Hey everyone! I didn't expect to take so long finishing this chapter, but at least I finally did get it done. I also recently took a look at previous chapters of this story, and wrote down a list of all the important events from each chapter so far so I could better keep track of things. In the process, I found certain details that gave me more inspiration for certain scenes in this chapter that I have really been looking forward to write. I'm really excited about sharing this chapter with you guys, and I hope you'll enjoy it!

Also, this is the first time in the story where recovering the crystal takes more than two chapters. I felt that the previous part where a crystal was retrieved may have been a bit rushed, but at the same time, considering what Sera was going through in those chapters, it probably would've been a bit much if I had made it one more chapter. For this, however, I knew that two chapters simply wouldn't be enough for what I wanted to do here.

Thanks to everyone who has been following the story so far, and I hope you're enjoying it so far! Feel free to leave a review/comment if you have any thoughts you'd like to share about my story! I'd really like to know what you guys think!


Chapter 45: You know you can't escape your destiny.


The Nightmirror Forest was said to be full of ghost-type Pokémon capable of creating illusions to mislead travelers, making it difficult to reach the depths of the forest. However, as far as Blitz could tell, this wasn't any different from any other mystery dungeons he and his teammates had explored so far. They had gotten through the first few floors without any difficulty, and that worried him. He could tell from the subtle changes in Lodestone's stoic expressions as they kept walking that something wasn't right.

Blitz listened closely and kept a look out for any signs of other Pokémon in the dungeon, but so far, there weren't any to be seen. In fact, they hadn't even seen a single wild Pokémon yet. While Frederick was relieved to not have to deal with any ghost-type Pokémon, the lack of wild Pokémon just made it all seem much weirder.

"Still no signs of anyone…" Blitz said, looking around.

"Where could they all be?" Sera asked, looking a bit concerned.

"This is unusual," Lodestone said, putting his free hand to his chin. "They should have at least given us some sort of signal by now…"

"Is it really a problem?" Frederick asked, smiling. "We'll get this done faster if we don't have to deal with any scary ghosts, right?"

"Hmm… Let's keep going," Lodestone said, looking around. "We need to find out what's going on here."

"You're worried about your ghost-type friends, aren't you?" Chiaki asked, looking up at the Marowak.

Lodestone didn't answer the question, and simply kept following the rescue team as they explored more of the mystery dungeon.

"… Could Erebos' magic have done this?" Sera wondered out loud, glancing around and moving a bit closer to Blitz. "He did something to the other dungeons we retrieved a crystal from, after all…"

"You may be onto something there," Blitz responded, glancing at Sera behind him. "I wonder what he could've done to leave this place so empty, though…"

"Did he scare the ghosts away…?" Frederick mused. "He's probably scary enough to do that, isn't he…?"

Blitz was about to say something when he suddenly spotted a shadow moving around in the distance. They moved forward to investigate, moving into another section of the floor. The room seemed to be empty, however.

"I guess it must've gotten away…" Blitz muttered, glancing around. "Wonder which way it went?"

"I wouldn't know," Frederick responded, shuddering. "It is really hard to pick up on a ghost-type's scent, meaning they could be anywhere and we wouldn't know it…"

"Hello? Is anyone here?" Chiaki called out, looking around. "We won't hurt you, or anything!"

"And w-we'd appreciate if you didn't hurt us either…" Frederick added. "Please, don't eat us… I really don't want to get eaten…"

Lodestone suddenly motioned with his free hand for the others to be quiet, and looked around. A faint whispering could be heard from somewhere.

"G-G-Ghosts!" Frederick gasped, shivering.

"What are they saying?" Chiaki whispered, looking around curiously for the source of the noise.

"I think it's coming from over there," Blitz said, pointing his paw towards one of the other paths.

"Let's go over there, then," Sera responded.

"This behavior is highly unusual," Lodestone said as the group continued making their way through the floor. "We should be careful."

The group soon entered another section of the floor, in which the stairs leading to the next floor was located.

"… They just led us to the stairs?" Sera asked, tilting her head slightly. "I thought this would be leading to something a bit more exciting."

