Hi! I'll be heading out on another trip tomorrow, so I'm putting up a new chapter today.
We're still listening to Stella explaining about the past, and this time, we get to find out a bit more about certain characters that have been mentioned before. I'm hoping you guys enjoy it!
Chapter 35: This has nothing to do with you!
"Cassandra was standing face-to-face with the Mismagius, but was caught off guard by its sudden change in demeanor. It was understandable that the Mismagius was angry with her for attacking her, but Cassandra just hadn't been able to think of any other way to stop her from trying to avoid her. With the Mismagius looking at her with such an intense glare, Cassandra just couldn't bring herself to say a single word.
And then…"
"… Well? Answer me!" the Mismagius shouted, glaring at Cassandra. "Don't just stand there!"
"I… I…" Cassandra stuttered, desperately trying to figure out how to respond. "I was just…"
"You were what?" the Mismagius asked, still glaring at Cassandra.
"I… I just needed to…" Cassandra sputtered, nervously taking a step back as the Mismagius hovered closer to her.
"Needed what?" the Mismagius asked. "Spit it out!"
Before Cassandra had the change to say anything else, they suddenly heard the sound of thunder in the distance. Cassandra briefly glanced upwards upon hearing the sound, but as far as she could see past the silver trees, there weren't any dark clouds to be seen. As she looked down, she suddenly noticed that the Mismagius' expression had suddenly gone from anger to… fear?
"No…" the Mismagius muttered, visibly trembling again. "Don't tell me he's…"
"The Mismagius suddenly flew off in a hurry, deeper into the forest. While she had a bad feeling about it, Cassandra decided to follow. It was even more difficult not to lose sight of the Mismagius this time, but Cassandra just had to know what was going on. It didn't take long before Cassandra suddenly felt a shift in the environment and a chill went down her spine. As she glanced up, she noticed a red cloud in the sky, which was crackling with electricity…"
"That doesn't look like a normal weather phenomenon to me…" Cassandra thought to herself, looking around a bit and noticing that there didn't seem to be any other clouds around it. "I don't think I've seen anything like that before… Ugh, I'm getting a really bad feeling from it…"
Cassandra almost felt a little sick, but decided to keep going anyways. Eventually, she spotted the Mismagius again, and it seemed to be looking up at something. Stopping just behind the Mismagius, she noticed that the first Mismagius was looking up at another Mismagius. The other Mismagius was snickering as it looked up at the red cloud, and judging from the glow from the red gems on its neck, it was probably the second Mismagius who was creating the strange cloud.
"Yes… more… more…" the second Mismagius said, and Cassandra noted that this Mismagius had a deeper voice than the first Mismagius. This second Mismagius was probably male.
Suddenly, lightning from the red cloud struck some of the branches on the nearby trees, setting them on fire. While both Cassandra and the first Mismagius were both horrified, the second Mismagius just laughed as the silvery leaves burned to a crisp.
"No…" the first Mismagius muttered, before suddenly raising her arms, which looked like two sleeves on her dress-like body. "Stop this!"
The red gems on the first Mismagius' body shone, and a breeze began to blow through the area. Cassandra thought she heard a whisper in the wind, something that sounded like an incantation of some kind. Somehow, it felt soothing. The second Mismagius was startled as the wind blew out the flames, and looked down to see the first Mismagius. The second Mismagius sighed, and made the red cloud dissipate.
"Pandora…" the second Mismagius said, shaking his head. "Why'd you interrupt my little experiment?"
"Isn't it obvious?" the first Mismagius cried out. "You could've burned the whole forest down!"
"Relax, I had everything under control," the second Mismagius responded, smirking. "I bet I could've made it even bigger if I tried…"
"Don't even think about it!" Pandora exclaimed, glaring at the other Mismagius.
"What are you so upset about?" the second Mismagius asked.
"Erebos, you need to stop using this dark magic," Pandora responded. "I keep telling you; these spells are dangerous!"
