Flareon Light stepped out of the carriage first. Shaymin Mei and Sky Shaymin Ariel followed. Over several hours, their carriage wandered through rough mountain trails.

It brought them to a gap in the trees filled with grass and pink and white flowers. The sight of Mount Ài loomed over them in the distance. From further away, it seemed like a far-off shadow of green and brown in the dark, early morning sky. It seemed like he stepped right into a painting.

"Why did we stop here, Mei?" Light asked.

"From here, we go by foot," Mei said. "The rest of the guild has to stay here or down by the mountain base. Light will send up a flare if there's any danger."

Ribombee Xiang floated down from the driver's seat at the front of the carriage. She stared at Mei, silently asking her if that included her.

"Mount Ài is sacred land," Mei explained. "Only Light, Ariel, and me are going up unless there's an emergency."

"Other guild members are only an hour out or so," Ariel said. "Wait here for them, then go to the base in case we need you.

"Alright," Xiang said. "Please don't hesitate, though."

"We won't. Thanks for driving us, Xiang."

"No problem. Stay safe."

"You too."

The dark sky started to brighten as Light followed Mei and Ariel across the field of flowers. Riding in the carriage, Ariel and Mei predicted they'd make it to the top at around sunset. Light had an entire day's walk to stretch out his limbs. Depending on how Ariel and Mei felt, it'd either be a silent day or a long one. Light didn't have much in the bag strapped over his shoulder and hanging off his side, but he worried it would start to feel heavy. Even if it did, though, he didn't plan to add a second bag to Ariel's back again.

There weren't any dirt paths carved out through the forests. Flareon Light grumbled and yanked at his limbs to get them over roots and through branches. In the middle of walking, he tied the end of his gray tail and used his claw to cut out off some of the length because it kept getting caught on plants. At some points, the path started to curve up.

Sky Shaymin Ariel seemed to have an easier time floating over all of the plants. Light lost track of Shaymin Mei a few times and had to listen to find out where she was.

"Let me know if either of you see a Gracidea flower," Mei said.

"You already said that four times," Sky Shaymin Ariel pointed out. "No, we haven't."

"Do you really have to throw a hissy fit instead just saying 'okay'?"

A glimmer at the base of a thick tree root caught Light's eye. He stalked up to it, minding where he planted his feet.

"I don't feel like talking a bunch just because you don't work out enough for a mountain hike," Ariel explained tiredly.

"Then why are you just floating over the mountain hike?" Mei asked.

"Because I can, shit-for-brains."

"Guys," Light said.

Light's sharp voice managed to pierce through the argument. Ariel floated down over Light's shoulder while Mei trudged over and looked down from on top of a tree root. Light pushed aside a large bush of leaves shaped like plates with long, green stems.

Underneath, a clear glass shard stuck out of the dark soil. The roots around it had small, black burns and cut up bits scattered below the base.

"I should send up a flare when we reach a clearing," Light said. "If you're okay with that."

"Yes," Mei said. "I think it's safe to say that we were right."

"This has to be recent, though. The plant's not dead yet."

"They say Mount Ài has a strange power to it. Maybe there's something we don't know about here that it can use to recover its wounds."

"We need to go faster. Where do Gracidea flowers grow?" he asked.

"They grow well in higher places," Ariel said. "Usually, not around so many trees."

"Could you fly up and look around. We can pick a direction to go."

"On it."

Ariel bounded up into the air. She rose up higher moving n a circle until she raced through a wall of leaves. Once she was out of sight, Light turned his head down. Mei did seconds after.

"How do you keep people from living here?" Light asked.

"Don't have to," said Mei. "Anyone who has tried to live here has a ghost story or ten. They say that something in them makes them want to leave. Even animals tend to steer clear. No one wants to come here all by themselves."

"Was it like that when you first came here?"

"Yes. Even my parents had second-thoughts, for once in their lives…"

Leaves fell as Ariel flew back down. Light and Mei waited until she picked out a new direction for them to take.