"Like what?" Chiaki responded, curiously looking over at Sera.

All of a sudden, purple gas started leaking out from the walls of the labyrinth. Lodestone and the rescue team looked around as several dark orbs with eyes and mouths formed from the purple gas, realizing that they were surrounded by Gastly.

"Is this… a Monster House?" Blitz wondered out loud, looking around as several Gastly hovered towards him and his teammates while laughing eerily.

"Do I have beautiful eyes?" one of the Gastly asked, her big eyes glowing as she hovered towards Chiaki. "Take a good look now…"

"Don't look at their eyes!" Lodestone shouted, before noticing that Frederick was running away in the direction they had come from. "Hey, what are you doing!? Get back here!"

Lodestone sighed and looked around at the Gastly surrounding the other three members of the rescue team.

"Of all the things that could happen…" Lodestone muttered.

"Lodestone, go after him!" Blitz shouted, making his fur shine brightly in order to temporarily stun some of the Gastly surrounding him and Sera. "We can handle things here in the meantime!"

"If you say so…" Lodestone responded, heading off as fast as he could in the direction Frederick ran off in.

It didn't take long before he found the young Deino sitting by himself in the previous section of the floor, breathing rapidly. The Marowak shook his head, before walking up to and gently placing his free hand on the Deino's back.

"You shouldn't have run away like that," Lodestone said. "In situations like these, it is best to stay together."

"I-I'm sorry…" Frederick responded, starting to calm down a little. "I… I panicked…"

"You are part of their rescue team, are you not?" Lodestone asked.

"Um… I'm not sure, actually…" Frederick responded, shaking his head slightly. "I've joined them on missions before, but…"

"Well, either way they clearly think of you as a friend they can trust," Lodestone replied.

"I… I guess so…" Frederick responded, sighing. "Oh, why am I so scared of ghosts!?"

"Why, indeed," Lodestone replied, shrugging slightly. "However, we can discuss that later. For now, we'd better hurry back and help the others."

"O-Okay…" Frederick responded, nodding his head slightly.

As they began heading back to the room with the stairs, Lodestone immediately noticed that it was way too quiet over there. No sounds of a rescue team fighting off multiple Gastly to be heard.

"… No one is here," Lodestone observed, looking around at the empty room.

"T-They're gone!?" Frederick exclaimed. "Did the ghosts eat them!?"

"No, of course not," Lodestone responded, shaking his head. "I'm not sure where they all went, but chances are the ghost-types have taken your friends to another part of the dungeon."

"W-Why would they do that?" Frederick asked, staying a bit closer to Lodestone than the Marowak was comfortable with.

"Perhaps they want to test them," Lodestone responded, choosing not to make a comment about his personal space seeing as they both currently had bigger concerns. "However, since this isn't one of our rituals, I'm not sure why they'd do that…"

"S-So, what should we do, then?" Frederick asked. "Do we just keep heading deeper into the dungeon…?"

"For now, that seems to be our only option," Lodestone responded, nodding his head and looking towards the stairs. "Hopefully, we'll find your friends and get some answers about what exactly is going on."

"O-Okay…" Frederick replied, taking a deep breath. "I… I promise I won't run away again."

Lodestone and Frederick walked up the stairs to the next floor, and began their search for their missing teammates. Frederick tried not to think about how scared he was as they explored more of the dungeon, while hoping his friends were okay…


Chiaki opened his eyes slightly, as he found himself lying on his stomach in the grass. Looking around at the walls of trees surrounding him, he remembered where he was and quickly sat up. However, he couldn't see his teammates or the Marowak that had accompanied them into this mystery dungeon anywhere. He couldn't see any stairs nearby either, meaning this had to be another part of the dungeon.

"… What happened…?" Chiaki wondered out loud, looking around. "How'd I get here… and where are the others?"

He got onto his feet, trying to remember what had happened.

"Hmm… I remember looking into one of the Gastly's eyes," Chiaki muttered, holding a paw to his chin. "… But I have no idea what happened after that."

He sighed and shook his head. It seemed there was only one path to take out of the section of mystery dungeon he was in.

"I need to find everyone," Chiaki said as he started running down the path. "They might need my help!"

