Jaret King belongs to aggies2015
Viola Almach belongs to Ariesbird
Juliet Grey belongs to Dolcebrio
Seria Day belongs to Kittynip
Ryuu Sinclair belongs to Tendou Souji (Kiwami no Sengoku)
Cody Frost belongs to Hodge Podge '97 (Kozak Keegan)
Victoria Reed belongs to Lord Farquaad
Honovi belongs to Jentus (Writing Duo)
Viola followed everyone in silence as they had descended back into the city and upon their re-entrance, realized that the city had been unmistakably rewritten. Blackthorn had originally sat under-furnished with the carved mountain face looming over the city to give it a rustic mysticism. The city had been split by four main roads, each dividing a certain area from the other. They all had led to the gym that rested at the foot of the Dragon Den entrance.
Most of it was rubble now. The commercial district had been the one to suffer the most damage and only a lone few buildings stood, one of them somehow remained miraculously unscathed. If anything, Viola was glad that the residential and production areas had been largely untouched. She cast a gaze back onto the mountain face. The carved dragon had been torn into, cracks and missing chunks obscuring the former Dragonite sculpture it was supposed to be. The thought of the Pokemon made her stomach tighten.
Viola followed Virgil and the others close in toe and nearly bumped into Virgil when he had stopped so suddenly. She peered from around his form before stepping out from behind him. It was a large home, a mansion really, and like most of the residential homes, it was still very much in one piece. In fact, there hadn't even been a single trace that the building had even been there during all of the chaos with Marus. The home sat on what seemed to be a perfect lawn and and exquisite design. In front of the house was an impressive looking Milotic fountain.
Her stomach tightened again. Juliet and Seria were the only two people she knew to have money in such a way. Viola cast a timid look over to Ryuu. His somber anger was still there, though it had curbed long since they had first found Seria's body, and he still held her close to his chest, almost to protect her from further harm.
"Ryuu," she caught a brow raise but he kept silent. "How do you plan on telling her mother?" There was a twitch in his shoulders, more than likely what was supposed to be a shrug.
"There's nothing that can be said." He took a deep breath. "I would be lying if I said that I had hadn't hoped you wouldn't have said anything." The joke prompted little from Viola, and instead they all stepped to the front of the manor doors.
"This is...Seria's house," Viola heard the Alph, Honovi, murmur. It wasn't really to anyone, so Viola left it alone. "Coming from Blackthorn, I wouldn't have taken her to be...well, loaded..." Viola saw a reaction in Ryuu's face, something like disgust and frustration. He was angry and on edge.
We don't need anything like this at the moment, Ryuu... He turned to her, and Viola forced down the urge to cry out in shock.
"I don't want to unnerve the woman." he stated, pointing to his eyes. The strange magenta was swirling around again, though his eyes were much more clouded, and looking at them for even mere second had unnerved her. She stuttered as she tried to find her reasoning. The door clicked open seconds after that and they turned their attention to a pair of twins that standing in the doorway.
"The lady has been expecting you," both of them stated flatly. "She is..." Something flickered in their eyes then, and Viola knew that they're eyes had settled on Ryuu. "You," they started again, with an edge in their tone. "What is a blind man doing with the heiress of the household?"
"Take it easy," It was Virgil. "We're on your side." The two girls were quiet for only seconds.
"She's not breathing," one of them said morose. "She's not breathing..." Viola felt Ryuu's hands tense, though she remained quiet still. Virgil spoke again, and quickly, attempting to salvage the situation.
"That's why we need to speak with your lady really fast. This is really important regarding her." he tapped Seria's body, and he recoiled at how cold it had gotten. Neither of the girls budged and they stood as tall as they were able, with every bit intention to impede them until they heard a answer that sufficed for them.
"What did you do to Seria!?" they exploded again. "What did you do!?" Things were getting out of hand, and very quickly, and Viola cast a glance to Ryuu, but he only watched the two twins with his customary silence. His expression was much more stagnant now, but it was a piercing anger rather than pragmatic sternness.
"Um...V-Viola..." She felt a tap from Honovi behind her. "You're an intelligent person. Maybe you can convince them that we really are on their side?" The alph interlocked her fingers together nervously. "I would if I could but...I don't know how to get through to them. Besides, this is really all my fault..."
