Craw didn't know what to do. Basically everyone warned him about Seth the Darkrai and leader of the Twilight Empire. Anubis told him to specifically keep away from him since he seemed to hold a special grudge against the Riolu... And now he wasn't just standing in front of Seth, no... Seth even seemed to know who Craw really was.
"Wait a second... Do you want to tell me that Craw here is actually Craw the disturber? The last human that started a ten years lasting war?" It was Cassandra's voice. "I am sorry but you must be mistaken... After all he died long time ago."
The Darkrai slowly looked towards the Umbreon. "Doesn't your team know about it?"
Craw grit his teeth. "Not all of them are part of my team. Cassandra we will discuss this later..." He stared at the Darkrai in front of him. He was a real powerhouse. Craw should sense the pure power seething from him and he knew that he had no chance against Seth. "I am sorry that we entered your domain. We were just passing by to search where the Aura-less were coming from into Crystal City..."
The Darkrai lifted his hand. "You don't need to worry about this. They were a threat to us too but now that I know where they are passing through we will make sure they won't bother us or you anymore. Come." He turned to go somewhere else.
Craw gulped. He couldn't read this guy and he knew that Ariela neither could. "What are you planning on doing with us now?"
The Darkrai turned around seemingly surprised. "I want you to follow me. After all you still have to fulfill your promise."
Now Craw was even more surprised. He didn't know what to say. He had no idea what promise Seth was talking about and he didn't know how he should handle the situation with team Second Chance now that they knew the truth...

The Darkrai led them through many caves till they reached an opening. As they finally left the cave they saw something that made every one of them speechless. The dungeon must have brought them much higher than they thought because they were looking down on mountains over mountains till the horizon. Only a few of them were higher than the one they were standing on near the top right now. Like Craw had guessed it was long past midnight and the moon was standing high on the sky shining down at many little villages and cities lying between or on the mountains. One thing in particular was amazing. Three mountains as high as nothing else he ever saw before were standing a out, each of which carrying something huge on their top. The nearest of them held a huge city that was unlike everything Craw had ever seen. While Crystal City looked nice at night because of the diamond of light, this city was massive and overall glowing in all colors of the rainbow. The next mountain carried a huge tree that itself was glowing in different colors of blue, pink, green and white. It was probably the biggest tree Craw would ever see and he could never have imagined that a tree this big could even exist. The third one was the farthest away but from what Craw could make out it looked like a huge castle was build on it's top. The castle must have nearly been half as big as Crystal City itself and that itself would have been something that would overshadow the guild tower by far but that they build it on this huge mountain was something that Craw really took all his words.
"Welcome to Twilight Empire. Don't worry. We will take a shortcut to the castle." He looked at the group of Pokémon behind himself. "Well your badges aren't registered in our guilds so you can't use them to teleport back jet... We will make a little break here and then go into the city down there. There is a guild that has a stable magnagate to the castle. From there we can contact your guilds." He looked out of the cave again. "You can rest a bit and eat. Go a bit back into the cave there you are save from the cold."
Now that he mentioned it Craw felt it. It was like if he totally ignored the biting cold air over the view he had from there. He quickly went back into the cave together with the others.
Brighton was the first to speak. "I can't imagine that my grandfather was this dumb to start a war with a kingdom as powerful as this... I mean did you see this castle? Nothing in the Kingdom of Volt is comparable to this... They are on a totally different level... If their soldiers are just half as strong as their builders are good at their job then any kingdom would be lost against them..."
Ariela still shivered a bit. "I know what you mean. Also they are led by Seth... He is a legendary that is only rivaled by a few other Pokémon... His wisdom and strength must be terrifying for those who oppose him..."
Craw nodded.
Rod stretched himself. "Yeah, Yeah... But you must take in consideration that the other kingdoms themselves are strong too. The Ashen Kingdom for example has the most fierce fighters of all. You can know that only by thinking of how long they are fighting off the Aura-less already... I should know it. I come from there."
Cassandra sighed. "The Alliance is strong too. They are three kingdoms that fight together and they have the strongest air fighters with the Avian Nations, the crushing force of the Icicle Confederation that is known to be able to cast blizzards on a whole city for months making it impossible for not ice types to move in or out of it and they have the Takagiri Dynasty. Their leader is known to be able to flood landscapes with only one move..."
"The Federation of Puka is also a tough one. They have the strongest Psychics of all and they have spies everywhere." Kathrin stated. "There is basically nothing they don't know about the other kingdoms..."
Veg chuckled. "You forget Cybertech City. Their technology is only bested by the ones of humans and they have weapons that everyone fears."
Rex looked to them with his unreadable face. "There is also the Dragon's Den. The nation of dragon type Pokémon. They may not have any type of leader but if they decide there is a threat to them they would pound together and an attack of hundrets of dragons at the same time is something that should be considered as dangerous."
Craw looked at them shocked. "How did Crystal City even survive the war if there were so many strong enemies?"
They all stared at Craw for a moment.
Craw flinched. "What?"
This time Seth was the one to speak. "It was because of you." He looked at the Riolu. "No matter how strong a kingdom is. If there is a human leading the Pokémon on the other side then they have no chance."
"I meant to ask that before already..." Cassandra looked at him sternly. "Craw are you really the same Craw as the one known as Craw the disturber?"
Craw gulped. "Yes... and no..."
This time it was Veg who spoke. "What do you mean with it?"
Craw looked at Veg and then to Seth. "I am reincarnated... I lost all my memories and nearly all of my powers... Sometimes I remember things but that is not much and mostly it is stuff I know about the human world..."
All of Team Second Chance looked at him in shock.
Seth on his side had a perfect poker face. "So you don't remember your promise?"
Craw shook his head. "No... But I promise if I can do whatever I promised you I will do that."
Seth looked at him for a moment and then turned back to look out of the cave. "I trust you. You don't remember what happened back then but told me that even if you die you would come back. And here you are keeping your word."
