Crusaders of Dusk

by DarkFoxKit

Cut off from the life he knew, an Absol now must work his way and earn his right to return to the place he called home. Joining him is a timid Goomy who desires to become stronger and more respected. The two will face many challenges, learning to trust one another.

47. Chapter 47: The Icy Tower

Traveling Master: Surprise! I bet you weren't expecting another update! Well, I don't blame ya, considering before, we struggled to update often during my deployment. But like we said, we are back and ready to get things rolling!

DarkFoxKit: Now that's not to say we're able to write as much as we would like, but we're able to write more often than before. And we hope you all continue to enjoy these chapters. Also, while I apologize for keeping you guys waiting for so long, I'd appreciate it if the reviews weren't mostly 'the story is alive!'

Dust: Doust my eyes deceive me? You two are actually back? I wasn't too sure until I heard news from last chapter. I honestly thought it was a prank or something. WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER! I've been dying to see this story continue! I must tell everyone! We must celebrate!

Traveling Master: No! Last time you brought everyone, the whole place was in a chaotic mess! We are not going through that again!

DarkFoxKit: If you're going to celebrate, do it in your own dimension!

Dust: Awww, but this is a better spot for the celebration!

DarkFoxKit: TM! Control your Absol, please!

Traveling Master: I'm trying!

Dust: You can't contain this much raw energy! There will be consequences!

DarkFoxKit: Get back into the story! *Pushes Dust into the story*

---

Chapter 47: The Icy Tower

"It's nice to meet you again, Team Volcano," Berry said as she stopped in front of the prison cell that held Meteor and his partner Fletchinder.

Meteor and Fletchinder both gave a surprised look, with Meteor walking up to the bars. "Of all Pokemon to meet, I didn't expect to see you again, Berry."

"You're that same Goomy from the tournament? The one with the… unusual… technique?" Fletchinder asked, surprised.

"She's the same one alright, Firestorm," Meteor confirmed to the Fletchinder, who's name was Firestorm. "I remember her pretty well."

"I… hope you don't mind me asking some questions," Berry said.

"Go ahead, it's not like we'll be going anywhere any time soon," Meteor retorted.

"What are you doing here in Oasis City? And where's your Larvesta teammate?" Berry asked.

"Hey, that's only for a need to know basis, and you don't need to know," Firestorm answered.

"It's okay, she can be trusted," Meteor assured his partner. "Do you remember what we talked about last time? After our battle in the tournament?"

"About Calcifer?" Berry asked, keeping her voice down. "I heard you asking about him with that Sandslash and Excadrill earlier. Or is this about my… technique?"

"Well after that battle, Igneel spoke with me about what had happened. I shared my thoughts and he then asked me if anyone else knew. I only told him that my teammates were the only ones that I spoke with. Last thing my guild needs is finding out about a Goomy who can use that technique," Meteor explained. "Since then, Igneel has given my team a special mission to confirm if Calcifer is alive or dead. Which led us here. This was where Calcifer did his first mission, and his last. Sunlight, my other partner who was the Larvesta, stayed behind to try and cover for us. Oasis City was marked on the black list, so Sunlight had to make sure no one found out that me and Firestorm came here on Igneel's orders."

"But why is it important for you to find out if Calcifer is alive or dead?" Berry asked. "Why would the Hellfire himself send you on such a secretive and dangerous mission?"

"I already told you before, Calcifer was dangerous and unstable. While his body was never found, we all assumed he was dead. As for why Igneel ordered us to take on this mission, I'm not entirely sure. He only said that if Calcifer was alive, then he would need to be brought back to the guild. But I think there's more to it," Meteor answered.

"There you go again with your theories. Igneel told us the reason, remember?" Firestorm rolled his eyes. "If Calcifer is alive, then there's a real chance he could end up mating with someone outside of the guild. And you know the rules of the guild. If he ends up having an offspring, that could severely damage the Volcanic Ash Guild's reputation, and the offspring themselves would be a danger to others, especially since they wouldn't get the training they need to control their power."

Berry frowned. Although her mother had told them she had never met with a Charmeleon, Berry felt like that wasn't the truth. Tsunami had hesitated when she answered, and she wouldn't tell them who Berry's father was.

"Firestorm, you know as well as I do that if that was truly the case, Igneel wouldn't have bothered with having us do this secret mission. He would've told our Guildmaster so that everyone could be searching for him," Meteor pointed out. "I was only a Cyndaquil but I still remember seeing Igneel returning with that injury on his back. You know how much shame it is for a fire Pokemon to actually get burn scars? This is Igneel Hellfire we are talking about. I've heard that there's a few members who suspect that Igneel was the one who killed Calcifer, seeing as how he was the last one to see him alive."

"You don't say," Firestorm sarcastically replied. "Maybe next time you see him, you can tell him yourself how stupid it was for us to come here, and that you think he killed Calcifer."

"Guys, please focus," Berry spoke up. "Whatever happened to the Hellfire with Calcifer isn't important right now. What I want to know is if Calcifer did have an offspring, what would you do to them if you found them? If you even knew you found them?"

"For both Calcifer and that potential offspring's sake, it would be best if he was truly dead, or if he didn't have an offspring," Meteor darkly replied. "We don't know Igneel's intentions with the potential offspring, but knowing him, he would most likely bring hellfire to both of them."

"As you probably figured by now, it's very dangerous for members of the Volcanic Ash Guild to mate outside of the guild. It's our number one rule," Firestorm said. "Once new members join, they are to take a blood and fire oath to never mate with anyone outside of the guild, even if we leave the guild for whatever reason. Because of the Blazing Burst Mode. It's something only guild members and Fire types should have and learn, but there's a very real chance that the offspring of the parent who has that technique will inherit it. Like with all egg moves. Without a proper teacher and the right environment, the Pokemon with this technique can easily go out of control and become a danger to everyone around them."

Berry frowned more. "Then what does that make me?"

Meteor frowned as he looked at Berry. "I promised to keep your identity a secret from my guild. It's not confirmed that you are Calcifer's child, and part of me hopes that you aren't. We can only keep you a secret for so long, perhaps that's why Igneel hadn't made any move towards you yet. Maybe he hopes that you aren't Calcifer's offspring either. But if it is confirmed that Calcifer is alive and that he is your father, I pray to Reshiram that Igneel will only target Calcifer and leave you be."

Which means I better hope I'll be strong enough to defend myself against the Hellfire himself by the time he finds out. The more I hear about Calcifier's origins, and the possible offspring he could have, the more likely he could be my father… Berry thought to herself with unease. "Well, if what I do have is my own version of the technique, what do I do to control it so I won't be a danger to those around me? Who could teach me? I'm tired of being afraid of losing control."

"Well we can rule out our guild," Meteor answered. "Though what normally helps new members who are struggling with BBM is the older guild members mentoring them. Reason why we are able to learn is because we surround ourselves with other fire type Pokemon. I know you don't know who your father is, but maybe finding another older Pokemon of your kind might help you."

Berry thought back on Tsunami. She didn't think about it at the time, but maybe Tsunami may be able to help her learn to control herself. After all, Tsunami was semi wild, she would likely know how to help Berry learn to control herself when she loses herself to that power. And if Tsunami actually knew her father, and if her father had the Blazing Burst Mode, he likely would've told Tsunami about it, at least Berry hoped so, otherwise Berry wasn't sure how Tsunami would be able to help her. I guess I'll be seeing mother dearest again soon after all.

"Thank you, for answering my questions," Berry said.

"So now I think it's our turn to ask you a question," Meteor brought up. "Why are you here in Oasis City? And how come you haven't been kicked out? As you already saw, this place isn't exactly welcoming towards Crusaders."

Berry gave a smile. "That's because I'm not a Crusader, I'm just a humble tourist travelling with my adopted daughter, and a close friend of mine who was abandoned."

Meteor and Firestorm both blinked in confusion.

"Well, that's the story I would tell the other Pokemon here anyways. The best way to help Oasis City is to not let them know we're Crusaders," Berry revealed. "There's this Articuno who's been kidnapping Pokemon, and she managed to take my leader, Dust. We were hired to take care of her, but we weren't told she was an Articuno. It's a long story. The point is we're here to rescue the Pokemon that Articuno took."

"Isn't it a bit foolish to face down a Legendary Pokemon at your skill level? Don't get me wrong, I know you're strong, but even so, a Legendary Pokemon is in a whole other league than fighting with Bronze and Silver rank teams. Gold ranks and over are usually the teams sent out to deal with Legendary Pokemon problems, and even then it's rare. Not many know much about these Legendary Pokemon," Firestorm warned.

"We're hoping to avoid a confrontation," Berry answered. "Our mission is to rescue the kidnapped Pokemon, not take down Articuno. But I'll admit, it's still likely we'll have to fight her."

"That seems like the best approach," Meteor nodded. "Sometimes the best fights are those you can avoid."

"Do you two have any more questions?" Berry asked.

"Well...what can you tell me about that Charmeleon from your guild?" Meteor asked. "The one who's teammates are that Lucario and Grovyle."

"You mean Al?" Berry frowned, she knew they might be wondering if he was Calcifer, and she had been wondering that too. "Well, from what I know of him, he's a really friendly, outgoing, always hungry kind of Charmeleon. He seems to cause some destruction and chaos in his wake, but they're usually not too bad, I think. But he does seem to care for his friends at least, even if they drive him crazy sometimes. I think that's mostly Team Destruct in a nutshell though."