Moving uphill on a diagonal for an hour straight hadn't been Light's preference, but it brought them were they needed to be.

Past an opening in the trees, a field of large pink flowers and an expansive view of green slopes arcing down to into the distance. Behind them, along with the mess of trees they came from, a sheer rock wall stood tall with bonsai trees growing out of cracks. Past the flowers, a view of rising and falling green slopes greeted them.

As Flareon Light walked forward, a sweet, stinging scent wafted into his nose from the large, pink Gracidea flowers. He looked in Sky Shaymin Ariel's direction out of habit, but she walked side by side with Shaymin Mei; too far away from him for the scent to be from her.

"Should I send up a flare from here?" Light asked.

"Someone can probably see it from here," Ariel said. "Go ahead."

Light revved up the ember in his chest. He pointed his nose up high and shot it out of his mouth. A small plume of smoke came out along with a cough. He cleared his throat and shook his head. The flame in his chest fizzled out, replaced by shaking in his arms and jaw.

Ariel walked up next to him. She lowered her head down by his face. "Hey," she said. "You're worried, right? It's okay."

"I…" Light huffed, "I can't."

"You can't do everything yourself. That's fine. Don't worry about it. Take it one step at a time. You can do this."

Light took in a deep breath of the cool air as it blew against his face. He focused the flame to a small point and fired it up in the air.

A red ember rose into the sky and burst open as a flash of red color. It fizzled out in the air.

"See?" Ariel said. "Good job, cutiepie."

Light's sigh of relief faded into a purr when Ariel planted a warm kiss on his cheek. He held onto the smile it left him with when he turned back towards Mei. She had transformed into Sky-Forme when he hadn't been looking focusing on the flare. The spiked up green fur on her head almost made Light confuse her for Ariel. Her new style of letting it fall down around her head saved him from making that mistake.

"I'll carry Light," Ariel said to Mei. "I still remember the way. Maybe you could go check and make sure they saw the flare."

"This isn't exactly a good time for your romance shenanigans," Mei warned. "If Reshiram comes and I'm not there-"

"Then that's less dead weight if we're running from it?"

Mei's eyes fell cold.

"Look," Ariel said. "We've got to scout it out eventually, and the others won't make it till nighttime. If me and Light run into trouble, there's plenty of cover to hide and I can move fast."

"Faster than me?" Mei asked. "That's cute."

"Much faster, actually." Ariel smirked. "How many pounds are you in Sky-Forme now? Twenty?"

"Hey," Light said. "No."

Ariel's smile fell into a guilty stare as her eyes drooped. Mei turned up her nose.

"Eighteen," Mei said. "Fine. I don't want to be around you, anyway."

"Then why send Light a marriage proposal in an elaborate ruse to talk to me?" Ariel asked.

"Because I wanted to give an effort. And every time I do, all you give me is a steaming pile of bullshit, or you just run behind Light-"

"I'm not doom and gloom enough to want to talk about our parents or me leaving every single second."

Light took a handful of steps back to give them space. The air between them sat like liquid in his chest.

"You know that I actually wanted you back because I love you?" Mei asked. "Did that ever even cross your mind?"

"You loving anything has never even crossed my mind," Ariel hissed back. "Ever since Rayquaza chose me, that was what you wanted."

"I didn't want the responsibility to be on you."

"How am I supposed to believe that? Just take your word?"

Sky Shaymin Mei jumped in the air. Ariel gazed up at the cyclone of pink flower petals Mei kicked up as she flew back towards the trees and vanished under the cover of leaves. Ariel stayed silent as the cool wind blew against her ears and fur. Her face stayed still as her chest heaved with every breath. Light waited until after the last of the petals fell back down.

"Airy," Light said. "Let's take a short break."

Ariel turned down as she looked in his direction. "Alright."

"Want to talk about it?" he offered.

"Uh… I don't want to talk your ear off or anything. Besides, I don't really get it either."

"Get what?"

