up to the grinning Ninetales, emulating her grin. Good to know her future in-law approved, although it's not like she expected otherwise.

Still grinning knowingly, Opal let out an exaggerated sigh. "You know what annoys me the most? That you found a mate before me. I'm supposed to be the outgoing one, dammit! I better get my act together." Judging by her tone she spoke in jest, but she didn't lie about being a little annoyed. "Well, I've got like one thousand years ahead of me. I've got time."

She took a glance around, all the same. Three males present, but two of them belonged to her family, and the third one, the Umbreon, was sitting too close to a female Leafeon and the overt affection they showered each other with wasn't the kind found in a standard friendship. There was also the Espeon, but according to Zephyr he was in the freaking Observatory of all places right now. Oh well, whatever. Plenty of males in the Heptagonal Ring.

"Let's radically change the topic," Opal said. She couldn't help but be reminded of their encounter with Gevaudan some days back. "When we met that Absol the other day, he told us the Beacon had all seven shards. I don't know about you, but I've been thinking about this and I can't make any sense of it."

"Tell me about it," Skoll said, sharing her distraught tone. "I've given it some thought too, but no matter how you look at it there's something off here. How 'bout we count them shards one by one?"

"First, the Amber Crane's," Agni said. "That was back before we even knew about the shards. The Absol came to our Haecceity and stole the shard, which was hidden inside a machine."

That happened soon after the 7777th festival. That was quite some time ago, Scylla recalled. "According to Mor, Sari, the Typhlosion that founded the Crane, was extremely trusting and told the rest of founders where she would hide her shard. That might explain why the Beacon knew where it would be. Anyone who knew about the story of the founders might know."

"But it's not that easy," Ivy said. "I happen to know quite a bit about our founders, what with being a future leader and all, and I had never even heard about the shards before this, nor did the chroniclers. The Beacon must be really resourceful if they found out about this."

"However they found about it, that was the first shard they got," Skoll said. They could share theories about the Beacon's information gathering methods, but they would get nowhere fast.

"Are we sure that's the first one they got?" Zephyr asked, eyebrows raised. "For all we know, they could have collected any number of shards before that one, and the Crane's would just be the first we know they found."

Zephyr's argument deserved some thought, but although Skoll didn't reject it straightaway he nonetheless ended up discarding it. "But it makes sense for the Crane's to be their first, since it was the easiest to get. It was the only shard whose location they knew from the get-go, so they didn't have to go through the trouble of finding its whereabouts." It would make sense if the Beacon started with the easiest target, but it wasn't something they could assure with complete certainty. For the time being, they would just assume that was the case. "Which one's next?"

"The Sittella's," Scylla said, thinking back of her encounter with the Luxray in the orange node. "I met Minos along with Euria, and he, let's say, cheated her into finding the shard for him. Since my aunt Euria is a Floatzel, just like the Sittella's founder, it didn't take her too long to find it in a nearby turbulent body of water. That was also when we first learned about the shards from the mouth of Minos." The boisterous Luxray was perhaps not the most reliable of sources, but it would have to do.

"And from here on, things start getting hazy," Skoll said. "Flutura, Zvonimir's Beautifly mate, had one of the shards but we lost it to those psychic twins, the Gardevoir and the Gallade."

"That was the Beryl Calandra's shard," Ivy said. "It belonged to our founder, the Cacturne Yesil, who had sold it and… long story short, it ended up in Flutura's hands."

So far, so good. That makes three shards. "Then comes the Garnet Oriole's," Agni said, hanging his head low. No matter how many times Opal told him it wasn't his fault they had lost it, he still felt a little responsible. "It was in Barghest's hands and – well, you know already how it all went down."

Out of respect to Scylla, he chose not to dwell on it any longer. After they met with Barghest to negotiate the shard's price, the psychic twins appeared once more to steal this shard too, but this time they managed to fend them off. It would be Gevaudan who would swipe the shard away from them days later. That's four shards.

Agni recalled something. "The Absol also told us that the Luminary had managed to find the Cerulean Warbler's shard somewhere in the desert." Since the Warbler's founder was a Garchomp, that wasn't too farfetched. That would be the fifth shard.

