Pokemon Rejuvenation: Rise from the Ashes

by Rider of Black 00

A young man takes on the Aevium League to escape from the tragic past that haunts him to this very day. Join him as he forms unlikely friendships with Aevium's most noteworthy citizens, as they work together to save their home from the dark forces that follow closely behind them.

43. Chapter 43

WeS RoYaL: Thank you very much for the kind words and support. Quick question, when you said you haven't played Insurgence, did you mean to say Rejuvenation, or was that the game you're talking about? Regardless, I highly suggest that you play them both as they're some of the best fangames to have ever been made.

Welcome one and all to the next exciting installment of Rise from the Ashes. In this episode, Julius traverses the City of Nightmares in the hopes of finding a cure for Venam, unaware that he'd have to deal with several things including a Gym Battle. Will he be able to persevere? Let's find out right now!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon Rejuvenation, nor do I own Pokémon Uranium. They are the property of their respective creators.

The City of Nightmares

"Urk…guess I did it right." Julius winced, slowly getting up off the ground as he surveyed theimmediate area around him. He seemed to be at the entrance of a dark, gloomy city shrouded by fog, a few dim lights attempting to illuminate the dark, starless sky in the air. The stench of misery and despair hung in the air, as the city of darkness loomed over him menacingly. It has been quite a while since the young teen had a nightmare, but he would endure an endless stream of them if it meant saving Venam. Quickly patting himself down, Julius began his trip towards the city to explore its interior, a cacophony of shadowy voices calling out to him faintly.

"Why did you abandon us?"

"I thought you were our friend."

"I hate you!"

"I just wish you were dead!"

"Been a while since I've heard those; must be the medallions' power." He mused to himself, recalling the voices surrounding him. They were the ones that plagued him in his dreams for so long, no thanks to Professor Larkspur. However, those voices no longer affected him, not only because Melia saved him back then, but because he had more pressing matters. Speaking of which, he was curious on whether or not she would confess to Venam once she's saved; after all it wasn't every day that someone confessed their love to another at the hospital. Soon enough, he found himself inside the city of darkness and quickly made his way to the city square to check his current location and was caught off-guard by the sheer amount of people aimlessly wandering the streets. They were doing their usual business for the most part, but all their vitality was drain from their body, turning them into glorified zombies. A couple people were screaming curses into the night sky, condemning whatever legendary Pokémon doomed them to this miserable existence.

"No, way…" A voice so familiar to the young teen called out, forcing him to turn around as he was soon greeted by…Aelita?! "Julius, what are you doing here?!"

"I could ask you the same thing, Aelita!" Julius smiled back at her, the duo running up to each other and gave each other the firmest handshake of their life. "It's so good to see you after so long, but you look a little…different." He continued, having just realized that she looked a little different than before. Her hair was a light shade of magenta, reaching down to her waist as a part pf it was tied up into a ponytail. Additionally, she wore a white, long-sleeved shirt and matching pants with a red belt around the waist.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it, I look different than before." She replied bluntly, before sighing to herself. "I-I'm sorry, it's just that I got a little tired of everyone else pointing it out."

"No need to worry, I'm sure the air in this place is putting you on edge. I just hope that I don't succumb to it was well." He stated, shuddering over what little he remembered of Angie and her twisted dimension. Thankfully, the air here didn't seem as oppressive as the air back then, but that could change at the blink of a hat. "So, what are you doing here?"

"Long story short, I screwed up and wound up into an eternal coma. But as you can see, it wasn't as eternal as you'd expect. Though, given the dreary look of this place, I wish I never woke up." Aelita told him.

"I'm so sorry about what happened in Mount Carotos; had I known you would've wound up in a coma, I wouldn't have gone through with the plan." Julius apologized, only for the magenta-haired girl to raise her hand in the air.

"Don't apologize, we needed the stone to get the TM to save Nim. But for now, we should find our way out of this place as soon as possible." She replied calmly, trying her hardest to hide the foul mood festering within her. It wasn't that she was angry at her friend, far from it; it was just the fact that ever since she woke up, she's been a lot more irritable.

"W-Wait! I can't leave just yet, I need to find the Puppet Master. Th-They have information that I desperately need." The young teen stammered quickly, catching Aelita off-guard.

"So you're looking for them as well? Heh, I guess fate brought us back together for a reason." She replied, quietly chuckled to herself. "I wish to see them so that I can change back to my normal self; ever since I woke up, I had this magenta hair, a different personality and all these strange people around me. It's almost as though…I woke up in an entirely different body. It's a very horrifying feeling…not something I would wish on my worst enemy, well except for that jackass Texen."

"As for me, I need their insight on how they can help Venam. It's a…complicated situation so to speak. But enough talking, we've got a Puppet Master to meet; don't worry about your back because I've got it!" Julius pledged firmly.

"And I have your back; just like old times!" Aelita smiled back, a hint of her usual cheery self returning. Noticing a gate to the north, the duo walked towards it, only to phase through to the other side upon walking up the stairs. "Huh…that was a little weird. At least it wasn't just me."

"Yeah…though this place is a lot weirder than I'm used to." The young teen commented, noticing a discarded pamphlet on the ground and picked it up, the front cover showing another familiar face alongside a futuristic CyberNav. 'From the brilliant mind of Professor Friedrich Larkspur, comes the new and improved CyberNav 5000! This handy device contains all the features of the previous models, plus an all new function that allows you to boost the power of your Pokéballs, making difficult to catch Pokémon a lot easier to obtain! Present this pamphlet to your nearest Larkspur Co. branch and get 10% off your purchase! Limited stock available, so don't miss out!' It read, the young teen scowling before crumpling the pamphlet and tossed it aside.

"Only in my worst nightmare would that weasel be considered brilliant…" He hissed to himself, a slow clap soon echoing throughout the air.

"Now there's no need to get all moody when you're with your friend; after all reunions are meant to be fun." A mysterious, but familiar voice from afar mocked Julius. "After all, it's not like I'll ever get to experience something like that again; I'll probably spend the rest of my time here, bored out of my mind."

"Show yourself right now!" Aelita demanded, the voice chuckling once more.

"Aw, is that really how you greet an old pal? That isn't very nice of you, Aelita." He replied, a figure stepping out from the shadows of a nearby alley to reveal…Zetta?!

"Y-You! I thought Crescent disposed of you!" Julius called out to him, the blonde man letting out a quick chuckle.

"Yeah, yeah. Enough about that crazy woman; it is great to see you two suckers again! Man, how long as it been; a few weeks? A few months?" He chimed to them, the unamused duo frowning back at him. "Oh don't give me that face you two; you're breaking my heart."

"How are you here at all? I thought…" Aelita shot back at him.

"Thought what? There's now way you could've known what happened to me, but then again your blabbermouth friend did ruin the surprise. But you wanna hear something, Aelita? You failed your friends; you forced them to come fight us alone. While you were busy takin' a snooze, Melia and her merry band of obedient lackies came to finish the job. But things didn't go quite as well as we expected. Oh it was a bloodbath, with both sides losing people; my side lost two and yours lost two." He taunted, causing Aelita to flinch on the spot.

"W-We lost people on Valor Mountain?!" She exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, it was a real tragedy. Melia lost her poor old man, was forced to watch Nim fall into the lava, and even saw the same thing happen to Mr. Julius over there. But somehow, against all fucking odds, he survived and is here to spoil my day once more." Zetta continued, a look of grief overcoming the magenta-haired girl as she quickly turned to face Julius, hoping he would say that the Xen Admin was lying.

"I-I'm sorry Aelita…" The young teen apologized, turning away as the full magnitude of the situation downed on her. Her sacrifice, her eternal slumber was all for nothing.

"Don't start crying now, you weren't the only one to lose people. Not only was I myself lost, but that old geezer Larkspur flew the coop and from what I've heard he fell off the radar. The Zetta in the real world is no longer the guy that you knew him to be. Turns out he was a humble Solosis that was experimented on to be a clone of Melia." The Xen Admin continued to ramble; the magenta-haired girl constantly bombarded with revelation after revelation.

"E-Excuse me?!" Aelita demanded an explanation but was met with silence as she formed her own opinion on the matter. "So, it is as I thought it would be; this isn't the real world, but some crazy nightmare."

"Well I would say that you're wrong, but you aren't. Nor are you correct, to tell you the truth. This is the City of Nightmares; though I may not exist in the real world, I'm doing pretty well for myself. I got myself a new boss, the Puppet Master and they gave me a roof over my head, or more accurately an entire world to play in." Zetta stated proudly.

"So you're nothing but their glorified pawn then?" Julius asked bluntly, with Zetta chuckling to himself.

"Guess that's the case; seems like I've always been someone's pawn, whether it be in this world or the real world. But I can't just give you all the answers yet, you've gotta earn 'em first. But this won't be the last time we see each other; Sayonara!" He waved at the duo, disappearing back into the alley from whence he came.

