Floral petals scatter into the wind, colors sparkling in the early sunlight.
Volkner keeps his hands in his pockets as he ambles down the blossoming garden. A Sprayduck watering can sits on a mossy rock, its contents devoid of water. "Standing water attracts mosquitoes," he muses to himself. "So you like planting stuff, huh? What a dweeb."
A flash of gold draws his attention to the gate. Cynthia feigns an exaggerated gasp. "Woooow. You're unusually early for once. Is it going to snow at Sunyshore later?"
Volkner groans. "Maan, don't be so loud in the morning. My brain is still on vacation." Cynthia smacks his shoulder. "Ow… I'm going to feel that one tomorrow. Is there an herb I can chew on so the pain magically goes away?"
Flint emerges from the dense woods with a tired Drifblim behind him. "Yo, Cynthia! My Drifblim is back! With this bad boy, we'll reach Mystifying Forest in no time!"
"No."
"But Volks, I timed that joke—"
"Here."
"Huh? Is this tulip for me?"
"No, it's for my best bud. Now get clover it and wipe that idiotic grin off your face."
Flint flashes a wicked wink at Cynthia, who rolls her eyes. "You two can flirt all you want on your way over there," she says. "Alert us through radio if anything comes up, yeah?"
"You got it, Champ." Volkner swings a leg over Drifblim. He looks away when Flint holds up his hands, much to the latter's dismay. "Hey, Cynthia?"
"What?"
"Where's Cyrus?"
"Still sleeping. Mars and Saturn are checking up on him."
Volkner squints at the window while the gears whirl in his complicated brain. Flint asks if he's okay. The former shrugs. With a wave from the two best friends, Drifblim takes to the skies.
The coffee cup is cold. After a while it all tastes the same either way. Jupiter joins the former Grunts at the garden. B-2 raises his energy drink, and the three adults clink cans.
"Tea is the green way to go," R-8 grumbles, yawning. "You don't normally drink coffee, Jane."
"I used to. I've been picking up the same bad habits as of late." Sleep has evaded her the last few nights. There wasn't time to bulk her confidence with makeup this morning.
The adults sip on their caffeinated drinks in silence.
"Some of the other former Grunts are willing to start over," R-8 mutters. "A handful want to forget that Galactic ever happened."
"Fair enough," Jupiter grunts. A pause. "What about you two? If by some miraculous reason things get better after time is restored, will you go home too?"
"Most of us still have a place to return to. You have Mel-Fantina. Saturn and Mars could stay with you."
Jupiter ponders on that with a scowl. "But what about Cyrus? He has no next of kin, no emergency contact, no permanent address… I doubt his parents want anything to do with him now." The adults drop their gazes. Then she sighs. "All this thinking is giving me a headache. I'd rather focus on the present than deal with the uncertainties of the future."
B-2 grins. "That is the best damn adult decision I've ever made in my life. Come on, Victoria! We have a Time Gear to steal!"
R-8 scoffs. "Yeah, and you'll have your big ass chewed out by Cyrus later for throwing another party in the washroom. Can your puny Beautifly match my Vespiquen's speed?"
Jupiter waves the former Grunts off, and soon the cloudy skies are clear once again.
Cynthia spots Jupiter sitting by her lonesome under the red flowering plum tree.
"This seat taken?"
Jupiter shrugs. "Do you have a favorite flower?"
"I don't really care much about flowers."
"Because you're too rough around the edges to accept something this fragile?" Jupiter chuckles at Cynthia's expression. "See those wild roses over there? That's you. Desired by all, but surrounded by thorns. Yet, those white lilies depend on your protection to survive."
Cynthia crosses her arms. "Are you using allusions to compare flowers to humans?"
"I'm on my fourth cup of coffee. I don't fucking know what I'm saying anymore."
"Fair enough."
Another silence. A cloud passes, sunlight sprinkles onto the garden in a glowing mist.
"Veilstone is just rock and brick," Jupiter mumbles with a hand on her chin. She's staring at the rustling grass, but her mind is somewhere else. "Mars pressured him to buy that abandoned construction site to build a park. Project went down in flames."
Cynthia bows her head. "I'm sorry…"
Jupiter lifts an eyebrow. "Galactic's true façade was bound to come down eventually. All three admins only knew a part of his grand plan… and perhaps that was for the best, to have been spared the curse of knowledge…"
A window opens from the Old Chateau. "Is Cyrus down there?" Mars yells.
