Chapter 11. The Last of the Shards

Ezra woke with a start. Blinking in the morning sun, she slowly sat up and looked around. Her body was stiff from sleeping in the grass of the clearing outside town, but as she moved around the pain lessened.

All we can do is hope...Cresselia's voice reverberated through her skull.

Carys stirred, then woke up as well. A sudden movement in the trees surrounding the clearing caught Ezra's eye. She caught the faintest glimpse of Luna grinning at her before she and her teammates disappeared without a trace.

Yawning, the two stumbled back into Lily Town, where the residents were just starting to rise from slumber. They headed into Rose's Lofts, only to find that their friends were—mostly—still asleep. They could hear Franziska puttering around in the mess hall, and Rose had just exited her room, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Upon seeing Team Banshee, she smiled and walked over to them.

"Hey you two...how went it?" She smiled, giving them both a hug.

"Amazing! We learned everything we wanted to know." Carys beamed right back at her.

"That's great. Would you mind filling us in after breakfast? We'd love to hear all about it." Rose asked.

Sure thing." Agreed Ezra.

As the others woke, they greeted Ezra and Carys with smiles and pats on the back. They were all dying to hear what happened, but Rose firmly told them to wait after breakfast.


After the morning meal, the entire building—and Hoopa, who heard that they had returned—sat down in the commons room, eager to hear the story. Taking turns narrating, Ezra and Carys told their friends what had transpired during the night. They spoke of Cresselia and Darkrai, of Arceus and Giratina (Ever wary of Giratina, they said 'the Original One' and 'the master of antimatter' in lieu of the forbidden names), of what to do next. They spared no detail in their narration.

"But...once you have all the missing Shards, what then? Where do you go?" Asked Meloetta after they had finished. Ezra opened her mouth to answer, then paused as she didn't know the answer to that question.

"I...don't know," she said honestly. "Cresselia never told us."

"Well, we have her feather. We'll just use it tonight." Suggested Carys, pulling out the Lunar Wing. Everyone oohed and aahed at the pretty feather.

"Wow...that's an actual feather from Cresselia?" Breathed Noibat, coming for a closer look.

"Yup." Nodded Ezra.

"Ah...I'd love to see her in person..." Sighed Ivysaur wistfully.

"Maybe one day we will. Until then, we need to be on lookout for Shards. Thanks to Team Geo, we have a list of all currently-known dungeons. We've crossed out the ones we've already been to, and so now it's just a matter of exploring the rest. There's still about 150 left...If we all share a portion of the exploration, we should have the rest completed in a couple weeks. Who all are willing to help?" Meloetta asked, taking charge.

"Us of course." Said Ezra, taking a look at the list. She recognized many of the dungeons, but there were still hundreds she had never heard of before. Deserted Desert, Tawny Savanna, Plain Plains...and these were just a few out of hundreds!

"We'll never turn down treasure hunting!" Laughed Chrysi.

"We aren't a treasure-hunting team, but we'd certainly be happy to help." Macargo said mildly.

"Actually, it'll be quicker if I look around." Hoopa cut in. "We don't have time for everyone to explore 150 dungeons. The Original One is dying, and you simply can't go on an exploring binge. I can get through this entire list in a week. That's half of Meloetta's projected time. I'll find where the Shards are, and you guys can go fetch them."

"Why don't you just get them yourself?" Franziska demanded, raising an eyebrow.

"Because it's more fun if you guys get them! When Team Banshee was about to go to Mountain Retreat, they asked me the same thing. I told them, they were the explorers, not me!" He beamed cheekily, hula-hooping.

"I thought you told us that because you wanted us to fight Mew." Objected Ezra.

"That was a just a bonus perk." Hoopa winked at her.

Trina sighed. "It's no use arguing with him. As much as I'd rather he get them for us, I can tell he won't budge." She said grudgingly.

"Nope!" Hoopa said in a sing-song voice. In a serious note, he added, "If you'll give me the list, I'll get started during my lunch break."

"Take Deserted Desert through Abysmal Abyss off the list. We're exploring those dungeons." Said Meloetta after a moment.

"You sure? Twenty dungeons is an awful lot, and I can easily confirm if you're wasting time or not." Asked Hoopa, concerned.

"We got it. Besides, Abysmal Abyss is a dungeon we've long been wanting to conquer." Said Ranna, grinning.

