Calyrex couldn't have been happier with how things turned out. In less than a day these strangers had agreed to help him, and made incredible strides towards that goal. They got the seeds, they found the plot of land. Now it was the matter of planting the seeds, finding his steed, and returning the favor by sending them home, an easy feat once he is returned to full power. He had followed Terry, Vera, Quinn and Amanda to the plot of land they found, it wasn't too far away from town, so it was a quick and safe trip.
"One step closer to my original power…" Calyrex began "And one step closer to home for all of you. Surely you all must be excited?" he asked, but was surprised when no one answered him immediately.
"I mean...yeah of course…" Quinn began, his eyes always on the pokemon that were around, some watching, some fleeing. Quinn sighed, the thought of almost being done with this world already was sad, there was so much more to do and see. He hadn't realized a long pause sounded after that, making everyone uncomfortable.
"What Quinn means is…" Vera began "Is that we are, we've just been enjoying our time here admittedly."
"Yeah, if you had told me half of this stuff was real a few weeks ago. I would have knocked you out. But now...damn…" Terry added.
"It's been pretty nice" Amanda began, sentiment in her tone, but she quickly scoffed "Er...Pretty funny watching these guys wig out over all this stuff."
"Indeed!" Calyrex smiled, earning a short laugh from Amanda "I only wish Cody and Keldeo could enjoy this as much as you all have been."
"Kinda hard to enjoy it all when you're locked up in a cabin powerless all day." Terry shrugged.
"Cody had a panic attack after everything. So this has been a lot for him." Vera said.
"That's what I've been trying to figure out though…" Quinn began, walking beside Genesect and Calyrex "I get why Keldeo can't use his Sacred Sword, his horn is broken sure. But...why won't Cody's medallion work?"
Calyrex floated along in silence, pondering "Tell me...it was an attack from the otherworldly Kyurem that caused you all to come here, yes?" an assortment of sounds of confirmation was his answer "And...how did that fight go?"
"We got our teeth kicked in." Terry grumbled, earning an assortment of upset noises as confirmation. Calyrex turned back around to Terry in utter bewilderment, the slang utterly lost to him.
"They lost...badly." Amanda chimed in. Calyrex nodded and turned back around.
"Ah. That could have something to do with it then…" Calyrex hummed "It is not uncommon for our powers to be linked with our state of mind. If one does not believe they have the power to do something, then the power wanes…" Calyrex continued.
"So you're saying the trick is...believing in yourself?" Quinn shuddered "Cody is gonna hate that…"
"Why? Does he not like himself or something?" Amanda asked.
"Well maybe a little? But where we come from that's just...a played out trope." Quinn shrugged, Terry and Vera nodding to confirm.
"Perhaps it is commonplace where you come from...but it is no less powerful. I assure you." Calyrex nodded, perking up and floating ahead "Ah, here we are!" Calyrex's voice spoke excitedly in their head, quick to approach alongside all of the others "Now quick the seeds." Amanda opened the bag, handing everyone a seed and carefully digging into the cold earth and placing the seeds inside "Splendid, with these carrots, they will assuredly call the attention of my faithful steed. With us reunited, I will be back to my full power. And you can all continue your journey."
"That's great but...won't it take a while for them to grow?" Vera asked.
"Normally yes. However, with what little power I have left…" Calyrex began, the crown on his head beginning to glow a faint blue, eyes concentrated on the field in front of him "I shall bring life to this field and let it bloom with carrots!" Calyrex's voice grew more intense, the others backing up as the entire field began to glow the same shade of blue. Looking between each other as they realized Calyrex's talk of power wasn't a joke, if he could do this alone, imagine what he could do with his steed. In a flash of light, the field was illuminated, and from the end of the nova, a single carrot stood out from the ground.
"Carrot...singular…" Terry frowned, noticing Calyrex drop closer to the ground, gasping and panting from exertion.
"All my effort...all my power…" Calyrex gasped "And I could barely grow one…to think my powers have fallen this much..."
"Well...hopefully all it takes is one carrot…" Quinn reached down, grabbing it and putting it away, noticing its strange purple and green coloration.
"I hope you are right, Quinn." Calyrex said, defeat still present in his tone "Now for the next I will need…-!"
"Well wait...I thought you said you only needed carrots…" Terry turned to Calyrex.
"Ah, I apologize, that was all I needed to bring my steed closer. After all this time, he is surely quite unruly. However, another item will be needed, the Reins of Unity. With them, it allows us to combine and amplify our powers. It is with that power I can send you all home."
"Okay...where can we find the reins?" Vera asked.