"Yes, you keep saying that," Erebos replied, shaking his head. "However, I really think you're overreacting. All I want is to truly understand the full potential of these dark spells, and there really is no better way to do that than actually using them."
"I'm not overreacting!" Pandora yelled. "You don't realize what these spells are doing to you!"
"You worry too much, little sister," Erebos responded, smirking. "By the way, who is that Gothitelle over there?"
"Gothitelle…?" Pandora replied, turning around and noticing Cassandra. "You're still here?"
"I… I was just wondering what was going on…" Cassandra said, looking down sheepishly.
"This doesn't concern you!" Pandora shouted, glaring at Cassandra. "Just… go home! There's nothing to see here!"
Cassandra nodded her head, and began walking back in the direction she came from. It was probably best to leave these Mismagius siblings alone, for now. Cassandra was certain she would be coming back here later, though. After all, those things the two Mismagius talked about… Cassandra was certain that it was related to the vision she had.
"Ah, there you are!" a familiar voice called out, and Cassandra looked up to see a certain Alakazam hovering towards her.
"Simon," Cassandra said, smiling at him. "I'm glad you're here."
"I told you I'd be catching up, didn't I?" Simon responded, grinning. "So, did you find anything?"
"Yes, I guess I did…" Cassandra replied, nodding her head slightly. "For now, I think it's best to head back to town, though."
"That is probably a good idea," Simon responded, looking up at the sky. "It is getting pretty late, after all."
"That night, Cassandra watched the stars carefully, waiting to see if another vision would come. While she had a few visions, none of them showed Silver Woods or the two Mismagius. Eventually, she fell asleep. The next morning, she began thinking about what to do. After a while, she decided to find Simon, and ask him to send her back into Silver Woods."
Cassandra walked through town, carrying a rolled up piece of paper under her arm. A few Pokémon were standing around and talking about things, others were looking at today's selections at the nearby shops. There seemed to be a lot of Pokémon gathered around a stand where a yellow flower-like Pokémon with pink petals was selling fresh berries, and the Cherrim was cheerfully telling the different Pokémon about what types of berries she had for sale today.
Cassandra wondered if the other Pokémon were really as satisfied as most of them to be with their lives, or if there might be some who secretly felt the way she did.
"Good morning, Cassandra!" a familiar voice called out, and Cassandra looked up to see Simon approaching her.
"Simon, good timing," Cassandra said, smiling at him. "I need you to take me back to Silver Woods."
"Oh? You want to go back there so soon?" Simon asked.
"There's… something I think I should investigate," Cassandra responded.
"All right, if you say so," Simon replied, nodding his head slightly.
"Thanks, Simon," Cassandra responded, smiling. "Think there's a chance you can teleport us to where we left off last night, so that we don't need to go through that mystery dungeon again?"
"Hmm… I suppose I can try," Simon replied, holding out his hands. "Just hold onto me, and don't let go."
"You never letting go of those spoons kind of makes holding hands with you a little awkward, you know," Cassandra commented, chuckling a little as she held onto Simon's hands.
"I suppose it does," Simon responded, chuckling a bit. "Well, let's head off, shall we?"
Only a few seconds later, Cassandra and Simon found themselves in Silver Woods once again. This time, they appeared at the area they had arrived at upon exiting the mystery dungeon. Cassandra let go of Simon's hands, and looked around.
"Thanks, Simon," Cassandra said, smiling at him.
"You're welcome," Simon responded, smiling back.
Cassandra then handed the piece of paper she had been carrying to Simon.
"Here, I wrote down a list of mystery dungeons where someone might get lost in the near future," Cassandra explained. "Take it with you, and head back to town."
"Wait… You don't want me to come with you?" Simon asked.
"Well, if a Pokémon gets lost in a mystery dungeon, someone needs to tell the ones looking for them where to find them," Cassandra explained. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."
"Are you sure, Cassandra?" Simon asked, looking somewhat concerned.