Ariel took a few steps and stared out towards the hills and grasslands in the distance. "She used to be… Not mushy. I never even heard her say the word 'love' before."

"Do you find that word… intimidating?" he asked.

Ariel cracked a smile. "I don't hear it often. Of course it is."

"Do you like hearing Mei say that to you?"

"I guess…"

"Do you think you'll ever say it back?"

"I don't know."

Light fell quiet. Other than asking questions, he wasn't sure what to say. Ariel stepped closer to him with a widening smile.

"Climb on my back," Ariel said. "Let's have some fun."

"Fun?" he asked. "In the middle of all this?"

"There'll always be something. Let's just go ahead and steal a moment or two. Flying up will be easier, anyways."

Light smiled. "Okay."

Light walked to Ariel's side and hopped on her back. He locked both of his paws around her neck and joined right over the brown bag over her shoulder.

"Holding tight?" Ariel asked.

"Yah."

Ariel took it slow at first. She hopped into the air and floated in place for a few seconds. Light's long fur protected him from the bulk of the wind whipping at them.

"How fast are you planning on going?" Light asked.

"How fast do you want me to be?" she asked.

"I can handle fast."

"If you say so."

Ariel bounded in the air and sped up. Light's tail flying in the wind gave him a fake sense of falling off. He relied on his arms to keep himself from losing out to panic. She stayed close to the rock wall.

"Hey," Ariel said, "if you want, we can do some tricks."

"Tricks?" Light asked.

"Yeah. You know, like me throwing you up and you do a backflip and I'll catch you."

"You've been wanting to do this for a while?"

"Uh… Maybe."

"Oh," Light said, realizing. "Is this for like, fighting? As a team?"

"Yeah," she said. "That way, I could protect you better next time. So we can try doing super cool stuff, but I just need you to trust me."

"So, what do you want to do? Trust falls?"

"Yeah."

Panic shot through Light's arms. "Now wait a minute-"

"Relax," Ariel said. "We'll work our way up."

Ariel continued to fly up until she reached the rounded rock ledge of the cliff. She landed gracefully on top paces away from the edge.

"Uhm, couldn't we start on just the classic kind of trust fall?" Light asked. "Like, over solid ground?"

"Sure," she said. "Of course."

Ariel backed further away from the edge. She set Light down on hard, stiff soil with sturdy weeds growing up through cracks and walked around behind him. Light stood up on his hind legs and raised his arms at his sides.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"Always," Ariel said. "Go on."

Light leaned back, then fell. Nothing but air touched his body until Ariel caught him under his arms. Light saw her upside-down smile when he looked up at her face.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yah, of course," he answered. "I just don't know about the whole cliff thing."

Ariel pushed Light back onto his feet. He fell back on all four limbs.

"Don't worry," Ariel said. "We'll take it slow. There's no pressure to do it if you don't want to."

"I'll try."

Sky Shaymin Ariel walked towards the edge of the cliff. As Flareon Light followed, his head leaned down over the edge to the pink flowers below. They were so far away, they looked like a mass of pink dots.

"Hold my paw," Ariel said. "Just lean, and I'll balance you."

"Everything I learned up till now has been about keeping my life in my own hands," said Light.

"I've held onto it for you before. You know I won't let you fall."

"I know. But it just sort of… it's like turning off my logic."

"You've done it before. You know how to take your life in your paws and put it towards something greater. That's why everyone admires you."

Light stared at Ariel's outstretched paw. As he reached out and grabbed it, his heart started to race. Ariel matched his movement. Without looking at the sheer drop behind his back, Light managed to copy what he did before and leaned back. Ariel's grip around his paw tightened as she kept him from falling.

"It's just the same thing as a trust fall," she said.

"Kind of a bigger scale here," Light said. "Not really… comparable."

"It just looks scarier. You don't have to if you don't want to, Just know that I'll catch you if you do."

"I'll try."

Light let his grip slip just a touch. He lightened it in short bursts until one of them pushed him over.