And… that's about it. Five, not seven. What about the other two? The Lilac Kiwi's shard was supposed to be in Mor's possession. Did it get stolen at some point? No, that couldn't be. If a Haecceity had been assaulted, they would have heard something about it. Then what had happened to it?

And there was also the Azure Nightingale's shard. They knew absolutely nothing about that one. Had the Beacon chanced upon it without them finding out? They had to assume that to be the case, since they apparently had seven shards.

"There's another possibility," Skoll said. "The Absol could just be lying."

If only. It was indeed a possibility. Maybe the Beacon had less than seven shards, and the Absol lied to them in order to throw them off and make them worry. There was a myriad of possible explanations, each more asinine than the next. Whatever the truth was, they would find out in time.

For now, a change of topic was in order, motivated by the distant pink blur approaching at a dazing speed. Look, a Sylveon. Under any other circumstances, Zephyr would have assumed that the hasty fairy rushing to him was an enemy. She wasn't, but the Jolteon still adopted a defensive position. Enemy or not, given her ridiculous speed, this couldn't end in anything but a full-body tackle.

Zephyr closed his eyes for but a second, and when he opened them back he found himself lying on the floor face up, with a much familiar Sylveon on top of him. Each of his limbs was enveloped in bows, rendering him immobile. Thank goodness this wasn't an enemy, or he would be at her mercy. Well, he was at her mercy, but at least his life wasn't at risk. He hoped.

"Zephyr!" Kizuna shouted in a tone of voice that wasn't at all proper for such a late hour. "I missed you!"

With no feelers around his neck – yet – Zephyr could at the very least nod. "Me too, but let's try not to wake up the whole block over it, okay? The Oriole's residents aren't at fault."

As Kizuna hugged and snuggled the helpless Jolteon, Zephyr took notice of three peculiarities. First, the Sylveon's fur was covered in sand. Second, her fur was less warm than he recalled. Third, she seemed to be shivering.

Not much later, the other two eeveelutions that had joined Kizuna in her expedition showed their faces. In contrast to the Sylveon, both of them looked like they were about to drop dead any second, barely managing to keep their eyes half-open, shivering uncontrollably. Seeing their rather lamentable state, both Ivy and Skoll dashed to them in a hurry, not hiding the worry in their expressions.

"Saf, are you okay?" Ivy closed in to her sister, not waiting for her answer, and felt her forehead with a paw. "Goodness, you're too hot! Did you catch a fever or something?"

"Please, don't shout…" Safira brought a paw to her temples, massaging them. "I just have a bit of a headache…"

"Seriously, what happened?" Skoll asked next. His face showed no worry, but his voice betrayed his mask. "You both look like you've received a beating." He drew closer to examine them. Was that… dust on their fur? No, not dust. That was sand.

"Sand." Still lying on the floor at Kizuna's mercy, Zephyr looked over to the other two eeveelutions that had just arrived. "Kizzie is covered in sand, and so are you two. Did you… cross the desert?"

That would explain the sand, their apparent exhaustion, and why they were shivering. The low temperatures the desert could reach at night were unsettling.

Gathering what little strength he could muster Lumis gave them a very weak nod, if that could be called a nod at all. "We had to cross the desert to return from the Observatory."

They had crossed the desert once to reach the Observatory, and a second time to return to the Heptagonal Ring. Kriemhild joined them in their trip to the Observatory, but didn't go with them when it was time to return. Luckily, that first trip had been enough for Kizuna to memorize the route to take, so the Delphox's presence wasn't strictly necessary. That said, her presence during the first trip provided them with a source of heat they lacked the second time they ventured into the desert, making this second trip much more excruciating.

Skoll's ears stood up as a frown became manifest on his face. "The Delphox made you cross the desert at night? Is that overgrown funnel cake senile? That's extremely dangerous! Even we defenders know the desert must be avoided at all costs."

Finally, Kizuna moved away from Zephyr, still keeping her bows around the Jolteon. "But the entrance to the Observatory is in the desert, so we had no other choice."

"Is that so?" The thought made Zephyr wince. Did that mean chroniclers had to cross the desert whenever they wanted to visit the Ring? That was harsh. "But even then, did you have to travel at night, under the horrible cold? Instead, you could have…" No, what was the alternative? Traveling during the day? The morning heat was lethal. Night travel wasn't a desirable solution, but it was unfortunately the best one.