"I'm sure," Cassandra responded, nodding her head. "Just come back later to take me back home, okay?"
"If you say so," Simon replied. "I'll come back before the sun goes down."
"After Simon went back to town, Cassandra went off to look for the two Mismagius. As she went deeper into the forest, she thought about what she was going to do or say once she found them. She figured the first thing she had to do was apologize to Pandora about attacking her before. Of course, Pandora might not be too willing to talk to her, but she still had to try it.
She had to go even deeper into the forest than she did last time, but finally, she came across Pandora once more…"
"There she is…" Cassandra whispered to herself as she finally saw Pandora.
She quietly approached the Mismagius, and eventually cleared her throat to get Pandora's attention. Startled, Pandora turned around.
"What? You're here again!?" Pandora exclaimed, glaring at Cassandra. "What do you want now?"
"I… I wanted to apologize for what happened yesterday," Cassandra responded, looking down at the ground.
"Is that all?" Pandora asked, sighing. "It's fine, don't worry about it. Just leave."
Cassandra was about to say something, when she suddenly heard someone snickering behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see that Erebos had suddenly appeared behind her. He seemed amused by Cassandra's startled expression, before simply floating right through her and over to Pandora.
"Pandora, my dear little sister, what are you doing?" Erebos asked, still snickering a little. "That is no way to talk to a surprise visitor."
Pandora simply crossed her arms and looked away, not bothering to respond.
"So, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?" Erebos asked, looking over at Cassandra with interest.
"Um… My name is Cassandra," Cassandra responded, feeling a bit nervous by the way Erebos was looking at her. "I'm the town oracle of Illumine Town."
"Ooh, is that so?" Erebos inquired, smirking. "That's pretty far away from here, isn't it?"
"Um… Yes," Cassandra responded, nodding her head slightly. "I asked my friend to teleport me here."
"When will your friend be back?" Pandora asked, glancing over at Cassandra.
"Very interesting," Erebos commented, ignoring Pandora. "So, what brings you all the way to a place like this?"
"It's… kind of hard to explain," Cassandra responded, looking away.
"Well, as long as you're here, perhaps you could help me out with something?" Erebos asked, snickering a little. "You see, there's this spell I've wanted to try out for a while, but I need something living to try it out on…"
"Erebos!" Pandora exclaimed, giving him a stern look. "I will not allow you to do anything to this Gothitelle!"
"Not even if she agrees?" Erebos asked, before turning back to Cassandra. "What do you say, miss Cassandra?"
"Um… I don't think I can help you," Cassandra responded, shaking her head.
"Oh, too bad," Erebos replied, seeming a bit disappointed. "Guess I'll just have to find someone else, then!"
"No!" Pandora responded. "You're not trying out any spells on anybody!"
"Pandora, are you going to be like this all day?" Erebos asked. "You don't need to get so worked up about everything, you know."
Pandora seemed like she was about to say something, but then just stopped and sighed sadly, turning away. Cassandra wondered how long things had been like this between the two Mismagius.
"Cassandra was starting to get an idea of what her vision had been about. The dark magic Erebos seemed so fascinated by… Perhaps it was going to cause some sort of disaster in the future. Cassandra wasn't sure what to do, but knew she had to do something to try to prevent it. She could tell Pandora was troubled by what was happening, and she wanted to do something for her.
However, she didn't know what to do. Realizing that she probably needed a second opinion, she decided to tell Simon about her vision and the two Mismagius…"
"… So, that's what's troubling you," Simon said as Cassandra finished explaining.
"Sorry I didn't tell you before," Cassandra responded, telekinetically setting down two cups of tea on the table.
"Well, I'm not sure what to tell you," Simon replied, stirring his cup of tea with one of his spoons. "I don't have much experience with preventing potential disasters in the future."
"I feel really bad for Pandora…" Cassandra said, staring down into her cup of tea. "I was thinking that, maybe… if I became friends with her… maybe something would change."
"Do you think that can prevent whatever your vision warned about?" Simon asked.