"That's...very different from the Charmeleon I know," Meteor gave an awkward chuckle. "It's possible Calcifer is merely pretending to be Al, but the Calcifer I knew was always reckless and quick to anger. No one really wanted to get close to him, seeing how often he caused harm to others. Only thing that is similar is their appetite. Besides that, I highly doubt Calcifer would hide his true colors for such a long time."

Berry kept her face neutral, but inwardly she was worried. She hadn't told Meteor or Firestorm that Al had amnesia, he had no idea who he was before. That made it very possible he could still be Calcifer, and Berry didn't want to get her friend in trouble. It might be best if I don't mention the amnesia thing. It might be for the better if Team Volcano never finds Calcifer. If Calcifer hasn't done anything wrong since he left Volcanic Ash Guild, he may just want to live in peace, and if he is Al, then it's best that Calcifer is left forgotten.

"I can't stay here for too long, I snuck in here," Berry admitted. "We'll have to save the rest of our questions for another time. It's time to go."

"Then get out of here before they see you," Firestorm replied.

"We're all leaving here," Berry said.

"What?" Both Meteor and Firestorm said at the same time.

"Shhh! Keep your voices down… and hold still," Berry whispered before she easily slipped her gooey body through the bars. "The bars are strong, but they're pretty far apart. Anything that's as slippery as a soap would easily be able to slip right through, well, as long as they're not the size of a Snorlax."

At first Meteor was skeptical, but after seeing how wide the bars were, he looked at Berry and nodded. "I think she's right."

"Wow, who would've guessed," Firestorm remarked. "I always assumed your kind weren't very bright. So now that the bars are covered in your slime, would we be able to get out?"

"Who keeps thinking my kind isn't very bright?" Berry huffed. "And no, you'd need more slime to slip through than that tiny amount. Now like I said earlier; hold still."

Berry began slithering on Meteor, coating his body with her slime. The Quilava seemed to twitch at being covered in slime. Meanwhile Firestorm was trying to hold his laughter in.

"This...feels...wrong," Meteor mumbled. "How is that Absol not bothered by carrying you all the time?"

"He's used to it," Berry answered before she hopped off of Meteor, his body and fur now gleaming with her slime. "There we go, you should be nice and slippery now to slip through."

Meteor had to fight the urge to shake his body as he walked up to the bars. He was a bit unsure if this would work, but seeing Berry easily slip through earlier convinced him to try. Meteor was already covered in slime, no point in just standing there. The Quilava then pressed his body against the two bars. At first there was some resistance, but thanks to Berry's slime, his body started pushing past the bars. With a final push, Meteor was able to slip out the bars, and he immediately shook his body, trying to shake off Berry's slime.

"Alright, your turn," Berry said to Firestorm as she turned to the fire bird.

The Fletchinder no longer was smiling. "Oh no! There's no way I'm letting you cover me in your slime! Just cover the bars more with your slime, I'll just push on through."

"If I do that, someone's going to get suspicious why the bars are so slimy," Berry answered. "Besides, the rusted metal hurts my skin. It'll be easier and quicker to just make you slimy."

"Nope, no way. And you know what, I think I'm starting to like this cell, it's big….somewhat. The food...well they haven't given us food yet but I'm sure it's not that bad. So I'll just stay right here," Firestorm stated as he turned his back towards Berry. "I'm sure I could make this place somewhat homey."

Berry slithered up the wall while Firestorm was talking and making excuses, and she soon slithered on the ceiling above him. Meteor was grinning as he watched.

"Huh? Where's the Goomy?" Firestorm asked Meteor.

Berry dropped from the ceiling and landed on top of Firestorm, quickly covering him with her slime.

"Gah!" Was all Firestorm could say before being completely covered in slime.

Once satisfied, Berry slithered off Firestorm, whose feathers were dripping with slime. Meteor this time was holding back his laughter at the sight.

"Oh hardy har har. Laugh it up, let's just get this over with," Firestorm grumbled as he awkwardly hopped towards the bars.

Just as before with Meteor, Firestorm presses his body against the bars. But he was so eager to get out and get the slime off, that he pushed too hard. With his body being covered more in slime than Meteor's, Firestorm body slipped past the bars with ease and his body flew forward, hitting the wall. Berry's heart skipped a beat by the sudden noise and looked towards where Silicobra was sitting, expecting the snake Pokemon to come, but to both her surprise and relief, the Silicobra was still occupied with his puzzle book.

Berry sighed in relief before she slithered out of the prison cell herself. "Alright, you're free now. But… would you two like to help us with Articuno? I'm sure your fire power would help us greatly against her."

"Thank you for freeing us, but sadly we can't," Meteor replied. "We still have our mission, and we have to report back to Igneel soon. Plus, the others would start noticing if we were gone. Last thing this city needs is for Igneel to show up. I wasn't kidding when I said that he'd most likely bring hellfire to this city. I prefer to avoid that outcome."

"Alright, then you should be careful while you sneak out of here, don't get caught again. Oh… and uh…" Berry sheepishly chuckled. "You might want to eat any Pecha Berries if you have them."

"Why?" Firestorm asked.

"My slime is toxic," Berry answered.

"Please tell me you're joking," Firestorm said, to which Berry shook her head. "Oh Reshiram, I think some of her slime got in my mouth! Let's go Meteor!"

"Don't worry, we have some Pecha Berries in my bag," Meteor lightly chuckled before turning towards Berry. "Sorry that we can't stay. I do wish we could help more, but we have things we need to deal with too. Good luck with that Articuno. And if you manage to be successful, hopefully you'll find someone to help with your technique."

"Thanks, I'm sure I'll find someone. Just be careful on your way out," Berry said. I better get back to the clay house, this has delayed me long enough.

---

Berry was easily able to slither pass the Silicobra, who was still just reading a book, not at all paying attention. Meteor and Firestorm were able to sneak out pretty easily too. As soon as they were out of the police station, Team Volcano quickly slinked off to the shadows to get out of Oasis City before anyone else spotted them. Berry silently wished them good luck, before she began making her way back to the clayhouse.

When Berry was back at the clayhouse, she saw Cliff and Sparks were already there.

"I got some supplies for the possible confrontation," Berry announced as she slithered inside. "How did information gathering go for you two?"

"Nobody would take me seriously," Cliff complained. "They just gave me some candies instead."

"Candies?" Berry blinked as she slithered closer to Cliff, who was holding 2 wrapped up pieces of candy.

"They're good though," Cliff muttered.

"Yes, they are," Sparks agreed. "Though I feel a bit stronger after eating one. Is that supposed to happen?"

Berry sighed. "How did I forget to teach you one of the most basic lessons? Never accept candy from strangers…"

"Well they don't seem too harmful," Sparks noticed. "They almost remind me of Joy Seeds, though they taste better."

"Do you want to try one, Mommy?" Cliff asked, holding out one of the candies to Berry.

"I'll… try one later," Berry replied, taking the candy from Cliff and putting it into her bag. Might see if I can get this candy analyzed later. "What about you, Sparks? Did you find out anything?"

"Nothing more than what I already told you before," Sparks frowned as he sighed. "Most of the locals here are too terrified to even mention Articuno, much less share any information they might have. It got to the point where I was stopped by the authorities, thinking I was trying to cause some trouble. Luckily they let me go with a warning, but haven't had much luck since then. How about you, did you have any luck?"

"I was told the same thing. I guess the locals don't really know much about Articuno, not if they're too scared to even mention her name," Berry sighed. "She's more like this untouchable, frozen entity to them. We're not going to get much help from them looks like."

"What about Uncle Shab?" Cliff asked. "He hasn't come back yet."

"Let's hope he has more luck on getting any information on Articuno or if someone is willing to help us get to Articuno than the rest of us," Berry replied.

As if on cue, a familiar Feebas came swimming in. "Oh, looks like everyone's already here. Sorry if I kept you waiting for too long."

"Shab, hey, so how'd it go?" Berry asked.

Shab took a moment to look out the window, thinking about recent events before looking back at Berry. "Well there weren't many Pokemon who were willing to talk about Articuno, but I did manage to find someone who would be willing to help us get to the tower, since we need a Flying Pokemon to cross the ravine."

Sparks lit up at the thought of a potential helper. "Really? Who?"

"A Skarmory. She agreed to carry us to the tower. She just needs a moment to prepare, but she'll meet us at the cliff side across from the tower," Shab answered.

"My side?" Cliff blinked.

"No, he means an actual cliff, not you, Cliff," Berry explained.

"Ooooh, right." Cliff nodded.

"Well, that's awfully nice of the Skarmory," Sparks said. "Skarmory aren't usually the type to do something out of the goodness of their hearts though. What's the catch?"

Shab shifted, but made sure to face Berry and the others. "Nothing to worry about. Unfortunately I didn't have time to get any supplies, did any of you manage to get some items for when we go to the tower?"

Sparks shook his head while Cliff held up a wrapped piece of candy. "I have one more candy, if you want it."

"Uh, no thank you," Shab replied. "Plus, you shouldn't really be taking candy from strangers."

"I know, Mommy just said the same thing," Cliff said while putting the candy away.

"Candy aside, I did manage to get some items from a Kecleon shop I found here," Berry spoke up. "Unfortunately, if things don't get better for this Kecleon's shop soon, they may have to close down. They don't have much business here since they mostly sell things for Crusaders, and, well, this city isn't exactly welcoming to Crusaders."

"If they know that Crusaders are not welcome here, I wonder why they even bothered staying," Shab remarked. "Seems like it's only hurting their business. But it's good that you were able to find them. I hope they didn't charge you too much, since it sounds like they haven't gotten a lot of customers lately."

"No, in fact, they even gave me a discount on the items they sold me," Berry answered. "Oh! They even gave me this TM for free."