"No." Jupiter stands. "Why?"
"Nothing! Go back to doing adult stuff!"
Cynthia also rises. "I don't like the sound of that."
"You read my mind, kid."
Saturn dives for cover when the door comes crashing down.
"Why were you blocking the door?" Jupiter barks. Saturn begins to sweat. Mars shrugs.
Dust swirls in the empty room. The bed is neatly made, topped with a thin layer of cobwebs. Next to a vase of a folded white lily lies a pair of aluminum crutches.
"He hasn't touched his soup," Cynthia notes.
Jupiter's eyes narrow. She throws aside the window panes, surveying the surroundings below. Then she's opening closets and lifting beds.
"We checked the whole manor," Saturn squeaks from behind a cabinet. "E-Even the creepy basement."
"It's like he just disappeared into thin air," Mars whispers. "Vanished as soon as the sun came up. Like a ghost!"
Jupiter's frown deepens. She storms out of the room and returns a minute later. "Cyrus enjoys his strolls, but he left his crutches behind…" She's pacing now. "He's in no shape to go anywhere on his own… So he shouldn't be far…
"Mars, Saturn, take Eterna Forest and Eterna City. I'll check around the fringes."
"Yes, ma'am!"
After the three of them depart, Cynthia heads down to the sunlit foyer.
A tired Looker nods at her arrival. "Professor Rowan has some things to settle. In the meantime, I'm in charge of handling the radio."
"Thanks for coming so early. Have you seen Cyrus?"
Looker scratches his five-o'clock shadow. "Cyrus isn't in his room? Who knows, that man could be on the other side of Sinnoh by now. That's why it's such a pain to track him down."
Cynthia smirks. She leans back on the chair, mindlessly tracing a sliver of sunlight as it prances down the patched ceiling.
"The two parties are at their locations now!" Looker exclaims. "They're working their way in!"
"Excellent!" That telepathic voice comes from the worn sofa, where a sleepy Azelf lounges. "We're finally on track with the plan!"
Cynthia joins the mythical Pokemon. "You two slept here?"
"Considering how our lakes have been afflicted by the paralysis, staying in a haunted mansion is a much safer option."
"Of course. Where's your brother?"
"Up on the fourth floor. There's better reception up there."
Speaking of the eldest sibling, Uxie enters the scene. Its expression is grim, forehead scrunched, and mouth set in a tight line.
"I cannot contact Mesprit," it grumbles. "Either the evil energies here are interfering with my reception or the paralysis has reached Crystal Lake."
"Mesprit would've warned us beforehand."
Uxie mulls that over. "You're right. I'm overthinking this. Cynthia, can we see the Time Gears again?"
Cynthia fishes for her skeleton key: a white, intricate needle. She pushes the heavy grandfather clock on its side, twists the lock, and inputs the combination into the hidden safe so graciously donated by the detective.
Click! Three pairs of eyes peer into the cubbyhole.
"Cynthia?"
"Looker?"
"What?"
"Did you… take the Time Gears out?"
"Why would I do that? You're the only one with the keyeyey…" All the blood drains from Looker's face when he sees the empty safe. And the next thing Cynthia knows, the detective is on the floor with a mouth full of foam.
The radio buzzes on the table. "Hey!" There is panic in Flint's voice. "Are you sure the Time Gear is still in Mystifying Forest? Volks and I looked everywhere!"
B-2's voice cuts in. "Negative on Treeshroud Forest! Hello?"
"We combed Eterna, but no sign of Cyrus," Jupiter chimes in. "We're expanding our search beyond Mt. Coronet."
An icy finger taps Cynthia's heart. Like the trickling of sand in an hourglass, the puzzle pieces fall into place to complete a horrifying picture. What had been pushed aside as mere possibility is now a very real threat.
"Cyrus remembered."
Uxie and Azelf stiffen. Cynthia flies outside the Old Chateau. No one but the cloudy blue skies. Given the delay between the last time they saw him to this morning, that man could be anywhere in Sinnoh right now.
But something Uxie had still bothers her. Four Time Gears are missing. Mesprit wasn't responding from its lake.
And the White Moonstone is burning a hole in her pocket. The cardinal arrows are blinking furiously, screaming at its bearer to go before it's too late.
"Togekiss, come!" Cynthia yells. "Uxie, Azelf, to Crystal Cave!"