"I don't know," Cassandra responded, sighing. "I can't think of much else I can do, though…"
"Well, I suppose it is worth a try," Simon said, taking a sip of his tea. "How do you plan on going about befriending her, though?"
"I'm not sure," Cassandra responded. "I didn't really make all that good of a first impression on her, and she doesn't really seem all that interested in talking to me."
"Considering the situation, it's likely that part of her attitude comes from having much bigger concerns at the moment," Simon commented. "Perhaps she doesn't want anyone else to get involved, or thinks it is better to try to handle the situation on her own?"
"Probably…" Cassandra replied, nodding her head slightly. "I can't just leave this alone, though…"
"After a few days of nothing out of the ordinary happening, Cassandra decided to head back into Silver Woods to speak to Pandora once more. She had taken some time to think about how to go about trying to befriend the troubled Mismagius, and hoped that she at the very least could convince Pandora to give her a chance. When she finally found Pandora…"
"Oh, where is he now…?" Pandora muttered under her breath, as she quickly flew past several trees. "I have a bad feeling about this…"
Seeing Pandora like this, Cassandra had a fairly good idea of what might be going on. Maybe this was a bad time to try to talk to her, but then again, Pandora might appreciate some help in locating her brother. Cassandra decided to take the chance, and stepped forward.
"Do you need any help?" Cassandra asked, waving to Pandora.
"… Why do you keep coming back here?" Pandora responded incredulously, before sighing and shaking her head. "And no, I don't need any help! I can handle this on my own!"
"Are you sure?" Cassandra asked, looking somewhat concerned. "You're looking for your brother, right?"
"This has nothing to do with you!" Pandora responded. "Please, just leave me alone…"
"But I might be able to help you!" Cassandra replied. "My mother often said that even if one is capable of handling a specific task on their own, one will often get things done faster with the help of others."
"… You're not going away, are you?" Pandora asked, glancing over at Cassandra.
"I know it's a bit strange for me to keep coming back here," Cassandra responded, looking down with a sheepish smile. "I first came here because I had a strange vision about this place, and… I think your brother and his dark magic may have been involved."
"You… had a vision about my brother?" Pandora asked.
"I'm not really sure what I saw happen in my vision," Cassandra explained. "But… I have a bad feeling about it. That's why I want to help you."
"But whether you had a vision or not, that doesn't really change the situation here," Pandora responded. "We don't even know each other, so why do you want to help me? Why keep coming all the way out here for a total stranger?"
"Well… It's just the way I feel, I guess," Cassandra replied, thinking about it for a few moments. "I'm not entirely sure how to explain it…"
"So, you can't give me a clear answer?" Pandora asked, looking away. "You can't give me a good reason for why I should allow you to help me?"
"I… I guess not…" Cassandra responded, looking down at the ground. "Maybe I just… hoped this could lead to something... Something different from what I'm used to…"
"What do you mean?" Pandora asked, glancing over at Cassandra curiously.
"Things have been quiet and peaceful for quite some time, with no major problems for the Pokémon living in my hometown," Cassandra explained. "Most of the Pokémon living there are happy with the way things are now, but… I guess I'm just different…"
"Different?" Pandora inquired, before looking around. "… Oh, what am I doing? I'm going to waste too much time if I don't keep looking…" Pandora sighed, and then turned back to Cassandra. "I need to find my brother. If you're going to explain more about your reasons for coming here, then help me look for Erebos while you talk."
Cassandra smiled as Pandora finally accepted her help, and used her psychic powers to float alongside Pandora as the two of them searched for Erebos. As they looked around, Cassandra told Pandora more about her hometown and how she felt about her position.
"Hmm… I think I'm starting to understand," Pandora said, glancing at Cassandra. "You're not doing this for my sake."
"Huh? What makes you say that?" Cassandra asked, looking over at Pandora.
"Oh, just admit it," Pandora responded with a slight smirk. "You're unsatisfied with your current life and you want to have a bigger purpose. Then you had a vision, giving you just the excuse you needed to get away from that boring little town for a bit."
