It was about an hour before we got into the gym. Burgh wanted me to go by myself. My mind was beyond distracted. I could hardly focus on putting one foot in front of the other. The name bounced around in my head. Kyurem, I'd never heard of a pokemon named Kyurem. I'd checked the Pokedex. I'd tried to get ahold of Bianca to no avail. Burgh led me to a battlefield. I sent out Pignite without a thought, Burgh sent out his pokemon. He started giving orders.

"Pignite. Take it out." I don't remember much of the battle. We won. I didn't remember leaving, either. I remember seeing Burgh, holding the badge. His face was… upsetting. Kenya was waiting for me outside. I walked past her. We maneuvered through the busy streets, making our way north. It took us a few minutes to get to the exit. We headed out onto Route 4. We walked for half an hour through the sandy road. I kept trying to call Bianca. The winds started picking up.

"Give me your hand!" Kenya shouted, reaching out to me. I took her hand. We walked close together as we continued forward. I noticed a cliffside. I gestured to it. Kenya was covering her eyes. I pulled her in the direction of it. There was a road beside the cliff and an overpass above it. The winds started dying down as we continued along the route. The road led to a large open sandy area.

"You think she's here?" I wondered out loud. I noticed a man standing by the edge of the area. I walked over to him.

"Hello there." The man smiled. Kenya wiped her eyes.

"Have you seen a blonde girl with a green hat?" I asked. He thought about it.

"I believe so."

"When?"

"She came through a while ago. But she shouldn't be here. Neither should you."

"Why not?" I crossed my arms.

"He's mourning today." The man gestured past us. Another man was standing towards the middle of the area. He had long orange hair.

"Hey, isn't that?" Kenya squinted to get a better look. I started walking towards him.

"It's Alder, the champion," I said. I walked over to him, Kenya, on my heels. He looked up as I got close.

"Can I help you?"

"Excuse me, champion, sir."

"I'm not in the mood to give autographs; please leave me be." He spoke sternly.

"How long have you been here?" I asked. "A friend of mine came through here and Were looking for her." He thought about it for a moment before waving me off.

"I didn't see anybody." Kenya made a sour face. I tried it again.

"She has blonde hair, and she was probably wearing a green hat," I noticed another man walking. He was near a set of statues.

"The ruins." Alder got up; he wiped his eyes. "She went into the ruins." He gestured to the statues.

"Thanks." Kenya and I made our way over.

"I'll show you." Alder followed us. Kenya got close to me, whispering.

"Why's he following us?" I shrugged. Cheren would likely kill to be in this situation. The other man was examining the statues as we walked over. He was dressed similarly to the plasma guy that attacked the Nimbasa museum. Alder led us down a flight of stairs between the statues.

"Do you come here often?" Kenya asked. Alder sighed. He led us through several torchlit corridors. It wasn't until we found ourselves back at the stairs that I started to worry.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" I asked.

"Please stop talking." Alder rubbed his temple. He glanced up at the stairs. The other man was making his way down.

"It's been a while, Alder," The man said. Kenya and I shared a glance. The man stopped halfway down the stairs. "What is it?"

"Zinzolin," Alder held up a pokeball.

"Oh. No. I'm not going to try to battle you." Zinzolin said. "Our king is likely the only one who can match you. Even with your missing ally." Alder scowled, putting the Pokeball away.

"How many of you are there?" He asked.

"Just me for the moment. I didn't come here to see you, though. Honest." Zinzolin folded his arms, smiling.

"Plasma has been disbanded," Alder said. "What could you possibly after?"

"Disbanded? No. Divided." Zinzolin continued down the stairs. "There was a great purge in our family. After that trainer defeated N, our hearts were tested." He placed a hand on his chest. "We were forced to shed our skin. Those who remain are only the most loyal to the cause."

"Zekrom and Reshiram are gone." Alder stepped forward to meet Zinolin. "Kyurem is too weakened to be of any use to you." Zinzolin shook his head.

"The fate Zekrom and Reshiram shared was truly unfortunate."

"Hey!" Bianca yelled. She appeared at the end of the corridor. Someone was with her, Nathan.