"So the entrance is in the desert?" Opal asked.

Perhaps too late, Kizuna, Lumis and Safira noticed that the Ninetales was present along with the rest of their friends. While she was one of the few pokémon in the region that knew about Kizuna being a chronicler, the rest being the node's leaders, this journey to the Observatory was supposed to be a secret. They should have taken the caution of not talking about it in front of her, but they hadn't even noticed her presence until she spoke.

"Don't worry, she knows," Agni said. "Everything," he added, flashing Zephyr a quick glare. "That's why she's here. You have my cousin to thank for that."

"I've told you it was a slip of the tongue," Zephyr said, repressing a sigh. It's like they had had this very conversation dozens of times already. "I was talking about it with Agni, and I didn't know Opal was home."

"She lives there! You should have imagined it!" Agni gave his cousin one last look and shook his head. "All this secrecy for naught."

"Don't worry about me. I'm telling no one," Opal said. She didn't care much about the chroniclers, in all honesty, but there were some criminals on the loose and the Observatory might have some information about them. "When I learned you would be returning tonight, I decided to join my brother and Zephyr to welcome you back."

Kizuna's tail wagged. "Oh! Thanks a lot, Opal! You're super kind!"

"Yeah, kind…" She gave her an awkward smile, careful not to show any fangs. "Actually, I wondered if you could share what you've found out with me. As a defender, any information you can share relating to the Beacon would be of great help."

"Oh? That's not a problem, but we haven't found out much." Kizuna looked to Lumis and Safira. They looked tired, and she felt only marginally better. "But could we leave this for tomorrow? We're kinda tired from the journey. A warm bath and some sleep would do us good."

"That's okay," Opal said after a short pause, a tinge of disappointment staining her voice. "I never imagined you would have to cross the desert. Had I known, I would have given you time to rest and contacted you tomorrow." She was aware that her impatient haste might come across as impolite, but she was in a bit of hurry now that the Beacon had seven shards at their disposal. No time to waste.

Kizuna brushed off a few grains of sand with her feelers. "We're really gonna need a lot of water to wash off all this sand." Luckily, all nodes had large bodies of water – oases. This was a most curious detail, for a desert to be so brimming with water.

Without as much as a warning, Scylla took a step towards Kizuna, opened her mouth and launched a stream of pressurized water at her body. Kizuna let out a weak 'eek' when the water contacted with her fur, taken by surprise, but she raised no further objections. The method was rudimentary but it got the work done, it washed the sand off her fur. Kizuna even started to use her bows to signal to Scylla where in her body should she aim next, guiding her all the way through her body, from her feet to the tips of her ears.

"Thanks, Scylla!" Kizuna said once they were done. "It was a little cold, but I appreciate the help."

Scylla turned to Lumis and Safira. "Who's next?"

They wanted that annoying sand off their fur, yes, but at what price? Kizuna mentioned the water being cold, and they were freezing from being exposed to the desert's climate. At least Safira was an ice-type, but the thought made Lumis squirm. "How cold are we speaking? Because, right now, I'm sure I could pass for an ice-type."

"Just a teensy little bit," Kizuna said, smiling in a reassuring way. What wasn't reassuring at all was the way she shivered.

"Isn't there any other way to do this?" Ivy asked. Although it was unusual for an ice-type to catch a cold, she didn't like to risk it when it came to her sister's health.

But there was no other quick solution. Safira agreed to go next, assuming the stronger coat of an ice-type would protect her from the cold. She was wrong. Lumis was the third and last, accepting only begrudgingly because any price was worth paying in order to get rid of that annoying sand.

"Good, but you're now dripping wet," Scylla said, giving them an apologetic glance. She kind of felt responsible, because – well, because she was. "Agni, be a dear and heat them up. Help them dry their fur."

But before the Flareon could react, a Sylveon was already dashing in his direction, stopping right next to him. "Great idea! Can I, Agni?"

To say Agni was taken aback would be an understatement. "I, uh…"

"Thanks!" Interpreting his hesitation as an approval, Kizuna buried her face in the Flareon's fluffy chest. "Safi, Lum, join us! No way you can sleep when your fur is that wet!"