Craw was at least a bit relieved as he heard that.
Ariela cuddled onto him for a bit.
Craw relaxed as he felt her warmth. As he looked to Seth, Seth was glancing at the two. Craw thought to see something in the face of Seth that he wouldn't have expected: Happiness.

Craw was a bit nervous. He never used one of these magnagates but he heard that if not used correctly they could send them to the end of the world. It would be bad if they end up somewhere in the middle of the ocean...
Seth looked at them. "OK. Everyone stand in this circle. I will activate it and then we will be teleported to the castle."
Hoshi looked to him. "Wouldn't we normally have to fight through a dungeon?"
Seth shook his head. "Normally you would be right but some few combinations can be used for short distance teleportation without creating a dungeon. Especially if the cards used are created for exact that reason."
Hoshi nodded and all of them collected in the circle.
Seth put the cards into order and after some seconds of being engulfed in light they were teleported directly into another room.
Two guards in the room got ready to fight them but as they saw Seth they knelt down. "Master Seth."
Seth just waved them to stand up and then proceeded to go into another room.
As the group followed they found themselves in some kind of foyer. "Team Second Chance please wait here. I will send someone to you soon to give you a room to rest. I have to talk with team Aura Guardians alone for now."
Ilma pouted. "Not fair."
Veg looked to her angry. "Ilma shut up. Sorry Seth sir. We will wait."
Seth nodded and with team Aura Guardians in tow he went into another room. It was something like a lounge and he sat down on a chair pointing to some other chairs and two couches. As they all sat he spoke up. "What do you all know about the war?"
Brighton was the first to speak. "As far as we know some mistake made by the previous team of Craw led to the war and Craw made it look like if he started it all to make the kingdoms join forces to fight him. As he got defeated the war was over and the kingdoms live in a semi stable peace since then."
Seth sighed. "That is half right. The reason was because one mistake one of his team members made. To be more precise it was the mistake of Grace."
Ariela gasped.
Seth nodded. "I already knew that she was your mother. Well Grace made a huge mistake as Craw sealed the atom bomb. You maybe know the result as the diamond of light. He may have sealed it right at the moment it exploded but before that he told Grace to teleport everyone out of range so he would be the only one left there. But instead of staying back she teleported back. She stood at his side as he sealed the bomb. The problem was that he wasn't fast enough. They both got hit by something that Craw later called radioactivity and both were doomed to die. They got away pretty good for being hit directly since only a really small fraction of this radioactivity got out. They were left with some major burns but that was all. Or so the others thought. Craw told Grace everything about what would happen and Grace told her father... The problem is her father was the leader of one of the kingdoms and out of rage he declared war against the human. The relations between the kingdoms was very unstable at that time and the other kingdoms partially sided with the human, partially with the other kingdom and some used that to declare themselves war between each other. Thus a continent wide war started. Craw who didn't want that to happen went to Grace's father. Together with Grace he managed to convince him that it was nothing but a mistake of Grace. But the war was at full stage already and nothing could stop it. Nothing except for a common enemy. And so Craw made this plan. He spread the rumor that he was the one who had started this war to be able to take over the whole continent or even the whole world knowing that if the Pokémon wouldn't work together they didn't had a chance. His plan worked and soon all kingdoms allied together to fight the human. He fled from Crystal City that didn't had a name that time and fought for himself alone for years. He was one of the strongest Pokémon alive back then but he got weaker and weaker over time because of the radioactivity that destroyed his body over time. Grace was at that time already a very good healer and kept herself pretty much alive and overall healthy by healing herself but even that wouldn't be enough. In the end Craw died not by the radioactivity but without his weakened stage he wouldn't have been defeated that's for sure. The war ended. Grace came back to her homeland and after some more months she lay an egg. That was you Ariela. She decided that her child would need a father since she wouldn't live long enough to raise you. Even though surviving the radioactivity for so long she got ill pretty often and weaker by the time. She married a trader and settled down in Crystal City."
Ariela was crying. She had no idea what really killed her mother in the end but now she knew. "H-How do you know all this."
Seth looked to her. "Because her father... the one who started the war and is responsible for the death of Craw... That was me."
Ariela looked at him shocked. "W-Wait... D-Do you want to tell me-"
"Yes. I am your grandfather. Did you never wonder why your ability of sensing the emotions of others is so strong? As Darkrai I can easily sense the emotions of others. Fear and other negative emotions are much easier for me to sense but I also can sense positive emotions more efficient than normal Guardevoir line Pokémon. Your mother had the same ability as you. You both inherent it from me." Seth looked to her with a sad face.
Now Craw understood. He felt sorrow for never having told Ariela all this. He felt the pain for the death of his own daughter... That was why he looked that way to Ariela. And he surely was happy to see that Ariela was happy as he saw how she acted towards himself.
Ariela stood up in a mixture of anger and sadness. "W-Why she never told me? Why you never came to me if you knew where I was? WHY?!"
Seth looked to her in sorrow now. "It was your mothers last wish. She wanted you to live a normal life. Or at least as normal as you could."
Ariela broke to the ground and stared crying.
Craw jumped up immediately and hugged her trying to comfort her.
Seth looked to her. "I am not fully finished with my story. Please follow me. I want to show you something." He waited till Ariela calmed down enough to follow him. He himself stood up and walked towards another door while he continued speaking. "As she knew that her end was near she came back one last time." They entered a long corridor. "Because of something that Craw made her promise to him last time they met. He told her when her time comes she has to come back to me to meet me one last time. But he also told me something. He promised me something that he said would be her last resort." They went trough to a throne room and he went towards a door behind the throne. "You know? He had not only the power of the seal. Only a few know that. I think only his closest friends knew it in fact. And me. He had the ability of the scream. The gift of Dialga that let him see into the past and the future." They entered another corridor that was pretty long but only had one door at the end. "He told me that Grace would come back to me when she is at the end of her powers and that I should use a special item on her. He gave me a crystal and told me that that would be her last resort and then he promised me that whatever it would take he would come back and free her. In the meantime I would have to search for a cure. He saw so many wonders in this world that he was sure that there had to be a core to her illness and that I just had to find it." He opened the door and entered. "And so I did what he said and with the crystal he gave he I sealed her."