"In the human village, but…-!" Calyrex began, only for a soft gasp to escape his muzzle, looking beyond the humans to something in the distance. The others followed his gaze and saw the sight of a horse. A horse of purple black, a fog obscuring it's quick and graceful movements, galloping back from the direction they came.
"Was that…" Quinn began.
"My steed, Spectrier!" Calyrex gasped excitedly, undercut by the concern in Amanda.
"We need to move, now!" Amanda began already storming off after it.
"Are you really going to try and catch it now!?" Terry asked, intercepting Amanda. She scowled and blushed red but moved past him.
"No, worse." Amanda said "I heard the elders talk about the stories of Spectrier before Calyrex was able to rein it in." Amanda turned back to them "Dangerous. Destructive. Bad news!" Amanda began.
"Cody...Keldeo…" Quinn began, joining Amanda, realizing they left them alone in the village, where Cody couldn't change and Keldeo was weaker. The others, realizing the severity of the situation, ran off after Spectrier, but it was hard to keep up with a galloping horse.
"Can't you guys transform!?" Amanda turned to Terry and Vera.
"Not when it's this close to town, someone's gonna see us." Vera growled.
"Can't you call Cody and let him know?" Terry asked.
"With the cellphone reception that doesn't exist in this world?" Quinn countered back, everyone slowly realizing the danger that was approaching Freezington.
"Perhaps…" Calyrex began "This is something that they need." The others stopped and looked at him.
"You can't be serious." Quinn shook his head "You want us to hang back and let that thing attack the village?"
"Do you not have faith in your friends to stop my steed?" Calyrex asked calmly. Quinn looked away, grimacing.
"Any other time I'd say yes but not now." Quinn was already beginning to turn, until he noticed no one else was rushing now "Guys?"
"I mean…" Vera began "Calyrex has a point. If their powers are connected to self-confidence, this could be what they need to get it back."
Quinn looked back towards the Spectrier getting away "But...the risk…-!"
"Will be rewarded." Calyrex nodded "We will head back and if things truly go wrong. Then we will step in, but those two must be reminded of what they are capable of. Remind themselves why they undertook this journey to begin with." Calyrex began his trek back to Freezington. Quinn looked back to the other humans, all expressions that read the same thing. We don't like it, but he's got a point. And with that, they all made their way back to Freezington.
Another hour in the cabin, another hour that Cody spent in a staring contest with the cobalt medallion, and he was losing. After all of this time, he should have been able to change back into Cobalion by now, Terry and Vera could do so. And yet there was nothing, no flash of light, no glimmer in the metal. Nothing, he was still a human. He blinked, letting the medallion fall to his side. He looked over to Keldeo, unmoving in a corner, not too long ago he was attempting to bring back his Secret Sword, but that went as well as his attempt to bring forth his transformation. It didn't.
"What are we going to do?" Keldeo asked, startling Cody from the silence "I can't use my sword, you can't transform. We're just sitting here being useless while everyone else helps me...again…" Keldeo let that last part slip by accident.
Cody looked back towards the door, ideally the others would be back with the carrots soon "Well...we help Calyrex, and then he sends us to Paradise..._!?"
"And after that?" Keldeo stood up "I have no idea how Paradise is going to react to seeing an actual human. And I can't do anything against Kyurem without my sword." Keldeo sighed "Let's just face it...Calyrex would just be sending us to our deaths at that rate."
Cody grimaced, looking back towards the fire that warmed them "Look...I know more than the others how you feel right now but…" Cody shrugged "We gotta believe this is gonna work itself out somehow."
"How do you figure?" Keldeo asked.
"Well…" Cody looked away, biting his lip "Maybe…" Cody snapped back to Keldeo "Maybe Calyrex knows some way to fix your horn? And then you can use your sword again." it warmed Cody up to see Keldeo smile at that, nodding in agreement "And me...well you know...I can handle being without the medallion for a little longer." Cody added, making Keldeo snort a laugh "Yeah...I could hide you...and I had the balls to get close when you were possessed...this is nothing." Cody laughed, relieved to hear Keldeo laugh too.
"Heh, yeah. Maybe you're right." Keldeo nodded, resting his head on Cody's thigh "We just gotta keep believing this will work out…" Keldeo hummed as Cody pet his mane.
"My mom always said that things always turn out okay in the end…" Cody smiled "And if things weren't okay, then it wasn't the end."