Safira and Lumis shared a quick glance, neither of them finding it necessary to make their disapproval explicit. Noticing their hesitation, Skoll approached them. "You know, for once you should obey the crazy Sylveon. Wet fur invites all kinds of diseases."

They knew he was right, but that didn't make it any less embarrassing. Eventually Lumis acceded, not because he wanted to dry his fur, but because the cold was starting to become unbearable in the most literal sense. The only two sources of heat nearby were the fire-types, Agni and Opal, and as awkward as it was to get so close to the Flareon, there was no way in hell he would ever consider getting that close to the female Ninetales.

Lumis walked up to Agni and stopped when he started to feel some warmth heating up his chest, keeping the Flareon at arm's length. That would have to do. Or that was his plan, anyway, until the Sylveon by his side decided to shove his whole body towards the Flareon with a skilled swing of her feelers. As much as Lumis appreciated the comfortable warmth, the physical proximity to the Flareon proved to be encumbering, so he made haste and put some distance between them back again, just not nearly as much. With a very weak rosy tint on his cheeks but still keeping his composure, Lumis turned to the Sylveon by his side. "Kizzie, don't do that."

"Fiiiine, but you're aware you're freezing only because you want to." Turning her eyes to Agni, Kizzie noticed that the Flareon was awkwardly looking away, embarrassed either because of their close proximity or because they were using him as a heat source. Probably both. But, hey, it was a matter of health. She turned her head back to Safira, who still hadn't approached them. "Safi, come join us too!"

"I'm not that cold," she said, shivering faintly. That an ice-type was shivering at all was a motive for concern, but she didn't dare get any closer to the male Flareon. Not when there was a very real possibility that Kizuna might decide to shove her against him just like she had done with Lumis moments ago. Besides, as an ice-type she had a higher tolerance to low temperatures, so the desert hadn't affected her nearly as much. But she felt cold, that she couldn't deny.

But then, she started to feel just a little warmer, as if a current of hot air was grazing her back and tail. Safira turned her head around and found a big Ninetales behind her, her tails arched behind the Glaceon, enveloping her. "I don't know if ice-types can freeze to death, but let's not take any chances."

"I-I'm really not that cold," Safira managed to mutter in a low voice. The Ninetales might be a female, but that only made it slightly less embarrassing.

"Girl, you just crossed the desert at night. I don't care if you're a fancy ice-type, you must feel cold. The desert is unforgiving," Opal said. Even defenders were warned against the dangers of the desert. If a criminal were to flee into the desert, they were to assume it was dead. "Hey, I can understand you getting antsy around males – I was a really shy child too – but I'm a female. It's okay."

Safira couldn't really say she felt comfortable, but the warmth was much welcomed. If Ivy were a fire-type then she could cuddle up to her to solve the issue, but that wasn't a possibility, and if she had to choose between Agni and Opal, well, at least the Ninetales was a female.

While they warmed up, Kizuna caught glance of the Vaporeon sitting close to them, and she couldn't help but smile at her. "Good teamwork! You help us with the sand and Agni helps us with the cold. You would make a great couple!"

"We would, yes," Scylla said.

Kizuna's ears rose as she gave the Vaporeon a blank stare. Had she heard correctly? Did Scylla just imply she would be willing to consider the Flareon as a mate?

Her reaction brought a coy smile to Scylla's face, as well as a giggle. "We haven't told you, now have we? Agni and I have decided… to give love a chance."

"I knew it!" Kizuna again raised her voice in the middle of the night. No one was sleeping tonight. "You became mates at last!"

"No, not mates," Agni was quick to correct. "We're just… considering it."

"You're mates!" the Sylveon insisted. Agni didn't know why he even tried. Nobody ever listened to him. "Aw, and I missed the confession. But at least I was around to hear theirs." Disregarding any and all subtlety, Kizuna stared at Lumis and flashed him a smile, and then directed her gaze at Safira and did the same.

Neither Skoll nor Ivy missed the gesture. Nobody did. How could they? They were not blind.

Ivy was too shocked to move, and it was a miracle she didn't forget how to breathe, so it was up to Skoll to say the first word. "Kizzie, what are you…?" Wait, no, this wasn't something he had to ask the Sylveon. "Lum? Got something to tell us, pal?"