Berry took out the yellow disc from her bag with her antennae. "I was surprised they did, since TMs are usually very expensive, especially if they hold a really good or powerful move."

Sparks looked at the TM, surprised that Berry had received it for free. "Well it looks like it's an electric type TM, though if that Kecleon gave it to you for free, I wouldn't be surprised if it was something simple like Thunder Wave."

"Well whatever move it is, we shouldn't let it go to waste," Shab remarked. "Should Sparks use it?"

"If it gives us an edge against Articuno, then I'll gladly take it," Sparks answered as Berry gave him the TM. The Pikachu held the disc to his head, expecting to learn a new move, but to his surprise the disc remained intact. "It...didn't work."

"That's odd, Electric types like a Pikachu should be able to learn a lot of different kinds of Electric type moves," Berry remarked as she pulled back the disc and flipped it around to look at it. "What kind of move did they give me then?"

"Maybe try one of us?" Shab suggested.

Shab and Cliff tried to use the TM themselves, both of them having it held on their heads, but like with Sparks, it didn't work.

"Why would they give us a TM that none of us could use?" Cliff frowned.

"Wait, they didn't give us the TM, they gave Berry the TM, maybe it's a move only she could learn?" Shab asked. "I mean she is very adaptable, and brilliant."

Berry blinked at the compliment. "I am?"

"Well of course you are," Shab answered, while blushing a little. "So I have no doubt that Kecleon gave you a TM that you could use. Go on and see for yourself."

Sparks almost chuckled, seeing how obvious Shab's feelings were for the Goomy, yet the Goomy remained oblivious to it. Are we sure Berry's ability isn't actually Oblivious?

Berry nodded to Shab before she held up the disc and let it slide onto her head. Almost immediately, Berry found herself gaining knowledge of the move that was in the TM. She felt like she knew how to use the move all her life. The disc then went gray and fell off of her head.

"Whoa…" Berry blinked for a moment.

"Hey, looks like it worked!" Sparks smiled.

"What was the move?" Cliff asked curiously.

"It was… Thunderbolt," Berry answered.

"Well that explains why it didn't work for me, I already knew the move," Sparks remarked, impressed by the TM given to Berry. "Still, I can't believe they would give a move like that for free. That isn't exactly cheap, you know."

"Wow, talk about lucky, Thunderbolt is usually one of the more expensive TMs, since it's not only a powerful move, but an accurate one that can hit multiple enemies at once who are near Berry," Shab complimented.

"Wow, Mommy, you've gotten stronger!" Cliff smiled.

"Well, I haven't put it into practice yet, and I kinda can't here since we are laying low," Berry said. "I'll just have to hope I won't have to use it against Articuno. But at least I have a super effective move against her if I do need to face her."

"Word of advice, since it will be your first time, I suggest staying focused on your target. Unlike most other elemental moves, electric type attacks can be wild and go all over the place if you're not careful," Sparks advised. "Just make sure to keep an eye on your target, and you should be fine."

"Thanks, I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Berry replied. "Shab, could you take us to meet with this Flying type who'll be taking us to Articuno? It might be best if we talked to them first before they take us there."

Shab frowned a bit. "That might be a bad idea, since they are currently staying at Hector's inn. And I doubt he'd be glad to see us."

That sombered the mood a little.

"Do you know when they'll be ready then?" Berry asked.

"They said about two hours," Shab answered. "I tried convincing her to meet us earlier, since we want to get to the tower before Articuno wakes up, but it was either that or she wouldn't come at all."

"A 'she', huh?" Cliff noted.

"Well we might as well take this time to eat, we want to make sure we have enough energy for our mission," Sparks suggested.

"We don't have a lot of food though, so we better ration what we have. Their stores are expensive, and I don't know how expensive their restaurants will be, and I don't feel comfortable being in a public area too long, there's a chance someone might see our badges or realize we're Crusaders," Berry said.

"Luckily, we at least have a table," Shab remarked.

The clay house did have a small, stone carved table. Berry took out two Apples she bought from the Kecleon Brothers's store, saving the last one for later. Sparks used Iron Tail to cut the two Apples in half, which was enough to give each of them half an apple to eat.

While everyone was eating, Sparks seemed to only take a few bites, despite being the one to suggest that they eat in the first place. Berry had noticed this and wondered what was going through the Pikachu's mind.

"Sparks, is everything okay?" The Goomy asked.

"Huh?" Sparks looked up from his apple piece. "Oh, it's just… I was just thinking of my sister and everything we did before we ended up here."

"It sounds like you and your sister were pretty close," Shab noted.

"Of course… I do care for Eli," Sparks said. "We…"

Sparks hesitated a bit. "She used to travel a lot with our friend when she met with him one day in the Illex Forest."

Berry, Cliff, and Shab looked at each other for a moment.

"You mean the Rowlet?" Cliff asked.

"Where's the Illex Forest at? I've never heard of such a place," Shab asked.

"Me neither, is it off the continent?" Berry questioned.

Sparks silently cursed at himself before shaking his head. "Uh, yeah. Some time after my sister had traveled with our friend, I accompanied them and we've been traveling since. We all became quite close, we've had a lot of close calls… and I mean a lot, especially me. I seem to get caught up in a lot of dangerous situations."

"Why do you travel then if it's so dangerous?" Cliff asked. "I mean being a Crusader is about helping Pokemon, so facing danger is necessary. But you just travel, don't you?"

"Well Eli was always the adventurous one out of us two. I remember her telling me of her first encounter with our friend, and since then had always sought adventures. I was a bit wary of our friend at first, but he always helped us. Especially when…" Sparks paused for a moment, looking as though he was almost ready to cry, but he shook himself before continuing. "Me and Eli had lost someone very important to us, but Rowlet was there with us the whole time, and helped us through. I know that it's dangerous out there, but as long as I'm with Eli, I know we can handle anything that comes our way."

"Sounds like you definitely had quite the life with your sister and the Rowlet," Berry noted. "Sometimes I wish I could be that brave. Just travel and face whatever dangers that come."

"But you are that brave, Berry," Shab pointed out. "You're a Crusader now, and one day, when we reach Gold Rank, we'll be able to travel on long term missions."

"Yeah! You, me, Uncle Shab and Daddy will be traveling everywhere when we become Gold Rank," Cliff added.

Berry smiled at that. "That'll be great."

But Berry didn't have the heart to tell them that Dust was planning to leave once he became Gold Rank, so she also didn't want them to get Gold Rank, even if it meant giving up her dream of travelling the world, she'd rather Dust never leaves them. Cliff would be heartbroken if she knew her 'daddy' was going to leave them.

"Well it looks like it's getting close to meeting up with that Skarmory," Sparks pointed out as he finished the rest of his apple. "Hopefully they do show up, or else we'll have to find another bird Pokemon to get us across."

"Don't worry, we'll save your sister, and your friend, as well as everyone else," Berry reassured Sparks. I hope I'm not making a promise I can't keep...

---

Shab began leading Berry, Sparks, and Cliff to the cliff side of the ravine. However, Berry frowned as she was following Shab, noticing something was missing. "Shab? What happened to that Prism Scarf you were wearing? I got so used to seeing you with it on that it's weird to see you without it."

"O-oh," Shab frowned as he tried to think of an excuse, but none came to mind. Sighing, he decided to tell what had happened. "Skarmory would only agree to flying us to the tower if I gave her my Scarf."

"And there's the catch," Sparks remarked.

"What? But Uncle, you loved that scarf, why would you give it away like that?" Cliff asked. "Couldn't you have paid the Skarmory to fly us with Poke?"

"I already tried offering Poke, and anything else, but my scarf was the only thing they wanted. But don't worry, it's just a scarf, if giving it up means saving Articuno's victims, then I would gladly give it up," Shab answered.

Berry frowned, she knew that Prism Scarf was important to Shab, and that it was a rare item. The fact he gave it up for a chance to save everyone was… admirable.

"Oh, Shab… that was really admirable of you to do, and maybe we'll be able to get another Prism Scarf for you someday," Berry said to Shab.

At that remark, Shab immediately began to blush so hard that his body color almost resembled Magikarp. If I had known that would've caused Berry to think that way, then I would've given up that scarf ages ago! … Of course this does make it harder for me to evolve… but still, this is nice.

"Shab? You alright? The desert heat isn't getting to you, is it?" Berry asked in concern, seeing Shab turning a concerning amount of red.

Cliff was snickering. "Uncle can make himself turn red!"

Sparks was trying very hard not to bust out laughing. He recognized love when he saw it, and the Feebas had it worse than he thought. "Well he can cool off shortly while we wait for Skarmory. Looks like we are here."

True to Spark's words, the group had reached the edge of the cliff. They saw how deep the ravine went, causing them to gulp and move a bit away from the edge. But then their attention turned towards the other side. On the other side stood a tall gray tower that seemed to almost reach the clouds above. Berry noticed that while the base of the tower had regular gray coloring, closer to the top parts of the tower were covered in ice, with the very top being almost entirely frozen. Despite being on the other side of the ravine, Berry noticed that the temperature was already somewhat cooler compared to when they were in Oasis City.

"I guess I can see why Articuno would like to make her nest at the top of this tower, it's not only high, but cold in the stratosphere…" Berry noted.

"Well… are you the chums going to the top of this tower?" A rough feminine voice spoke up, getting the group's attention.

A Skarmory flew down to them, landing in front of them. Berry immediately took notice of the Prism Scarf wrapped around the Skarmory's neck. The scarf Shab had to give up.

"Yes, these are my friends," Shab answered.