Keldeo nodded "I like that…-?" Keldeo turned to the door at the sound of screaming coming from outside. Cody stood up and moved towards the door, looking outside. No dark clouds thankfully, so this wasn't Kyurem coming back, instead he was surprised to see a purple and black horse charging into town. Rampaging around like a bull, kicking at houses and fences, barely missing people. Cody almost bolted out of the door with medallion in hand, but then he remembered it still didn't work. Then he remembered where they were. Was it so far-fetched for a human and his pokemon to go outside and battle?
"You can still use your other attacks right?" Cody asked, getting his coat on "Just the sword?"
"What? I...yes?" Keldeo asked more than stated, quick to follow Cody as he opened the door outside. Just as he hoped the other citizens were so focused on fleeing the rampaging horse to acknowledge them, they just looked like a trainer and a pokemon together.
"You do what you do best. I'm gonna help the others." Cody said, running off to help the other citizens get to safety, leaving Keldeo alone to fend off the rampaging horse.
"So if I had to guess...this must be Calyrex's steed." Keldeo muttered, getting ready to run in and charge at Spectrier, enveloping himself in water. He stopped the shadowy horse just as he was beginning to corner some townsfolk, ramming into his side and sending him skidding a few feet back. Keldeo was relieved he could still fight even without his sword, otherwise this would have been much worse. A wailing neigh erupted throughout the field that the two found themselves in, and Spectrier charged back. Keldeo side stepped Spectrier, ready to aim a fierce kick at his side, only to realize that his kick went right through him.
"A ghost type…" Keldeo thought quickly, enveloping himself in water and tackling Spectrier from behind, sending Spectrier sprawling forward. He couldn't afford to take this slow and be surprised by the development. From the ground, Spectrier launched a dozen black blobs towards Keldeo. Keldeo attempted to counter with his own hydro pump, but it only stopped so many. He tried to stop and jump out of the way, but he couldn't stop the attack in time, and he was swarmed by the shadow balls, skidding back. Keldeo shook it off, enveloping himself in water and charging again, striking Spectrier with his broken horn and sending him spinning out of the field, too close to Cody as he was helping more villagers get away. Keldeo growled, running forward to get between Cody and Spectrier. A quick 'sorry' as another blast of water made Spectrier dodge and move out of the way.
Keldeo cursed under his breath. He only had two usable attacks against Spectrier: Aqua Jet and Hydro Pump. Meanwhile Spectrier had a whole arsenal of moves to attack him with. Not even Secret Sword was going to help here, even if he could use it. Worse still, hydro pump took too much time to charge up, it was going to get easier and easier for it to dodge him. More shadow balls were launched at Keldeo, and all he could do was dodge, frustration growing as his dodging was getting too close to the townsfolk trying to flee. He wanted to get out of here, out of this cold place, but he was stuck here, because of Kyurem.
Keldeo skid to a halt, preparing for another hydro pump, only to realize something was building up in him faster than a hydro pump. He had to be quick to let it out fast, realizing that he was launching a beam of ice towards Spectrier that hit it head on, freezing it to the ground where it stood, trying desperately to break free. This could have been the perfect time for a counterattack, but Keldeo just stood there, frozen in fear, realizing that Kyurem left him one more gift when he possessed him. He remembered using this attack against the others, he thought it was gone, but it was still a part of him.
Kyurem, whether literally or not, was still a part of Keldeo. And that thought alone caused Keldeo to slip into despair.
Cody had to assure the townsfolk plenty of times that the Keldeo was indeed his, sure to forget the story of how he caught it every single time and ignore the questions of why it acts without his input. All questions that were brushed away for their own safety. With the others safely inside, Cody turned back to the fight, hopeful that Keldeo was able to quell that mad horse. He began breathing a sigh of relief when he saw the horse frozen in place, but the panic stricken face of Keldeo was enough for him to realize that wasn't intentional, and that he was freaking out for it.
He remembered their fight when Keldeo was possessed, and that that was most assuredly the source of the panic attack this time. He called out to Keldeo, hoping to snap him out of it, but Keldeo didn't even flinch. The calls became more desperate when the horse was beginning to break free of the ice, dead set on attacking Keldeo for the icy slight. Cody reached for his medallion, but once again, nothing happened.
"Come on! What's wrong with this thing!" Cody screamed, holding it in front of him now and shaking it. His friend was about to get hurt and he needed to do something, now. He ran in, still trying in vain to activate the medallion. But when the horse broke free of the ice and charged at Keldeo, he wasn't able to transform and block the attack. Instead both he and Keldeo were tackled, sent flying backwards into the cabin they've been staying in. Keldeo wriggled out from beneath Cody as he blinked away stars, coughing hard as he held his gut where the horse headbutted them. He should have been used to this abuse in his human form now, he mused despite himself.