The sense of falling never even came. Before Light could even accelerate, Ariel shot under him and caught him in her arms. His feet and tail flailed around until she pulled him back over solid ground. His limbs shivered as she set him down.

"Not bad, right?" Ariel asked.

"You're pretty fast…" Light said.

"So, you trust me? Even after I didn't tell you?"

Light took in deep breaths to stop his shaking. Ariel waited for him with her full attention.

"I mean," he huffed, "I've never trusted anyone like I trust you before. You saved my life. And well, again just now."

"I know you're not very… uh, reactive. I mean, just with the Acuitan blessing and all, you look distant to most people. I was just really surprised when you found out who I was and actually didn't react."

"With everything, uh, strange that's been going on, I guess I'm just losing my sense of scale. And I'm sorry. If I don't have any distance, I just get scared…"

"You have my permission to come in my personal space. What are you thinking of right now?"

Light usually didn't bring out what he thought into the limelight. He didn't even pay attention to it himself.

"Okay," he said. "Well, finding out was like being thrust in your personal space without permission. I didn't want to act differently because I knew that other people would. It's just a little intimidating."

"What is?" she asked.

"It's just that you're, uhh… You have a lot of power, in a lot of ways. And if I think about it, it's intimidating."

"I thought I acted playful enough to not be all that scary."

"You don't have to," Light said quickly. "It's just me. You should be how you really are."

"It's not that easy."

"How are Robin and Nadia?" he asked

Ariel's eyes fell to the ground. Light stepped a bit closer.

"Airy?" he asked.

"They're, uh…."

"Don't filter it. You can tell me."

"Okay… Well, they're being huge pains in the ass," she said.

Light nodded. The anger in her voice sounded like what was always in Mei's.

"It's like they expected me to tell them everything," she continued. "I'm so sick of them acting like I did something wrong. And lowkey, Alisha just needs to ram her head into a brick wall."

"The Emolga?" Light asked. "What did she do?"

Ariel sat down on her haunches and faced out towards the view. Light did the same.

"We were having lunch, right?" Ariel asked.

"Right," Light said. "What day was this?"

"It was like, right after those pirates, right?"

"Right."

"She sits next to me with just a salad on her plate, if even. Just, like, three leaves, dude. She deadass stared at my plate and said 'wow' loud enough for everyone to here," Ariel's head vibrated as she turned to him with wide eyes and a grimace. "Like, your job is getting carried by Roxanne in arena battles for the last two years straight. Don't 'wow' me you effin' stick."

"Who else do you hate in the Guild?" Light asked curiously. "Were you okay with inviting Xiang?"

"Oh, duh, of course," she said. "We needed a doctor. But obviously, Alisha sucks. And what sucks the most is that Roxanne is actually nice so I can't kick her bony ass."

"What do you do most of the time when you say you're working?"

"Oh, just finance stuff with Chad," she shrugged off. "He's decent at it and tries hard, but, like, I know all the ins and outs of this stuff. I don't want to say he's bad at it, just kind of like… outdated info."

"I should try and help you with that," Light said. "I mean, I don't really know anything about it, though."

"You do plenty. And I don't mind."

Wind tugged against Light's fur. Ariel faced against the wind without even blinking.

"How about Kenta?" Light asked. "Have you been helping train him?"

"I was going to, but he just simps for Robin all day," she replied. "Just follows her around and literally copies her schedule."

"Uh… Is that an issue I need to deal with?"

"Oh, it's fine. He's not a creep. Just kind of puppy adoration." Ariel glanced at Light. "Come put your head on my shoulder."

"I'm alright…"

"It's no big deal. C'mon." Ariel turned back ahead. "It's not like we'll be seeing this view a lot."

Light stood up and walked next to her. His tail fell behind her back. His nerves stopped him short of leaning towards her, but she rested her left arm around him and pulled his head on her shoulder. She felt and tugged at the fur around his neck.

"I was nearly the perfect lady," Ariel said quietly. "It was possible that I could've become Empress instead. Actually, it was pretty likely. But in the end, it ended up being the last straw. I nearly even fooled myself. I definitely fooled Mei."