"Ugh, did you understand any of that? Because it made no sense to me." Aelita inquired Julius, sighing quietly to herself. "This is all my fault; had I just listened to the Eldest back then, none of this would've happened."

"Don't blame yourself, we didn't have much option back then." Julius attempted to console her, but it didn't seem to work.

"You don't understand! I-If I was there with you, then things would've ended a whole lot differently. Everyone would've been safe and happy! Nim would be safe, as would Professor Jenner. This whole thing is a nightmare; an utter nightmare!" She continued to rant, only for the young teen to rest his hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"Hey, there is no need for the 'coulda, woulda, shoulda' spiel. Yes, it is a tragedy that we lost several of our friends back there, but if we want to preserve their memory, then it's best that we keep moving forward. Who knows, there may be a slim chance that we'll get to see them again." He attempted to raise her hopes, and it seemed to work this time.

"Thanks, Jules…" Aelita shot him a smile, quickly rubbing her nose. "Now's not the time to be moping; we've got a Puppet Master to find!" She declared, the duo going deeper and deeper into the oppressive city. It seemed that for ever few steps they would take, they would come across an obstacle that forced them to go a different direction. Most of the time said obstacles would be benches, food stalls and trees, but one of them was a billboard that advertised a movie titled 'Angie and the Cold Truth of Arceus'. It depicted Angie as the young teen remembered her, standing in front of some frightened children to fight a demon that looked a whole lot like himself, no doubt a reflection of his corrupted self from back then. Having shot a quick glance at the billboard, Aelita was a little puzzled at the sight before them. "Hey…that demon looks a whole lot like you do."

"Yeah, it does. There's a story that goes with it, but we don't have the time for me to recall it right now." Julius told her, not wanting to tell her as he simply wanted that memory to disappear for good.

"Well with all the obstacles we're encountering, it seems like we'll be here for the rest of our life." Aelita complained, a black ball of electricity crackling from behind them as they turned around and saw Zetta staring at them.

"It is a nightmare, so don't go expecting things to go right all the time." He informed him, smirking slightly to himself.

"But all nightmares end eventually, and you're no different." The magenta-haired girl shot back at him.

"Yeah…I suppose your right. In that case why don't we get along for now? Besides, I'm far from done playing with you two! after all, this may be the last time we ever get to talk again?" Zetta said to the duo.

"You say that as if it's a bad thing. Personally, I won't miss you at all and I'm sure Aelita won't as well." Julius retorted, with Aelita giving him a nod to indicate that he was on the money.

*Sigh…* "I suppose you're right. Not like it matters anyway; you're just talking to a manifestation of someone's nightmare. May I suggest going to the Shopping District next?" The Xen Admin suggested to them.

"Fine, we'll comply. Come on Julius, let's do what he tells us to do." Aelita sighed in annoyance, making her way to the Shopping District with the young teen following behind, his mind stuck on something.

'Someone's nightmare…' He thought to himself, wondering who he could be talking about. Eventually, the duo made their way through the gate and into the Shopping District,quietly walking down the main street as Aelita abruptly cleared her throat.

"H-Hey, listen. There's something I have to tell you. I'm sorry for running away from you in Darchlight Woods. I-I know you may not know who I was, or if you even saw me, but I immediately knew that it was you in those woods. I just couldn't face you back then because I looked so different." She apologized, only for the young teen to brush it off.

"No need to apologize; If I was in your shoes, I would've most likely done the same thing." Julius replied casually.

"W-When I first woke up, I was in this house with the Eldest and two other people; an old monk and his granddaughter Erin. Ever since that day, I've been monitored daily, following me wherever I went. Every time I did something, they would ask me so many questions; I just…I just couldn't take it anymore! I had to leave immediately, hence why I ran away." Aelita explained her situation to him, raising her voice part way to emphasize her point.

"Look hun, we all have our problems, but yours are no more important than mine." Zetta abruptly cut her off, mysteriously appearing once more to them. Whatever powers the Puppet Master bestowed onto him, it was evident that he mastered them easily.

"None of this concerns you at all!" She shot back at him, causing the older man to step back in surprise.

"Woah there, no need to yell. Uncle Zetta is here to solve all your problems! Besides, we're all here for you." He replied in jest as several more copies of himself surrounded the duo, thought it was evident that they weren't amused by his antics.

"Look, I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself or whatever, but as you may know, we don't have the time for your nonsense!" Julius retorted, having lost his patience with the man a long time ago.

"Dang…you two are so mean now. What happened that made you this way? Look, I get being cranky after a poor night's sleep, but you're both asleep now!" The Xen Admin inquired.

"We wouldn't be in such a bad mood, if you just left us alone and stop messing with us." Aelita told him bluntly, with Zetta's shoulders slumping in response.

"Man, you two are no fun whatsoever. I prefer the other people that come to this place; they all think they're dreaming so they're a lot of fun to be around. See, everyone you see here is an actual person having a nightmare. But the Puppet Master takes those nightmares and throws them away, bringing you all to this very city." The older man commented casually.

"You're their accomplice, right? In that case, you must know who the Puppet Master is." Julius inquired, the older man shrugging his shoulders.

"Truth be told, I don't know who they are myself. Heck, I don't think anyone in Team Xen are aware of their presence, not even Madame X herself. It's like the Puppet Master is on an entirely different level to us all. But that's all you're going to get from me right now, the boss is starting to get upset with me. Ta-ta!" Zetta called out, as he and his copies soon faded to the ether as the duo were left with even more questions than before.

"So everyone here is an actual person in the real world. Wonder if they'll remember this place when they wake up." Aelita said to her friend.

"Yeah, seems to be the case here." The young teen replied, the duo continuing their walk down the street as a sudden revelation formed in his mind. Was this where Melia was spending all her sleepless nights, at the mercy of her former adversary? If so, then that explains why she couldn't get much sleep. Soon enough, they walked through yet another gate and wound up on the opposite side of the abyss from where they were before, the duo recognizing the movie billboard that blocked their path earlier.

"So what was even the point of going to the Shopping District earlier? This guy is wasting our time, provided that time is even passing in this place. Augh! I knew following his orders was a bad idea…" She complained to him.

"Oh? And why is that, Aelita?" Zetta inquired, suddenly appearing to the side of them as a look of confusion was plastered on his face. "Jeez, you two aren't fazed by anything anymore, huh?"

"After all we've been though, silly antics like this are child's play." Julius stated, crossing his arms over his chest. "Alright, we're here now, what do you want us to do?"

"Let me guess, you want us to jump off a building with one eye closed. Or better yet, you want us to order different types of ice cream in a very specific order. This place is your playground, right? Then just state your demands already!" Aelita chimed in rudely, shooting a glare at the Xen Admin.

"Yikes…you need to calm down already; we've got plenty of time to mess around. Speaking of which, we've got time for you to tell me how you got here; be a good girl and speak for the class." He inquired casually.

"I fell asleep and woke up here, next?" The magenta-haired girl answered bluntly.

"Oh that can't be all; the only way you can be here is if the Puppet Master invited you. There's got to be an important reason why you're here. And before you deny it, I know that you're here to see if he can fix you up." Zetta goaded her, with Aelita sighing in annoyance before yielding to him.

"Fine…I heard rumors about how the Puppet Master knows everything and is willing to answer your query. I figured that they would give me an answer for my predicament, so I bought myself a Nightmare Medallion and fell asleep. Now here I am." She elaborated her answer a little.

"Fascinating story, Aelita. I almost shed a tear, actually. Now then, what's your story Julius?" The Xen Admin asked the young teen, the latter sighing to himself as he knew he couldn't back out of this.

"Earlier today, Melia and I came across the petrified body of Venam, the both of us distraught over what we were seeing. We came to the hospital with her and comforted each other for a while, until I got a text from a friend. She told me about how the Puppet Master knows all, and relayed this information to Melia, who quickly handed me her Nightmare Medallion in an effort to get some answers from the Puppet Master." Julius answered begrudgingly.

"Another tragic tale; a pair of lovers hoping to save their third lover from a tragic fate. Sounds like that cheesy movie I saw a while ago. But enough from you two, as I'm sure that you're interested in how I came to be here." Zetta chimed in, clearing his throat as he began recalling his tale. "Truth be told, I only came to this dimension recently. When Julius and his friends took their first night's sleep, a certain someone bought a Nightmare Medallion and dreamt about me in a nightmare, thus spawning me to this place immediately. I'm sure you two know who I'm talking about."

"Melia?" The young teen guessed.

"Yep; turns out that big sis really misses me, or she's scared of me." The older man replied, a question forming in his mind. "Hey Julius, what do you think I look like with my hair unbraided?"