As they entered Craw could see a crystal similar to the diamond of light floating silently in the middle of the room. Trapped within the crystal frozen in time was a Guardevoir that looked so alike Ariela that he already thought he saw her future version in it. "W-Wait... do you want to say-"
"Yes. She is still alive. I have no idea how you made it but you somehow made it possible to make an item that made me able to use the same ability as you had on her. So I could seal her into this state at the brink of death. Since nearly 12 years I am searching for the cure now and I think I recently had found it." He went to a drawer at the wall and took out a shimmering orb. "This is one of a kind. The orb of life created by Arceus itself. It is able to make lands bloom even if they were a desert before and after my researches it can also heal any wound or illness that exists. With this We can heal her once you lifted the seal on her."
Craw gulped. He looked to Ariela.
Ariela just stared at her mother. She was in shock. Her mother that she believed was dead since nearly 12 years was still alive. And there was a cure for her now.

"I have to try it. I have no idea if it works but I have to." Craw put his paws onto the crystal's surface and tried to concentrate. He searched for any sign that he could find. Some kind of energy or a crack that he could open.
Ariela looked to him. "Craw... You never used the seal since you reincarnated...maybe you lost your ability."
Craw shook his head slowly still trying to concentrate. "No. If I could see the future in that she survived and that would be the only reason why I told all this to Seth and Grace then I must also have seen how I broke the seal again... Otherwise I wouldn't have doomed her to an eternity in this prison..." He gave it another try. He tried nearly everything including hitting the surface but it wouldn't bulge. Then he had another idea. He used his aura sensing ability. He was surprised. It looked so weird to him. It was like if there was an aura frozen in time and another aura covering it. He sighed and tried his best to find a way to get her out of there but in the end he gave up. "Nothing..." He punched against the surface. "DAMN!" He looked to Ariela and Seth. "I am sorry... I have no idea how to do this..." He sighed. "I wish I could help..."
Seth nearly exploded. He hit the wall with his hand so hard that parts of it broke off and a dent was the result. "DAMN!" He looked to the crystal. "And I was so sure you could do this..."
Fletcher who had quietly watched everything was startled by the sudden anger of the Darkrai and he together with the other team members except for Craw and Ariela got into a battle stance.
As Seth noticed it he looked to them. "You don't need to worry... I just was so sure..." He looked to Craw defeated. "The way you said it back then... That with the help of the seal we could safe her with your aura... that gave me hope..."
It was Rex who seemed to notice something this time. "Wait... did he say 'I' or did he say 'we'? This could be important."
Seth looked to the Deino with curiosity. "He said we. I am sure of it. I may be old but my mind is still clear and I can remember everything of what he said."
Rex grinned. It still looked a bit disturbing but it was for sure the grin of someone who had a brilliant idea. "Can we see the item you used for the seal please?"
Now Craw was the one who understood. "Wait... You don't mean-"
"It is worth a try." Rex chuckled. The chuckle was raw and sounded like doom lay ahead but it was one out of the heart.
Seth looked to them confused for a moment but he did what Rex said. He went to the drawer again and searched for it for a moment before he took out a triangular shaped crystal.
Craw went closer and took it. For a moment he inspected it and then he closed his eyes. He used his aura sense ability to check it and as he found what he was looking for he looked with his aura sense at the crystal that Grace was trapped in. He started to grin widely. "You were right Rex. You are a genius."
Rex grinned again. "Just trying my best."
Craw shook his head. "No really. I have no idea why I didn't think of it but that you came to the solution before me or Seth who is a legendary after all... That was brilliant."
Kathrin pouted. "Now tell us already what you two are talking about."
Craw chuckled. "If I really looked into the future back then then I wouldn't have said we. I would have said I would safe her. Except if it me and Seth who safe her."
Daimon looked at him confused. "I don't get it."
Ariela looked at Craw shocked. "Of course. With your aura. That means..."
Craw nodded. "Seth. We will safe her now. But we need to be ready. If she was at the brink of death we will have no time to waste once she is freed. What do we need to do when she is free. I am not as strong as back then anymore and maybe I will have to relay on your energy more than you might think. If it works like I think it works then maybe we both will be out of energy for a while." He looked at his team. "You will have to use the orb of life then."
Seth was still confused. "I still have no idea what you mean but the orb of life is mostly self working. Once someone channeled the item to use it's healing powers on someone it just needs to be given enough energy into it."
Craw looked at Grace for a moment. "If she is at the brink of death it will probably cost a lot of energy... Brighton and Damion you bring team Second Chance here just in case. Ariela you will start channeling the orb as soon as we freed her. Kathrin you will help her. You are the best at Item usage and probably you can figure out the best how to channel it. Ariela you will concentrate on the most important parts. Heart, brain and the other organs. You should know the best where to heal first."
Ariela was a bit confused but nodded.
Kathrin nodded grinning. "Let it to me. I will figure out how to use it."
Brighton and Damion just nodded and ran off to get the other team.
Craw grinned. "OK Seth now listen carefully."

Craw took a deep breath.
After a quick explanation all of team Second Chance were ready and willing to help.
Craw didn't tell them much but he told them that they would be part of something that they will never forget and that they will be part of a secret that not even Anubis knows yet.
Seth looked to him. "I am ready."
Craw nodded. "OK put your hands on the crystal and search for your aura like I told you." Something that Craw learned from Zaviro was that every legendary Pokémon had the ability to channel aura energy even though they weren't as good in it as the Lucario line was.