To begin with, Chiaki kept running as he looked around and called out for his friends. However, there were no signs of any of his friends. As he gradually had to start slowing down, he began to wonder how big this floor was. He hadn't seen any stairs yet, and most of the rooms seemed to be about the same size, making them a bit difficult to tell apart. Blitz was carrying their supplies, so he couldn't use any items to figure out where he was either.

"What is with this floor…?" Chiaki wondered, looking around and rubbing the back of his head.

"I don't know!" a second voice responded, much to Chiaki's surprise.

"Huh? There's somebody else in here?" Chiaki asked, as he heard the sounds of something approaching him from behind.

Chiaki quickly turned out to see who was on this floor with him, and was quite surprised to discover another Mienfoo standing behind him. The second Mienfoo just smiled and waved at him.

"Um… Hello," Chiaki said, waving back at the other Mienfoo. "Didn't expect to see another Mienfoo in here… Who are you?"

"Who, me?" the other Mienfoo responded, tilting his head slightly. "Don't you recognize me? I'm you!"

"You're… me?" Chiaki replied, blinking a few times. "But… I'm me…"

"That's right!" the other Chiaki responded, nodding his head.

"But… how can both of us be…?" Chiaki muttered, tilting his head slightly. "Is this a dream…?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," the other Chiaki replied, shrugging slightly. "I just know I want to get out of here and back to the others."

"Yeah, same here," Chiaki responded, nodding his head. "Maybe you can help me look for them?"

"Of course," the other Chiaki replied, smiling and nodding his head. "After all, I know how important they all are to you."

"Well, if you're me, I guess you would know that," Chiaki responded, giving a confused chuckle.

"Yes, that's how it is," the other Chiaki replied, still smiling. "I know everything about you."

"Really…?" Chiaki responded, holding a hand to his chin. "Then, perhaps… You know anything about who I was before I lost my memories?"

"Um… Do you really want your memories back?" the other Chiaki asked, looking away with a concerned expression. "I mean, you have new memories now, right? Isn't that enough?"

"What do you mean?" Chiaki responded, tilting his head.

"Getting your memories back means you may have to leave your friends," the other Chiaki said, staring into Chiaki's eyes. "I know you already know that."

"Ah, well… I guess so," Chiaki responded, rubbing the back of his head.

"You want to stay with them forever, don't you?" the other Chiaki asked, grinning.

"… I… I do want to stay with Blitz, Sera and everyone else in Fenix Town," Chiaki responded, staring down at the grass. "But…"

"I know," the other Chiaki said, nodding his head slightly. "Deep down, you know that there's somewhere else you should be, don't you?"

Chiaki looked away from his doppelganger, unsure how to answer his question. Before, he hadn't made any effort to regain his memories because he had no idea where to even begin. For a while, his only lead was Elina, who couldn't talk. Since she couldn't tell him anything at the time, he had figured that he could just wait. However, things were different now. Elina had learned to communicate via telepathy. She could tell him the truth now. Chiaki could finally learn who he really was.

"Who I was before…who I am now… which is the real me?"

Chiaki shuddered a bit as he thought about how he didn't really know anything about himself. Normally, it didn't bother him much. When he was spending time with his friends, he didn't really think much about it. However, when Sera and Blitz were struggling with their own problems, it had occurred to Chiaki how he couldn't really relate to what either of them was going through. He wanted to help them, but he didn't know how. Even now, he wasn't entirely sure what was going through their minds…

"Do you really think that getting your memories back will allow you to understand them better?" the other Chiaki asked, staring eerily at Chiaki.

"W-What…?" Chiaki responded, caught off-guard by how his doppelganger had seemingly read his mind. "I… I don't know?"

"We both know that you can't keep delaying the inevitable," the doppelganger said, closing his eyes and holding a paw to his chest. "Part of you already knows the truth, but doesn't want to accept it!"

Chiaki gasped and his eyes widened as he felt something inside him react to the doppelganger's statement. He shakily placed his paw on his chest, mirroring his doppelganger's movement.

"Part of me… already knows the truth…?" Chiaki muttered.