"I-I'm not sure." He replied, with Zetta quickly unbraiding his hair as it flowed down beside him, the older man now resembling Melia a lot more than before. "N-No way!"

"Yes, I do look like her now, do I? What's the matter, falling in love with me already?" Zetta jested, with Aelita gazing at him oddly.

"Why are you showing this to us? What point does it serve?" She asked him, the older man turning around to look away from them.

"I-I don't know…I-I guess you could say I miss her, because I never had a family. Team Xen may have created me, but they never loved me at all, treating me as a mere tool. I wonder…how Melia and I would get along had the circumstances been different." He replied quietly.

"I can't say I know for sure, but your allegiance to Team Xen didn't really help you out there." Aelita told him, the older man chuckled once more and faced the duo again.

"I knew that already, but it's not like I had a choice regarding my allegiance to them. Team Xen were the only thing I knew of this world. I have no memories of the time before I was a human; what other guideline could I have followed back then? Now…now I'm nothing but a lonely nightmare walking around. I was just that bad of a person, bad enough to come back as a nightmare. You want to go to the Toy Box, right? It's a brisk walk to the right; I'm done blocking your way." Zetta told them, tying his hair back up to the way it was, before disappearing into the ether once more.

"Zetta…" Julius said quietly, mulling over what he had just heard. Even after all he had done to get in the way of him and his friends, he couldn't help but…pity the man, if only a little. Could each of his adversaries have some tragic past that forced them to become the monsters that they are now, even Professor Larkspur? Well he knew that was the case for Indriad, but what about Angie, or Madame X? Did either of them have some mysterious shadow that haunted their past?

"Come on Julius, let's make our way to the Toy Box. I'm sure both of us want this nightmare to end as soon as possible." Aelita called out to him, snapping the young teen out of his state of thought as the duo began the quick trek to the right, going through another gate and wound up in what appeared to be the Residential District, a large multi-colored box standing out from the sea of buildings. Briskly walking towards the box, the duo soon arrived at their destination, only to see Zetta standing in front of the entrance. "Zetta? I thought you were done playing games?"

"Heh…I guess I'm bad at keeping promises. I'm so sorry to do this, but there's one last thing I must do; a final battle between Julius and I. Neither as enemies, nor as friends; just a pair of trainers that locked eyes with each other." He requested solemnly.

"Very well, I accept your request. But don't expect me to go easy; we've got important business to attend to." Julius agreed to the request.

"Well I won't say no to this, after all it's been quite a while since I last saw you battle." Aelita agreed as well, the trio getting into position as both trainers selected their first Pokémon. Within an instant, the trainers threw their Pokéballs, with Julius sending out his Yatagaryu and Zetta sending out his Vileplume.

Outstretching his arm to his opponent, Zetta ordered his Pokémon to use Moonblast, the sentient flower charging up lunar energy with its flower before firing a beam of energy at its foe. The serpentine dragon was able to dodge the attack effortlessly, retaliating by charging up a Dragon Pulse and fired back at the Vileplume. But when the attack struck the flower, it just simply disappeared into a cloud of smoke, no cries of pain, just a quiet 'please' echoing through the area.

"W-What the…?" Aelita exclaimed quietly, with Zetta simply shrugging his shoulders before sending out his Absol to the field, the quadrupedal Pokémon kicking up a bit of dust with its paw. In an instant, the Absol lunged at the Yatagaryu and slashed at it with its sharp horn, only for the attack to phase right through the dragon as it swiped at the Absol with its talons, causing it to disappear into smoke once more as a quiet 'do' echoed throughout the area.

"The battle wasn't what he wanted; he wanted to say his last words in a way I'm familiar with." Julius whispered to himself, with Zetta quickly sending out his third Pokémon, a Weavile. Now realizing what Zetta's endgame was, Julius requested his companion to use Thunderbolt, the Stormbringer Pokémon collecting energy within its horns as the Weavile generated a series of sharp ice shards and flung them at the Yatagaryu. As expected, the attack phased through the Pokémon with the bolt of lightning striking the Weavile, causing it to disappear into more smoke as a quiet 'not' could be heard.

"Heh, just as strong as I remembered. But this is where the fun really begins." Zetta commented, sending out his Dragonite as the large Pokémon let out a bellowing roar. It promptly lunged at the serpentine dragon, attempting to smack it down with its claws as the Yatagaryu dodged the incoming attack and retaliated with a Dragon Pulse, the beam of energy striking the foes back as it too faded into a cloud of smoke, the only noise left being a quiet 'forget'.

"Is he trying to say something to us…?" Aelita spoke to herself, piecing the uttered words together as Zetta sent out his Silvally, the bulky Pokémon rearing its legs in the air before slamming them down on the ground. It lowered its head and charged at its foe, tackling through it before slashing its body with is claws. Like before, the Yatagaryu wasn't fazed by the attack at all and flew up into the air, charging up a quick Thunderbolt before striking its foe with the electricity. The attack hit its mark, the Silvally disappearing into a cloud of smoke as a quiet 'about' echoed throughout the area.

Realizing that his message was getting across to the duo, Zetta sent out his last Pokémon, a humble Solosis. The small Pokémon chirped a little sadly, a weak smile on its face as its body glowed and an ethereal copy of it escaped its body and struck the Yatagaryu, the only attack to do so throughout the entire battle. The Stormbringer Pokémon was struck with an odd wave of sadness, as it watched the Solosis faint with a tearful smile on its face, fading into smoke as a quiet 'me' could be heard.

"Please do not forget about me…" Julius pieced the words together, looking at Zetta to see if he was right.

"Yeah, I guess that's it for me then. Thank you, Julius. I really mean it…" Zetta smiled serenely, accepting his fate as he soon began to fade from existence. "When you see Melia next, please tell her not to forget me, no matter how she chooses to do so…"

"I-I'll make sure to tell her that. Don't worry, I won't forget you as well." The young teen pledged, with the older man nodding in gratitude as he soon faded from the nightmare. The duo was left standing before the entrance, with Julius thanking his Yatagaryu for its hard work before recalling it to its ball.

"Well if there's one thing he can count on, is that I don't think I can forget him anytime soon." Aelita chimed in. "Come on Jules, let's not keep the Puppet Master waiting any longer!"

"Y-Yeah…" Julius replied, his mind still a little distracted by Zetta's wish as the duo entered the Toy Box that they've spent all their time in this world looking for.

0000

The inside of the Toy Box looked exactly like the duo had anticipated it to be; a mishmash of colors on the walls and floor with dozens of various toys all over the place. In the center of the rook was a blue music box with a jester decal on the front, a line going down the middle to indicate that this was the opening to the box. However, asides from the two of them, there was nobody else in this mysterious room before them.

"What kind of stupid joke is this, there's nobody here!" Aelita complied in frustration, kicking a small stack of wooden blocks to the side.

"H-Hey, there's no need to throw in the towel just yet. This must be another one of the Puppet Master's puzzles, so why don't we go look around for an answer?" Julius reassured her, his eyes scanning the area for a hint on where to go before noticing a small entrance at the back. Informing Aelita that he'll be back in a minute, he quickly made his way to the back entrance and was greeted by a set of six weight-activated pads that were connected to a small generator. Assuming that he had to press the pads in a specific order to connect the circuit to the music box, he first made his way to the bottom-left pad and stepped on it, before going around the others and stepped on the top-right pad. But just as he was about to choose a third pad, the lights on the ground flared up, as the low humming noise emitted from the generator, indicating that he had completed the puzzle. Caught off-guard by how quickly he finished, the young teen exited the room and made his way back to Aelita, informing her that he had finished the task.

"Huh, that was pretty quick. Now I feel a little silly for getting angry before." She chuckled sheepishly.

"Don't worry. I've also gotten angry over insignificant things; now all we need to do is—" He replied, his comment abruptly cut off by the crank on top of the box turning in a clockwise manner, a haunting melody slowly filling the room as the duo braced themselves for what was inside that box. The tension in the air was tense as they waited for what was about to come, the seconds slowly turning into minutes as the crank continued to go clockwise. All of a sudden, the doors on the box flung open, causing them to jump in surprise, but nothing came out through the doors. They were contemplating on whether to walk through the doors when all of a sudden, a pair of figures leaped out from the darkness and confronted the duo. The figures were what appeared to be medieval jesters with theater masks on their face, the one on the right donning a neon green uniform, while the one on the left donned a vivid magenta uniform. But one thing was for sure; both of these mysterious figures had an air of mystery and otherworldly power to them.

"T-There's two Puppet Masters?!" Aelita exclaimed, this surprise twist catching her off-guard. During her time here, she had assumed that the Puppet Master was a singular entity, as opposed to a tag-team duo. Still this played in her favor; if one of them didn't know the answer to her query, then surely the other one will.