"Well, I… I guess that might be true…" Cassandra replied, blushing slightly.
"I bet you're also hoping to find your true purpose in life by doing this," Pandora said, snickering a little. "Trying to get closer to me is just a means to an end, isn't it?"
"W-When you say it like that; you make it seem kind of selfish…" Cassandra responded, looking away in embarrassment.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of," Pandora replied. "Everyone is a little selfish at times, aren't they?"
"Um… I guess?" Cassandra responded.
"And I think that's perfectly fine," Pandora said, nodding her head slightly. "That's why I don't think selfishness is really a bad thing."
"Hmm… I guess that makes sense," Cassandra responded, thoughtfully holding a hand to her chin.
Suddenly, both of them sensed something strange. They both hurried over to see what was going on, and soon spotted Erebos focusing on a glowing patch of grass, chanting some sort of spell.
"Erebos, what are you doing?" Pandora exclaimed.
Startled, Erebos turned around to see Pandora and Cassandra. He then noticed that the green glow was fading, and to his dismay, it faded away before he could finish the spell.
"Pandora, why'd you have to interrupt my spell?" Erebos asked, looking rather annoyed. "I was trying to create a giant parasitic plant that would eventually spread throughout the entire forest!"
"Why would you want to do that?" Pandora responded.
"Well, why not?" Erebos replied, shrugging slightly. "Guess I'll just have to start over…"
"Erebos…" Pandora said, giving him a stern look.
"What's the matter?" Erebos asked.
"You know perfectly well what it is!" Pandora responded. "These "experiments" of yours with the dark magic keep threatening to damage the forest, and you don't even care! Please, Erebos, you have to stop it!"
"Hmm… You're worried about the forest…?" Erebos replied, thinking for a moment before smirking. "So, you'd be okay with it if I did my experiments somewhere else?"
"No!" Pandora responded, shaking her head. "That's not what I meant!"
Erebos just chuckled, before turning his attention to Cassandra.
"Ah, I see you're here again too," Erebos commented, grinning. "Did you change your mind about helping me test that spell?"
"Um… No," Cassandra responded, taking a few steps back and shaking her head.
"Oh, that's too bad," Erebos replied, shrugging slightly. "Well, if you do change your mind, let me know!"
"She won't!" Pandora shouted, glaring at Erebos.
"Pandora, you really need to calm down," Erebos responded. "Anyways, I think I'll head home now."
Erebos floated past Pandora and Cassandra with a slight smirk on his face, while Pandora just sighed. Cassandra wasn't sure what to say to Pandora, if anything.
"… I should probably be heading home too," Pandora said, looking over at Cassandra. "What about you?"
"Hmm… Simon should be coming to pick me up soon," Cassandra responded. "He'll take me back home."
"I see," Pandora replied, nodding her head slightly. "Hey, Cassandra… You don't have to get involved in this…"
"Huh? But I want to help you…" Cassandra responded.
"I understand that you want to be able to help someone else, but I don't think there's much you can do for me," Pandora replied, closing her eyes. "You'd only put yourself into danger, and I don't want that."
Cassandra wasn't sure what to say.
"I'm sure you can find the purpose you're looking for elsewhere," Pandora said, not turning around to look at Cassandra. "So, don't worry about me."
"Pandora, I…" Cassandra responded, still unsure of what to say.
"Cassandra, I do appreciate that you were willing to help me, even if it was for your own sake," Pandora replied, looking over at Cassandra with a small smile on her face. "I… hope you'll find your happiness."
"… What about you, Pandora?" Cassandra asked. "What will happen to you?"
"I don't know," Pandora responded, shaking her head. "But… that's my problem, not yours. I hope you understand."
Pandora floated away in the direction Erebos flew off in, leaving Cassandra behind.
"Pandora…" Cassandra muttered to herself while staring in the direction Pandora went.
End of chapter 35