Water trickles from the cavern ceiling. A waterfall pounds in the distance. Crystalline flowers turn its petrified petals to the source of sound.
Crystal Cave would've been normal if the water hadn't turned this ominous shade of red.
"What a horrifying crimson hue," Azelf murmurs. "Is this Cyrus's doing? How can a human possess the power to physically alter a sacred site?"
"His soul is bound to Crystal Cave," Uxie mutters. "You could say that his blood flows in the walls. Last time we fought his spirit, the place was on the verge of collapsing into darkness."
"You fought his what?!"
Uxie grabs Cynthia before she falls into the bloody river. "That human may be utterly incapable of putting up a physical fight, but he was strong enough to lock me out of his consciousness. I knew nothing good would come out of someone like that…"
Baseless echoes reverberate along the cavern walls. Each step ushers in a heavier sense of foreboding.
The low ceiling opens to the Crystal Puzzle antechamber. Three dull, bleeding crystals tower into the ceiling like hellish spires. In the corner, a pink hue glistens under the debris…
"MESPIRT!" The Guardian of Emotion is crumpled into itself, eyes tightly shut, perspiration dotting its forehead. Its crimson jewel had lost much of its red luster.
Cynthia steps on something leathery. A wing. Crobat. Honchkrow, Gyarados, Weavile, and… Rotom? The Pokemon are scattered around the ground as if they've been spat out by a tornado.
They're still breathing, thank Arceus. But they won't wake up. They're squirming and growling as if trapped in an eternal nightmare.
"What did Cyrus do to you...?"
"There are no physical signs of trauma on Mespirt," Uxie mutters. "However, their energies have been drained. I also sense a great, terrible power up ahead."
Cynthia's face darkens. "Cyrus stole his Pokemons' life forces?! Why? How?! Is he out of his damn mind again?! How could a wimp like him knock a Gyarados unconscious?!"
No one has an answer.
A scathing gale rips from the entrance to Crystal Lake. Cynthia glances back to the mythical Pokemon. With a deep exhale, the Champion of Sinnoh pushes onward into the final chamber.
The howling winds die down once Cynthia steps into Crystal Lake. Unlike the previous nightmarish chambers, the final room is still preserved in its ethereal beauty.
Translucent water ripples on both sides of the crystal bridge. Cynthia keeps a hand over her trembling Poke Balls as she walks. "Okay Cyrus, come on out… We don't have time for this…"
The surface of the lake undulates gently, as if something had just swum by. As Cynthia leans closer, her reflection distorts. A shape looms behind her… but when she swings her fist around, her hand only connects to air.
"CYRUS!" she snarls. "Stop fucking around and come out!"
A hollow voice resonates across the air. "Once upon a time, there existed a thriving kingdom of stone. One day, the moon blocked out the sun, ushering an impenetrable darkness across the sky."
"Spiritomb, over there!"
"A decisive battle took place on the highest tower of the castle," that monotone continues. "The Hero of Sinnoh smote her foe with a fiery rain from the heavens."
"I didn't come here to listen to your made-up stories!"
A shadow falls over Cynthia, but when she looks up, no one is there. Just the crystals on the ceiling… and a falling black feather.
"Once the Villain's throne fell, the curse broke and everyone lived happily ever after… if the story had indeed ended there."
"Cyrus! Where the hell are you?!"
"I am where I've always been, Hero: Right in front of you, yet never within reach."
Before her eyes is the tallest crystal pillar that houses the Time Gear pedestal. A tapping finger draws her gaze to chalky white hands. A sunken face. Crinkled blue eyes as cold as ice.
Cyrus is standing tall with his back perfectly straight, his arms clasped behind his back. He peers down to the tiny scowling dot and laughs.
"You!" Cynthia gasps. "How did you… You can't stand upright…!"
"It'll take more than a sniper's bullet, maltreatment, and extreme neglect to fully cripple me, Champion Cynthia." Cyrus nonchalantly leans over the narrow ledge. "I'm surprised I'm not dead yet, to be honest, given everything that's happened so far."
Cynthia rolls her eyes. "You'll be dead soon if you don't tell me what I want to know. Why did you take those Time Gears?"
"Why do you accuse me right away when something goes awry?"
"Time Gears can't grow legs and walk away!"
"Champion Cynthia, are you assuming I haven't given up my criminal ways?"
Cynthia hesitates.