"And you want to go there because you want to try to be heroes or something?" The Skarmory asked. "Hmph, I suppose it doesn't matter to me. If you're Crusaders, at least I'll know Articuno will freeze you."

That wasn't a comforting thought, but at least the Skarmory was willing to get them across the ravine and towards the tower that was Articuno's nest.

"Now let's get this over with, I have an important date and I can't wait to show him my new scarf," Skarmory said while posing.

"Who would date you?" Cliff asked, annoyed at this Skarmory.

"Cliff, don't be rude," Berry whispered before she quickly spoke up to the Skarmory. "Sorry, she's young. She's just curious about who your date is."

"Oh, just a lovely Honchkrow, though I can't see how it would matter to you. Then again, I guess you don't have to worry about your looks, so that's a good thing," Skarmory lifted her wing up to her beak and gave a hearty laugh.

Berry frowned, she was used to being called ugly, but she wasn't sure if the Skarmory was calling her ugly, or all of them. Sure, Shab wasn't the best looking Pokemon ever, but she still didn't appreciate others calling him ugly. Cliff was beautiful as far as Berry was concerned though.

Shab cleared his throat. "Let's not compare looks right now. Please just get us to Articuno's Nest."

"Fine, whatever, just hurry up and get on," Skarmory replied as she lowered herself to the ground and held out her wing. "I'm not picking you up, if you can't get on on your own, tough luck."

Berry was the first to slither up the Skarmory's wing. The steel bird Pokemon shuddered and silently mumbled how she couldn't wait to take a bath. Next was Cliff, which Shab and Sparks helped climb up the Skarmory. The bird Pokemon grunted from Cliff's weight, but held her ground as Sparks and Shab were the last ones to climb on top.

"That Larvitar better not cause a dent on my body," The Skarmory grumbled.

"Just fly us there quickly before it becomes an issue then," Sparks said.

The Skarmory grumbled. "Don't tell me what to do."

The Skarmory held out her wings and then took off. Berry held on to Cliff to make sure she wouldn't fall off. Sparks held on to the Skarmory's back while Shab stuck himself onto Berry's body since he couldn't really hold on to anything. Skarmory flew quickly over the ravine, and going over to the tower. However, instead of flying to the top of the tower, she landed at the base of the tower.

"Why are you landing here?" Sparks asked.

Skarmory was breathing hard. She didn't even bother to answer Sparks as she tilted her body and dumped him and the others.

After a few more seconds, Skarmory straightened her back as she replied to Sparks. "I need a moment to rest. If you haven't noticed, that Larvitar alone is heavy. So carrying all of you takes a toll on my body."

Sparks groaned but understood why. "Fine, you have ten minutes."

"Ten minutes?!" Skarmory shockingly asked. "I need at least an hour!"

"You only get ten. We are short on time and we need to get up there as quickly as possible," Sparks answered while letting a few electricity spark from his cheeks.

"Hmph, fine," Skarmory grumbled as she turned her back towards Sparks, silently mumbling to herself. "I could be enjoying a nice meal right now, but no. I had to do charity work for these tourists. Arceus I do hope they are Crusaders, that way Articuno would just freeze them."

"But you're not doing charity, I paid you with that Prism Scarf," Shab reminded.

"Besides, aren't you supposed to be a Skarmory? Skarmory are able to take heavy weights and be able to fly through harsh environments for hours," Berry remarked.

"I don't see any of you with wings. So I don't expect any of you to understand how difficult it is to fly with that much weight. Just be glad I didn't drop any of you," Skarmory huffed before she glared at Sparks. "Now if you excuse me, I have only ten minutes to rest, and I would rather not waste them with pointless chatter."

The group frowned, but decided to let the Skarmory rest while they discussed what to do.

"Once we get to the top of the tower, we'll have to be very quiet. Articuno is, hopefully, sleeping right now. That should give us enough time to find Sparks's Rowlet friend and use an Aspear Berry to melt the ice he's in," Berry said. "If they can really help us put a stop to Articuno, then they are our best choice."

"How many Aspear Berries do we have?" Sparks asked.

"I was only able to get two," Berry answered, which caused the Pikachu to frown.

"After unfreezing my friend, that would only leave us with one," Sparks remarked. "I've only seen your friend fight a few times when we were traveling through Dune Desert, but how helpful would Dust be if we were to unfreeze him?"

"Well, he is our leader," Berry said. "He can be crafty in battle. Though he's never faced a Legendary Pokemon before, none of us had. So I can't say for sure how helpful he'll be. Though I suppose any help he can give us is better than none at all, right?"

"I understand you wish to save your friend, but our priority should be freeing Rowlet first. If we still haven't been noticed by Articuno, we can try and get your friend. But the longer we spend time up there, the more we risk being caught. We only have a small window of opportunity, and we can't afford to miss it," Sparks explained.

"We'll find him, and we'll save Daddy and everyone," Cliff promised.

"And what would we do if Articuno does notice us?" Shab asked.

"We either try to get away, or stand and fight," Berry answered. "I might be able to buy us some time if we do get caught. The main priority is getting Rowlet out of the ice, and then getting away to give him time to recover."

"You mean you plan to face Articuno alone if we get caught?" Shab frowned. "But you can't, Berry! You're strong, I know you are, but even you wouldn't stand a chance against Articuno."

"I know I don't." Berry frowned. "But I might be able to stall her long enough for you to get away with Rowlet. Don't worry about me, this is what Crusaders do."

"How exactly are you going to draw Articuno's attention away from us?" Sparks asked. "No offense, but she is only interested in rare and unique Pokemon. She would most likely go after me before even turning her attention towards you."

"If it comes to that, then maybe you'll have to fight with me," Berry answered. "I'd rather keep her attention on me. Maybe I'm rare enough to get her attention as long as she doesn't see you. But if she does see you, then I'm sorry, but you'll likely have to fight too. As long as someone is able to get away with Rowlet, and Rowlet really is able to stop Articuno, then that is our main priority, like you said."

Sparks looked at Berry for a moment, having a confused look. "That's a really smart decision… Are you sure you aren't the leader?"

Berry blinked at the comment. "No, not really. I'm just trying to figure out the best way to approach the situation."

"Mommy, I don't want you to get frozen." Cliff frowned.

"I know, Cliff, I don't either. But as long as we can stop Articuno, then you won't have to worry about me being frozen for too long, right?" Berry comforted.

Shab frowned before he looked back at something. "Hey! Where are you going!?"

Everyone quickly turned to what Shab was yelling at, and saw Skarmory, their ride to the top of the tower, already flying away without them.

"Hmm? Oh, well you see, something had just occurred to me. While I did agree to take you and your group across the ravine, you never did ask for me to take you all to the top of the tower," Skarmory replied before smirking. "Nor did you ever say I had to bring you all back. Have fun getting frozen. Au revoir~"

"Why that no good, scumbag, thieving, heartless, metal brained metal bird!" Cliff growled. "We never should've asked her for help!"

Berry couldn't help but share Cliff's sentiment.

"I'm sorry… I should've tried someone more trustworthy…" Shab apologized, feeling guilty he just landed them in this situation.

"Don't blame yourself, Shab, you're not responsible for that Skarmory's decisions," Berry said to Shab, feeling bad for him because not only was he blaming himself, but he gave up something precious to him only for the Skarmory to ditch them.

If Berry could, she would Dragon Breath and Water Pulse that Skarmory into next week for this.

"Well now what do we do?" Sparks frowned.

Berry looked at Sparks, then at the tower. "I guess we'll have to climb the tower ourselves."

Sparks frowned but still had a look of determination. "If that's what it'll take, then so be it."

The Pikachu hopped on the side of the wall and managed to get up a couple feet. Though as Sparks got higher, he had a hard time getting a good grip. He tried to climb up further, only to lose his grip and fall towards the ground. Berry reacted by propelling herself by using Water Pulse and placing herself underneath Sparks just before he hit the ground. Her body almost flattened completely as Sparks sank into her body, but then he bounced off her body and landed face first onto the ground.

"Berry! Are you alright?" Shab asked as he floated towards Berry.

"Mommy?" Cliff ran to Berry in concern.

"I'll… I'll be alright…" Berry replied, trying to unflatten herself. "Might need… a minute though…"

"I'm so sorry about that, Berry," The shiny Pikachu quickly apologized. "You saved my life."

"Just don't be hasty…" Berry said. "The tower's top is… covered in ice… climbing the outside… isn't ideal. We'll have to… climb from the inside."

Sparks nodded. "I'll look around and try to find an entrance while you...uh...unflatten yourself."

The Pikachu started searching around the tower, leaving Shab and Cliff to tend to Berry.

"I hope he finds an entrance, I didn't really see one while Skarmory was carrying us," Shab remarked.

"That no good bird…" Cliff hissed.

Sparks was looking around the tower, and he did find a door that normally would've led inside the tower, unfortunately it was frozen shut. Sparks frowned as he approached the frozen door, and he tried to use Iron Tail on it, turning his tail to steel and whacking the ice a few times. The ice, however, was so thick that it might as well have been an iron wall standing in their way.

When Sparks returned to Berry and the others, they all gave him a hopeful look, but he shook his head. "I found the doors to the tower, but it's frozen shut. I tried breaking it with Iron Tail, but it didn't even crack."

"Then we'll make our own door!" Cliff spoke up before she began stomping towards the tower's wall.

"Wait, what's she going to-" Sparks began to ask before Cliff began dancing. "Uh… is she dancing? Is she hoping to make a door appear magically by dancing? How old is she again?"

"Give her a moment," Berry said, looking a little better now.