"We all get tricked sometimes," Light whispered.

Ariel' scratched Light's gray mane. He purred as his head rolled around on his shoulders.

"You're cute as a button," she said.

"I've been thinking, you're a lot like Mei," he said. "You know, the whole sweet and sour deal."

"You're probably right about that much. You ready to keep walking?"

"Sure"

Even though Light said that, he stayed leaning on her shoulder for another minute. She only stood up when he started to move around.

The path upwards grew steeper and steeper. By around midday, the dense forest thinned out more. Ore space split trees apart, and in between them, less weeds threatened to strangle Flareon Light's feet. Ariel set down on her feet and walked side by side with him.

He didn't say it out loud, but the silence fell hard on Light's shoulders. The lack of noise other than the wind disturbed him, and the still blue sky added to it. He relied on Ariel's voice to keep it together.

"How'd you learn to fight so well growing up in that palace?" Light asked.

"Had teachers," she said. "Lots of money to pay them. Ended up being a way to get out my anger, so I ended up being way better than Mei."

"Did you eat mint ice cream back then, too?"

"Not a lot…" her voice rose. "I don't really eat it that much."

"We have five one-gallon tubs of it on board."

"Those aren't all mine," she argued. "And even if I were, I can eat whatever I feel like."

"But what Alisha did got to you, yah?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"So next time she says something, I'll come over and be all like… 'Oh, Airy, you look as plump as an apple'."

"Or you could say hot like a normal person," Ariel said, looking down towards his face.

"It feels dirty when I say that," he complained.

"Dude, 'plump as an apple'? Might as well have just licked your lips."

"I'm just hungry. Can we eat yet?"

"In ten or fifteen minutes," she said, looking forward again. "We're almost at a nice spot."

"If I were mint ice cream, would you say I'm minty?"

"I've never had mint ice cream that isn't minty, so sure?"

Light frowned and stared back ahead. Ariel seemed to notice in the corner of her eye.

"If you want me to call you pretty, just say so," said Ariel.

"I didn't say pretty," he said. "I said minty."

"Okay, fine."

Sky Shaymin Ariel stopped walking and faced Light. Flareon Light stopped and stared back.

"If you were mint ice cream," she said, smiling, "you would be the mintiest I've ever had. The absolute sweetest, softest, creamiest ice cream. Is that the answer you're looking for?"

Light's paw moved closer together as his face heated up. Ariel shrugged, smiled, and walked past him. Instead of continuing very far, she went to the base of with fluffy green grass at its base. She sat down and beckoning him over with her arm.

"We'll have lunch now," she said. "I packed you some good stuff back in Nǚxìng. Cm'here."

Light stalked forward as Ariel rummaged through her back. She handed one of two cardboard boxes to Light. When he opened it, a heap of rice sat next to a small pile of crisp, brown meat. He sat on his haunches next to Ariel, staring at the food. Ariel closed her eyes for a moment, then started to eat with a small fork.

"Was that a prayer?" Light asked.

"Huh," she said with a mouthful of rice, "you're the first to notice. You are staring at me pretty hard, though."

"Oh, sorry."

"It's cool."

Light ate in relative silence. The lunch looked small, but it filled him up quick. Ariel's box was nearly double the size, and she cleaned it completely. Once Light finished, he passed a small chunk of leftover rice to Ariel. She ate it in one bite.

To force himself to stop staring, Light looked around. The clouds in the sky didn't seem like they were any closer, which would've creeped him out. The silence in the air still felt heavy, but he appreciated the peace. The only sound that managed to break it was a small burp from Ariel.

"Excuuuuuse meeeee," she hummed. "That was nice."

"Yah," Light said. "How far along are we?"

"A little over halfway to the top. We'll be able to take a good look around. It's a good thing that shard of glass looked pretty small. Must mean it's weaker."

"Or it's a trick to make us think that."

"Always the optimist."