Lumis wasn't sure whether to thank the Sylveon or curse her with all his being. He had thought long and hard about how to break it to them that he and Safira were now an item. Not because he feared their reaction, but because telling them at all was unthinkably embarrassing. He wasn't entirely clear whether Kizuna's intervention made it less or more embarrassing, but now he had had no choice about when to tell them – it had to be now. A shame, since he would rather have told them the next day when he was rested, but at least he would now sleep at ease knowing he had told them already.

Lumis moved away from Agni, not feeling cold anymore, and approached Safira's side. The Ninetales also stepped aside to let Lumis sit right next to Safira. "We are, uh…" They were what? Mates? Lumis didn't even know for sure. "In the Observatory, we talked about love and what it entails, and we both agreed that…" He was skirting around the issue, and he knew it. But did he really need to spell it out for them? Couldn't they just infer what happened going by Kizuna's words? She hadn't been ambiguous at all.

Seeing he had difficulty saying what he had to say, Skoll decided to give him a little push. "Going by the context, I think we can all pretty much guess what you're about to tell us, but you should say it anyway."

Lumis failed to see the need. Wasn't the purpose of communication sharing information with others? What purpose did communication serve if the receiving party already knew what was going to be told? Oh well. The sooner he was done with it, the sooner he would go to sleep. "We are…" He gulped. Why the embarrassment? They already knew what he was going to say. "We have decided to become… uh, mates." That last word came in a whisper, but they had no trouble hearing it in the silence of the night.

"Congrats." Skoll walked to Lumis with a casual stroll and poked his shoulder. "Nothing I didn't see coming, though."

Much more effusive, Ivy dashed to her little sister's side and held her in a tight embrace. "Told you it would work out! I'm so happy for you!"

That was about the kind of reaction they expected from them. Everyone else also reacted positively, if not as fervent. Lumis and Safira also took the chance to congratulate Agni and Scylla, to the Flareon's insistence that they were not mates.

Now that all was done, it should finally be time for bed, right? But Skoll had a different idea. "Lum, you must now go to jail."

"U-Uh?" Lumis wasn't mentally prepared to deal with this – or anything else for that matter. Had he misheard? He wasn't even sure if he was awake. Maybe he was dreaming.

Zephyr gave the Umbreon a reprimanding look. "You're going to scare him if you speak out of context."

"Ah, true. Let's start at the beginning." Skoll looked up before continuing. That was a beautiful moon, he liked it. "You know how two nights ago those guys from the Oriole brought us the Draco Plate to examine it? They told us to return it by morning."

Lumis nodded. So far, he could follow him. "Later that day we met Kriemhild and left for the Observatory."

"Yep. Well, last night, while you were away in that palace in the skies or whatever, more messengers from the Oriole came to tell us to go meet Garm at the Oriole's biggest prison the very next night, to tell him everything we've found out about the plate."

"The very next night? That's… tonight, isn't it?" Lumis looked at a close-by prison, sitting close to the Haecceity. That had to be it. "I have to go now?" Not a pleasant thought. He was a little tired, and telling Garm about the plate was too important, it wasn't something he could do in his current drowsy state. "And why meet at the jail?"

Skoll shrugged, and then offered the most likely explanation. "It would be too obvious if we met at the Haecceity. I'm guessing the Beacon is less likely to find out if we gather inside a prison."

"I see." That made some amount of sense. So he had to fill Garm in about the plate? Thanks to his trip to the Observatory he had quite a few theories to share with the Lucario. In fact, in spite of his slight exhaustion, the thought thrilled him. Garm was said to be very wise, so it was bound to be an interesting chat. "Very well. It's that prison over there, isn't it?"

"That's the one," Skoll said. "It's still a little early, though. He was supposed to meet you in an hour or so, so maybe he's not at the prison yet."

"I'll wait for him there." Lumis liked to be punctual, but perhaps being one hour early was way too punctual. But no matter, that's how the Espeon liked to do things.

"How about Safi joins you?" Kizuna proposed, pushing the Glaceon with her bows.

Why was this Sylveon suddenly shoving her around? Safira couldn't make sense of this situation. "Um, why would I?"

"What do you mean why? They're going to talk about the plate, and maybe also the shards, Adamantium, and who knows what else! Doesn't that pique your curiosity?"

Was that a rhetorical question? Of course it did. "I, um, wasn't invited."