After dancing around a few times, Cliff charged right into the wall of the tower, breaking through the bricks. Sparks's mouth fell open as he stared at the huge hole that Cliff had just made.

"How…?" Sparks asked.

"She used Dragon Dance a few times to make herself stronger, then used an attack to break through the wall," Shab explained.

"She knows Dragon Dance?" Sparks asked, surprised that someone like Cliff knew that move. "There's really more to you all than meets the eye."

"Heh, well it's like Dust said when we first met, we may not look like much, but we all have worked hard to get to where we are now," Shab replied with pride.

"Come on, Cliff is waiting for us inside," Berry spoke up.

"Are you okay enough to move?" Sparks asked in concern.

"Yeah, don't worry, I've been through worse," Berry reassured before the group made their way into the hole in the wall.

Cliff was staring at something in shock.

"What's wrong, Cliff?" Berry asked.

Cliff pointed at something ahead. Berry looked, and now she too was staring in shock. Shab approached them, and was about to ask what was wrong, but then he too saw what they were looking at.

"Hey, what's wrong? We should get going," Sparks asked as he started to walk past the group, but then he stopped too. "Wait… is that…?"

Ahead of them was a staircase. It didn't just lead to the top of the tower, not exactly. It seemed to be leading to another floor. Berry and the others recognized this particular staircase. These staircases only appeared in Mystery Dungeons.

"How? Why is there a Mystery Dungeon staircase in here? It's just an ordinary tower, isn't it?" Sparks questioned.

"It likely was, until Articuno came," Berry answered. "Dust made a theory that Mystery Dungeons aren't natural, and are likely made under certain conditions. And it looks like he may be right about it."

"Do you think it has to do with Articuno staying in the tower?" Shab asked.

"Well she had been staying close to Oasis City for some time," Sparks started before looking at Berry. "If Dust's theory is true, then Articuno's presence would have created this dungeon."

"Either way, it looks like we'll have to cross this Mystery Dungeon to get to the top of the tower." Cliff frowned.

"We better go quick then, it's already late in the afternoon, and time can flow differently in a Mystery Dungeon," Berry warned. "Stay close, Sparks. We don't know how tough this Mystery Dungeon is."

"Then we best get going," Sparks agreed.

The group headed up on the staircase, entering the Mystery Dungeon of the tower.

---

Icy Tower 1F

The Icy Tower started out fine, it wasn't hot or cold, because the inside was away from the sun, and the colder stuff was on the higher floors. As a result, the wild Pokemon that appeared here were mostly Normal types, like Rattata, Sentret, Zigzagoon, and the like. There were a few Ground types that appeared due to the sandy ground, like Sandshrew and Gligar.

These Pokemon weren't too hard for Team Night Tide and Sparks to handle. They continued on.

---

Icy Tower 4F

When Team Night Tide and Sparks got to the 4th floor, however, it began to get cold. The once sandy ground was beginning to become rocky, and the walls around them started getting bits of ice on them. To make it worse, the dungeon itself now had the snowy weather. Even though they were inside a tower, it was snowing.

"How is it snowing?" Sparks asked as they were going through the floor.

"That's part of the mystery of the Mystery Dungeons," Berry said. "It can have weather effects, even if you're inside a building."

"And I thought traveling with Rowlet was strange," Sparks mumbled.

"What?" Shab asked, having heard Sparks just now.

"Oh...I mean…that we haven't really been in many Mystery Dungeons before, so my friend tries to make things more interesting when we travel," Sparks replied.

"But didn't you say that your travels involved a lot of danger?" Cliff asked. "If you're not traveling in Mystery Dungeons, then what kind of dangers do you and your friend face?"

"It's… complicated. There are other dangers out there than Mystery Dungeons though," Sparks pointed out.

"We can talk about this later, we should stay focused," Berry spoke up. "It's only going to get colder from here, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ice types start showing up."

---

Icy Tower 9F

Berry hadn't been kidding. When they reached the 9th floor, it had gotten very cold. Ice types had started showing up. The ice began to cover the walls around them, the rocky ground was getting too cold to stand on. They began running into Snorunt, Snover, and even Sandshrew, but not the Ground type Sandshrew. These particular Sandhsrew looked different, they were mostly white instead of yellow, and their stomachs were a cream color. Their heads looked like they were hearing an icy hood. Berry, Shab, and Cliff remembered seeing a Sandshrew like this back at the tournament once before.

The icy Sandshrew attacked them by jumping into the air, curling into a ball, and slam into them. Due to the icy hide of the Sandshrew, the attack was more like an Iceball attack. Not only that, but every time the Sandhrew managed to hit someone, its body creates thicker ice around it with each attack. But its body also became slower, making it easier to dodge. Sparks and Shab took most of the Iceball attack, since neither Berry nor Cliff could resist the Ice type attack very well.

Berry shot out a Dragon Breath at the Sandshrew, causing it to become paralyzed and slowed it down. Cliff then used Rock Throw, creating a big rock and slamming it into the Ice type Sandshrew. The Sandshrew soon fainted after that, and the group continued on.

"Are you sure you don't need an Oran Berry?" Berry asked Sparks and Shab. "You two took a few hits from that Sandshrew."

"I guess it's more of an Iceshrew," Cliff muttered.

"I'm sure Chihiro would be laughing right now if she heard that," Shab lightly chuckled before answering Berry. "I'll be fine, we should save our berries for later. We don't know how many floors this dungeon will have, and then there's Articuno who's at the very top."

"Agreed," Sparks added. "Now let's keep going, something tells me we still have a ways to go."

---

Icy Tower 15F

It felt like it had been days since Team Night Tide and Sparks started this journey through the Icy Tower. While Berry and Shab had been through a longer dungeon before in the Sunken Tunnels, this Mystery Dungeon felt a lot longer. Berry was beginning to feel numb, and the snow was turning into harsh hail. The hail constantly pelted the four Pokemon as they were fighting their way to the top of the tower. The hail was also making the Ice type inhabitants stronger, while it was making them weaker.

Already, Berry had to use up the last Apple they had, but they had to split it into 4, which wasn't nearly enough, but it was all they had other than the two berries that would be too important to eat right now. Cliff didn't appear to be doing much better, her body looked like it was starting to turn a slight blue, and so did Berry's now that she thought about it, though it was harder to notice due to Berry's purple coloring. Berry wanted to ask if Cliff was doing alright, but she didn't feel like talking. Talking took precious energy, which Berry wanted to conserve as much as she could.

However, Berry was getting concerned for Cliff. Shab's scales would likely be cold, so he wouldn't be able to warm her up. But the Pikachu on the other hand… "S-Sparks… can you… stay close to… Cliff? Warm… her up a bit?"

Sparks turned and saw how much Cliff was shivering. Thanks to his fur, the cold wasn't as harsh as it was for the others. Sparks nodded as he walked up to Cliff and put both his right arm and tail around the Larvitar. Cliff happily accepted the hug and what little warmth it gave her.

"I-I'm surprised...that y-you guys don't… h-have a Fire t-type on your t-team yet," Sparks remarked with a stutter.

"I-I wish… D-daddy was here… His f-fur would've kept all warm," Cliff added.

"We hadn't thought about recruiting new Pokemon," Shab admitted, being the one least affected by the cold out of the group, though he was pretty cold himself. "Things were going well with what we had, and we were worried recruiting more Pokemon would make things become too chaotic."

"W-why is i-it always 4 members?" Sparks wondered. "I t-thought… you guys c-could have up t-to 6."

"Why would you think that?" Shab asked, talking for Team Night Tide seeing how Berry and Cliff didn't want to talk right now. "The rule had always been 4 members in a Mystery Dungeon at a time, though that doesn't include non-Crusaders, so clients like you could still travel with us. The reason is because too many Pokemon in a Mystery Dungeon at once could become too chaotic, and it would be easy to lose track of someone. 4 keeps us tight together, not enough to be too many, but enough to keep from being overwhelmed by wild Pokemon."

Sparks was still confused. "R-really? I always t-thought you… f-followed the humans' example."

"The humans? We don't know much about humans, or what they did in ancient times," Shab said.

"D-do you?" Cliff asked, looking up at the Pikachu.

"U-uh…" Sparks went silent as though he had just said something he wasn't supposed to. "W-well... in my t-travels with Eli and our f-friend… we had f-found old books about human t-trainers… T-they usually had 6 P-Pokemon, so I f-figured Crusaders… followed t-that example."

"Did you bring the old books then? Dust would love to see that, any information on humans would be like gold to researchers like him," Shab chuckled.

"S-sorry… uh… we l-left them behind," Sparks answered.

"Aww, that's too bad," Shab sighed.

They soon found the stairs and went up to the next floor.

---

Icy Tower 16F

The hail was coming down again, pelting the 4 once more. Berry had thought about using Rain Dance, but being wet in a cold place like this would only freeze them faster.

They were down to 1 Oran Berry now, due to how strong some of the wild Pokemon became in the hail, they needed to recover quickly before more came. Berry's slime had been slowing down as her body temperature became lower.

The team was having more difficulty fighting through the Ice types, but they continued to press on. None of them wanted to give up, not when they could be so close to the top. Berry stopped using her Dragon Breath because she was starting to run out, so she started using Body Slam, Protect, and Water Pulse more. Shab could move around easier than the rest of them, but he was starting to get tired too. The hail pelting against him wasn't helping either, since he was technically the weakest of the group, he couldn't do much damage on his own, and the hail was quickly taking their toll on him.

Luckily, Berry's ability to sense other Pokemon helped them avoid most of the unwanted battles with the other wild Pokemon. And they rushed through the dungeon, trying to find the stairs.