"Now's not the time for that." Viola refuted. "What's done is done. And... as humans, we can't re-write time..." She paused. "But I'll try..." She turned back with a deep breath. She wondered for a moment then, exactly how she had been that strong just then. She was reeling as much as the rest of them, and even though she appeared to be the most collected, there were so many things that were lining up against them and against her.
Like Jaret... She mentally scolded herself. He would have to come later. At the moment, she needed to focus. She needed to convince these two girls that they really had good intentions, and convince them to let through. She took a deep breath. She really needed to...
Ryuu cut her off, stepping in her path. His voice was fury incarnate.
"Move. Both of you." The twins looked at each other, but ignored him instead passing accusing glances between him and Seria's body, and glances lauded with a demand.
"Explain yourself."
"I will explain nothing to you, to neither of you because this has nothing to do with either of you!" His voice seemed to make the very air thin and everyone's hair stand. Viola blinked incredulously. Ryuu? Angry? The emotion had been strong on his face, but he had never acted on it save at the Holy Land summit. "So the both of you will move, or I will make you. Is that clear?" The two girls looked at each other and seemed to play with the idea of another outright denial before parting to let them through. Ryuu was just on his way in but paused at the sight of Maria, as she strode to the door herself.
"Emmi, Emma. That's enough." Her voice caught and again Viola figured that she had laid eyes on Seria, who remained lifeless in Ryuu's arms. She resumed abruptly. "As for all of you, follow me. I take it there's some things that need to be discussed.
She looks almost exactly like her. It was the first thought that Ryuu had when he had seen the woman for the first time. She sat in an ornate and fanciful chair, akin to a throne if anything. It suited her strangely so. The rest of them sat together on a velvet couch across from her, the two of them separated by a table.
"Is something wrong?" Maria asked. Her voice had projected throughout the room, to all of them, though it singled out Ryuu especially.
"Nothing," he lied. There was a wriggle of her brows at that, and Ryuu found that he could not look the woman in the face.
"Nothing at all?" Ryuu shook his head, but he knew that the woman was watching and observing him especially. She turned to Virgil this time, whose gaze fell just a quickly. "What's wrong with all of you?" she asked with a glare, to which Honovi had been quick to leave the room. And then her attention turned to the next person: Viola.
"I don't mean to speak out of turn, but... it's easy to feel how angry you are, and how sad you are too." Another brow quiver.
"Do you think so?" Viola kept her face plain, fighting the glare that wanted to challenge the woman.
"It's only a suggestion," Viola replied. "But people tend to get snippy or just...different when they're under stress..." Maria had nearly fixed her with a venomous stare then, and Viola felt her heart quicken. What was with this woman? Her voice came out deceivingly smooth.
"Then I guess you would be right. I am angry. In fact, I'm livid..." Viola could feel Virgil squirm a little next to her, but she slyly slipped a finger under one of his to catch his attention.
"Calm down," Viola whispered. "Please."
"I found my husband." The words had nearly floored both Viola and Virgil, and they each looked to Ryuu after that for his expression. It was strained and hurt. "I had found him there protected under his Salamence." Her voice cracked a bit. "Can you imagine how hard it is to see someone you've given everything to, that you love, lying lifeless when they had just been there with you alive just hours earlier?" Viola felt Virgil shuffle again, and Viola tightened her grips as best she could.
"Virgil, please."
"Can you even imagine?" Maria's voice was sharp, and Viola turned her attention back to the woman. "And now, my daughter. My only child is gone too!?" Maria paused suddenly, trying her best to take in a deep breath, to calm herself, even though it had little effect.
"Miss Day—"
"Maria," She corrected sternly. Even still, her voice was outlined with a kind of shakiness. "Screw the formalities. I haven't been so professional with you, so no need to be so uptight with me either." The woman's words brought Virgil's outburst at her to mind. Viola hadn't realized just how used to filing away her emotions she had been until Virgil had cut into her when she had attempted to downplay Seria's death for her own emotional sake. Viola clenched her fingers into her palms, acutely aware of Maria's strain to appear even the slightest bit civil. Or perhaps it was because she knew that Virgil was going to say something abrasive. So Viola attempted to take action first.