Seth nodded and closed his eyes. "I can feel it."
Craw nodded. He put his paws onto the crystal and concentrated himself. To him it was already natural to tap into his aura but he didn't want to make any mistake. "OK. Now try to tap into it like you would normally with your energy... like if you would use a move."
Seth nodded and Craw could sense the Darkrai's aura. It was massive. It was much stronger than that of Anubis but what surprised him the most was that it was still nothing compared to his own.
Anubis once told him that Craw had a special aura that was stronger than the one of any other Pokémon but he did always think that he was exaggerating. "OK now try to reach out for the crystal with your aura. Can you feel it?"
Craw could sense how Seth's aura was moving a bit but something was wrong.
Seth grimaced. "I am trying but... I can't feel anything..."
Craw sighed. "OK. Stop for a moment." He opened his eyes and looked to Seth. "Hmm... How do I explain it... If you would be a psychic type it would be easier but... Maybe... Try to put your hands on my paws."
Seth looked to him a bit confused but he did what he was told. He stepped behind Craw and put his hands on Craw's paws who still had his paws on the crystal. "Like this?"
Craw nodded. "Now concentrate. I will try something."
Seth closed his eyes.
Craw concentrated again. He tapped into his aura again and reached out for Seth's aura. "Can you feel my aura?"
For a moment Seth seemed to struggle but then he nodded. "Yes... I can sense it."
Craw grinned. "Good. Now follow it. Like a boat on a river. Just move along it." Seth nodded again and Craw could feel how it worked. "OK I can feel the crystal already. Just follow the lead."
"There it is... What now?"
Craw grinned his eyes still closed. "This is the easiest and the hardest part. Put as much of your aura into the crystal without killing yourself." Craw didn't hear an answer from the Darkrai but he didn't need to. He felt how the Seth's aura was flowing into the crystal. Craw did the same letting his aura now flow freely into the crystal. He knew this feeling already. It was pretty similar to the feeling he had as he used the aura exchanger. He just hoped that he wouldn't lose his ability again but even if he did then it would be worth it that he was sure.
"This is... I knew you had a strong aura but this... It is nearly like your aura is endless like the ocean." Seth stammered.
Craw chuckled. "Believe me. Even I have my limits. Now concentrate... We should get a reaction soon." As soon as he finished saying that he heard something. It was a sound like if ice was cracking.
Ariela gasped. "A crack! I-It works! Don't stop!"
Craw nodded and let even more of his aura flow into the crystal and he felt that Seth was doing the same. More cracking sounds told him that it worked. They were close but it was still a bit and he felt that Seth was near his limits. He now pushed as hard as he could. He tried to use as much of his aura as he could like a sledge he wanted to break the crystal open and it worked. It sounded like if something shattered and as he opened his eyes surprised by the sound he saw how millions of crystalline shards flew around. But none of them ever touched the ground. They just dissolved into thin air. He nearly fell over and just saw how the Guirdevoir who was captured within the crystal now fell down.
But Seth acted fast. He caught Grace before she could touch the ground. He carefully placed her onto the ground before he fell on his knees. "This was more tiring than I expected..."
Craw chuckled. "I know what you mean."
Ariela was already inspecting her mother. "She is still alive... barely..." She took the orb of life and Kathrin quickly went to her side. Both of them channeled their energy into the orb and it started to glow.
Craw was panting a bit. He had used so much of his aura that it had exhausted him. He instantly tried out if he still could use his aura and to his luck he could sense it. He smiled and looked to Ariela. "Don't overdo it. Let the others handle the energy you just lead the healing process."
Ariela nodded. "Are you OK?"
Craw nodded. "Just a bit tired. Give me some rest and then I will help you."
Then Kathrin panted. "I am nearly out of energy... This thing sucks them up like a Gulpin..."
Craw nodded. "Brighton you are next."
Brighton nodded and took in Kathrin's place.
It didn't last long tho. Soon Damion had to take Brighton's place followed by Fletcher, Hoshi, Rex and then the whole team Second Chance.
"I will be next." Seth said. "You all try to rest... Eat some berries. We might have to take more rounds."
Craw looked to Veg. "The sitrus berries! How many do we have left?"
Veg quickly understood and looked into the bag. "15. That is just enough for one more round..."
Craw nodded. "Give Ariela one. She will need them the most. We will try it with oran berries too. Rest as best as you can. This will be a long night." He said night but he knew it was nearly morning already. He noticed that Seth seemed to give in. "My turn now." He went over to the orb of life.
Seth shook his head. "I still have some energy left."
Craw nearly pushed him aside. "You will have to rest too. We will need you for the second round as well." He put his paws on the orb and felt how his energy was sucked out of his body in an alarming speed.
"You are amazing. Even after using so much of your energy you are still able to keep this up..."
Craw chuckled. "Well I had to endure a lot of training. I should thank Siver and Silver for the endurance training I had before the expedition..."
Seth nodded.
It needed a bit longer than Seth to take all of Craw's energy but soon he had to give up and Kathrin took his place again.
As they all had their second round and as Seth was replaced by Craw again Ariela's face lit up. "It works. She is breathing much calmer now and I can sense that she feels less pain now..."
Craw nodded. He saw how exhausted Ariela was. "Veg... give her the last sitrus berry."
Veg nodded and gave it to Ariela.
Craw grinned. "Let's finish this together."
Ariela nodded. He hugged her from behind placing his paws on the orb again. He felt her warmth and with that wonderful feeling he send all the energy he had left into the orb.
Then it suddenly stopped.
Ariela panted heavily. "It is done... She will be weak but... She will survive..."
Craw caught her as she nearly fell over. "Good..." He himself was nearly fainting. He was exhausted and tired as everyone was but he was happy.
Then Grace opened her eyes. "W-What... Where am I?"