"But your presence wasn't explicitly forbidden," Kizuna said. "Why ask Lumis later about what they talked about when you could be present and hear the conversation yourself?" Kizuna's idea was tempting, too tempting. Safira just needed a final push.

"You can come if you want," Lumis said. He would likely feel a little intimidated before the Lucario if he went alone, and he would quite appreciate having the Glaceon by his side. He showed her a warm smile, hoping that would help convince her. "I can't say for sure, but I doubt Garm will mind."

Zephyr nodded. "He's not the kind to care about something like this. He'll raise no objection."

Well, that was it. If no one would complain, then Safira had no reason not to go. "Um, fine, I'll go. That's okay, isn't it?" Her question and gaze were both directed at her Leafeon relative.

It took Ivy just a second to nod. "Sure, go for it!"

Now Safira was certain she should go. After they agreed to meet in a nearby hostel later – it was too late to return to their respective nodes, so they would spend the night in the Oriole – Lumis and Safira made their way to the prison, which was near the node's Haecceity, not too far away from their location.

The rest of the group chatted for a few minutes, talking about topics of no greater relevance, killing time. It's the kind of thing they do. But eventually, they decided it was about time they went to the hostel to book some rooms. And they would have done so if it weren't because of the hubbub coming from the Haecceity, not too loud, but easily discernable in the middle of the night. It was strange for the streets to be this noisy at this hour, especially in the Garnet Oriole. Was it worth checking out? Well, why not. They were curious about it, at the very least.

So they approached the node's Haecceity, and as they got closer and closer to the red palace-like building, they took notice of a suspicious group of pokémon standing before the Haecceity's door, talking among themselves. They hastened their pace when they realized what species they were.

A Luxray, a Mienshao, an Absol and a Zoroark. There was no mistaking it.

The Zoroark was speaking while the other three listened to her. "…so we're likely to find the last shard in the audience chamber, under Garm's protection. We will enter the Haecceity and then – Oh." It was then that she took notice of the approaching footsteps. "We've got visit."

The Mienshao wasn't willing to find out who the approaching pokémon were. It was clear they weren't on their side, and she needed to know no more. "Naamah, let's waste not another second. Let's enter the Haecceity post-haste."

Naamah stood still, seemingly paralyzed. She had not expected to find any other pokémon on the streets at this hour. "Let's make haste," the Absol said, walking to the Mienshao's side. "Before they have a chance to reach us."

"Yes…" the Zoroark said in a soft whisper. Another variable she hadn't accounted for. It was impolite to leave without saying goodbye, but any other course of action could cost them dearly.

The four pokémon disappeared into the Haecceity's gates, leaving only silence behind. When Zephyr, running ahead of the rest of the party, finally made it to the red palace's door, all he found was an unconscious Nuzleaf lying on the ground. That was one of the guards of the Garnet Oriole's Haecceity. If Freya on her lonesome was able to take him down last time she was here, it was no surprise to find him defeated now that four of the Beacon members were present. In a few seconds, the rest of the group finally caught up to Zephyr, who was glaring at the Haecceity's entrance, pondering whether to follow after them or not.

Kizuna ran to the fallen Nuzleaf's side, helping him stand up with her bows. "Are you okay?"

"Go… after them…"

Opal gave him just a quick glance, enough to tell his wounds were thankfully minor. "He'll be okay. Let's follow them. Quick."

Were they just going to leave the Nuzleaf there? Sure, his injuries were far from severe, but it still was indecorous to outright ignore him, Ivy thought. "Shouldn't we heal his wound first?"

"No!" the Nuzleaf himself shouted. "Follow them… quick…"

"Now!" Opal insisted, blitzing into the Haecceity without looking back.

Goodness, why the rush? Couldn't they take just a moment to help the Nuzleaf? Zephyr took a step into the Haecceity, showing no haste, unlike the Ninetales. His superior speed would make it trivial to catch up to them, no matter how fast they ran. Hadn't they thought of that? But as soon as he set foot into the Haecceity, he realized why Opal and the Nuzleaf had wanted them to hurry.

A labyrinth.