The two jesters chuckled ominously in union, selecting their first Pokéballs and sent them out to battle; the magenta one sending out a Beheeyem while the green one sent out a Claydol. As their Pokémon stared at the two trainers, the Puppet Masters gazed at them as well, silently telling them that teamwork is the only way to pass this test. "I guess they want us to work together. Fine by me, I've been wanting to fight alongside you for a while." Aelita chimed at Julius, the duo selecting their first Pokéballs as well.

"I'd be more than happy to fight with you once more…here's the plan, I'll deal with the left one, let's refer to them as Magenta, while you deal with the right one, which we'll refer to as Neon. Is that fine with you?" Julius proposed his plan to her.

"Sounds like a plan!" The magenta-haired girl agreed, the duo sending out their Pokémon to challenge the twin jesters, with Aelita sending out her Mienshao and Julius sending out his Chainite.

A few seconds had passed before the one dubbed 'Neon' outstretched their arm, gesturing the Claydol to use Reflect. The sentient doll's eyes began glowing a deep blue and used its psychic energy to create a wondrous blue wall of light around itself and Beheeyem to protect themselves from physical attacks. However, Aelita had expected such a strategy to take place and ordered Mienshao to use Brick Break, the nimble Pokémon leaping into the air and swung its arm down onto the Claydol. And though the attack didn't do that much damage, it did shatter the blue wall that protected the two Psychic-type Pokémon, leaving them wide open to attack. Seizing this opportunity, the Chainite disappeared into the shadows, slowly slithering towards the Beheeyem as it leaped up from the darkness and struck the alien head on, a distorted cry of pain coming from its mouth as it was pushed back a few feet. As it got back up on its feet, it channeled its psychic energy into an orb and flung it at the Mienshao, the attack dealing a lot of damage as the slender Pokémon was hurled into one of the nearby wooden blocks, but was able to break free and make its way back to the arena. Noticing that it was injured from the attack, Aelita was thinking of a follow-up attack until she saw the Claydols' eyes glowing a mixture of black and white as the room slowly started to distort. Knowing full well what this meant, the magenta-haired girl called out to her companion, with Mienshao nodding in confirmation as it lunged at the Beheeyem and kicked it with its feet before leaping back at Aelita and re-entered its Pokeball. The alien was sent flying into a nearby wooden block before crashing into it, sliding down and slumped on the ground as it was deemed unable to continue fighting.

"U-Turn…" Julius mused to himself, watching Magenta recall their Pokémon as they and Aelita quickly made their next choice, sending out a Slowking and Gliscor respectively. By this point, the rooms dimensions have successfully been twisted, with Gliscor feeling a little sluggish all of a sudden while the other three Pokémon felt considerably more energetic. "You knew Neon would use Trick Room, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I managed to pick up on their gameplan rather quickly; Magenta's the one that dishes out all the powerful hits, while Neon offers support for their partner, be it by setting up protection or crippling the enemy. Pretty clever of them, but if we focused all our efforts on taking out Neon first, then Magenta should soon fall to our teamwork!" Aelita told him, impressing the young teen with her quick thinking and cunning. With a new strategy at hand, Julius requested his Chainite to attack the Claydol, the malevolent entity more than happy to do so as it lunged at the doll with a speed that only the twisted dimensions could provide, raking its firm body with its shadowy claws as the Claydol was flung to the side and crumpled before slowly rising back up. But the Slowking wasn't one to sit there and do nothing, the regal Pokémon taking in a deep breath before spewing a vicious blizzard from its mouth, the relentless gust of cold wind sending shivers down the entity's back as it was standing its ground. This distraction granted the Gliscor an ample amount of time to perform a dance to heighten its spirit, spinning in the air albeit it a little slowly due to the twisted dimension. Soon, the small purple orb hanging around the Gliscor's neck on a necklace began to glow, a faint purple hue appearing on its cheeks as it was soon poisoned by the orbs power. But rather than be crippled by it, it was only heightened up by the poison, due to its special ability.

Taking to the skies, the scorpion/bat hybrid swooped down onto the Claydol and swung its clenched claw onto its head, sending the doll careening into the ground and caused a sizable amount of dust to get kicked up into the air. While this was happening, the Slowking and Chainite were squaring off against each other, the former taking in a deep breath like before and spewed a stream of boiling hot water at its foe. But the Chainite expected this, it's eyes glowing a reddish-purple as it took the attack and was flung backwards to the ground, a shadowy specter emerging from its unconscious body and glided towards the Slowking, passing through it and sapped it of its energy as the regal Pokémon soon slumped down to the ground and collapsed. As soon as the dust died down, it showed that the Claydol was also knocked out, leaving Gliscor as the sole survivor for now.

"That was some impressive battling out there!" Julius complimented his Chainite, recalling it as he soon noticed that the distorted dimensions were returning back to normal. But despite being at a disadvantage for a moment, the two jesters were unfazed by their situation, simply recalling their Pokémon before selecting their next combatants, with Magenta sending out a Gardevoir and Neon sending out a Xatu. In response to their decision, the young teen opted to send out his Dramsama, the regal-looking Pokémon preening its feathers before shooting a glare at its foes. It soon turned its head slightly and emitted hypnotic rays from its eyes at the Gardevoir, the Embrace Pokemon's eyelids growing heavy as it soon drifted off into a deep sleep, though for how long wasn't known. Meanwhile, the Xatu raised its wings in the air and generated an updraft that heightened its speed greatly, taking to the skies and flew towards the Masquerade Pokémon before emitting a weak charge of static electricity from its body. However, the Gliscor was able to intercept the charge and managed to resist it, due to a combination of its typing and the fact that it was already poisoned. It then opened to retaliate by swinging its claw onto the bird's head, causing Xatu to chirp in surprise as it was plummeting towards the ground, only for Dramsama to follow up with a swift Shadow Ball. The eerie blob of negative energy struck the falling bird, causing it to fly back into a wall and crash against it, sliding down to the ground as the weary look in its eyes indicated that it was too exhausted to continue fighting.

Promptly realizing that the powered-up Gliscor was the real threat at hand, Neon recalled their fainted Pokémon and sent out their Slowbro, the dopey Pokémon chiming happily at its foes as it began heightening its mental strength to prepare for this battle. At this point, the Gardevoir had woken up and was now ready to deal some payback to the Dramsama. It quickly began collecting lunar energy with its mind, the Masquerade Pokémon attempting to hypnotize it again, but the Embrace Pokémon wasn't falling for that trick again. Soon enough, it collected the lunar energy into a vivid pink ball and hurled it at the Dramsama, the attack striking it head on as the regal-looking Pokémon was pushed back a few feet. The Gliscor soon flew up into the air before swooping down and slammed its tail into the ground, creating a series of powerful tremors that dealt major damage to the other combatants as a thick blanket of dust was soon kicked up into the air. However, the Slowbro's infamous bulk ensured its survival, the dopey Pokémon channeling a beam of ice-cold energy at the Gliscor as it was struck by the beam and was sent hurtling towards the ground and crashed. When the blanket of dust died down, it showed that the Gardevoir, Dramsama and Gliscor were all unable to continue battling, the Slowbro letting out a casual moan at the sight.

"Whew, now that was an amazing performance from you two!" Aelita chimed at Gliscor and Dramsama, with Julius giving them a supportive nod in agreement as they both recalled their Pokémon. Soon enough, they had selecting their next Pokémon to battle with and threw their Pokéballs to the ground, with Julius selecting his Harptera and Aelita sending out her Mienshao once more. Though the Martial Arts Pokémon was still a little exhausted from its earlier fight, its special ability allowed it to regain much needed energy while inside its ball. Gazing calmly at the opponents Pokémon, Magenta recalled their Gardevoir before sending out their Gallade, the Blade Pokémon bowing slightly in respect.

Sensing a slight hint of exhaustion in the Slowbro's eyes, the Harptera took to the skies and flew towards it at a rapid pace, with Gallade noticing its plan and opted to halt it. Digging a small hole in the ground and hoisting up a hidden boulder, it broke it down into smaller rocks with a series of rapid punches before collecting the rocks and hurling them at the dragonfly. The Mienshao intercepted the attack, shattering the rocks with its fists and legs as it knew that such an attack would be devastating on its partner. Shooting the Mienshao a nod of appreciation, the Harptera continued its flight path towards the Slowbro, dodging an incoming beam of ice from the latter as its tail began glowing a lime green and slashed at the Slowbro. The Hermit Crab Pokémon let out a surprised moan as it was flung into a pile of plush toys standing beside a wall, causing them to fall into pile onto the ground. There were faint traces of movement from beneath the pile, with Slowbro emerging from it, only to collapse after taking a few steps, the last attack having dealt a critical amount of damage.