Seth smiled. It was the first smile Craw saw on his face. "Grace... You are alive!"
Grace tried to stand up but Ariela stopped her. "You are still weak... You will have to rest..."
Grace looked at the Kirlia and at the Riolu at her side. "Craw? This is impossible... Is that really you? And who is this? Wait... You look like... But... Is that you Ariela?"
Ariela smiled and tears were running down her face. "Hello mom... A lot happened..."
Grace looked to everyone. "What is going on here?"
Craw smiled. "This is a long story... But for now it has to wait... I need to rest a bit... I am... so... tired..." That was when everything went black for him. The last thing he heard was how someone yelled his name. He couldn't hear who it was. Maybe it was Ariela or Grace or both of them.

"This tastes like shit..."
Serene chuckled. "Don't swear please."
Craw rolled his eyes. "Can't we get something that at least tastes good?"
Brighton chuckled. "My words."
Serene sighed. "I am not the one making the food. Hospital food is normally pretty tasteless because we use nearly no spices... Many here can't keep it in if it is too spicy for them..."
Craw rolled his eyes again. "We all throw it up anyway because of our chemotherapy so why can't we at least eat something that tastes good when it goes down?"
Serene chuckled. "Wouldn't that be a waste of good food?"
Craw looked to her. "You are cruel."
Serene grinned. "I know. Now eat up and stop complaining."
Craw sighed and took another bite.
Serene smiled. "If you eat it all up like a good child we can go out to the patio a bit later."
This made Craw's mood jump up a bit. The patio was his and Serene's little secret. They both took a smoke together there and talked about normal stuff. Normally she treated him like the rest of the children but when they were on the patio she treated him like an adult. Craw liked that. It was like if she understood him. He maybe was still a teenager but he hated it to be treated like a child. Also from the patio he could see into the room of Grace. It wasn't about Grace herself. Sure she was a beautiful woman and a year ago he would have thought about someone like her in lonely nights but this was different. She was married after all. No, what he wanted to see was her daughter. Ariela was about his age and they had spoken a few times as she visited her mother. Craw had a huge crush on her.
Serene grinned. "Don't rush tho. The better you chew the better your stomach can keep it in and the less likely you throw up.
Craw sighed and nodded. He finished his meal and soon after Serene got him a wheelchair to bring him out to the patio.
She looked around for a moment but like normally nobody was there. She took out her cigarettes and gave one to Craw. "Here."
Craw sighed and lit his up taking a deep one. He coughed a bit but that was mostly because his lungs were attacked from the therapy as well. Then he looked to Grace's room. She was alone.
"She isn't there now. She visited in the morning already." Serene stated with a grin.
Craw rolled his eyes. "Let me dream."
Serene giggled. "If you want I can tell her to come visit you."
He sighed and took another drag. "Why should she?"
Serene giggled. "Well... I can't tell you much but let's say she isn't not interested in you."
This nearly made Craw jump. "What? How do you know?"
"Ladies talk about nearly everything together." She chuckled. "But I get the most information out of her mother. Do you think she didn't notice how you are watching her daughter?"
Craw widely blushed. "Damn..."
Serene giggled. "Well she seemed to find your admiration pretty cute. Her words not mine."
Craw sighed. "Why is everything so complicated? I don't even know if I am still here in a year... It doesn't make any sense to me to think about stuff like this right now..."
Serene looked to him. "So instead of asking her out and trying to plan for a future that might happen you give up and are happy with just watching her?"
Craw took another drag. "Better than making her cry on two funerals."
Serene punched him onto the head. "I don't want to hear that again. You are going to survive this did you understand that?"
Craw rubbed his head. "Ouch..." He looked to her. "Are you here to help me recover or to hurt me more?"
She chuckled. "A friend sometimes has to do both. Especially if someone talks bullshit. Now will you finally get over yourself and talk with her about your feelings like a man or do you want to play the child that doesn't know how to express his feelings? Because if you want to be a child then we also can stop going out here and I will treat you like one."
Craw took another drag. "OK OK... just give me a some days to get emotionally ready for this..."
Serene grinned. "Your have two days."
Craw sighed. "You are cruel."
Serene chuckled. "I know."

For a moment Craw was very confused as he woke up. He wasn't in the hospital, he wasn't in the guild, we wasn't in a tent on the expedition. It needed a moment till he realized that he was in Seth's castle. He felt that someone was lying at his side and already knew who it was before he turned his head to see Ariela. He smiled and sat up. It was already late in the afternoon. He looked around and nearly jumped as he saw someone lying on another bed next to his and Ariela's bed. It was Grace.
She was awake and watched both of them with a smile. "Good morning. Or better good afternoon."
Craw put one of his claws on his mouth telling her to be quiet. He looked to Ariela. She was still asleep. He carefully stood up to not wake her and went around the beds to sit down on a chair next to Grace. "She is a very light sleeper so lets talk quietly."
Grace smiled calmly and nodded. "Even though it is still strange to me I have to admin you two are cute together." She sighed. "But that you are still alive... That was the biggest surprise for me. Why didn't you tell me?"
Craw looked to her a bit confused. "Didn't anyone explain it to you?"
Grace looked to him confused. "Explain what?"
Craw sighed. "OK... This will be a bit awkward... I did die back then... but... I reincarnated... again... And I lost all of my memories..."
She looked to him surprised. "Wait... Does that mean that you don't remember me at all?"
Craw sighed. "I only know about you what Anubis, Ariela and Seth told me about you..." He looked to her.
She sighed. "Well... At least I can remember everything." She smiled and put her hands onto her chest. "And I will keep these memories like a treasure... But I swear to Arceus if you hurt my little sweetheart like you did me then I will come and make you regret the day you were born and the days you reincarnated!"
Craw gulped. "Yeah... You are totally her mother..." He chuckled.
Grace blinked. "What do you mean with that now?"