"I don't get it…" Cody sputtered, falling forward and looking at the medallion "What am I missing...what's wrong?" Cody looked at the medallion now "All the others can do this...but I can't...what's wrong with me!?" he screamed the last part, clutching the medallion, praying that it would work this time. Something to stop the horse from hurting him, hurting the others, hurting Keldeo.
Keldeo...who was also hurting, just like him.
He looked up to see the horse getting ready to bring his hooves down on him and Keldeo, in a quick movement, he pushed himself and Keldeo out of the way. Keldeo stood back up, enough of a shock to get back into the fight. But as Cody watched Keldeo get ready to fight, he realized...what if that was the missing piece? All this time he had been worried about why and how he couldn't transform anymore, but that wasn't what activated the medallion for him that day, it was wanting to protect Keldeo, his friend. It's what caused it to activate the first time, him forgetting that was why it didn't work until now.
When the medallion started glowing again, he stood up slowly, still in pain, but ready to move. He grinned, sliding it back on and trying his best to run forward, willing himself to try and transform once again. When the light faded he was pouncing onto the horse, his sword drawn and pointed at the horse.
"Cody…" Keldeo stepped forward, Cody quickly looking back with a smile.
"Sorry it took me so long to realize…" Cody said, deciding to end this fight with a swong of his Sacred Sword. Only to realize in horror that his sword went right through the horse, completely unphased. Meanwhile, the horse was already charging another shadow ball in its open maw "Oh no…" and with that, Cody was sent flying back towards Keldeo, sending snow flying around them.
"I should have mentioned it's a ghost type. Fighting type moves aren't going to work on it." Keldeo said.
"...Thanks…" Cody wheezed standing back up. The horse was already reeling back for another charge "I know why you don't like using it, but that ice beam is our best chance against slowing this thing down."
"But…-!" Keldeo said, dodging the horse before he could finish the sentence "Alright." and Keldeo prepared himself for another ice beam as Cody reeled back and struck the horse with his glowing metal claws, freezing the horse's back legs so it couldn't escape as Cody struck him from the front. Cody joined Keldeo's side, letting his head glow white as Keldeo enveloped himself in water. The two charged at the horse in unison as it was unable to break free and dodge. They tackled the horse with all of their might, sending the horse flying into the wilderness around the town, cracking a tree in the process from their combined effort. When there was no evidence of the horse coming back from that attack, they knew that the horse was done fighting.
Cody changed back while Keldeo stood there, gasping and panting from exertion. Cody flopped back into the snow, breathing harshly too, but he remembered what his priority was now "You okay?" he asked, concerned when there was no answer "Keldeo, I know why you don't want to use that attack but…-!" The sound of the townsfolk coming out of their hiding spot was enough of a cue for the two of them to stand up and stop. He placed his hand in Keldeo's mane, enough to stop the trembling at least for now. An assortment of thanks and praise was showered their way as they caught their breath from the fight. Most of it didn't phase them, they just wanted to get out and back to the cabin. Cody was glad he could use his medallion again, but Keldeo using ice like he did, just like Kyurem, he knew that was affecting him badly.
The moment was short lived, however, as the sound of the horse breaking through the underbrush to strike was heard, and Cody knew he and Keldeo were in no position to fight again, not in a crowd like this. Suddenly, a wave of psychic energy washed over everyone, and while everyone else was unaffected, Cody and Keldeo could see that the horse was reeling from the assault on the mind, causing it to stagger, and run back into the woods from whence it came. Cody and Keldeo looked between each other, knowing neither of them had psychic powers. And when they realized neither Terry, Vera, Quinn or Amanda could do it between their powers and pokemon, they looked back around and saw all of them, and above all Calyrex, with an outstretched paw and a blue glow about him.
"I'll...head back inside." Keldeo said, not waiting for a response from Cody. Cody didn't bother objecting, he knew Keldeo needed to process what had happened.
"I can't thank you enough for saving us as you did, trainer." One older man began speaking. Cody just nodded, not bothering to correct the statement and ignoring the rest of the praise and adulation for the job "As the mayor of Freezington, is there anything I can do to repay the favor?" Cody looked back at the others, waiting for an opportunity to just book it to them.
"I'll uh...rain check!" was all Cody said, running off to meet his friends and Calyrex, all of them rushing back inside to the cabin to regroup. As he ran back, he could have sworn he heard the murmuring of the crowd mentioning the King of Bountiful Harvests. So in addition to getting his powers back, it seemed that the town was remembering Calyrex. At least that was working today.