Flareon Light felt a tug on his ear. He looked around for where it came from. Sky Shaymin Ariel sat too far away to reach and do it.

"What's up?" Ariel asked.

"Felt something," Light said. "Did you…."

Ariel's eyes lit up staring behind light. Light turned around.

Hanging in one of the sun's rays poking through the leaves, a round, white stone glimmered. A smoky white aura surrounded it.

"Our kind has great emotional senses," a voice said. "The feeling that pushes us away from this place is destiny. Even plants and animals, who couldn't even understand the word, move away out of respect and fear. When the peacekeeper came here, destiny followed."

"Reshiram," Light uttered.

"For you both, destiny waits in Chingyang Temple."

The stone shot up into the air. Smoking leaves fell down to the ground. Light got up to his feet and raced over the soft grass to make sure it didn't start a fire. There weren't any embers for him to stamp out.

Once it had gone, he turned back to Ariel. She hadn't moved, but her eyes fluttered.

"What's Chingyang Temple?" Light asked.

"It's right where they say Pangu first appeared from a meteor," Ariel said. "Right where the first Emperor lived. My parents died there. I don't want to go there."

"I can go there myself if you point where it is."

"I don't want you to go by yourself."

Light took slow, careful steps back towards her. She still gripped the cardboard box Light's lunch had been in over her open bag. After a moment of Light staring at it, she realized and put it back in her bag.

"We can't leave it alone or people might get hurt," Light explained.

"If we don't leave it alone, one of us could get hurt," she said. "You don't deserve to get hurt or killed because of this. You already did your part."

"It's not about what deserves to happen to us, it's just what needs to be done. You don't have to come with me."

"That's bullshit." Ariel rose to her feet. "You know that if you go, I have to go too. And we can't wait for the others, or it'll be nighttime. So just say that I have to go."

"You have to go. It's not fair to you, and maybe no to me either, but we both have to go."

Ariel started nodding to herself. "Okay. There's no other choice."

"I'll be right here."

"That's kinda like having a candy cane with you after being stabbed in the chest, but sure."

"Yup."

Ariel stood up and glanced around. She stared in the direction they were heading before they went under the tree to eat.

"There's a shortcut," Ariel said. "I'll carry you when we get there."

"Is the temple at the top of the mountain?" he asked.

"No. It's close-ish to it. It's kind of just a cave."

Light sighed. "I really don't have a good track record with caves."

"Yeah, me neither. That's why we've been climbing up the opposite side of the mountain. It's easier to circle around down here, so let's head… that way," Ariel pointed in a direction perpendicular to the slope upwards.

"Okay."

Walking on a slope ended up being a pain on Flareon Light's feet. For thirty minutes, they constantly fell onto a slight diagonal. Sky Shaymin Ariel switched between walking and floating over the ground. Light kept up with her sporadic pace through the trees.

Eventually, Ariel led them to another sheer rock wall. She bent down and prompted Light to get on her back with an unfocused gaze in his direction. Light complied.

As Ariel rose in the air, Light gripped around her shoulders and stayed silent. He didn't mention the small, pulsing flame that ignited in his head. His entire body felt lighter with a touch of adrenaline. It grew as they climbed higher.

Just when the treetops started to look like smudges, Ariel reached the top of the cliff. Light hopped off of her back onto cold rock. The trees and grass vanished on its surface. Looking higher on the slopes, there didn't seem to be much more green.

Ahead, another dark rock wall greeted them. A perfectly square hole had been cut out of it. A mound of wrinkled rock loomed over the cave entrance.

"Is that it?" Light asked.

"Yeah," Ariel said. "It's not that big."

"So you'll feel fine waiting outside?"

"I wish."

Pebbles crunched under Light's feet as he stepped forward. Ariel's footsteps melded together with his own as they entered the shadow of the cave's entrance. Inside was too dark to see.

Ariel bounded up next to Light and pushed her side against his. He wrapped her tail around her back as they stepped in. A dim light seeped along the edges of the cut stone walls from further in.