---

Icy Tower 17F

It wasn't hailing this time, but just snowing. Even still, it was making the place much colder than it needed to be. Berry didn't know how much longer she could go on, she already felt close to passing out. Cliff was slowing down as well, even with the Pikachu trying to warm her up. The snow was making it difficult to stay warm, and it was making Sparks's fur wet, which wasn't good for the Larvitar.

Berry's slime started to become frozen, bits of frostbite was eating away at her soft skin. Berry soon stopped moving altogether. The other three kept going, until one of them noticed someone was missing. Shab looked back, since he had noticed Berry had been falling behind, and he became very concerned when he noticed the little Goomy had stopped moving, and had fallen far behind.

"Berry!" Shab quickly swam over to the Goomy. "Berry, are you alright?"

"T-too… c-c-cold…" Berry shivered.

"Berry, you have to keep moving!" Shab warned as he got close to Berry to try and warm her up. "I know it's cold, but you can't stop, or else you'll get frozen solid!"

"M-Mommy?" Cliff asked in concern.

"No, no, no, you have to move," Sparks quickly said as he and Cliff approached Berry and Shab. "Cliff, I'm going to let go, I need to try to get Berry to move or else she'll freeze… and I don't mean like Dust."

Cliff quickly nodded, worried for her mommy. The Pikachu let go of the Larvitar and quickly began to rub himself on Berry, trying to warm her up. He could already feel most of her skin was frozen. Sparks frowned, seeing how Berry was not very likely to move unless he could get her to wake up. "I must apologize for this, Berry, but this is necessary. Shab, you better step back."

Shab didn't hesitate, he quickly moved away as Sparks's cheeks began to spark with electricity. He nuzzled his sparking cheeks against Berry's body, which did zap her. Berry quickly woke up as her body was suddenly electrocuted. It didn't hurt much, but it was enough to get her jolted from her spot and jump.

"WAH!?" Berry yelped.

"Berry?" Shab went to check on Berry now that she was more awake. "Are you okay? Can you keep going?"

"Y-yeah… yeah, I think so," Berry answered.

"Then we better move quickly, that small jolt can only do so much," Sparks quickly said.

Cliff went to hug Berry, but Sparks hugged her himself. "You need to stay warm too, there'll be time for hugs once this is all over."

Cliff frowned, but nodded, she wanted to hug her mommy, but she also knew both of them needed to stay as warm as possible right now. Shab decided to stay behind the group this time, to make sure nobody else fell behind due to the cold.

I really hope we're almost at the top, for Berry and Cliff's sake. Shab frowned in worry.

---

Icy Tower 19F

Are we almost at the top? I can't even use my antennae to sense things anymore. They've become too frozen stiff for that. Cliff and I could hardly help in battle like this. The wild Pokemon are getting less, thankfully, probably because we're getting closer to Articuno. Berry thought to herself as the group continued moving through the floor. But at this rate, with how weakened we are from the cold, would we be able to take on Articuno? The dungeon alone already wiped us out. How could we possibly hope to stand up against Articuno? I really hope we don't get caught, there's no way we'll be able to face Articuno with how we are now.

Berry felt herself start to slow down again. She tried to keep up, but her body was starting to go numb like last time. Already she felt the recess of her mind starting to struggle against the cold. Luckily for her, Sparks was already close to her, making sure to keep an eye on Berry. So when he saw the Goomy was starting to slow down, he matched her pace and wrapped his tail behind her, trying to help her to keep on going.

"S-sorry…" Berry apologized. "D-do.. you think… you can give m-me another shock?"

"I can t-try, but I'm not sure how effective it would b-be," Sparks remarked. He was about to start charging electricity through his cheeks, but then an idea suddenly came to mind. "Actually, y-you should try and do it yourself."

"I-I… I c-can?" Berry asked.

"The c-cold must b-be getting t-to you. I-I guess you f-forgot that you c-can use Thunderbolt n-now," Sparks chuckled.

"O-oh… y-yeah…" Berry remembered. "W-will that… h-help?"

"Y-yeah, a lot more t-than getting shocked b-by me," Sparks answered. "T-the energy b-build up will s-send electricity t-through your b-body."

Berry began trying just that. Due to the TM giving her the knowledge on how to use Thunderbolt, she already knew how to build up the energy. She just never actually did it before. Berry began building up the electricity in her body, which was causing her body to turn a bright yellow as electricity started to spark around her. Seeing this, Sparks had another idea.

"C-Cliff, go and h-hug her. The e-electricity shouldn't h-hurt you d-due to your Ground t-typing," Sparks suggested. "It s-should h-help warm you u-up."

Cliff was too cold to reply, but she nodded before slowly making her way to Berry. When the Larvitar hugged Berry, she felt how cold the Larvitar was, which caused her to be concerned. She hoped that as energy started to build up in her body, it would keep both her and Cliff warm.

At first, Cliff barely moved as she hugged Berry, but after a few seconds Berry felt her squeezing her a little more.

"Hmmm, Mommy, you feel warm," Cliff softly said.

Shab smiled as he watched Berry and Cliff hugging each other to keep warm. He wished he could hug Berry too, but unfortunately, the electricity would hurt him.

Berry had never been so glad to have Thunderbolt, it was not only warming her up, but Cliff too. The two of them stayed like this for a while, allowing the heat of the electricity warm them both up. Soon, Cliff's body returned to its healthier, natural green color. Berry, feeling warmed up now, stopped building up the electricity in her body, letting it dissipate back down. The yellow color of the electricity faded away, showing Berry's healthier, natural purple colors.

"W-wow, I f-figured it would k-keep you warm, b-but I didn't think it would b-be that effective," Sparks remarked. "I c-can normally k-keep only m-myself warm, b-but I wonder if it's b-because of y-your body that y-you can warm others."

"Well, whatever the case may be, this is a lifesaver." Berry smiled. "Shab, why don't you come hug me?"

"W-what?" Shab began to blush.

"I know you resist the cold better than the rest of us, but I think you should warm up a little before we reach Articuno," Berry explained. "With my body temperature back to normal, I don't need to keep using Thunderbolt, so I won't have to shock you."

"If you insist," Shab happily obliged as he went up to Berry.

As soon as Shab's body touched Berry's, he felt her warm body, which only caused the Feebas to blush even more. Berry blinked as she saw the Feebas's body turning slightly red.

"I'm not warming you up too much, am I? I didn't accidentally shock you, did I?" Berry asked in concern.

"N-no, you're fine, actually, more than fine. You're great!" Shab quickly said, having almost completely forgotten about the cold.

Sparks silently chuckled to himself, seeing how Shab felt about Berry. But then an idea popped in his head.

"S-since you t-two are able to s-stay warm, we should all s-stay close together. So we c-can keep that warmth," Sparks suggested. "B-Berry, c-can you still s-sense others w-with your antennae?"

Everyone gathered around, wanting to keep warm. Berry was reminded of the book about how Piplup survive in the cold by huddling with each other. "Yeah, I think so, my antennae have warmed up now so I can use them again."

"Are we getting close to Articuno, Mommy?" Cliff asked as they began moving forward.

"Yes, we are. I can sense her very close. I think she's on the next floor," Berry answered. "Which means… we better prepare ourselves in case things turn ugly."

Berry reached into her bag and pulled out a scarf she bought from the Kecleon Brothers's shop. "Sparks, can you put this on? It's a Detect Scarf, it'll help you dodge enemy attacks easier. We're going to need all the advantages we can get."

Sparks was surprised that Berry had a scarf like that. He grabbed the scarf and tied it around his neck, grateful for the additional warmth. "Thanks, but where did you get a scarf like this?"

"Back at the Kecleon Brothers's shop," Berry answered before frowning. "I did intend to give it to you earlier, but when we got here, a lot of things happened and I forgot about it. But… well, better late than never, right? It's not like you really needed it until now."

Sparks nodded while chuckling a bit. "Heh, I guess we should count ourselves lucky that the Kecleon decided to be very generous."

They soon came across a staircase.

"Looks like this is it. With how strong Articuno's presence is, I believe we'll be at the top once we climb those stairs," Berry warned. "Is everyone ready?"

"Let's go save Daddy and everyone." Cliff nodded in determination.

"I'm ready when you are," Shab answered, looking nervous but also determined.

"There's no going back. Your friend, my sister and friend, as well as everyone else is counting on us to save them," Sparks added.

"But no pressure…" Berry sweatdropped.

The group all took a deep breath and let it out, and they ascended the stairs.

---

Icy Tower Aritucno's Nest

Berry was surprised when they had ascended the stairs. She was expecting the next floor to be a blizzard, where the snow would be so thick that they wouldn't be able to see in front of them. Instead the floor was clear of any snow or hail. It was still cold, but not as bad as compared to the previous floors. She noticed that the ground was completely covered in smooth ice, while there were a few ice pillars across the floor. She slithered up to one of them, wondering why there were so many ice pillars, but as she got closer, she let out a gasp as she saw that these pillars had all sorts of Pokemon trapped inside.

Not only that, but the room itself was huge, there were walls of ice all over the place. Ice pillars made it difficult to navigate. Cliff was looking at the ice pillars herself, frowning. Berry frowned, feeling Cliff was too young to see something as morbid as this, but it wasn't like Berry could stop her, short of blindfolding the Larvitar, which would be dangerous in this situation.

"This place is huge…" Sparks whispered. "It might as well be a Mystery Dungeon itself here."

"Where's Articuno? And Dust, and Juice, and this Rowlet?" Shab asked.

"Can't we free all of these poor Pokemon?" Cliff asked.

"First we need to stop Articuno," Berry said. "And we need to find Rowlet. I don't know where Articuno is, but I can sense she's here somewhere."