"Maria... I'm—" No, Viola thought. "We—"
"You want to know more? About Johto's history?" Maria's question had been so abrupt and Viola hesitated. "It's more than likely classified information that you're really trying to find out, isn't it?" The words suddenly spilled from Viola.
"Not only that, but... a friend of mine, that 'Honovi' that stepped out from the room earlier brought the powers of Ho-oh into question..." Maria's brow quivered.
"There's only so much that an outsider knows..." Viola's eyes widened; she heard Ryuu voice her sentiments.
"An outsider?" Maria nodded in confirmation.
"I'm not from Blackthorn. In fact, quite a few of the dragon master elders don't quite care for me. They consider me a 'black influence'. Because of that, I don't know everything. That was more within my husband's power..." Viola frowned disappointed, though a part of her wasn't sure if she had flinched because of her disappointment or because of Maria's contempt for the Blackthorn Elders.
"Does that mean you wouldn't know the truth behind summoning Ho-oh?" There was silence, and a flicker of apprehension spread throughout Viola entire being.
"About summoning Ho-oh? The Phoenix? And why would you want to summon him? That's a tad dangerous, and outright stupid. And besides that, in order to even have a remote chance, you need certain items-"
"And that's why he came here and slaughtered your husband and every one in the city!" Viola felt Virgil shoot from his seat in anger and she cursed inwardly. She was quick to sink her nails as deep as she could into Virgil's hand and brought him back down with a sharp pull.
"I told you to calm down!" Viola hissed. "We're not the only one's angry Virgil!" He held her glare for a few seconds and she saw that he was considering a response, but instead murmured lowly. "She doesn't need to be so hostile..." Viola sighed, turning back to Maria.
"It isn't in regards to me, or any of my friends. Just..." Viola weighed her next words carefully. "It's just in regards to Marus." Maria's eyes shifted again, this time in interest. Her voice had leveled out somewhat.
"The anomaly that took Will from me..." Viola nodded. "He wants to summon Ho-oh? For what? Ho-oh really only grants his power to people he deems fit for it, and summoning him or any legendary really is the fastest way to piss them off and show how stupid you are."
"He doesn't want to summon Ho-oh to request his strength," Ryuu chimed in. "He wants to kill the bird for vengeance."
"Vengeance," Maria asked incredulously. "He's already lost once, at least according to the old stories."
"It's a folk tale," Viola interjected. "Something like that is usually an embellishment."
"No," Maria scolded. "You wanted to know certain classified information, and that is one of them. The event where a 'lone warrior' fights Ho-oh' is recorded. It's just kept among Blackthorn's Dragon Masters. That being said, this Marus is either an imposter or the real thing." The three of them were silent. Viola had turned her attention from Maria, and caught a strange expression written into Ryuu's face.
"Is there something wrong Ryuu?" He remained silent. "Ryuu?" She had saw his arm flex in what seemed to be strain and he turned to the both of them slowly. Viola squeaked, in spite of herself. His eyes were swirling with the strange culmination of purple, black and red. His hands shook slightly also; he was without a doubt in pain.
The normal grey returned and the small tremors in his hands and arms stopped. He took a deep breath.
"Miss Day—"
"Maria."
"Maria," he repeated. "Did your husband know anything about the concept of Mastery?"
"Of it and all of the side effects and the ridiculous complications it can cause. The strange display of your eyes would suggest that you're definitely familiar with it as well." Ryuu nodded.
"This particular ability of mine is a certain kind of foresight."
"The Pokemon you have this bond with is Psychic?" He nodded again.
"A Sigilyph to be exact." Viola saw the edges of Maria's mouth tighten pensively. "The visions vary quite a bit, and I still don't have an idea or really even a grasp on how to employ it. Sometimes I see the future, and other times I see the past. There are times where I'll see something that's happening at the same time as the vision..."
"Then what did you see just now?"
"The Silver Village Massacre." Ryuu sighed. "And I saw 'Marus fight the Phoenix, and he died..."