Craw smiled. "You both are so similar..." He sighed. "But really. I love her... I would never hurt her."
Grace grimaced. "You told that to me too... and then everything went upside down..."
Craw looked to her nervously. "Back then I made a huge mistake. Only Anubis knew that I was a human back then. The others only learned about it later as the war started and I was already trying to convince everyone that I started it... This time everything is different... I am not planning anything alone anymore... I am telling my team everything... Also there is Anubis, Serene, Siver, Silver and the legendaries that help me this time. I won't do anything myself anymore..."
Grace looked to him for a moment. "I hope you are right..."
Craw smiled. "Don't worry. I learned from my mistakes... Even if I can't remember them anymore."
Grace nodded. "I hope so..." She sighed. "You have no idea how long it needed till you got over the human Pokémon dilemma."
Craw blinked. "The human Pokémon dilemma?"
Grace chuckled. "Well... Anubis told me about it. You were very distant from me at the beginning because you weren't sure about if it would be right... You know because you were a human and all... It really needed time till you opened up to me and accepted me as your mate. Anubis told me later it was because you were so unsure if it would be right as human to be together with a Pokémon."
Craw grimaced a bit. "Yeah... I know what you mean... I already went through that point..."
Grace chuckled. "Well. I hope you are. Because it was very confusing to me and hurt me a lot that you took your time."
Craw rubbed his head a bit embarrassed. "Well... You don't need to worry about it..."
She looked to him surprised. "Oh! From your reaction I take that you already did it?"
Craw blushed widely. "That is really not your of your concern."
She giggled. "Well actually it is. She is my daughter after all. But I am happy that she is happy. So I won't ask further." She smiled. "It is good to see that she found someone that she could be happy with. I am still surprised that Slice let her join your team."
Craw grimaced. "As far as I know she ran away from home as he tried to push her into some engagement with some rich guys son..."
Grace looked to him surprised. "She did?" She grimaced. "Oh... Slice will hear one or two things from me once I get home..."
Craw paled. "I am already feeling a bit pity for him."
Grace chuckled evil. "Oh when I am finished with him he will regret trying to engage her against her will."

Ariela stretched her arms as she yawned.
Craw chuckled. "Did you sleep well?"
Ariela blinked. "You are awake already? I didn't notice anything..."
Grace giggled. "That is because I made sure you could sleep well. You might not remember it but I always blocked your ability for the night as you were a child so you could at least sleep well. I used to use disable on you every night."
Ariela looked to her surprised. "So that is why I started to have so bad dreams as soon as you left... I never noticed it before... I always thought it was because you... because I thought you died..."
Grace sighed. "I am very sorry..."
Ariela shook her head. "No... It wasn't your fault..."
Grace sighed. "If I would have taught you how to control your powers you wouldn't have to suffer for so long..."
Ariela smiled. "Everything is fine mom. If I would have been able to control them I wouldn't have searched for a solution in the guilds and so I would never had met Kathrin or even Craw."
Grace looked to her. "Still... I am sad that I couldn't see my little girl grow up to such a beautiful lady..."
Ariela blushed. "I am not a lady mom."
Craw chuckled. "Well I have to agree with your mother here. You are a beautiful lady." He kissed her cheek.
Ariela widely blushed. "Craw! My mom is here."
Craw chuckled. "And suddenly you are the shy one?"
Grace giggled. "I am happy that you two are happy together. Even though it is still strange for me to see my ex husband together with my daughter."
Craw looked to her. "When you say it this way it makes me feel uncomfortable..."
Ariela nodded. "Yeah..."
Grace giggled again. "Well... maybe I will get used to it."
Craw sighed.
Ariela shook her head. "We should contact Anubis now and tell him everything..."
Craw looked to her. "You are still not used to call him your dad huh?"
Grace looked to them confused. "You even found that out?"
Craw looked to her with a grimace. "Of course... but first we had some real bad troubles because you never told her who her real father was. For some time she thought that I was her father. Can you imagine how awful we felt?"
Grace sighed and looked to the ground. "I am really sorry..." She looked to Ariela. "I never thought it could be such a problem."
Craw sighed. "Well imagine Anubis would have a son and she would have been together with him... That would have been much worse..."
Grace paled. "Oh, by Arceus... Please don't give me these thoughts."
Craw sighed. "Yeah... I just think it would have been better if you would have told her who her father was. It would have made everything much easier for her..."
Grace sighed. "Yes, you are right..."
Ariela pouted and lifted her finger.
Craw paled as he was lifted from the ground by Ariela's psychic. "A-Ariela... Please don't..."
Ariela looked to him angrily. "The past is the past. She basically just came back from the dead." She spun her finger making Craw spin some rounds. "So stop scolding her so hard. She has enough to think about already."
Craw wanted to puke still spinning. "I-I-I-I a-a-a-am s-s-s-sorry!"
Grace looked to them with a mixture of amusement and pity. "Please Ariela. Forgive him. He was right after all... He taught me to think outside of instincts so I should have thought about things like this myself..."
Ariela sighed and stopped. "Still. You have enough things to think about already. It would be better if you don't let others get to your head now." She let Craw back down on the ground.
Craw on his side wobbled around a bit. "I... I am... am sorry..."
Grace giggled. "Aww look what you did. He is totally confused now."
Ariela looked to him and sighed. She grabbed his paw and helped him sitting onto the bed. "Yeah... Just don't do it again."
Craw's head was still spinning. "Now I know how Brighton must have felt..."
Grace giggled. "I see. So you are in charge. But please remember that he is a fighting type. Your psychic moves are doing worse to him than fire or ice moves would."
Ariela sighed. "Mom, I am 19 years old. I know type advantages."
Grace smiled. "Then don't use your Psychic so reckless on him please."
She pouted. "I am not a child anymore and I know how to control my moves."
Then someone knocked at the door.