Everything else was a rushing blur around Cody as he sat there looking at Keldeo. He was moving, he was talking to the others about what had happened and what was next in their plan, but he knew what happened and Keldeo hadn't mentioned it. Keldeo can use ice like Kyurem, and that caused him to freeze up and have a panic attack in the middle of a fight. Keldeo and Calyrex were talking about the horse attack, Spectrier was its name apparently. Quinn and Genesect were trying to find some of Spectrier's mane hair while Vera and Calyrex we're trying to get a petal of some sort for some reins to hold Spectrier. With that, plus the carrot they all got, that should be enough to get Calyrex and Spectrier back together. Quinn already volunteered to thread the mane hair and the petal to make the reins, apparently he was an Eagle Scout and thought to tell no one until now.
Cody suddenly felt something push him, apparently Terry had sat down and was trying to talk to him about something, he wasn't listening. He perked up when he saw Keldeo and Calyrex finish talking, and then Keldeo was making a move for the backdoor. Cody stood up, and moved through the others and met Keldeo outside in the dark of the night.
"Hey." Cody said, louder than he meant to, it was so quiet in the chill of the night compared to the warmth of the cabin with the others. Keldeo stopped and turned back to Cody in surprise, Cody frowned, he could tell Keldeo was aiming to run into the mountains.
"Hey…" Keldeo answered, a beat slower. Another long pause, Cody closed the door behind him.
"Where are you going?" Cody asked. Keldeo looked back towards the mountain.
"According to Calyrex, after the attack, Spectrier should be back at the top of the mountain. Crown Shrine, he called it. I'm going to scout ahead, make sure Spectrier actually gets there."
"And...that's the only reason you're leaving us again, right?" Cody asked, choking slightly. Keldeo was about to speak, until he realized what the 'again' was referring to. The night after he woke up from the Thundurs attack. He was mad at all of them, attacked them, and fled. No wonder Cody was so afraid right now. He thought that after everything that happened, he was just going to leave again.
Keldeo sighed, no point in hiding it now "I just...I need some time alone, to figure out what's wrong with me." Keldeo looked back at Cody, who was beginning to tear up "I'm really glad you can use your powers again. Honest. But I still need to find out why mine aren't working...and using the ice…" Keldeo shuddered, but kept his gaze on Cody "This isn't like last time. I will be coming back. I promise." A silent nod was all Cody did, trying his best to hold back tears.
"May I have a word with Keldeo...alone, Cody?" the two of them turned to Calyrex, who had opened the door. Cody looked back to Keldeo, who nodded. Cody whispered his response then went back inside with the others. Keldeo watched Cody, definitely more assured than when he first stepped outside, but still uneasy, and Keldeo couldn't blame him.
"I saw what happened, and while that ice saved you and Cody, I can understand your hesitation to use it. I've gleaned from the others what happened to you." Calyrex said. Keldeo nodded as his response "All this time you've been trying to do things for yourself, but fate has determined that not to be the case. You needed the help of the humans to even get this far...and you needed the help of Kyurem to help unlock your Sword, and use ice." Keldeo shrank to the addition of that statement.
"Whether you believe me or not, Keldeo. This is your story, and there will come a time where everything you learned will be put to the test." Calyrex nodded.
"My story…" Keldeo sighed, almost a scoff "It doesn't really feel like it. Ever since Kyurem first attacked Paradise its been like this. Watch the Swordsmen die, let others fight my battles, and when I finally get my Secret Sword...I lose it. And I get ice powers."
"I understand. For I am in a similar position," Calyrex said "I found myself in a position where I must take a back seat in my own story to help me stand back up."
Keldeo paused, staring at Calyrex, he would know more than the other the position he was in "So when is it my turn to stand back up?"
"I cannot say. That is why I thought you may take this journey up the mountain alone to start. Give you time to think, process. But I beleive you will see that even if you do not feel like you are in your own story now. You will come to see how your story has come to effect others." Calyrex smiled "We will begin our ascent tomorrow, and you will all be home by the end of the day, you have my word."
Keldeo looked back up at the mountain, hoping that Calyrex was right about this story talk "I'll...think about it. Thank you, Calyrex." Keldeo was beginning to move back towards climbing the mountain, when he could see Cody looking through the window to the back door. He needed to do this for both of their sakes, he ran back towards the cabin, calling out to Cody, who flung the door open, catching Keldeo in a tight hug. Nothing else mattered right now, just knowing they were going to be alright. He let go and looked at Cody with a new resolve. He was going to take control of his story again, for everyone's sake. With that, he dashed away, and towards the mountain.
ACT III: END