"What kind of stuff was it used for?" Light whispered to keep his voice from echoing.

"Prayers made by bad, bad people," Ariel muttered back. "My parents included."

"Of course it came here…"

When Ariel slowed walking, Light tugged his tail to keep her with him. They walked across uneven ground where the plates or rock jut out and slanted up and down. Some blocks jut out of the wall or completely fell out on the floor. It looked like an earthquake hit.

At the end of the tunnel, light streamed down from ahead at a high angle in rays. It fell along the edges of fallen rocks covered in a layer of moss and a patch of glowing, green grass. In the center of the grass, two vines of white flowers stood side by side. Yellow hued the inside of their petals.

"White orchids," Light said.

"Yeah," said Ariel.

Light looked up and saw the source of the sunlight. The rock wall ahead far over his head had a circular tunnel carved into it. The inside had dark ridges highlighted under gentle sunlight.

"Is that where the meteor came?" Light asked.

"Yeah," answered Ariel. "That's what they say. It was also where the attack came from…"

A white stone rose out of the grass. Ariel tensed and pushed Light behind her.

"I told you I would show you the world's sins," the voice said. "You will choose to become my Scion. I observed and remember."

Smoky white aura grew from the stone and enveloped the cave. It felt like dry mist on Light's fur. He rubbed down the length of his tingling arms.

A double-headed battle axe sat where the orchids were with its handle sticking up, embedded in the rock below it. Deep gray metal held together two silvery blades. Behind it, a Mienshao studied the handled with his hand against his chin. The fur on his arms drooped down near the handle.

"It's a powerful weapon," he said. "The invaders must be stopped, or my people will fall. I must protect my people."

"Protection wasn't enough for him," the voice grumbled. "It never would be. They descended from this very place and swept across the land. Your blood ancestor, Ariel, killed, maimed, and drove entire cultures to the brink of extinction and beyond. You have a price to pay, and Lao Shen must fall."

"No one deserves to die because of what happened once upon a time," Light called out. "All of that is over."

"It's never over," it laughed. "Just like with him, protecting you wasn't enough for her. She's a siren, Light."

"What are you even talking about?" he mumbled.

The white fog retracted back to the stone. The vision of the Mienshao and the axe faded away.

"Don't you remember when you first saw her? Rayqauza ordered you dead out of here, that's why she 'happened' to be there. And she protected you, and then went a step further just like her bloodline always has. She tried using Rayquaza's new powers to put you under a love curse because she believes that she'll never have a family if she plays by the rules," it mocked.

"It's lying, Light," Ariel said quietly. "We need to get out of here and report back."

"And even though I protected you from it, like the gullible child you are, you never even realized that she's not letting you leave this mountain anytime soon."

"Stop trying to mess with his head!" she shouted.

"No father, no mother. No sister nor lover. This is the birthplace of desperation. You've been traveling with a dangerous Conqueror without realizing it for long enough, Light. I can't let my Scion believe lies. Filthy."

"And what's so wrong with me wanting a family!?"

Flareon Light took a shaky, silent step back.

"You don't want a family," it scoffed. The white stone floated up to the hole in the cave ceiling and circled around in the air. "You're trying to fill this hole in, by any means necessary, not realizing that it's a part of your destiny. I won't let you distract my Scion from his destiny."

"That's not-"

"And. Just like your sister, you cut a deal with Rayquaza that Light would be spared if you made him 'love' you so that you'd finally have a 'family' and Rayquaza wouldn't have to fear for its own status."

"Shut up," she warned. "Are you forgetting what I did last time? I let you leave."

"It doesn't matter. It's over."

The white stone floated up and entered the hole in the ceiling. It picked up speed until it raced out of the cave. Sky Shaymin Ariel stared up at it as it left.

Light only had seconds until she'd turn around. He took more steps back, then turned around.

His forehead bumped into something soft. He backed up, and Ariel was looking down at him. She let him keep taking steps back, but she blocked the only way out.

"We should go and report?" Light asked.