"Because you're absolutely right." With a snap of his fingers, the four stolen Time Gears shimmer into existence. "Picking locks is second nature to me. There was no one guarding the other two, so I just went in and took it."
"I thought you changed!"
Cyrus tilts his head. "Do you expect everyone to change for the better? You heroes shouldn't overestimate your villains like that, lest you want a knife into your back."
Cynthia gnashes her teeth. "Get down, now!"
"As you wish." Cyrus jumps down from the pinnacle. Space contorts before the moment of impact so his feet gently rests upon the ground. He sees her surprise and shrugs as if spatial manipulation was as common as finding an apple core in the landfill.
"I wish to speak to you, Champion Cynthia," he says.
"You are in position to compromise, criminal."
Smirking, Cyrus gestures to the pulsating green glow. "If you refuse to meet my demands, I will steal that last Time Gear. With all five, I will reset the world to my perfect ideal."
"A-Are you still stuck in that twisted delusion? You're sick!"
"Am I now? What makes my delusion to fix the world different from your delusion of grandeur, Hero? Which one of us is too hopelessly lost in our madness to see reality?"
"Shut up with your fucking riddles! Move aside, or I'll make you move!"
Cyrus chuckles. "Might isn't always right… but you do have a point. If you can defeat me in a Pokemon battle, I shall submit and obey your every command. If I win, however, you will turn around and let me do as I wish."
The wind picks up. Gazes burn into the other beyond the immeasurable distance.
"How do I know you'll fulfill your side of the bargain?" Cynthia hisses.
"Then you may deploy anything in your arsenal to punish me," Cyrus replies with a wide grin. "You've already done it once. What is stopping you from doing so again?"
Cynthia snorts. "Whatever. You already lost when you hurt your own Pokemon." She brandishes a finger to this throat. "I don't care if you're the 'Chosen One' or my complimentary counterpart. For the sake of the world and everything I hold dear, I, Champion Cynthia, will defeat you! Right here, right now!
"Roserade, Magical Leaf on Cyrus!"
Roserade gives its Trainer a weird look but nevertheless sends a storm of enchanted leaves to her enemy. Cynthia surges forward… but her fist connects once again to air.
What? But he has no Pokemon to fight for him!
Suddenly, Roserade screams. A blade of ice had impaled its stomach while Cynthia wasn't looking.
Where the hell is he attacking from? "Spiritomb, snuff that bastard out with Ominous—"
A torrent of razor-sharp wind slams into Spiritomb's face, followed by a beam of dark energy. The Ghost/Dark Pokemon immediately flees back into its Odd Keystone.
"So this is the prowess of the Champion of Sinnoh? I expected better."
Cynthia spins around to see those glinting blue eyes behind her. Strategy gives way to instinct, and she lunges for his throat.
And he flies back. Cynthia wouldn't have believed her own damn eyes if it weren't for the flapping wings on his back: A giant black crow's wing on one side, a huge leathery bat wing on the other.
Cyrus curtsies, and he takes off. Cynthia gawks in a mixture of disbelief and wonder as that man soars with ease across the lake's silent surface.
And as Cynthia gapes, Cyrus withdraws a gleaming icicle form his palm, pulling it out of his skin as if extracting bone. With another smirk, Cyrus begins hurling the projectiles at her petrified Pokemon.
"Who… no, what are you?!" Cynthia screams.
"If I am not human, then I am a monster," is the calm reply. "Other than that, you may call me anything you wish. Surprise me."
"You're going to pay, freak! I'll make you pay for stealing your Pokemon's lives just to become this abomination that you are!"
Cyrus raises a brow. "Why are you so surprised, Champion Cynthia? Didn't I tell you back when you pestered me to take you to Valor Lakefront?"
"Shut up! Come down here and fight!"
Cyrus touches down to the ground. "I told you, remember? Unlike you Trainers, I do not make Pokemon my friends or partners. Unlike those simpleminded fools of Team Galactic, I do not use Pokemon as tools…
"Instead, I make the power of Pokemon my own."
Cynthia spits in his direction.
And Cyrus snickers. His wings bristle, unfurling to blanket Crystal Lake in shadow. "Cynthia, the Champion of Sinnoh, full of valor and acuity. You were compelled to come here to protect all that is precious to you… Eheheh. Well then… I, Cyrus, the former boss of Team Galactic, will make you regret paying heed to your heart!"