Neon calmly gazed at their fallen Pokémon before recalling it, opting to send out their Bronzong next, the bell's eyes glowing a mixture of pink and black as it raised its arms in the air. The Harptera's eyed widened in surprise as its plummeted from its current height, to only a few feet above ground, now realizing that the Bronzong had intensified the room's gravity. With its crucial advantage gone, the dragonfly had to play smart now, and opted to target the Gallade, its body glowing a harsh blueish-red as it tried its hardest to get up higher in the air. The Mienshao realized that it too was at a disadvantage due to the intensified gravity and opted to take care of the Bronzong as soon as possible, charging towards it and swiped it with a swift chop. The bell let out a low moan, spinning in the air as its stranglehold on the room's gravity was soon lifted, enabling Harptera to reach the heights it desired. Swooping down towards the Gallade, its body cloaked in a blueish-red aura, it tackled the Gallade and sent it flying back several feet, the Blade Pokémon managing to land gracefully and retaliated by collecting psychic energy in its blades and slashed at the dragonfly. It landed it's mark and sent the insect flying back a couple of feet, only to block an incoming kick from the Mienshao and pushed it back with a swift Ice Punch. The three Pokémon continued their battle, with Gallade managing to parry the incoming attacks with ease as the trio were soon caught-off guard by the sound of a familiar chiming. They turned and saw the Bronzong collecting a massive amount of energy, the Gallade shooting a look of agreement at it, as if it knew what the bell's endgame was. Before either of the heroes Pokémon could react, the room was soon struck by a large explosion that send dust and toys everywhere, with Aelita and Julius covering their faces as a means of protection. Once the brunt of the attack was over, the two trainers uncovered their faces and saw that all for Pokémon were knocked out by the blast, the two jesters seemingly unaffected by the explosion.

"They must be getting desperate to use such tactics against us…" Julius commented, the duo rushing to check up on the Pokémon before recalling them. "This could only mean one thing; they're down to their last Pokémon."

"Yeah…we better prepare for whatever trick they may have left." Aelita replied, letting out a quick sigh as they saw Magenta and Neon recall their Pokémon before promptly sending out their last combatants, a Medicham and Musharna respectively. Realizing that they were up against some very tough Pokémon, the duo opted to send out their strongest companions, with Aelita choosing her Hawlucha and Julius sending out his Syrentide.

"Now then, it's time to wrap this bat—" The young teen began, clamming up as he saw Magenta whip out a Mega Ring and press the Keystone, the Medicham surrounded by a multi-color orb of light as it broke through it a few seconds later, standing tall and proud in its Mega-form. "Well then, this will be interesting." He replied in a deadpan manner.

Opting to take the initiative as soon as possible, the Medicham leaped into battle, jumping up in the air and landed a direct kick at the Hawlucha, causing the nimble bird to stagger back a couple feet before quickly scurrying up the walls and leaped off then, pointing its elbow at the Medicham as it knocked it to the ground. While this was happening, the Syrentide spewed a steam of hot water at the Musharna, the Drowsing Pokémon shuddering in pain as the hot water left a rather painful burn on its side. It promptly turned around and collected negative energy into a shadowy orb before hurling it at the Syrentide, who promptly blocked it with her arms but was pushed back by the attack. Opting to switch tactics to finish off their foes, the Syrentide nimbly dove to the side and spewed a stream of boiling hot water at the floor beneath Medicham's legs. The bipedal fighter was about to retaliate by leaping into the air to deliver another devastating kick, only to slip on the water and fall on its back. This gave Syrentide an ample amount of time to charge up her strongest attack, gathering lunar energy as quickly as she can before the Medicham could get up. The enemy Medicham was soon able to get back up on its feet, steadying itself to ensure it didn't fall over again, only for its eye to widen in shock as it saw Syrentide aim her ball of lunar energy at it, quickly realizing that it wouldn't be able to dodge in time.

Meanwhile, the Hawlucha quickly ran on the floor to confront the Musharna, the bulky Pokemon forming balls of psychic energy with its mind and hurled them at the bird. It was and to swiftly dodge the incoming barrage of attack and promptly leaped up in the air, crossing its arms together to form an 'X' as it swooped down at the Drowsing Pokémon, crashing into it and sent it flying towards the Medicham. The two Pokémon collided with each other and fell into the pile of plush toys from before, with Medicham devolving into its regular form as it was unable to continue fighting anymore, with Musharna just as exhausted. A wave of relief overcame Aelita and Julius as they clasped their hands together, with both Hawlucha and Syrentide huffing proudly over their victory.

"We did it Julius, we defeated the Puppet Masters!" Aelita cheered to him.

"It wasn't just us that won, our Pokémon gave it their all and they succeeded with flying colors!" Julius added, the duo congratulating their victorious companions before recalling them to their balls. The two jesters let out an amused chuckle, quickly recalling their fainted Pokémon before turning to face the two trainers, fading away from the room as the heroes were left confused at what they just saw.

"What the…they just attacked us out of nowhere before disappearing once they lost. Just what is up with them?" The magenta-haired girl asked out loud.

"Who knows; however, I think we should make out way into that music box we opened. That might be where they're hiding." The young teen suggested, turning to face the box standing firmly in the center of the room. Mustering up all their courage, the duo quietly walked past the entrance and into what looked like a fairly small room, the only notable feature being a jester lying back on a white couch at the back of the room. They were considerably taller than Magenta and Neon and donned the same theater mask they wore; however, their uniform was what could only be described as a mixture of pink and green.

"Hehehehe…you two were pretty cool out there, you know? Defeating Magenta and Neon is no easy feat. However, if you came to look for the Puppet Master, then you have succeeded." They spoke, sitting up straight to look into the duos' eyes.

"S-So those two back there weren't the Puppet Master?" Julius inquired.

"Nope, they weren't. But I had them test you to see if you would work together in a team, and you passed with flying colors. Good thing too since you'll be battling together multiple times in the future. Don't worry, I'll send you two a gift for winning the battle." The Puppet Master told them, their voice as calm as calm could be.

"A gift? What kind of gift are you talking about?" Aelita asked, only for the Puppet Master to waggle their finger in the air.

"Uh-Uh-Uh, no spoiling the surprise. But I see you two have come for some of my wisdom; ladies first as the saying goes." They called out, with Aelita taking a step forward.

"I want you to tell me how I can fix myself; I want to go back to be the person I used to be. Who I am right now…this isn't me." She stated her request, with the Puppet Master musing to themselves.

"Hehehe…I may know how to revert you back, but I'm so sorry, I refuse to tell!" They chuckled, the magenta-haired girl shooting him a glare.

"What?! Why would you refuse to tell me?!" She demanded; anger drenched in her tone of voice.

"The answer to your query is something you'll have to figure out on your own. After all, it's crucial to your development as a person after all." The Puppet Master told her, turning to face Julius. "Now then, your request?"

"M-My friend Venam was petrified earlier, and Melia and I wanted to find a cure for her as soon as possible. So I figured that I'd come to you in the hopes that you know how to save her. So, great Puppet Master; do you know the way to save Venam from her plight?" He requested, a little concerned about his answer after the short straw Aelita was dealt.

"Hehehe…such a noble desire you have. In fact, I do know the way to save her, but I refuse to tell you." The jester chuckled once more, catching Julius off-guard with his answer.

"Excuse me?! We've spent so much time and effort reaching you, only to get rewarded with non-answers! What is your deal?!" The young teen snapped at the mysterious entity, who promptly raised their hands in the air to calm the duo down.

"I must apologize for this, but I was the one who ensured that the rumors about me reached your ears. I needed you here in the City of Nightmares, but I couldn't force you to come; after all people can only visit this place by their own free will. Hehehe…tricking people to come here is something I specialize in; it's very easy to get anyone to believe anything if you make it show up in their dreams. And should multiple people experience that same dream, they'll think it's real or something. Having complete control over what people dream can be very powerful…" The Puppet Master chuckled, setting something off in Aelita as she lunged at the figure and grabbed them by their uniform.

"You insignificant bastard! I'll teach you to mess with us!" She snapped, rearing her fist back for a punch, only for the jester to swiftly catch her wrist in response.

"Hey, hey! Hands off the goods, missy! I brought you both here for a good reason, honest!" They quickly told her, the magenta-haired girl huffing before pushing them onto the couch.

"Fine, but it better be a goddamn good reason." Aelita huffed, making her way back to Julius' side.

"I need you two to reunite, after all you both must be inseparable! Well not inseparable given the complicated relationship of a certain someone, but close enough will do." The Puppet Master began, shooting a quick glance at Julius. "After all, you two were separated for some time and look where that got you. You were trapped in a coma for a long time, yeah?" They returned their glance to Aelita.

"Y-Yeah, I was. But where are you going with all this?" She inquired.