The doppelganger just nodded his head. Chiaki closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Perhaps you're right…" Chiaki said, faintly recalling a shadow looming over him. "A part of me… may have known all along…"

"So, what will you do?" the other Chiaki asked, crossing his arms. "Will you choose to seek out the truth? Will you accept it?"


In another part of the mystery dungeon, Blitz was attempting to track down his friends on one of the floors. However, he couldn't seem to pick up any of their scents, nor were there any other traces of them on this particular floor. He hadn't found any stairs leading to another floor either, so all he could do for now was keep looking around and hope he found something. He examined the rooms closely, checking for anything that might be hidden in case whoever brought him here had hidden the stairs.

"I hope the others are okay…" Blitz muttered, sighing as he continued looking around.

He also kept an eye out for anything else suspicious, in case the ghost-type Pokémon they fought before were planning another ambush. He was fairly certain that this was Erebos' doing. The way Erebos kept setting up his traps in the dungeons where he hid the crystals made it seem like the dark spirit was treating all of this like some twisted game.

"Well, if this is a game, we can't let him win," Blitz muttered under his breath as he kept walking.

Suddenly, he noticed what appeared to be a glowing orb of yellow light in the distance. It seemed to be moving down one of the paths, and Blitz quietly began following it. He slowly crept forward, trying to get closer to the mysterious light without being noticed. Blitz soon noticed that the light seemed to be attached to something, and soon he could clearly make out a familiar-looking figure.

"That's… a Luxray," Blitz thought, quietly observing the larger Pokémon. "Why is there a Luxray in here?"

Blitz wasn't entirely sure whether to approach the Luxray and ask if he knew anything about what was going on, or to try to avoid him. The already strange situation he had found himself in just seemed to be getting even stranger. Before he could give much more thought to it, however, the Luxray suddenly turned his head and looked over at where Blitz was currently hiding. Realizing that he had been spotted, Blitz quietly stepped out from his hiding spot.

"… Blitz?" the Luxray said, taking a few steps closer. "Is that you?"

Blitz gasped and his eyes widened in shock as the Luxray spoke to him. It wasn't just the fact that the Luxray knew his name without being told, but because Blitz also immediately recognized the Luxray's voice.

"D-Dad!?" Blitz exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief. "W-What are you… why are you here…?"

"I was just about to ask you the same," the Luxray responded, seeming unusually calm about the situation. "Shouldn't you be home with your mother and Lita?"

"Oh, I… I, um… things were pretty difficult at home, so my mom sent me off to Fenix Town to train," Blitz explained, looking away from his father while rubbing the yellow rings on his forelegs together. "It's… kind of difficult to explain."

"I see," the Luxray responded, nodding his head. "So, you've been living on your own in Fenix Town, huh?"

"At first, yes…" Blitz replied, nodding his head slightly. "But I have a roommate now… his name is Chiaki. He's a Mienfoo."

"Ah, a friend of yours?" the Luxray asked.

"Well, I guess so," Blitz responded, still not looking up at his father. "We're both in the same rescue team."

"You're in a rescue team?" the Luxray asked, taking a step closer to Blitz.

"Y-Yes…" Blitz responded, nervously taking a step back. "My friend Sera was the one who came up with it. She's an Eevee."

"I see," the Luxray replied, holding a paw to his chin. "So, is Sera the leader of your rescue team, or…?"

"Uh… I guess she is," Blitz responded, looking a bit uncomfortable.

"Is that so," the Luxray replied, pointing a paw at the rescue team's badge on the bag Blitz was carrying. "Then shouldn't she be the one carrying that?"

"Oh, well… um… I've been leading the team on our missions for the past few days, while Sera has been dealing with some… uh… personal things," Blitz explained, still looking away.

"Ah, I see," the Luxray responded, smiling. "Good to hear that you've been getting the training you need. Surely your leadership skills have been a good help for the team."

"H-Huh?" Blitz replied, nervously looking up at the Luxray. "N-No… This is just a temporary thing… Sera is the leader of this team, not me…"

"Still, it's good that you're getting experience with leading this rescue team," the Luxray responded, still smiling eerily. "After all, you are going to be the leader of Lightning Plateau's Luxray pride someday."