The interior of the Garnet Oriole's Haecceity was a massive maze of monotonous passageways, with an unnecessary amount of forks and dead ends. If the Beacon integrants were fast enough to enter the maze before they could reach them, they would lose track of them. It matters little how fast you are when you don't know where your target is hiding. Zephyr ran – that's the one thing he did best – hoping to reach them before they disappeared into the labyrinth, but he knew time wasn't on his side. Every second mattered. They could vanish from his sight any moment now.

Right after he entered the labyrinth he found a crossroads. Great, we've just started and we already have three paths to choose from. Luckily, he saw a familiar star-shaped tail behind a corner, running into the central passageway. That had to be Minos.

It also had to be a trap. The Luxray was much faster than that, there's no way Zephyr could have caught up to him if Minos didn't slow down on purpose. Was he luring him in that direction? Was this a distraction? It occurred to Zephyr that, since four Beacon members entered the maze, not all four of them necessarily had to follow the same path. Maybe Minos was to act as bait while the others advanced further into the labyrinth, gaining time for them.

The rest of the group reached Zephyr soon enough, who was still at the first crossroads in the maze, deciding what path to take.

"Where did they go?" Skoll asked, panting a little. "Did you catch them?"

Zephyr raised a paw and pointed it at one of the corridors. "I think I saw Minos go over the middle path."

"Minos?" Scylla raised her voice, expectantly. The Luxray was an old friend, and she hoped there was still a chance to make him change his mind. "I'll go talk with him." She rushed in the direction Zephyr pointed to.

"Wait, Scylla!" Kizuna shouted, but the Vaporeon wasn't listening. Hurriedly, she turned to the group of pokémon by her side. They seemed more attentive. "Zephyr, are you sure Minos took that path? That's one of the longest paths to the audience chamber."

"A trap, uh?" Skoll smirked. They might be enemies, but he still could appreciate a good stratagem. "The rest of the Beacon must have taken the shortest paths. As we should."

"But we can't leave Scylla hanging," Ivy said.

"Minos won't hurt her," Kizuna said. She knew this for a fact. The Luxray appreciated the Vaporeon too much to see her hurt.

"We don't know if he's alone," Agni said. "What if there's someone else with him?" At the very least, he knew the Absol had no qualms about attacking others. They had already seen what they had done to the Nuzleaf, and he didn't want the same fate to befall Scylla.

With a firm glare Ivy stepped forward, her eyes fixed on the corridor Scylla had vanished into. "He's right, we can't take that risk. I'll go after Scylla just in case, the rest of you take the other paths. I'll meet up with you later."

"How about I go with you?" Kizuna said. "I know the way through this labyrinth. The rest of paths are straightforward enough, but the path Minos took is pretty convoluted. You'll need my help to navigate it."

Ivy smiled at her, waiting until the Sylveon walked to her side before turning to the others. "Okay, we'll stop Minos and then rejoin with the rest. Is that okay with everyone?"

"Should we really split up?" Agni said, glaring at the solid red walls of the maze. Too big to jump over them. "That must be what they want, to keep us far away from each other. That's why they were so quick to enter the labyrinth."

Opal noticed that he was starting straight at her. "I agree this isn't a brilliant tactic, but they're leaving us little choice on the matter. Look at the bright side. Even if they divide us, they have split up too."

"We'll go, then," Ivy said. By her side, Kizuna nodded.

Skoll gritted his teeth, trying to think of a more desirable alternative, but all that came to his mind were pathetic excuses. Why did it have to come to this? This wasn't a solution anybody liked. "Take extreme care out there, you two. I mean it." The Umbreon's unusually somber tone was almost scary.

Not like Zephyr looked any brighter. "If you're ever in danger, fall back, flee. Don't take unnecessary risks."

Ivy held Kizuna close to her, eyeing the others with unflinching resolve. "The same goes for you all! If I found out any of you is gravely hurt when I come back, I'll be very angry!"

Before they left, Kizuna coiled her bows around Ivy's leg. She tried not to let it show, but she was a little scared. A cornered rat bites, and the Beacon was against the ropes right now. She didn't fear for Minos, he was easily the less dangerous of the bunch. She was worried not about herself, but about the others and who they might face. Freya was normally serene but she lost her temper with ease, and Kizuna didn't know enough about Naamah and Gevaudan to make a judgement about how far they would be willing to go to see their goal through the end. And lastly, there was the Luminary. They still didn't know who it was, or whether they were a significant threat or not.