"Well I just so happened to see what went down at Valor Mountain, and what a sloppy event that was. The whole shebang could've been avoided if there wasn't a lack of communication." They promptly answered, as a sinking feeling returned to the magenta-haired girl's stomach.

"S-So it is true then, all those losses actually happened on Valor Mountain…" Aelita spoke quietly to herself, the Puppet Master letting out another chuckle.

"You amateurs have no idea what's in store, and it's really funny. You all think that this little game is just black and white, back and front…well have I got a newsflash for you; the entire world doesn't revolve around your special little group. Your war against Team Xen is but one piece of a thousand-piece puzzle." They told the duo, with Julius shooting them another frown.

"Maybe if you, I don't know, gave us some answers for once, then we wouldn't be running around like headless Torchic! The whole reason we've been fighting Team Xen is because that's just what had to be done. What, you mean to tell me that I should've let them capture Melia and be done with it? Not a chance in hell!" The young teen shot back at the menacingly calm figure.

"Yeah, we still have no idea what Team Xen's endgame are, or why they're doing all of this. So far, we've met a whole lot of people who wish to remain silent and keep us in the dark. Those times we were blindly running into danger? They were all because we were told to do so!" Aelita shot back at him as well, the Puppet Master gazing at them silently as they took a deep breath.

"So…you want to know what Team Xen is planning? Instead of outright telling you the answer, I think it would be best to move you in the right direction. You'll know what I mean when you receive your gift, Aelita." They told her, turning to face Julius once more. "As for you Julius, we're quite alike, aren't we?"

"Wh-What?! How on earth are we alike?! No, scratch that, I want an answer to my original question; how can I save Venam from her plight?!" Julius demanded, the Puppet Master lying back down on their couch.

"Interceptor, oh Interceptor? Whose mind will you inhabit next? Dream a dream so grand it becomes a nightmare…" They mused to themselves, with the young teen letting out a low growl.

"Argh, enough of this Interceptor bullshit and tell us a straight answer for once! I'm sick of all this riddles you yammer on about!" He hissed, the taller figure letting out another sigh.

"Alright, you want some answers? Well first of all, I needed to get Alice and Allen out of that cruddy dimension. I told them to get you to come here to this dimension because I needed to speak to you. Those two are important for later down the road, but I thought it would be best to get them acquainted with everyone as soon as possible. Aren't I just the kindest?" The Puppet Master inquired, the duo refusing to answer his question. "Anyway, I came here to warn you about something; 'Eight souls, shine like gold…to create grim future they must behold. One soul out of the eight shall slice down their destiny in two, creating a new path. A path that has already been decided. A future that I've seen only once before. A path that will lead the world into a new era of destruction.'"

"…That told us absolutely nothing. What are we supposed to do with that kind of information?" Aelita inquired, with something stirring in the Puppet Master as they realized something.

"Ah…Morning comes, and thus I fade away. We will meet again, I'm sure, oh young Interceptor. Perhaps it won't be in this time, or dimension, or space…but oh young Interceptor, oh Interceptor…whose mind will you inhabit next? One last thing, before we go…beware the Xenpurgis" They spoke to Julius, the young teen fed up with the nonsensical responses he was given.

"D-Damn you Puppet Master! Tell me what I want this instant! Tell me! TELL ME!" Julius demanded, attempting to run towards the figure only for the room to get enveloped in a bright light.

The Next Morning

"Gaaahh!" Julius cried out loud, sitting up straight on the hospital couch and pinched himself to see if it was just another dream. But the light stinging sensation in his hand confirmed that it was indeed the real world, with Venam still in her petrified state. Seeing that image sent another painful blow to his heart; he'd promised Melia that he'd come back with the solution to freeing her from her rocky prison, but all he was given was a bunch of nonsense that he's heard before. Letting out a scoff of frustration, he fished the Nightmare Medallion from his pocket and flung it against the wall, shattering it into two pieces and inadvertently woke up Melia, who was sleeping in the chair beside Venam's bed.

"Mmmnnnn…" She stirred to herself, her eyes opening up as she saw that Julius was awake. "J-Julius, you're awake! D-Do you have the answer to how we can save her?!" The blonde called out eagerly, making her way to sit beside him. But the look of defeat on the young teen's face told an entirely different story, one which told of a most heartbreaking failure.

"I-I'm sorry Melia, but I didn't get what we were looking for…T-The Puppet Master, they knew how to save her, but they refused to tell me, saying that I must earn the knowledge first or something. What I got instead was more of that Interceptor garbage, some random prophecy and another thing called a 'Xenpurgis' or whatever the hell. Y-You put your faith and trust in me, Melia, and I disappointed you; I-I'm so sorry…" Julius recalled, burying his face in his hands as he began sobbing to himself in grief over his failure.

"There, there, I'm not mad at you. W-We'll just have to find another way to save her, that's it." The blonde attempted to cheer him up, gently petting his back with her hand. And while it was evident that she was disappointed over the lead going nowhere, she had expected it to be a red herring in some twisted sort of way. "So, what else happened in the nightmare?"

"T-The nightmare?" Julius sniffled, wiping his tears away with a small handkerchief as Melia gave him a quick nod of confirmation. "W-Well I met Aelita in the City of Nightmares and…"

"Aelita! I-Is she okay?!" Melia cut him off abruptly, catching the young teen off-guard.

"Well in terms of health she's ok; however, she looked and acted a little…differently. Not only was her hair completely different than before, but she was a lot more irritable than she usually is. She was so different, that she questioned on whether or not she had woken up in an entirely different body." He answered. "Anyway, we also met Zetta in the City and would you believe it, I actually felt bad for the guy. After all, he had no memories of his life as a Solosis and was raised in an environment where he received no love from Team Xen but was forced to fight for them anyway. He even imagined a future where you and him could stand together as brother and sister, having the time of your life. I know you don't like him and considering what he's done I can't blame you, but I'd just like to rely his parting request to you; he doesn't want you to forget him."

"As I expected…last night I saw him in my dreams like usual. But instead of it being a terrible one, it was a more…peaceful one. In it he said what you told me he said to you, as well as extending an apology for all that he's done to me and my friends. And while I'm still a little angry at him for costing me a normal childhood, I don't have as much animosity towards him as I used to. In a way, I think he will get his wish after all because I don't think I can forget about him. Because if it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be on this adventure and meet so many wonderful people; Venam, you, Aelita; despite all our ups and downs it's been an experience that I'll look back on fondly." The blonde replied, a smile forming on her face as a swift knocking rattled on the door. "Come in!"

On cue, a nurse entered the door with a package in her hands. "Good morning you two, by any chance is a 'Mr. Julius' residing here? A co-worker of mine found this on the front desk with a name and the room number on a small card." She inquired.

"Yes ma'am, that's me." Julius called out, taking the package from her hands. "Thank you very much."

"You're very welcome, young man." She smiled, bowing slightly before the duo and exited the room, closing the door behind her as the young teen sat back down beside Melia.

"A package this early in the morning? Did you order something else, or is this another "gift" from the Puppet Master?" Melia inquired, with Julius picking up the card to read it.

"Most likely the latter; give this card a quick read." He replied, handing the card over to Melia as he got to work opening the package.

'Hey, Julius! Remember when I said I had a gift for you and Aelita? Yepperinos, that's what this is my friend! This is taken straight from Lavender's stash. I made some slight modifications to it to enhance its appearance, but it should act just the same! Now that you've got your Trickery Badge, I think you should go find Aelita again. Shouldn't be too difficult, I think. My card to her mentioned the Grand Dream Station so may I suggest starting off there? Until we meet again, ok Interceptor…Sweet Nightmares!' The card read, as Julius managed to open the box and saw…a single solitary badge on the bottom. It resembled a pair of theater masks, one green and one magenta, much like the duo whom he fought with Aelita.

"It says here that Aelita may be at the Grand Dream Station, but why the Puppet Master wants you to meet her is a mystery." Melia commented, with Julius attaching the badge to his trainer card.

"He said something about how our friendship must be inseparable if we are to survive the events to come." Julius answered, quickly getting himself ready. "Anyway, I'm going to go check on her. Will you be alright here on your own?"

"I'll be fine, thank you very much. I've been wanting to spend some time alone with Venam anyway." The blonde replied, the duo giving each other a quick kiss before the young teen promptly exited the hospital room, beginning the quick trek to Grand Dream Station.

0000

Luckily for him, it didn't take long to find Aelita. Indeed, the moment he entered the vast station, he heard someone call out to him. Turning to the left, he saw Aelita running towards him, looking exactly like she did in the City of Nightmares. "Hey, Julius! I had a hunch you'd come here. But just to be sure, that was you who fought alongside me back there, right?" She called out to him.

"Would this suffice as proof?" He replied, taking out his trainer card and showed her the Trickery Badge. "This was my gift from the Puppet Master."