"Sorry," she said quietly. "I can't let you go until Reshiram's been dealt with."

Sky Shaymin Ariel glanced over Flareon Light's head. Light closed his eyes as a violent wind came in between them. His feet left the ground as he was blown back. Ariel covered her eyes with the side of her arm until it ended.

"You shouldn't try to force people to do things they don't want to do."

Ariel dropped her arm back down and frowned. "Are you seriously the one lecturing me on that?" she asked.

A gray mass of fur dropped in front of Light. A Cinccino's deep blue eyes flashed back at him.

"Stand back," Cinccino Hannah said. "She's dangerous."

"After your stunt?" Ariel asked. "I'll put cracks on your forehead this time if you don't cut it out."

Hannah focused energy in her paws and pushed it towards Ariel. Ariel wisped one of her arms. The wind bounded and ran throughout the room. It faded away. Ariel took a step forward.

"Okay," Hannah said. "Time to go."

Hannah shot forward to Light and put an arm around him. Cutting winds gathered at their feet. Hannah leaped in the air. The grass below grew further and further away. Wind locked Light's fur in place as he shouted. The cave disappeared and was left behind as they flew up and out of the cave.

Light had no idea how Hannah jumped out of the cave, or about the shaky surface they landed on. With whatever logic he could muster up, he stayed still to keep himself from slipping out of Hannah's grip. They moved through the air on whatever she stood on.

"She's not in her right mind," Hannah said. "You need to calm her down and talk to her."

"What are we on top of?" Light shouted.

"My fan. Hold on, we need to go faster."

Sky Shaymin Ariel's head popped up in front of them. She flew in front of them with her arms crossed and ears fluttering in the wind.

"Bet your ass you need to go faster," she said.

"Light shared a glanced with Hannah. "What's an 'ass'?" Hannah asked.

Ariel slowed and flew behind Hannah. "Here, I'll show you."

With a thump, Light flew off of the fan and out of Hannah's grip. With whatever logic he could muster, he spread out his limbs to fall slower. He arced over a cliff and fell head-first down towards distant trees.

The ground got closer and closer. Light clenched his jaw.

Something snagged the back of Light's gray mane. He slowed to a crawl and ended up hovering over a patch of dirt and grass. He was set down on the ground gently.

Sky Shaymin Ariel circled around in front of him in the air. Nervous determination showed up on her face in the from of shaking eyes and grit teeth.

"I'll protect you," she said. "From her, Reshiram, and whatever it thinks that 'destiny' is."

"Did you really try to put some kind of spell on me?" Light asked.

"I'm sorry, okay? Please, just… Come with me," she pleaded. "Don't you remember what you told me? IT was your dream to live in a quiet place somewhere. I can give you that."

"You made me realize that I want to see more of the world."

"I'm not letting you walk off like my parents did."

Light fell back. Cinccino Hannah tackled Sky Shaymin Ariel from the side. Ariel hit the ground a few paces away while Hannah landed on her feet.

Hannah ran over to Light and rest a paw on his. She yanked him back up to his feet. In her other paw, she held a long, square black staff.

"Stay out of it," Ariel's voice called.

"Can you run?" Hannah asked quietly.

Flareon Light nodded. He stood and faced towards Ariel as she walked out of a small, new pit of dark soil and grass.

Ariel opened the bag over her shoulder. The green orb floated out, glowing from inside. It floated into her paw as she raised, then crushed it in her grip. The orb turned into green light that arced and danced around her body.

"She's a different kind of Scion," Hannah whispered. "Get behind me."

"You're just an amateur," Ariel said. "Watching you chuck around that wind without really understanding it was a huge drag. Wind's real identity is whatever you want it to be."

Wind shot from in front of Ariel. Hannah blocked with her forearm, but another gust shoved Hannah and Light off their feet. Green lightning shot out.

Hannah took a direct hit. Searing pain like hot knives pierced different spots on Light's body. It reached up to his head as he fell over and clutched his chest.

"Light? Light!?"