"Ryuu, how long has this been going on?" It was Viola, and her words had been barbed. She had never been one to question Ryuu, and had always knew he had his own reasons for traveling with them. Still, she had never expected him to have withheld so much information. "If you know something about this guy who calls himself 'Marus', then you can at least tell all of us. What was that thing you said to Virgil? That your friends should know what or who they're fighting for?"
Ryuu cringed.
"I know. I remember what I said. But... Avia only allows me to see so much. Mastery is quite the strain on both trainer and Pokemon and—"
"Mastery varies," Maria interrupted. "And the way things work become even more murky whenever Mastery is applied with a Psychic type Pokemon anyway. A lot of the time it becomes difficult to know which thoughts are your own and which are Pokemon's, making it a little difficult to remember who is who."
"The vision of Silver Village and watching Marus die feels more like I'm watching a memory than having an actual vision..." Viola felt her anger become blunt.
"Avia... You mean to tell me that the vision could possibly be a memory of hers?" Ryuu nodded in agreement.
"She is a Sigilyph, and those Pokemon have unfaltering memories of the ancient cities that they used to guard or live in. I also remember having other 'visions' that felt the same as the Silver Village ones, and I would often see people to look like Honovi, strolling through a grand sprawling city that was seemingly always covered in a black fog, or some kind of distortion. It was more than likely the city of Alph..."
Viola sighed tiredly.
"How are we supposed to stop someone who has even a fragment of power of Ho-oh? Seria's the only one I've seen who's been able to warrant some kind of fear from him."
"That's because she's able to call on Entei in her anger, and probably the only one able to show signs of being able to actually hurt him." Maria answered. Viola's eyes widened in surprise. She had forgotten about the appearance of the three legendary beasts that appeared to the each of them.
"In her anger?" Maria nodded.
"I remember when Seria was younger, she would come to my room crying, claiming that there was a 'scary dog with burning cherry eyes' watching her in her room."
"Did she ever see it when she slept with you?" Maria shook her head.
"Not that I remember. But I definitely remember those days." Maria hesitated for a moment.
"You can stop if you don't want to talk about her anymore," Ryuu remarked stoney.
"No. If anyone needs to know anything about her, it'd be you, Ryuu.
"Me?" Maria smiled, a melancholic grin gracing her lips.
"Seria had only just recently started to contact home again, and she told me a lot about every one of you. From Virgil all the way to you. And I have to admit..." Maria chuckled. "You would've made a good husband for her. She admired you a great deal..." Ryuu was quiet, the memory of the Dragon's Den playing through his mind. He wasn't a fool and had noted almost immediately at how taken Seria had been with the sight of him...shirtless. A strange feeling had swept about his face. Embarrassment felt foreign to him these days, but it was an emotion he'd rather feel more than anything at the moment.
Viola cleared her throat, awkwardly. "Oh," Maria continued. "Those were really the only prominent times I remember her say something about Entei appearing. I had actually seen him appear before my daughter with my own eyes only once."
"Did you really see the Pokemon in the flesh," inquired Viola. Maria shook her head.
"From what I could tell, it was a effigy that was only able to be seen by those it wanted to be seen by."
"When had both of you seen it?" Another chuckle.
"Seria had been ten, and she had began her third year into the Dragon's Roar. She had been chosen for a sparring match with one of the teachers and..." Viola raised a brow in curiosity.
"What happened?"
"Another student had done something really stupid, and Seria actually, in a fit of anger, shattered three of the other student's bones."
"Seria?" Ryuu asked, taken aback. "I would've never thought..." Maria shrugged.
"I hear all too much that people says she got her bouts of anger from me, but Seria is far too gentle, and I doubt she would be able to hurt someone unless she was absolutely fed up with them."
"Now that you mention it," Viola had forgotten that Virgil had even been sitting with them. He had been so quiet, which was very unlike him. In fact, he had been very strange since Marus had split from him in Ecruteak. It was almost as if he had no personality. "Seria does tend to be a little scary whenever she's angry. She seemed to throw a lot of crazy punches and whatnot..." Virgil muttered something inaudible then. "But there's been a numerous things on the legend of Ho-oh saying that the beasts are at their strongest when near Ho-oh. Truth be told, I should've died when Marus tore out of me, but I managed to recover pretty fast. If anything, I would think that there's some bit of Ho-oh left over in me from when Marus used me as a dummy."