"Hmmm…yep, that's good enough for me! I'm just glad it wasn't just a bizarre dream, but then again it kinda was a dream. But enough about that, why don't I show you where I've been living for the last couple weeks? I…I don't want to go back there on my own after running away. I have a friend who lives there. Her name's Erin and she's really blunt at times." Aelita requested.

"Sure, I'll come with you. After all I met Erin earlier and from the sound of things, she wasn't the happiest about you getting up and leaving the place." Julius agreed, putting his trainer card away. "Funnily enough, Erin's been staying over at the penthouse I'm currently renting while looking for you."

"W-Wait, she's been looking for me this whole time?!" The magenta-haired girl exclaimed, the young teen nodding in confirmation. "Whew, it's a good thing you agreed to come with me. She'd put my head on a stake after all the trouble I put her through. Well there's no point putting it off any longer, let's head back there as soon as possible."

"Fine by me. Since you'll no doubt be in a lot of trouble, shall I ease your burden a little by shouting you a ticket?" He offered.

"That'll be lovely, thank you very much." Aelita thanked him, the duo making it to the turnstile and got their tickets, passing through it and hopped onto the train. Soon enough, the train took off and made the short trip to the Route 9 station as Julius got his first glimpse of the route. The grass was a light shade of gold, as were the leaves in the trees that populated the route, giving the area a sense of tranquility that was only present during the fall season. A few minutes later, the train ground to a halt and stopped at the station, the duo hopping off and descended the small flight of stairs to the soft dirt path. "And here we are, Route 9. All we have to do is walk north, take a left at the first crossroad we come across and we should reach our destination. It's on a cliff so it's really hard to miss it."

"In that case, lead the way." Julius offered, the magenta-haired girl giving him a quick nod as the duo began the walk to her place of residence. Along the way, they were treated to a few more sights, such as a couple Water-type Pokémon frolicking in the lakes to the side, a pair of trainers battling each other, and even a couple people heading to the small beach to the east of the route, a metal detector slung over their shoulders. After a while, the duo made it to what looked like a large theater with Japanese-inspired architecture standing tall and firm over the area, a quick sigh escaping from Aelita's mouth.

"Well here we are…there's no point trying to get out of it." She sighed, opening the door and stepped inside with Julius following her in. Upon entering the theater, the first thing they saw was the Eldest in what seemed like a heated discussion with an elderly gentleman around her age. He had short white hair on his head and had a scruffy beard that reached his neck, his outfit consisting of a blue robe commonly worn in Japan, a thin belt of sorts around his waist. Like the Eldest, he had a staff in his right hand that was taller than he was. However, because the duo were a considerable distance away from them, they weren't 100% sure who was saying what.

"It's going to be all right, don't worry about it."

"But what if something happens again? We won't be around to help the situation."

"If something happened, it would've already happened. Besides, Erin is out looking for her right now. I'm sure she'll be back soon." They conversed with each other, with Aelita taking a deep breath before approaching the duo.

"Uh…hey." She called out, attracting their attention as Julius made his way to her side.

"Aelita!" The Eldest sighed in relief, though was still a little upset with her. "Where on Arceus' green earth have you been?! You can't just get up and leave when you feel like it, especially after what happened to you!"

"I'm fine…you don't have to worry about me all the time." Aelita replied calmly.

"The last time you said that, you fell into a coma!" The elderly lady reminded her, the magenta-haired girl letting out a quick sigh of frustration.

"Everyone keeps telling me that, I know what happened to me! You don't have to keep reminding me of a mistake I made, I get it." She snapped momentarily, before lowering her voice to its usual level. "Anyway, I found Julius in Grand Dream City."

"Did you?" The Eldest replied, turning her head slightly and saw the young teen standing beside Aelita. "It is you, Julius! I'm very happy to see you again, are you well?"

"It is a pleasure to see you again, Eldest. In terms of health, I'm very well. But my emotional side has been…rattled as of late. I'd rather not talk about it for the moment." He replied, bowing in respect to her.

"I see…well if you don't feel comfortable talking about it yet, then that's fine. But don't keep it to yourself all the time, lest your grief consumes your spirit." She told him, turning her head briefly when she heard the old man beside her cough. "Ah but where are my manners? Julius, this is Souta over here."

"A pleasure to meet you. I'm the owner of this lovely theater. A simple question though, have you two seen my granddaughter?" The now named Souta greeted the young teen.

"It's nice to meet you as well. Now as for your question, yes I have seen Erin. She's currently staying over in the penthouse I'm renting with my friends, using it as a place to rest during her search for Aelita." Julius answered.

"Good to see that she hasn't forgotten what I sent her out there for." The old man scratched his neck briefly, shooting a glance at Aelita. "Aelita, tell us what happened out there. Weren't you simply investigating that wreckage with Erin?"

"A-About that…it was kind of a small lie…" She confessed hesitantly, shuffling her left foot on the wooden ground.

"But why lie to me, Aelita? Do you not trust me at all?" The Eldest inquired, a look of hurt in her eyes.

"I-It's not that I don't trust you, far from it. I just got sick and tired of everyone staring me down all the time. Ever since I woke up, the three of you have been watching me while my back was turned, as if I was in some sort of psychiatric ward. I couldn't take it any longer! I just needed some time away from the prying eyes of you all!" Aelita got into a little rant, the older couple staring at her calmly before promptly forming their answer.

"Aelita…we were just trying to protect you—" The Eldest began.

"I don't need your goddamn protection you dense old lady! I can take care of myself, and I don't need any of you two to remind me of what happened. Because trust me, I'm pretty well aware of what happened." She continued to rant.

"A-Aelita, there's no need to attack them like that. They were just hel—" Julius began, only for the door to slam open as a familiar figure stormed inside.

"That's it, I've had enough of this nonsense!" Erin protested, marching towards Souta. "I don't care that I can't find her. She ran off and that's no longer my problem!

"Erin, you see—" The elderly man began.

"No, you listen to me, Old Man. I'm done looking for that spoiled brat. I know she didn't get lost; I think she ran away when she got the opportunity. So you know what? To hell with her." The white-haired girl blew off some more steam. "I've done my part; I've earned myself a nap after all the searching I did."

"Erin, she—" Souta began once more.

"No, I said I won't look for her anymore!" She stood her ground.

"Erin…" Aelita chimed in.

"WHAT?!" Erin yelled, turning around to face the voice, only to be staring right into Aelita's eyes. A variety of mixed emotions overcame her; anger, confusion, annoyance, but mostly the anger.

"…This is not going to end well." Julius muttered to himself, watching the white-haired girl storm up to Aelita and slap her harshly across the cheek, sending the magenta-haired girl back a few feet.

"Aelita!" The Eldest called out in concern, as she, Souta and Julius were now spectators to another sticky argument.

"You selfish bitch! Next time you decide to make my life hell, you better punt in the paperwork first! Because of you I was homeless for weeks, WEEKS! All so you can run off and do your own thing?! What the hell do you think would happen to me? I was responsible for you! I convinced the Old Man to let me take you out in your own, but then you betrayed me! I did all of that just so you could stab me in the back! I hope you're happy with yourself, you selfish little prick!" Erin ranted, storming off past Aelita and straight into her room.

"I-I'll go have a talk with her." Aelita told the elderly couple, following Erin to her room as the duo watched her go.

"Well, that was a wonderful reunion, wasn't it?" Souta commented, a hint of amusement in his tone.

"I see you haven't changed a bit at all." The Eldest commented, the duo making their way to their individual room leaving Julius on his own. He turned his head and noticed a package beside the front door and assumed it to be Aelita's gift from the Puppet Master. Speaking of which, he figured it would be best to check up on her and Erin, so as to ensure they don't tear each other's throats out. So the young teen made his way to the western wing of the theater and towards Erin's room, slipping in quietly so as to not disturb the duo.

"Erin, listen…" Aelita pleaded, but Erin was too busy tiding up her hair in the mirror.

"I have nothing to say to you, Aelita." She replied, still upset with her over what had happened.

"I'm sorry that I tricked you, but it was something I had to do." The magenta-haired girl defended her actions.

"Perhaps that was the case. I'm more annoyed by the fact that you refused to let me help you. instead you chose to throw me under the bus. That was always the plan, right? I just want you to know that I was worried about your safety, but now I know that was a huge mistake." Erin told her bluntly.

"I-I don't know what else to say." Aelita spoke quietly.

"You know, people usually say 'I'm sorry' to people they've wronged." The white-haired girl promptly turned around to face her. "Has that phrase completely left your vocabulary?"

"Ugh, fine. I'll just head back to my room. I've had enough of this anyway." The magenta-haired girl scoffed, beginning to make her way out of Erin's room.

"I don't know who you were before this, but all you think about is yourself now." Erin commented.