All three of them looked to the door. "Yes?" They said at the same moment.
As the door opened Seth stepped in. He seemed to be very happy. "Are you feeling better Sweetie?"
Grace blushed a bit and frowned. "You know I am adult and you know my name dad."
He grinned. "I am sorry Grace. I am just so happy that you are back in the world of the living."
Craw sighed slowly getting his senses back. "I still can't believe that Seth is your father... or Ariela's grandfather..."
Ariela sighed. "It all sounds a bit unreal to me as well..."
Seth nodded. "I can understand that and I would have preferred to let you three alone a bit more so you can think about everything but I have a message from Anubis. He would like to speak with you."
Craw looked to him confused. "Wait but how? He is still in Crystal City..."
Seth looked to him. "Not anymore. As he heard that you decided to come here and didn't send him another message after the dungeon he decided to search for you. You slept for three days after all and he got worried. Now he is here and wants to talk with you. I didn't tell him about Grace yet."
Craw looked to Ariela and Grace. "Well... Then how about a family reunion?"

As Craw entered the room Anubis looked very angry and seemingly wanted to explode onto him but then his face went white as he saw who else entered the room.
Craw grinned. "Sorry that I made you worry but as you can see I was a bit busy bringing the dead back to life."
Anubis stammered. "B-But... T-That is i-impossible... Grace? B-But how?"
Grace smiled. "You got old Anubis... Also you should know by now that impossible is a word that doesn't work for Craw."
Anubis was speechless.
Craw wanted to jump out of joy. He never saw the Lucario like this. He had really made Anubis speechless. "How about we all sit down and I finally give you my report about what happened?"
Anubis just nodded still not able to take his eyes from Grace. "I-I can't believe it..."
Craw smiled and they all sat down. After nearly an hour of explanation he ended his report. "And so I slept through three days as it seems."
Anubis sighed. He slowly looked from Grace to Ariela and then to Craw. "I am really confused why you didn't tell me all this... I know I don't mean you but... well you... you know what I mean."
Craw sighed and nodded. "I have no idea what my past self thought."
Anubis looked to Craw for a moment. "But really... Only you can bring back the dead..."
Craw rubbed his head. "Well technically she never was dead in the first place. So I rather saved her than bringing her back."
Anubis shrugged. "Yeah... Whatever. It was still something that nobody else would have been able to accomplish." He looked to Seth. "And now?"
Seth looked to him. "He held his promise. I have no intention of breaking mine."
Anubis twitched his ears. "What promise."
Seth looked to Craw now. "To do my best to keep peace between the kingdoms and to support the humans that will come after you again." He looked to Anubis. "And that I will support the guild with one of my best Pokémon."
Anubis looked to the Darkrai. "Why that?"
Seth looked to Craw. "Craw told me... the other Craw... That the guilds of Crystal City will form a team that will fight a danger that is bigger than any danger that the world faced before. This team will be led by a human in the body of a Pokémon. This team will recruit Pokémon of every kingdom. Only a team that is consisting of such a team will be able to stop the danger that the world is facing now and only if they all are trained in the guild. The most important about that is that they have to master their talents and they have to learn to thing outside of the box like he called it."
Anubis grinned grimly. "That sounds like him." He looked to Craw. "I remember how you often used that exact phrase. Think outside the box."
Craw sighed. "I hate that you know me better than I do..."
Anubis sighed and looked to Seth again. "Did you already decide who you want to send with him?"
Anubis shook his head. "I have several Pokémon in mind but in the end I wanted to let the human so Craw decide himself. I don't know what he needs so I thought it would be better if he chooses."
Craw nodded. "OK... I will need some time to decide that."
Seth and Anubis nodded.
Grace smiled. "Good. I will need some days to recover anyway so we can wait and then I will come back with you."
Seth looked to her for a moment. "You don't want to stay?"
Grace still smiled. "I am thankful for the offer dad, but there is someone that I need to talk some serious words with in Crystal City. Also I lost so many years and missed seeing my daughter to grow up. I would like to at least spend some more time with her."
Ariela looked to her nervously. "But where do you want to live? Slice is married again and I doubt that you want to live with them under one roof."
Grace smiled and looked to Anubis. "Oh, I bet there will be some space for me in the guild. Even though I left as Craw died I am still part of the guild after all."
Anubis sighed and nodded. "Grace... I wish I could tell you to come with me but I too. Lillith will probably love to meet you and talk with you about me but living with us and our daughter would not be good I think... But we will for sure find a room in the guild for you. Maybe there is even some free space near team Aura Guardian's base so you can be close to Ariela."
Grace nodded. "Oh you have another daughter? I want to hear everything about her!"
Craw sighed. "And I thought that it would be more problematic between the two of you..."
Grace giggled. "Oh, I already guessed that the others would have continued their lives as they thought I am dead. So as I heard that 12 years had passed I kinda just accepted it and just thought about what I would do now. I could help in the guild for example."
Anubis scratched his chin. "Hmm... not that bad of an idea. We still have no doctor since Richard retired... And you are one of the best doctors I know. Also you were his student so he will for sure be happy to hear if you would take his position..."
Grace nodded. "Then it's settled."
Craw sighed. He couldn't believe they are taking it so easy.
Ariela giggled. "That's just like mom. She never liked to ponder about the bad sides and always tries to be positive... Much different to me."
Craw smiled and kissed Ariela's cheek. "Well, I like that you are how you are. It would make me crazy if you would be like your mom."
Grace smiled. "In fact that was the thing you always complained about the most. You were so annoyed by my positive energy that we sometimes argued about it."
Craw rubbed his head. "Hmm... makes sense..." He sighed. "Oh, Anubis did you bring Miss Serene with you like I asked? Team Second Chance will need to be mind sealed now... It wasn't avoidable to tell them the truth. They don't know everything but they know enough to make them not tell anyone."