Tightening her bow's grasp on the Leafeon's leg, Kizuna and Ivy followed after Scylla. That left four pokémon back at the initial crossroads of the maze.

Opal spoke first. "We should move in groups of two at all times. We don't know where our enemy is, or how many of them there are. We don't even know if the Luminary is present, who they are, or how dangerous they might be. Exert caution."

"Is Agni coming too?" Zephyr asked. He, Skoll and Opal were all defenders, but the Flareon barely had any notions of battle.

"He should return," Opal said, looking straight at him. "You'll be safer elsewhere."

It was true. Agni knew he wasn't as skilled in battle as the rest, so he would be little more than a liability. In fact, he wanted nothing more than to escape from this place. This whole situation seemed too dangerous. The thought of returning to the safety of his home and drifting off to sleep on a warm leather mound was a very enticing one.

But he wouldn't fall asleep. He just knew it. His concern about the wellbeing of her sister, Scylla, and everyone else would keep him awake all night. He wanted to lend a hand, as insignificant as his contribution could be. He didn't want to be the only one to run away the moment danger showed its frightening fangs. He wanted to be there for his friends.

"I'm staying."

His reply wasn't one Opal expected. She stared at him as if frozen, wondering if his brother had suddenly developed an extravagant sense of humor. "No, you're not. Go back home."

Her reaction wasn't one Agni expected either. "B-But…"

Zephyr, standing next to Opal, gave Agni a solemn nod. "Agni, we don't know what we're going against. It's too risky."

Agni's ears fell, but he refused to let his head hang low. They were worried about him, that was all. That much he could understand. If their roles were reversed, he would likely act in a similar manner. Maybe he should really go back after all.

"If he wants to join us, let him," Skoll said, not looking at any of them. He was the last pokémon they expected to defend the Flareon. "But let's hurry. Every minute we waste here is a free minute we're granting them. We don't have time to debate."

With a slight scowl, Zephyr turned to the Umbreon. "But this is important –"

"Stopping them is important," Skoll said, raising his voice and fully aware of it. "They mentioned something about a last shard. This is our last chance to put a stop to them. Why are we wasting our time here talking? The sooner we get on the move, the sooner we put an end to this."

Wasn't the Beacon supposed to have all shards already? It seemed like that wasn't the case, going by what they heard Naamah say at the Haecceity's gates. Then, they were still in time. But Skoll was right, they couldn't afford to dillydally.

"Let's go!" Agni said, facing away from the Ninetales but still eyeing her. "I won't do anything stupid, you know that!"

Opal glanced at Zephyr, who shrugged at her with his lips curled due to hesitation. With a loud click of her tongue, Opal dragged her feet to Agni's side, not quite staring at him. "Keep close to me at all times, and if I tell you to run, freaking run."

"Y-Yes," Agni managed to utter, and no other words would be leaving his throat for a while, at least while Opal was around. Oh, he knew this mood of hers. Better not to make her any angrier.

Opal kept walking past Agni, who promptly chased after her. "If memory doesn't fail me – and I pray to every deity it doesn't – this is the shortest path to the audience chamber, where I expect Garm to be. Agni and I will take this path. Hopefully, we'll reach Garm before any of those Beacon guys do so we can warn him about what's going on." Since two of the intruders were dark-types, a fighting-type like Garm would be a great asset against them. They would do well to contact him as soon as it was possible. "Zephyr, you and the Umbreon take the third path."

"We'd cover more ground if we split up," Skoll said. "We're both defenders. We can fend for ourselves."

"Sure, but let's assume the Luminary is somewhere inside and they happen to belong to a type you're terrible against. What then?" Her simple counterargument made the Umbreon fall silent. "I know time is of the essence, but let's not disregard safety. Like I said, always move in groups of two."

Her request was reasonable and was met with no opposition. When facing the unknown, caution is advised. Agni and Opal would take the left path to reach the audience chamber in the shortest time possible and warn Garm, while Zephyr and Skoll would take the right path in case some Beacon member lingered around that area. Along with Scylla, Kizuna and Ivy taking the central path in pursue of Minos moments before, that meant they would examine all paths. They were bound to meet all Beacon members sooner or later, unless there was some trickery involved. They would be surprised if there wasn't.