"You really think that's a possibility?" Viola asked and Virgil shrugged again.
"It's the best we've got. Besides, is there any real reason to doubt it?" That was a supposedly good point.
"If Seria's anger makes her a prime candidate, then what about Jaret and me? I haven't really felt any particular emotion when I'm around Virgil..."
"But do you really believe that Viola?" It was Ryuu. "I'm not sure if anyone else noticed—" Virgil raised his hand casually, but said nothing. "Well, I don't know if anyone besides Virgil and myself have noticed that you tend to distance yourself a great deal whenever Virgil expresses his own emotion. You almost seem too detached..."
"And cold," the other boy in question added. "I've told you other times that you should try to have a heart and let that professionalism ebb a little bit. It doesn't hurt to have a heart." Viola bit her bottom lip; a strange thing for her to do to be sure.
"R-really? I... hadn't noticed..." Her expression was thoughtful. "Then you're implying that I tend to be a little...frigid."
"Like the northern winds Suicune tends to represent," added Virgil. Viola made a face at that.
"Wow, you really do know quite a bit more than you let on about the legends, don't you?"
"Nothing about Marus. Just your generic info about how the three beasts came about, Silver Village and the history of the conference and all of that crap." They were quiet again before Viola asked another question.
"Then where does that leave Jaret?" The venom in Ryuu glare had been so strong then that Viola had felt herself physically shiver under his gaze; she stood and moved herself to another seat, as respectably as she was able.
"Jaret..." Virgil trailed. "You were the first person he told about the whole Raikou thing, weren't you?" She nodded.
"Still, he's been so angry as of late that I would've thought that it would've been something of Entei. How is Raikou's element embodied by him in any way?"
"It's that drive of his," Ryuu interceded sharply. "And he's often daydreaming about how he tends to be the strongest that he can."
"So he can protect the ones closest to him," Virgil continued somberly. Ryuu sighed irritably. It left Viola absolutely astounded at how fast the man had changed. In the same way that he had gotten under Jaret's skin for simply being as strong as he was, a simple mention of Jaret was enough to place Ryuu in a foul mood.
"He tends to run wild if something doesn't have him grounded. Like lightning. When we fought at Violet City, the conflict was plain as day in his face. He wasn't sure if he was should've gone all out to beat me, or if he should play it safe and keep his..." There was a notable pause, as if Seria had come to mind mid-sentence. "Friends safe from harm, as well as others."
"Well, I would've thought that would've been easy to answer."
"It is an easy question, but with ambition and drive like Jaret's, it's far too easy for your focus to stray." Ryuu's next words were potent with anger. "Or be manipulated..." He lifted his gaze to Maria suddenly. "I'm sorry..." Maria's eyes cast down then, as if she didn't quite know what to say.
"You're in so much pain..." Ryuu ignored the woman's comment.
"I'm sorry...I had the strength to save not just your husband, but Seria too..." He clenched his teeth in fury. "Because of my stupid choice, I let Seria's life slip through my fingers, and betrayed her trust..."
"Ryuu," Maria soothed, but his voice grew stronger, drowning her out.
"I let her fight him...alone." He felt the shock etch into Maria's face. "It wasn't just Jaret's fault. In fact, he's not at fault... Not for Seria..." He was pointing to his eyes now and Maria made note of the cloudiness that passed over his pupils like smoke. "I can't see anymore, either. I have a basic sense of where things are, and can even see basic outlines of the room with Avia's help, but I can't see colors or faces really. A Pokemon of mine is broken, but alive, and another is marred with both great strength and scars..." His hands were open then, and he rested them softly his lap. "This all happened because I made a poor choice, and never did I expect things to come to the head that they did..." Ryuu kept his back to both Viola and Virgil, but his eyes remained focused on Maria. She was moved and was straining to hold her tears down. Her voice was deceptively calm and collected.