Anubis nodded. "Yeah but I wonder why you didn't ask Grace. She is even stronger than Serene after all."
Craw looked to Grace surprised. "Oh? I didn't know that..."
Grace grimaced. "Oh... You brought that female with you?"
Anubis sighed. "First of all she took in your place after you left. She did her job pretty fine so I would prefer if you at least try to get along with her. And seconds I didn't know you were alive so of course I brought her with me. And last but not least, how did you think working in the guild would go without running into her once or twice."
Grace sighed. "Yeah yeah... I just don't like that she always tried to seduce the males I was with at the time..."
Anubis grinned. "Well you two have a very common taste in males. So how about you at least try to get along with her?"
Grace nodded. "OK. I will try my best."
Craw looked to them. He wasn't sure if he wanted to get mixed up in that.

Rod rubbed his head. "Damn... I wish I wouldn't have learned about the truth..."
Cassandra looked to him with an raised eyebrow. "Sounded much different last week. You always wanted to know what was going on with team Aura Guardians and why they were so different."
Rod rolled his eyes. "Well that was before I knew what price I had to pay for that knowledge."
Craw grinned. "Believe me. It was worse to me. At least it will be over soon and as long as you keep your mouth shut you won't need to fear something like this again."
Rod sighed. "Yeah... I just fear that Lillith will find out everything soon. She can read us like an open book."
Craw looked to Anubis. "Well... I think you will have to tell Lillith about everything then..."
Anubis sighed. "She won't like the truth... She hates your past you and everything related to the war because she lost her first mate in the war."
Craw seemed nervous. "Is that why you never told her the truth?"
Anubis nodded. "She was a wreck back then. She did many mistakes back then because of her state and that is why she started team Second Chance. I helped her to get over everything and she wanted to do the same for others."
Craw grimaced. "I am sorry but I think there is no way around this..."
Anubis nodded.
"You could have been much more careful with this."
"C'mon you know I am not able to sense other's emotions like you. Of course I am not able to make it easier for them then."
Craw looked to the door. It was Grace and Serene arguing about something.
Grace looked to her disappointed. "That is no reason to use the jackhammer method."
Serene rolled her eyes. "Fine then next time you do it."
Grace looked to her angrily. "Fine!"
Anubis sighed. "You two finished fighting?"
Both of the females gave him a death stare.
Craw sighed. "Anubis I think you should stay out of that."
Anubis looked to him and chuckled. "Well normally I was the one who had to tell you that."
Craw shrugged. "Luckily I have my own problems to take care of."
Anubis grinned. "Already chosen a candidate?"
Craw shook his head. "They are all so... they just don't fit into the team. They are not what I thought of as I thought about adding someone from here to the team. I mean sure they are all strong and so on but they are more like soldiers than like explorers."
Anubis nodded. "Well... You should take your time then... After all it will be an important decision."
Craw nodded. "I will go and talk with the team then. Maybe they have found someone interesting."
Anubis nodded.

Brighton sighed. "They are all too formal for my taste... It feels like being back in the castle talking with the knights there..."
Ariela nodded. "Yeah... I don't like how they don't show any emotions..."
Kathrin shrugged. "I think they sound arrogant to me. I don't like that neither."
Damion played with his paws. "I dunno... I just feel uncomfortable around any of them..."
Hoshi nodded. "I just don't think they would fit into the team. I mean how would it be? We need to talk with them and we all are friends after all..."
Rex nodded. "I am fine if they don't like to talk much but even if they are asked something it feels like they just want to give the shortest answers..."
Fletcher tilted his head. "I don't like how they look at me."
Craw sighed. "Yeah. I thought so. We have to search somewhere else... I doubt Seth will be much of help there. I mean sure he is friendly and tries to show us his best guild members but they just don't fit..."
The team was sitting in a room in the guild section of the castle. It had actually four sections. One was for the guild, one was for the soldiers, one for the normal citizen and one for Seth and his servants. It was a warm day even though they felt the cold of the mountains. It was in general colder in this region but that didn't seem to bother any of the citizen here.
Craw stretched himself. "OK. Team meeting ended. We will keep an eye out for possible members and then we will see tomorrow..."
It was already the 8th day and Anubis was getting impatient.
Craw sighed. "I can't believe it is so hard to find someone fitting in a huge castle like this..."
Brighton nodded. "Yeah... It is strange."
Hoshi sighed. "We just have to search further. I bet we can find someone. Who knows. Maybe the right one will be around the next corner?"
"STOP YOU LITTLE TWAT!"
Craw stopped and looked ahead surprised.
A Zorua came running around the corner and disappeared in another corridor grinning widely.
An angry looking Morgrem came running around the corner. "Did any of you see that little piece of shit?"
The whole team pointed towards the corridor that the Zorua disappeared into.
The Morgrem growled and quickly continued chasing the illusion fox. "I have no idea how that brat made it into the guild!"
Craw grinned. "I want him. He is the right one."

Autor's note: Wow I was much faster finished with this one than I thought! I hope you like it. Also I re-read the older chapters and realized that I made some mistakes in the timeline. I will correct them at some point later but for now I will post a little correction here:
The war started 30 years before the story started.
Ariela's mother Grace was thought to be dead 12 years before the story started.
Ariela met Kathrin 8 years before as she ran from home and joined the guild as helper.
Kathrin joined the guild 9 years before the main story after living in the streets with Cassandra for 3 years and after the incident with her for 1 year alone before getting caught stealing by an exploration team.
Damion entered the guild 10 years ago as orphan as his parents died to an epidemic virus.
The war lasted 10 years. the first 5 years of them the kingdoms fought eachother and the last 5 of them they got convinced that Craw had started the war to be able to get world domination and thus fought against him alone.
Craw died the exact same date as he reappeared just 20 years prior.
That are the mistakes in timeline I found so far. Maybe I will write more in future if I find more.