"I… I…" Blitz stuttered, taking a few more steps backwards. "I don't want…"

"Blitz, just accept it," the Luxray said, staring down at Blitz. "You know you can't escape your destiny."

Blitz gasped and curled up on the ground, staring blankly up at the Luxray.


Sera groaned in frustration as she found herself in yet another empty room, and no sign of her friends anywhere. She was starting to wonder if she was even getting anywhere, or if she had just been wandering around in circles. She sat down and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down before continuing her search for the others. She looked around at the available paths, but doubted any of them would lead her anywhere. There had to be a way out of this labyrinth somewhere, though. If only she could find it…

"It looks like you could use some help," a familiar female voice called out from somewhere behind, and Sera immediately turned around to see who it was.

"Amethyst?" Sera said, blinking a few times at the unexpected sight of the Espeon in front of her.

"Sera, how did you get yourself into this mess?" Amethyst asked, looking down at her sister curiously. "And where are your friends?"

"I wish I knew," Sera responded, sighing. "I can't find them anywhere…"

"My, that is quite the problem," Amethyst replied, looking concerned. "I hope they are unharmed."

"Yeah, me too," Sera responded, nodding her head. "Something really strange is going on here…"

"Well, I guess I'll have to help you look, then," Amethyst said, smiling at Sera.

"Uh… Thanks," Sera responded, tilting her head slightly. "But, Amethyst… Why are you here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Amethyst asked, still smiling. "You always rely on others, because you lack confidence and the necessary skill to do anything on your own."

"… You don't have to put it so bluntly," Sera responded dryly, her ears drooping down a little. "Are you really Amethyst?"

"What do you mean?" Amethyst asked, tilting her head slightly while still smiling sweetly.

"You're acting awfully strange," Sera responded, glaring at the Espeon. "For starters, how would Amethyst even know where I am right now? I usually don't decide on what missions I'll take until after I've already left the house!"

"… Anything else?" Amethyst asked.

"I know my big sister, okay?" Sera responded, pointing a paw at the Espeon. "And you are not my sister!"

"My, I'm impressed," the Espeon said, still smiling. "It didn't take you long to figure it out! Well done!"

"Enough of that," Sera responded sternly. "Tell me where my friends are!"

"Ah, right, your friends," the Espeon replied, its voice suddenly getting deeper as it stopped trying to imitate the voice of Amethyst. "I suppose you deserve an explanation for what is going on here."

"Yeah, you better explain!" Sera responded, nodding her head before pointing her paw at the Espeon once more. "Also, it feels weird hearing some stranger's voice coming out of my sister's mouth. Show me what you really look like!"

"Oh, how rude of me!" the "Espeon" exclaimed, holding a paw to its forehead with an embarrassed smile on its face. "Just a moment…"

The "Espeon" closed its eyes, and the gem on its forehead began shining brightly with a red light. Sera held one of her paws over her face to partially shield her eyes from the bright light, as the illusion vanished and the source of the light was now the single red eye of a bipedal gray ghost-type Pokémon with two hands in a lighter shade of gray floating in front of its body. The Dusclops' eye soon stopped glowing, and it made a motion as if clearing its throat before addressing Sera once more.

"Ah… is this better?" the Dusclops asked.

"Uh… Yes," Sera responded, nodding her head.

"That's good," the Dusclops replied, holding his hands together. "I'm sorry for causing you and your friends so much trouble, Miss Serafina."

"What exactly is going on here?" Sera asked, squinting one eye slightly while tilting her head to the side.

"We needed to test your strength," the Dusclops explained, looking down at the ground. "You see, our dearest Nereza has been acting awfully strange as of late."

"Nereza?" Sera responded, her ears perking up a little. "You mean that Spiritomb who lives in the deepest part of the forest?"

"Precisely," the Dusclops replied, nodding slightly. "She just hasn't been herself in a while, and some of the others claim to have sensed some mysterious dark force from her that we believe is causing her to act this way."

"It must be Erebos' doing," Sera responded. "He must've done the same to her that he did to Blaze back at Mt. Caldera."