"...My daughter...had no business leaving the city. She wanted to live the life of a traveler, and participate in those overzealous beauty pageants, dressing up your Pokemon and using their techniques for parlor tricks and the sort..." Both Viola and Virgil cringed visibly, but the sullen grin had made the both of them relax; it seemed as though Ryuu hung on every one of her words. Viola had never seen the man so down on himself before. "But everything has gone as it was meant to go..." Ryuu gawked.
"H-how could you say that!?"
"She was supposed to meet you, as she did. And she was supposed to fight alongside you, like she did..." Maria paused. "Entei did choose her especially for that volcanic rage of hers, and I doubt that he'll find anyone quite like her. The three beasts have chosen who they have because they need help. They know that they wouldn't be able to stop this monster of a boy if it had been just them..."
"Then why didn't Entei help when Seria needed him most!?"
"The legends work in mysterious ways, and Entei more than likely didn't show up because Seria was at a loss on how to summon him."
"Summon?" Ryuu asked incredulously. A part of him seemed insulted. "He didn't help her because she had no idea how to call him? Didn't you say that summoning was the fastest and best way to insult a legendary Pokemon? And how exactly was she supposed to do that!?"
"By showing what you are at this very moment." Maria replied coolly. "The emotion that Seria embodied, her anger, would've called upon Entei's power. Had she been angry enough, then Entei could've possibly appeared in complete form. And besides, a legendary will adhere to the person they've chosen. Of course, it applies to certain legendaries. A deity such as Ho-oh or Hoenn's primal trio would do no such thing." She laughed a bit at the idea, a bit distastefully even. "I can only imagine how angry a great dragon like Rayquaza would react to an idiot demanding his strength."
"Then the legendary beast trio don't even really even have a physical body!" Virgil interceded awe- stricken. Maria nodded in confirmation.
"The beast trio are more like beings of energy. Or more accurately, of their element and emotion. They take form whenever Ho-oh calls upon them, or whenever the Phoenix is under threat. So when they choose—"
"They choose wisely..." Ryuu finished, Maria nodded.
"I'm sorry, but this is the extent of my knowledge on the workings of the Beast trio and their service to Ho-oh..."
"Wait," Ryuu suddenly spoke. "When chosen, is the beast bound to them forever?" Maria's eyes narrowed.
"Until the chosen dies. Even then, if one of the beasts are feeling really obstinate, they may chose to follow the chosen into the afterlife...If that's the case, then that means that there's only two out of three left, which makes things even harder on your part..."
Maria had been the only one who didn't flinch when Ryuu slammed in fist into the table. He felt Avia's presence nibble at the edge of his mind,
"Ryuu, calm down."
"Calm down? Avia, why didn't you tell me about this?"
"Would you have really kept me at your side if I had told you everything?"
"I'm insulted that you would think of me as being so jaded." Avia was silent.
"Even so, you were a young, brash boy. I wanted nothing with putting you, or your two wards in danger." That had been a reference to Victoria and Cody no doubt.
"Connor would've been there,"
"And even he was young then. I did present you with warnings. I showed you everything about the Silver Village massacre that I could remember, and in the most detail I could muster." It was Ryuu's turn to be silent. He thought he knew so much, when there was still so very little he truly understood.
"Ryuu," He shifted suddenly, his head jolting up to find that it had been Maria that called to him. "I'm sure your Sigilyph only did what she could."
"I only wish that I could've done more," he muttered. "But if this is the extent of what you know, then I suppose we'll need to be leaving soon..."
"Wait a sec." They all turned to Virgil then. "What...are you guys going to do with Seria...Her body, I mean." Maria fixed him with a hollow stare.
"We do what we always have according to tradition: We cremate the body, and the closest friend they have drinks the ashes." Virgil frowned.
"That's...tradition?" Maria nodded.
"It's not a well-known one, but a tradition nonetheless."
"Keep it," Virgil stated, suddenly stern. "Find a Pokemon that will keep her body preserved." Maria blinked at him stupidly.
"Virgil! Do you have any idea how disrespectful that is?" Virgil paid Viola's scolding little mind. Maria's gaze sharpened
"Virgil, was it?" He nodded. "Why are you asking for something like that?" He shifted nervously.
"I feel like Viola... In fact, I'm a little surprised she didn't think of it." Viola raised a brow, and he knew he had her attention.