"How are we going to find them? This place is a maze." Sparks frowned.

"Well… I figured it might be," Berry remarked. "That's why I bought this."

Berry took out an orb from her bag.

Cliff looked at the orb with wonderment. "Oh? What kind of orb is that, Mommy? Will it take us to Daddy?"

"It's a One-Room Orb," Berry answered. "It's a pretty rare Wonder Orb, but what it does is that in Mystery Dungeons, it would turn the entire floor of a maze into one big room. I'm hoping that since this tower became a Mystery Dungeon, it'll work here too. It should make our search much easier."

Berry held up the One-Room Orb and it glowed brightly. The entire maze began to shift around them. Everyone looked around in curious awe as they watched the entire floor change before them. The icy walls disappeared, or shifted into one wall. The ice pillars were scattered around the room.

The group now found themselves standing in one big icy room instead of a maze. They could see Articuno appearing to be asleep on an icy nest she likely made herself. They also saw a familiar red and blue eyed Absol trapped in an ice pillar not that far from the Articuno.

"Well, we know where Dust is now," Berry whispered.

"Then let's go save Daddy," Cliff eagerly replied.

The Larvitar was about to rush forward, but Berry held her back.

"Cliff, I know you want to save Daddy, but we have to be careful," Berry warned.

"Yeah, plus… I know the orb made things easier, but," Shab paused as he eyed the sleeping Articuno. "With how close Articuno is to Dust, it might be best if Berry and I go and try to sneak past Articuno. Out of us four, we barely make a noise on this ground."

"But what about Rowlet? Weren't we supposed to get him out of the ice first?" Sparks asked. "We need to save our Aspear Berries for him. For all we know, just one Aspear Berry wouldn't be enough to release him from Articuno's ice."

"Sparks is right, as much as I want to save Dust, we need to find Rowlet first," Berry agreed. "Articuno is asleep, so let's look around the ice pillars, try to find a Rowlet. Remember, everyone, be as quiet as possible."

Cliff looked at the frozen Absol longingly, but she nodded. She knew the best way to rescue her daddy was to find this Rowlet. So the group split up, and began to look at the ice pillars.

While Berry was looking at each pillar, trying to find Rowlet, she couldn't help but feel uneasy as she looked at all these frozen Pokemon. She remembered seeing Dust frozen the first time, how his eyes seemed to have no life in them. She was concerned for all the other victims, wondering how they would be once they were freed. She knew that Dust, along with Eli and Juice would be fine, or at least she hoped they would be, but she wasn't so sure about the others.

How long has Articuno kept you all prisoners here? Berry solemnly wondered before gaining new determination. Don't worry, I promise you all that we will help free you.

Berry continued to slither around the room, looking at each ice pillar carefully for a Rowlet. She soon saw a Pichu with a spiky ear. That must be Eli, Sparks's sister.

Berry then looked at the other ice pillar beside Eli, and was shocked at what she saw. Wait… that's… what is that? I don't think I've ever seen a Pokemon like that before.

Whatever it was, it certainly didn't look like a Rowlet. It looked more like some kind of Grass Fairy type. It was small, green, had some long arms, three small fingers, a couple of feet but no toes. From its waist, it had a darker green color, while the top had a lighter green color. It had two small antennae on its head, and almost a hair-like head at the back pointing up. It had a pair of white, bee-like wings.

Berry wasn't sure what to make of it. This Pokemon was frozen beside the presumingly Eli. She turned to Sparks, and began to slither towards him. "Sparks… I think I found Eli, and… some Pokemon I've never seen before beside her."

At the mention of Eli and the other Pokemon, Sparks immediately turned to face Berry. "You found Eli? And the other Pokemon, are you sure it wasn't Rowlet?"

Berry led Sparks to where she saw Eli and the mysterious Pokemon.

"I may not have seen a lot of Rowlet in my life, but I'm pretty sure that Pokemon in the ice isn't a Rowlet," Berry stated.

Sparks frowned a bit. While he was glad to see Eli, he had a concerned look on his face as he stared at the other Pokemon. "I was hoping that he would still appear as a Rowlet, but it looks like there's no point in hiding it any longer. That Pokemon is the Rowlet we are looking for, except he really isn't a Rowlet, that's a disguise he created. The truth is, my friend is really Celebi."

"Celebi?" Berry blinked. "What's that?"

Sparks gave a surprised look. "You never heard of Celebi?"

"I haven't, though Dust might've," Berry answered. "I probably should ask him to teach me more about Pokemon I've never seen."

Sparks was still surprised, but decided to put that aside for later. "Well anyways, once we free Celebi, he should be able to help us free all the others here."

"You seem to have a lot of faith in Celebi," Berry noted. "Is he really that strong?"

"Well…" Sparks began. "He doesn't like to fight, but he is really clever. I've seen him able to take down armies of aggressive Pokemon without ever once using an attack on them."

"Now that's impressive," Berry admired.

Cliff frowned as she looked out the window, noticing something wasn't right. She remembered other Pokemon in Oasis City telling them that Articuno usually came out at night, not at day. And while that normally wouldn't be a problem, Cliff noticed that it was dark outside. There was no sun, just stars and a moon shining out in the sky. She began to get a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as realization began to dawn on her.

"Mommy… why would the Articuno still be asleep when it's already night?" Cliff asked.

Berry frowned. "What do you mean it's night? It was afternoon when we came into the Mystery… Dungeon…"

Shab looked over from where he was. "What?"

"What's wrong?" Sparks asked, seeing Berry pale.

"We were in a Mystery Dungeon for a while," Berry answered. "Mystery Dungeons sometimes have their own time zones. Meaning an hour in a Mystery Dungeon could be 5 hours out here. We spent a good while climbing up the tower's Mystery Dungeon to get here."

Sparks's ears dropped as he realized what Berry meant. Berry and Sparks looked back towards where Articuno was sleeping, only to see the nest empty. Their hearts started to race as they tried to find where the Legendary Ice Bird was in the big room. Berry tried to sense where Articuno was, but it felt as though she was everywhere in the room, and yet nowhere to be seen.

"Mommy, look out!" Berry heard Cliff shout behind her.

Both Berry and Sparks reacted to Cliff's warning as they jumped out of the way, with Sparks using Quick Attack and Berry using Water Pulse to move. A moment later an ice blast hit the spot where they had just been moments ago. Berry looked back to see an ice pillar formed, and had they not reacted in time, it would've been their prison.

"My, I expected my prized Pikachu to dodge my Ice Beam, but I didn't expect you to do so as well~" An icy voice chimed in from above.

"Quick! Use the Aspear Berry!" Sparks quickly said to Berry.

Berry quickly pulled out an Aspear Berry and threw it towards the frozen Celebi. Unfortunately, something big and blue dropped down from the ceiling and snatched up the berry with ease. Articuno herself landed in front of them, and they saw the Aspear Berry in the Articuno's beak.

"Oh… no…" Berry frowned.

Articuno then swallowed up the Aspear Berry. "Sorry, did you think I was going to let you release my prized possession so easily?"

No one answered back as Articuno looked at Berry and the others, more amused than upset about having intruders in her home.

"And here I was thinking I was about to have another fun little conversation with my Absol, when to my surprise I found some uninvited guests. Do mind the mess, it's not so often I get visitors," Articuno sarcastically remarked before turning towards Sparks. "But I can't deny that I'm so glad to see you come. I knew it would only be a matter of time until you decided to come for your sister."

"Let Daddy go!" Cliff shouted, running over to Berry and Sparks. "It's not nice to freeze Pokemon!"

"Cliff, you and Shab need to get out of here," Berry hissed. "This Articuno is out of our league!"

"I'm not leaving you and Daddy here to be frozen, Mommy!" Cliff spoke up. "I'd rather fight."

"Same here, Berry," Shab spoke up, swimming over to the group. "Besides, even if we ran now, she would easily catch us. The plan to do this stealthily was thrown out the window when it became night."

Berry hated to admit it, but Shab was right. The plan to get away with the 'Rowlet' was invalid when they came here at night, with Articuno wide awake. They had only one choice now; defend themselves.

"Oh? So you intend to fight me?" Articuno was actually surprised, having been used to seeing Pokemon try to run away in fear. But then she spread her wings, welcoming their efforts. "It's been some time since I've been in a battle, do try to keep me entertain, who knows how long it will be until the next group of brave Pokemon come and try to stop me~"

Articuno began flying into the air, then she shot out a beam of ice at the group.

"Move!" Berry quickly shouted.

Using her Water Pulse, Berry propelled her body against Cliff, causing both of them to go flying away from the Ice Beam. Sparks and Shab were fast on their own and were able to dodge the icy attack.

Berry looked up after she and Cliff landed, and she built up electricity in her body before unleashing a Thunderbolt attack. Some of it did hit Cliff, but it didn't hurt Cliff, the rest of the Thunderbolt went at Articuno.

While Articuno did get hit by the electric type, despite it being super effective against her, the ice bird only flinched for a moment, causing her to glare at Berry in annoyance. She then started flapping her wings, with each flap aimed at Berry and Cliff. Berry prepared for whatever Articuno was getting ready to throw at them, but as Articuno flapped her wings more, Berry noticed that there was a strong gust of wind starting to pick up. She suddenly recalled during her time back at the swamp how her family had to take shelter due to dangerously strong winds. She remembered her mother telling her that it was a hurricane and realized Articuno was creating one at this very moment.

Berry yelped as she was blown into the air by the Hurricane. Cliff yelled for her mommy, and she glared at Articuno. Her heavy weight and Rock typing preventing her from being blown away by the Hurricane. She summoned a large rock. "Stop hurting my parents, you big icy meanie!"