"I'm no expert, but I believe you are right, Miss Serafina," the Dusclops replied.

"Have you or any of the other ghost-types seen a crystal that Nereza seems to be trying to hide?" Sera asked.

"Hmm… I do not know, I'm afraid," the Dusclops responded, shrugging slightly.

"The crystal has to be with her," Sera said, holding a paw to her chin. "So, if we can make her return to normal…"

"I must warn you, Lady Nereza is quite strong," the Dusclops explained. "Being one of the oldest Pokémon in this forest, she has many, many years of experience."

"Still, you want us to help her, don't you?" Sera asked, looking up at the Dusclops. "If so, please help me get back to my friends!"

"Hmm… I suppose I could do that," the Dusclops said, shrugging slightly. "However, while you saw through my illusion, I'm afraid you haven't proven your strength to me yet."

"Oh, do we really need to do this now?" Sera asked, her ears drooping down slightly. "I don't have time for this!"

"I apologize for the inconvenience, Miss Serafina," the Dusclops responded. "But I need to make sure that you are strong enough to face Nereza in battle."

"In that case, you have to help me find my friends!" Sera replied. "On my own, I can't show you my true strength, but with my friends…"

"Hmm… I suppose you do have a point there," the Dusclops responded, holding one of his hands roughly around the area where his chin would be. "As a rescue team, you fight together."

"Yes! Exactly!" Sera replied, nodding her head. "So, please take me to where my friends are!"

"… Very well," the Dusclops responded, nodding slightly. "You have convinced me."

"Thank you," Sera replied, sighing in relief.

"However, your friends are also being tested," the Dusclops explained, his eye glowing for a brief moment. "… And from the look of things, one of them is having quite a bit of trouble facing his fears."

"Who?" Sera asked, tilting her head slightly.

"The young Shinx," the Dusclops responded.

"Blitz!" Sera exclaimed, her ears perking up.

"It seems the young Shinx is quite worried about his future," the Dusclops said. "I don't know the full story myself, but he seems quite distressed."

"I… I have to do something!" Sera said, her tail twitching slightly. "But what do I do?"

"From what I understand, Blitz is someone very important to you?" the Dusclops inquired.

"Blitz has helped me so many times," Sera responded, nodding her head slightly. "This time… I want to help him!"

"I understand," the Dusclops replied. "How do you intend to do this?"

"I don't know!" Sera responded, shaking her head. "But there has to be something I can do, right?"

"Well, if the two of you are truly the best of friends, then surely your feelings should be able to reach him?" the Dusclops asked.

"… That's right," Sera said, holding a paw to her chin. "If Blitz and I are true friends… then there's no reason for me to even hesitate to tell him how I really feel!"

"My, that is quite the bold statement," the Dusclops responded, touching his floating hands together. "Do you think he will understand?"

"I may not have been that good a friend to him before, but I've changed!" Sera replied.

"Oh, is that so?" the Dusclops responded.

"Yes," Sera replied, nodding her head. "I used to only think about myself and how to get others to start treating me like a grown-up, but then I met Blitz's younger sister, and… well, to make a long story short, I realized that I should've been paying more attention to those around me."

Sera sighed and her ears drooped down slightly.

"Blitz kept supporting me, even when he knew how bad my ideas were," Sera said, smiling wistfully. "Right now I can't say I understand why he would go along with me during those times even though I was a terrible leader, but he did."

Sera closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

"It's about time I make things up to him," Sera said, her ears perking up a bit. "I'm ready. Take me to where Blitz is!"

"Very well, Miss Serafina," the Dusclops responded, nodding slightly. "I will open the path for you."

"Thank you," Sera replied, smiling at the Dusclops.

The Dusclops turned around, and his eye began glowing red again. A section of the wall began to shine with red light, opening a path for Sera. Sera didn't waste any time. She began running down the path that had been opened as fast as she could, determined to reach Blitz. The Dusclops then sank into the ground, and began following Sera in the form of a shadow moving across the ground. He wasn't sure what would happen next, but from what he had already seen, he was certain that Sera would be able to prove her strength.


End of Chapter 45