"Go on," he had heard her say. He definitely had her attention.
"Do you remember the fight with Victoria in the Dragon's Den?" His voice shook a little as he recalled the memory. "Do you remember the younger girl that stood behind Victoria?" Viola nodded with recognition.
"That..." And then Viola was shocked at the realization. "That was her sister, wasn't it? But I thought she had died."
"She did," Virgil assured. "But...She was there and it threw off Juliet. The only person, or thing I know of that could bring someone back from the dead..." His voice trailed and Viola finished for him, albeit with another question.
"Are you suspecting that Marus had a hand in that?"
"That's the idea. If I have a little bit of magic left over from Ho-oh and I can heal up from a Charizard's full body tackle, then what do you think Marus could do when he had way more control of his ability than I do..." There was a pensive sigh from Viola.
"I would've thought that a certain amount of magic would need to be taken from Ho-oh in order to be able to raise the dead..."
"There are probably limits," Maria interjected. "The Phoenix has a complete ability to regenerate himself, and based off of what I'm hearing, you Virgil, have a slight piece of magic left, and that probably came from Marus using you as a vessel. Marus, on the other hand, seems to have quite a ways more magic than you do, despite not having been giving anything from Ho-oh. It's still not the full- fledged abilities of the Phoenix, so instead of being able to revive someone and letting them go about their life afterwards, maybe Marus can only revive them for a short period of time?" Virgil stammered, struggling to align his thoughts.
"A-a...Y-Yeah. That's...pretty much what I was getting at...That could let him manipulate the hell out of some people..." Maria spoke again, her voice even sharper.
"So you mean to tell me that you want me to keep my daughter preserved like some museum display for your perverted necromancy?" Virgil recoiled, and even fumed back at the woman a bit.
"Perverted!? I was only speculating the possibilities!" His voice grew quiet. "Besides, now that we have an Alph with us, maybe she might be able to know something about being able to contact certain spirits and whatnot..." He had expected to Maria to scold him for the idea. It actually sounded a little bigoted to even himself, but he found that Maria's mind was elsewhere for the moment.
"The Alph girl left at the beginning of all this..." Was the woman actually considering it? "It is a possibility that she may know something about it, or she could possibly get herself killed. There are planes of existence vastly different from our own, whether we see it or not." Viola felt something tingle at the back of her mind, a denial of a sort. In the beginning, she would've dismissed it all as hearsay or as old folklore. "Oh," Maria resumed. "That reminds me, there is one other possibility that I had for speculation on Marus..."
"That is?" Maria cast a glare in Viola's direction, but grinned all the same.
"There is a possibility that Marus could have possibly come from a different timeline." Viola felt her heart sink.
Oh...damn it. If things dealt with alternate realities, things were bound to become confusing.
"It's not nearly as crazy as it sounds."
"It sounds quite farfetched, in my opinion." Ryuu replied. Maria chuckled, a little nervous even.
"Astral knowledge isn't necessarily the forte of Blackthorn, but I can tell you what I know. There's generally a theory..." Maria's eyes went to Viola.
"An astral theory?" Maria nodded.
"In the Sinnoh legends, Arceus is the creator of everything. Of our world, our existence. Now, there are also multiple planes of existence." Viola grimaced, to which Maria snidely replied: "Make of it what you will."
"How many planes are there?" Virgil asked studiously. The fact that he had done in in such a way had both impressed and humored Viola. Maria gave a wave of her hand.
"That's not important. What is important is the fact that the universe makes up all of this. The universe is essentially all of existence. All planes, all realities." Maria paused to gauge every one of their reactions. Both Virgil and Ryuu were drawn in attentively, and even Viola had been taking great care to understand her words. "That would mean that all of the realities and alternate worlds share a common point, because there can be no alternate anything if our timeline was the only one that existed. We wouldn't even be able to dream!"
"Then you're one of those people that believe in spirituality and the importance of dream science, that our dreams are often connections into other realities or planes." Viola interceded. "It'd...actually make sense." She felt Virgil turn to her with surprise, though Ryuu kept his eyes forward on Maria. "Why are you so convinced about the alternate planes and realities?"