"Why must you instigate?! Am I that much of a burned to you all?!" Aelita snapped back at the white-haired girl.

"Heh…you really don't remember what happened, do you? You know, the day I brought both you and the Eldest back here. You were completely fine, but the Eldest was badly injured. Naturally, we tended to her wounds first, before the subject switched to you. Supposedly, you were inflicted with some ancient Garufan curse; since Souta was a spiritual healer, we brought you to the main hall for healing." Erin began recalling the events of the past.

0000

"Hm…much more inflicts this girl than a standard Garufan curse." Souta mused to himself, the sleeping form of Aelita resting on an altar as he, Erin and the Eldest watched over her. "There appears to be many locks around her heart and soul."

"Vivian…" The Eldest mused to herself, turning to face the elderly man. "Is there anything you can do for her, Souta?"

"Yes, I will be able to undo the curse, but that will mean I have to remove the chains around her soul. I have no idea what the consequences of that will be, so we best be prepared. Erin, I want you to go get the prayer slips ready." He requested.

"Got it." Erin agreed, quickly making her way to the backroom to retrieve the desired item.

"Get ready, for I shall begin the process now." Souta told the Eldest.

"Think you could swing that stick like you could in the old days?" The elderly lady inquired, looking at the staff in his right hand

"Heh, I've still got it!" He replied in an amused manner.

"Ugh! Please get back on topic; I'm not even in the same room yet I'm disgusted by what I'm hearing!" Erin complain from behind the backroom door.

"Very well…let us begin." Souta complied, raising his staff in the air as the unconscious form of Aelita hovered a few feet into the air. "Erin, have you found those prayer slips yet?"

"Just a couple more minutes." The white-haired girl replied.

"These chains around Aelita's soul…will unlocking them harm her?" The Eldest inquired.

"No…but I have no idea on what kind of effect it will have on her psyche. Her mental state may be different from what you're used to." Souta answered promptly. "Now, I'm going to proceed with unlocking these chains. Break!"

A loud cracking noise could be heard throughout the room, as the Eldest detected a difference in the room's atmosphere, almost as if the air carried with it a hostile presence. "W-What's going on?" She inquired.

"I don't know…" The elderly man replied, a look of concern growing on his face. "Erin, the prayer slips!"

"I'm almost done with them, Old Man! These prayer slips must be absolutely perfect." She retorted through the door. "If I do them incorrectly, then they're about as useful as an inflatable dartboard, and you know that!"

Suddenly, Aelita's eyes opened widely, the Eldest letting out a sigh of relief upon seeing her wake up, only for that relief to disappear as a mysterious red aura enveloped the girl. Turning around to face duo, a sinister grin appeared on her face as her eyes began glowing a crimson red.

"Hehehehe…" "Aelita" chuckled darkly, enveloping the Eldest in an invisible aura before flinging her towards the back wall.

"Cel!" Souta exclaimed in fear, briefly turning to face the elderly lady.

"D-Don't take your eyes off of her… W-We can't leave Aelita in this state…complete the ritual." The Eldest replied weakly, with Souta fixing his gaze back onto her. The old man's worries only grew larger as he felt her energy resisting the spiritual power of his staff.

"By Arceus' name…what has happened to this girl?" He muttered to himself. "Just how powerful is this curse?"

"What's happening in there?" Erin inquired from behind the door.

"Erin, we need those prayer slips right now!" Souta requested urgently.

"I'm almost done with them, just hold on for a little longer! They wear off seconds after they're made, so I have to make sure I do this correctly. J-Just stall a bit!" She called out to him. Souta, realizing the magnitude of the situation stood his ground, hoping that he would be able to keep Aelita from breaking free. Seconds turned into minutes, beads of sweat falling down the mans face. But his perseverance would pay off as Erin quick stormed out of the back room, several prayer slips in her hand.

"Time to go to bed, Aelita." The white-haired girl called out, slapping a prayer slip onto the possessed girl as a bright flash enveloped the room. Once it died down, it showed that a faint black aura had enveloped the girl, who was slowly lowered back onto the altars surface. Soon enough, it faded away and freed Aelita, her once purple hair now a distinct shade of magenta.

"Urgh…" Aelita groaned to herself, as she began to slowly awaken from her deep sleep.

0000

"After all that was done, you woke up. but you still weren't quite you…actually, you were absolutely awful. You broke things, damaged the place even going so far as to attack the Kimono Girls who work here at the theater, and the innocent bystanders travelling on Route 9. It got so bad that Souta was on the verge of exiling you two from this place but opted to try one last thing before doing so; reattaching some of the chains that were undone. With that, he placed a robe over you and told you to recite a prayer every 24 hours. You were back to your old self, somewhat, but with a more aggressive touch." Erin concluded, with Julius and Aelita taking the time to digest all that they heard.

"So that was why you kept watching her all the time." The young teen deduced.

"Yeah, we weren't watching her to make sure you were ok, but to make sure she didn't harm anyone else." She replied, turning to face Aelita. "We don't just look out for the theater staff, but everyone who travels on this route. Now, just imagine what would happen if one prayer suddenly wasn't enough? What if you lost sight of who you were again? What would happen? You'd go off and attack other people because you couldn't control yourself. I would've been responsible for each and every person you touched. THAT'S why I'm upset with you. that is why we couldn't let you out of our sight at any moment. Now do you understand, Aelita?"

"Erin…I-I'm so sorry. For everything…" The magenta-haired girl apologized, wiping a small tear away.

"I'll accept your apology for now, but you better not try a stunt like that again. I hope I made myself clear." Erin accepted the apology.

"Yes, I'll behave from now on. I just wish someone had told me about all this earlier." Aelita promised, turning to face Erin.

"We couldn't run the risk of upsetting you. Any extreme emotional stimulation may cause an unwanted reaction, which is what we're trying to avoid the most." The white-haired girl informed her, explaining their reason for keeping quiet about it. Suddenly, the Eldest burst into the room, a concerned look on her face.

"E-Everyone, you need to turn the TV on right now!" She urged them.

"G-Got it!" Julius replied, making his way to the small television on a desk beside Erin's bed and switching it on, the two girls joining him to see what the fuss was about. As they expected, the familiar face of Volta appeared on the screen and was ready to present the latest news update.

"Hello everyone, It's the ever-so wonderful Volta from Gearen City News! We're here to announce the participants of the Festival Tournament coming up! we've already gone through brackets A-D and the first bit of Bracket E, so now we're going through the final list! The last few participants in Bracket E are…Jean, Mary Ann, Lucien, Erin, Aelita, Venam, Melia, Julius, Kanon and the beautiful and talented Risa Raider! Thank you all for watching; tune in next time for some exclusive footage of the tournament!" She reported, with Erin promptly turning off the TV as the three teenagers took the time to digest what they had just watched.

"No fucking way…" Julius gasped quietly to himself. He remembered Risa telling him that she took the last position in the Festival Tournament the other day, so how could he and his friends even have a position in the first place? Not to mention that Venam was unable to participate, and he doubted Melia had the will to do so considering what had happened.

"Well that was certainly something…" Erin quipped out loud.

"Why have all our names been called out as participants for that tournament?! I didn't sign up to take part in it!" Aelita exclaimed.

"Not to mention that you couldn't have; Risa Raider told me that she took the last position, meaning that neither me, nor Melia, Venam or Kanon could sign up." The young teen told her. "S-Surely this is a mistake and we can just choose to not participate."

"I don't know the terms and conditions for signing up for this tournament, but I do remember there being this huge controversy last year over people not showing up for the tournament after they signed up, wasting so much money for spots that weren't filled up in the end. Cassandra was so livid over it that she enforced a new rule; trainers who wish not to participate must either pay a huge fee or relinquish their right to participate in the Aevium League and face some serious jail time." The white-haired girl answered, with Julius letting out a sigh of frustration.

"Man, can't we just catch a break for once in our lives?" He complained, lying on the floor and began thinking to himself. This whole event must be a trap laid out by Cassandra to bring them out in the open, but for what purpose? Was she but a puppet dancing on someone's strings, and if so, whose exactly? For a so-called City of Dreams, it was slowly becoming the City of Nightmares that he spent the last night wandering in. whatever the case, he needed to relay this information to Melia and the others as soon as possible, if they are to prepare a suitable strategy to deal with this new revelation.

And that is all for this chapter and boy did it go on for longer than I expected. It's fitting that I end things here as this is where one of my favorite episodes, Remember, I Love You begins. I should be able to begin writing it in the New Year so that's something to look forward to. Some people may raise an eyebrow over how easy the Zetta fight was, but considering it was meant to pass on his final request, hence the nicknames of his Pokémon, I figured I'd try and replicate that the best I could. Thank you all for reading my story; I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holidays, my wonderful readers!