"99 floors, no items, no waypoint, level 1 strength...it's one of the ultimate dungeons!" Dyrim sighed in bliss.

Ezra shuddered. It sounded like an ultimate nightmare.

Hoopa shrugged. "Suit yourself." He said. "I gotta go; it's time for me to start work. I'll let you know as soon as I find a Shard." And with that, he jumped into his hoop, and disappeared.

Meloetta sighed. "There are downsides to being friends with a trickster. Anyways, I guess we should start on those dungeons. We'll catch you guys later in a few days."

She and her team abruptly stood up, and left the building. There was an awkward silence.

"Uh...I guess we'll do a job, if we're not doing any exploring." Carys said hesitatingly, breaking the silence. Everyone awkwardly bid them farewell.


Mystical Bluff ( watch?v=7oFWr-cy4uU)

1F

The walls were a pale gray stone, completely smooth. The floor was a lavender color, and magenta crystals grew all over the place, shedding tiny lights from all around. It truly was a mystical bluff.

They were here because there was an Aggron who desperately wanted an exploration team to save him on 9F. Apparently, he had gotten lost while on his way to visit his niece in a neighboring town, and had wandered in here by accident. Team Banshee was more than happy to reunite family.

2F

"Staiiiiiirrrrrrssssss.." Breathed Carys.

3F

Instead of a Warp Trap Ezra unwittingly triggered as they were walking across a chamber, it was a Slumber Trap. Pink gas was emitted through holes in the trap, sending Ezra deep into slumber.

To her surprise, she was in Lily Town. This was odd. Normally she didn't dream when she was forcefully put to sleep. She then remembered they had the Lunar Wing on them.

Ohhhh, now I see what's going on, she thought, Cresselia's coming.

Sure enough, the radiant legendary appeared a few seconds later.

"Yes?" She inquired.

"Sorry, I accidentally triggered a Slumber Trap while exploring. I didn't mean to summon you." Ezra apologized.

"I see. In that case, I will wake you..." Cresselia turned as if to leave, but a thought came to Ezra.

"Wait!" She cried. Cresselia paused. "After we find the Shards...what then? Where do we go from there?"

"Ah, thank you for reminding me. I had meant to tell you last night, but I did not have enough time. After you find the Shards...I'd suggest you release Dialga and Palkia from their torment. They have special items like I and the Lake Trio do. You'll want to find those, and give them to the two. I believe that should be enough to free them from their madness. After that...Well, I and Xerneas will take care of Giratina. You two focus on rescuing Arceus, who is being held at the top of Its dungeon, named Celestial Spire. Be warned, though: Celestial Spire is invisible to most Pokemon. Even I don't know where it is. One of your next tasks is to find out where the tower is located. You will also need an item named the Space Globe. The Space Globe will render the Spire visible again. I know not where it is either, but I will keep a lookout for it. If I hear any information regarding the location of Celestial Spire or the Space Globe, I will let you know immediately. Is that all?" Cresselia explained. Ezra nodded.

"Very well. I will wake you now, Ezra. May we see each other again soon..."

With that, Ezra suddenly found herself back in Mystical Bluff. Carys was standing over her, concerned. Ezra told her about the meeting with Cresselia.

"So, we have even more things to find? Great. At least Cresselia's keeping an ear out for information. And we also have Hoopa." Carys sighed, then shrugged. "I'm glad you met with her again, in any case."

4F

"You know, last time we came here, we were on our way to defeat Hoopa, because we thought he had kidnapped the Lake Trio." Commented Ezra as they walked along a chamber.

"Oh, that's right! We haven't been here in a long time. I'd forgotten how pretty this place is." Agreed Carys.

A Graveler came to greet them just as they exited the chamber.

"Oh, did you want to hear more about our past trip, Mr. Graveler? There was a Graveler like you last time we came here. He was defeated...like this!" Laughed Carys as she and Ezra unleashed a Night-Sneak combo.

"Maybe it was the same one." Giggled Ezra as they continued along.

"Ooooh." Carys grinned.

5F

"The Mystical Stairs are with us!" Declared Carys vehemently.

6F

A Mawile had decided it wanted to tangle with them as they were stopping to pick up some Poke. Ezra used Ember, but it dodged and bit her with Crunch, making her flinch in pain. Her ally disabled, Carys avenged her with Razor Leaf. The Mawile attempted to use Iron Head on her, but a Flame Burst from a recovered Ezra defeated it. The two snorted at the audacity of the weaker dungeon Pokemon, and continued their journey.