"I've had my fair share of Blackthorn mysticism and spirituality. At this point, I've seen quite a few things that science can't explain." Maria grunted casually. "Anyway, since the universe encompasses all of this, the common point they share would have to be up to when Arceus created life and the prehistoric world that eventually becomes the one we live on."
"How," asked Virgil. "What if Arceus decided not to create the world in one of these realities?"
"Then nothing aside from him exists. It isn't really an alternate timeline because we don't exist."
"Alternate timelines are made by choices of people and Pokemon with sentience..." Ryuu thought aloud. "In another reality, I...made the right choice, and Seria is..." He stopped himself.
"Quite possibly," Maria added. "But a long story short, it is a possibility of how Marus is both 'alive' and 'dead' at the same time. The Marus in this world is dead, but the Marus from another reality managed to make his way here..."
"Inside Virgil...?" Maria nodded.
"With all of the realities sharing a common point with Arceus's creation of life and the world, it ties all of the realities together..."
"That is the direct correlation between the realities that allows us to dream, or as you put it, peer into the other realities through our dreams." Maria chuckled again.
"I see you learn quick, Ryuu. Now I'm really wondering why couldn't this reality be the one where you marry my daughter. I understand why she was so taken with you..." The foreign feeling returned, but faded just as quickly. The silence that followed was just as awkward as the first.
"S-so," Viola started. "You really think Honovi could peer into an alternate plane?" Maria shrugged.
"That's often what the Alph were doing their experiments for, but also one of the reasons why they died out. They tend to become rather enraptured and ensnared by their curiosity and the work they do. Hence the nickname 'Dreamers'. Their obsession with death is a label that suits few but defines many. They had often dealt with spiritual visitations to the afterlife and whatnot."
"There's no way all this is in all of the Blackthorn archives," Virgil muttered bitterly. Maria nodded in agreement.
"Of course not. A lot of this is all in the Solaceon's Library of the Celestial."
"Isn't that info only allowed for the absolute highest of authorities in the world." Maria giggles, seeming like a completely different person from earlier. "How did you find out about any of this."
"I have...connections." Viola fixed the woman with a slightly demanding stare, but Maria held her ground; that would be all she would tell. "Aside from that," An urgency returned to her voice. "I've told you everything I know. Well, most of it anyway..."
"What would be the other stuff," Virgil inquired.
"Certain kind of information for when you're older." Virgil opened his mouth to protest.
"But that doesn't help me at al—"
"When you're older," was all she said. "But Ecruteak is going to be Marus's next target if he isn't already there, and I suggest the four of you hurry up and get there. Marus has the flame from the shrine here and the Rainbow Feather. The Crystal Bells adorn the tower, so that's already done for him. It was a pleasure to have this conversation with the three of you." The three of them stood hurriedly, ready to depart. Viola and Ryuu had exited already. Virgil was on his way after him when he felt Maria grab hold of his arm.
"Virgil," the woman's voice was dark. "I'll see to it that Seria's body is preserved..." Virgil's expression was nothing short of flabbergasted.
"B-But I thought that—"
"It is tradition to drink the ashes of one's beloved as to keep them in your heart, but...there's only so much tradition I'm willing to follow. You forget that even though I am a high ranking dragon trainer, I'm not a master and never will be. I'm no where near as bound to tradition as my husband was..." Virgil caught the strain on the word "husband".
"If you don't mind me asking, is getting back at the Blackthorn Elders your only reason for defying tradition?" Maria shook her head.
"Not the only one. The Alph that descended the from the summit with you left nearly immediately. I take it she feels really guilty..."
"From what I could tell, Honovi and Seria were becoming fast friends..." Maria was quiet then.
"Then I can only tell you to keep an eye on her."
"W-why?"
"If you watch her closely, you'll understand in due time..." Virgil frowned, giving a single curt nod before he turned and was out the door.
Maria sighed, sinking back into her ornate chair.
"Oh Seria. You had quite the choice of young men..." Maria dug into her pockets, pulling free her own PokeGear, and for a moment, she fiddled with the frequency before dialing. She stared at the screen as it dialed, and her lips creased back into a smile as she read the name that appeared:
Sinnoh Champion Cynthia.