7F

They were fighting with a Klefki and a Carbink in the middle of a chamber. The Klefki hit Ezra with Foul Play, making her grunt with pain. She retaliated with Flame Burst. The Klefki attempted to block by using Crafty Shield, but Flame Burst was not a status-inflicting move, thus rendering the shield useless. Slightly daunted, it followed up with Imprison...but Ezra shared no moves with it. At this point, she was just letting it exhaust itself with failed moves. It was kinda funny, really. The Klefki attempted to use Fairy Lock on her...but ghost-types negated the effects.

She ended it mercifully with Ember. Carys had just finished her fight with Carbink as well.

8F

"Hello, Stairs. How do you fare?" Asked Carys to the Stairs.

9F

Ping! went their badges, alerting them that Aggron was on this floor. He wasn't in the spawn chamber with them, so they set out together to find him. Or, at least, they would have been together, had Ezra not tripped a Warp Trap.

When she respawned, she let out a string of colorful phrases that would have made even Giratina blush. After she finished her tirade, she turned, only to find her client standing behind her, looking horrified.

"Uh..." Ezra trailed off, feeling her cheeks redden with embarrassment. "I'm here to rescue you...?"

"Oh thank Original One!" Bawled Aggron, seemingly forgetting her tirade just a moment ago. "I didn't mean to git trapped in here! It's scaaaaaryyyyyyyy, and worst of all Pokemon keep attackin' me for no reason! I don't like it here! Please git me ouuuuuuuuuuuuuuuut!"

"Ah, yes. One second." Replied Ezra, still embarrassed and put off by the burly Pokemon's behavior. She turned her badge onto Aggron, and he was beamed out of the dungeon. A second later, she and a surprised Carys were beamed out as well.


Lily Town

"Thanks for rescuin' me! I woulda been a goner if y'all hadn't shown up!" Wailed Aggron, dramatically throwing himself down onto the floor, tears springing to his eyes.

"It's all right. Bring a map with you next time you go into unknown territory, okay?" Replied Ezra, uncomfortable by the display.

"Oh, I will, I will! Oh! Yer reward! Yes! Here! A Luminous Orb and a Heal Seed!" He sniffed, handing over the items.

"Thanks. You take care now." Nodded Carys.

"Yes! Bye bye!" Aggron lumbered out of the building, sobbing pitifully. Ezra and Carys shared a bemused look before shaking their heads.

They headed up to the second floor, where they found Team Triple S and Team Dauntless playing 21. The five looked up as the two approached.

"Sam! Will! Marcus! Vaporeon! Sylveon! We haven't seen you guys in ages!" Laughed Carys, she and Ezra hugging all but Sylveon—the aloof Pokemon did not like being touched—tightly.

"We never meant to stay away from Lily Town for so long...We ended up at Cedarbark Town, which is on the eastern side of the continent, and we sorta became the town's go-to team for crises. If there was a crime or a rescue that needed to be performed, they asked us for help. While we were certainly happy to help, they didn't seem to realize that we never meant to stay so long. Luckily, one of the townspeople stepped up to replace us, and so here we are!" Explained Marcus, the intelligent Abra leader of the trio.

"And we, of course, were busy taking down outlaws, brining our total number of outlaws defeated up to 999." Added Sylveon, nodding at her brother.

Everyone whistled in awe. That was a lot of outlaws.

"Anyway, what'd we miss?" Asked Vaporeon.

Team Banshee quickly told the five what had transpired. The five were astounded at all that had happened while they were gone. They agreed that, if their help was needed, then they'd be more than happy to assist in taking down the Dark.

With that said, Ezra and Carys settled down to hustle Team Triple S out of their Poke.

I will not be writing a 99-floor dungeon like Abysmal Abyss, or the Zero Isles from EoT/D/S. The content would quickly get repetitive, and in all likelihood the duo would be defeated at around 10F, since they would have absolutely no idea how to traverse a dungeon like that. Besides, Celestial Spire will be torture enough x_x

Also, it's starting to look like I'll finish the entire story in either late August or sometime in September...

The next post shall contain: a Shard, a quarry, and lots of magnets.