With a strong Rock Throw attack, Cliff launched the rock, which slammed into Articuno's stomach, causing the icy bird to flinch back. This stopped the Hurricane attack, and Berry fell back to the floor. Cliff tried to catch her, but Berry ended up burying Cliff with her flexible body.

Berry tried to get off Cliff, knowing that Articuno would recover quickly, but gasped when she saw the Legendary Pokemon had already recovered and was already preparing to fire another Ice Beam. But before she could let loose the attack, Berry saw Sparks use Quick Attack to run up the walls and jump onto Articuno's back. As soon as he was on use Thunderbolt on Articuno. This caused her to jump back from the sudden electric attack as she fired her Ice Beam, sending it across the room, almost hitting Berry and Cliff.

Sparks managed to let loose some more Thunderbolt, shouting with each attack, until Articuno finally managed to shake him off by suddenly spinning in the air. She immediately fired an Ice Beam where Sparks had landed, but thanks to the Detect Scarf he was wearing, he managed to dodge the attack at the last second.

Articuno prepared to attack Sparks this time, only to suddenly be hit with Water Pulse to the side of her head. She turned to see it was Shab who had just attacked her.

Berry wasn't sure how much damage they were actually doing to Articuno, for it only looked like they were simply annoying her, but it was an effective strategy. With Articuno being so big, she had a hard time trying to focus on the four of them, with each other distracting her, giving the others a chance to attack. Berry started to get hopeful that if they keep this up, they might be able to defeat Articuno.

"Enough!" Articuno shouted as she suddenly landed, wings spread wide. "Let's see you handle this!"

Berry had thought that Articuno was going to use Hurricane once more, but instead of flapping her wings multiple times like before, the Articuno slowly raised her wings farther back as her eyes suddenly started to glow. The entire room was suddenly filled with harsh winds and ice. Everyone, Sparks, Shab, Cliff, and Berry were hit by the attack. Cliff and Berry fell to the ground, severely weakened.

"This is… really bad…" Shab frowned, who was also weakened from the Blizzard attack, and he resisted it. "We won't survive another Blizzard attack…"

Berry struggled to lift herself up from the floor, that Blizzard attack blew her away a bit, and she realized there was an ice pillar in front of her. She slowly moved up her head, seeing Dust in that ice pillar.

"You see?" Articuno chuckled. "No ordinary Pokemon can hope to stand up to me without getting frozen solid."

At this rate, we'll never be able to free Celebi. I only have one Aspear Berry left. Berry frowned.

She knew she needed to make a decision. She was right in front of Dust. Sparks insisted that they release the 'Rowlet', who turned out to be a Celebi, because Celebi would be the only one who could stop Articuno. But Articuno was keeping a close watch on Celebi, they wouldn't be able to get near him unless they could knock out Articuno, which didn't seem possible. They needed someone. Berry remembered something Articuno said earlier.

She mentioned that she wanted to have another conversation with her Absol. I haven't seen any other Absol here other than Dust. Has she spoken to him before? Maybe Dust might know a way to stop Articuno. Berry thought to herself as she contemplated her choice.

Berry then noticed Dust's blue eye was glowing in the ice. She recalled seeing Dust's blue eye glowing sometimes, and that was usually when he was about to dodge attacks that would've normally been impossible to predict or dodge for someone of his skill level. Dust hadn't told her everything, but she knew it was likely not a normal thing. And if they ever needed something not normal, but could help them, now was the time.

Berry weakly reached into her bag, and took out the last Aspear Berry she had. Forgive me, Sparks. But this is the choice I've made. I hope I don't regret this.

With her decision made, Berry threw the Aspear Berry at the ice pillar. Articuno noticed Berry had been moving nearby, and turned her head to look at the Goomy and her eyes went wide when she saw an Aspear Berry being thrown at one of her prized possessions.

"NO!" Articuno shouted as she fired an Ice Beam towards Berry, hoping to stop her.

Time seemed to slow down as Berry watched the Ice Beam come towards her while the Aspear Berry she had just thrown went towards Dust's frozen body. Berry could only watch as she was too weak to move, hoping that that berry would reach Dust in time.

If me getting frozen means freeing Dust and giving us a fighting chance, then so be it. Berry thought as she closed her eyes and prepared for the on coming ice attack.

"Berry!" Shab shouted.

"Mommy!" Cliff shouted as well.

"No!" Sparks yelled.

"Dust!" Berry shouted herself, keeping her eyes closed.

There was a cracking noise, and then a shatter.

"Dust!" Berry cried out again.

---

Darkness, it was all Dust could see. He was cold, yet numb. His thoughts were slowly fading, no matter how hard he tried to think, to remain as conscious as possible. He didn't want to be here, he didn't want his mind to fade, he didn't know what would happen to him if he faded away. Dying was one thing, but fading away was entirely something else. At least in death he would still have his mind.

"Do you prefer death then?" A familiar voice spoke through the darkness.

As soon as Dust had heard those words, it was as if a thick fog had suddenly cleared. He was unsure what was going on, he saw that he was still in total darkness, but now his mind was more intact. He looked around but saw no one else. He was unsure if perhaps all that hard concentration made him imagine hearing someone or not.

Well… I always figured I'd go crazy at some point… Guess that point is now. Dust thought out loud.

"I'm not a figment of your mind, Dust. I'm talking to you right now. It is I, Giratina. You are on the threshold between life and death," The voice stated.

Giratina?! Dust grew worried, for the last time he spoke with Giratina, it was because he was poisoned and was on the verge of death. If you're here… does that mean I'm… dead?

"Well, no, not exactly. There's a reason why I can't show myself to you. It's because you're not actually dying, but I am able to contact you with my mind," Giratina explained. "Although that doesn't mean you're not in danger of dying."

Dust was somewhat relieved, though Giratina's warning still rang through his mind. If that's the case, are you here to help me and the others stop Articuno and free her victims?

"No. I am not to interfere with the affairs of this world. However, I can't say I'm happy that Articuno decided to freeze one of my chosens," Girtaina hissed. "The poor souls that ended up frozen by Articuno for hundreds of years had died. Their bodies are alive, but their minds are gone. Their souls are gone. They are nothing more than a living corpse trapped in ice for eternity. And that is the fate to all who get frozen for a long period of time in Articuno's ice. Souls are meant to be free, but if they are trapped, they'll eventually fade away."

Dust couldn't believe what he was hearing. When he spoke with Articuno before, he had hoped that if they could free all her victims, that they would be able to make a recovery. But the Absol never took into account how it would affect the mind.

How long… until one's mind fades away completely? Dust asked, afraid to hear the answer. But he had to know.

"It depends on the individual," Giratina answered. "For some, they can last for a few hundred years before they eventually fade away, for others, they can only last a few years. For a few… truly free spirited individuals… that depends… they never last long though. Some could last a week, a day… or only an hour at most. And I'm sorry to say, Dust, but you are one of the free spirited souls. That is why you feel your mind fading so quickly. Me being here is delaying it, but not for long."

Dust mentally laughed. Though it wasn't one of joy, but of frustration. Figures, how often had I almost come close to dying, only for you to come at the last second to save my hide?

"Too many," Giratina answered.

Then why won't you just let me die then?! Dust snapped.

Normally Dust was optimistic or tried to be rational, but after hearing Giratina's explanation, Dust recalled all the many times he had almost died, and how most of those times Giratina had intervened. Each time he never put much thought into it, only counting himself lucky that Giratina had decided to help him. But when his mind was fading, it was torture. It was insufferable. At first he was glad when Giratina had shown up, but after being told that he wouldn't last very long, it all just came crashing down on him.

"Because it is not your time yet," Giratina replied. "You may not have much time, but that doesn't mean it all has to end here and now. You can still fight, and survive."

You expect me to believe that just because you saved me, I'm supposed to keep living without worrying about death?! Why me?! Why did you let me live? You said it yourself, it's not very often that you save someone, that it's rare for them to survive death more than once. Yet you warned me that if I come close to dying a third time, there would be no second chance! And yet you keep interfering, saying that "it's not my time yet."

Dust would've cried if he could, but seeing as he was inside his mind, all he could do was rant and let it all out.

If you at least let me die, I wouldn't have to continue going through each day wondering if this mission will be my last! I try to ignore, I keep my mind distracted from those thoughts, that if I keep doing my duty as a Crusader, that if I reach Gold Rank, I wouldn't have to worry about putting my life on the line every Arceus damn time! Dust mentally shouted. You won't help, instead you're just stalling. Why are you going through so much trouble for me? Have you done this for every other Pokemon you saved? Make them suffer through their lives until they wish for death?!

There was silence from Giratina, and Dust mentally panted from that long, angry rant. When Dust calmed down a bit, he was genuinely surprised at himself, he hadn't expected to yell angrily and go on a full angry rant at Giratina like that.

Finally, Giratina spoke up again. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Dust. But I don't make you live to make you suffer. I only saved you once from death, and by doing so, I granted you some of my power. The other times, however, weren't me. It just looked that way because I happened to be there when it happened. The incident at the Strange Mansion was my responsibility. I only came to your mind when you were dying due to the poison to take your soul when your body finally gave out. The other times, you either saved yourself, or someone else saved you. I meant what I said when I told you that it wasn't your time, Dust. You didn't survive those near deaths because of luck, and I'm not going to say it's because of fate either. But because of your own sheer will and determination, and the determination and care of those around you."

"Pokemon will fade and die on their own. Your mind would fade whether you're frozen in Articuno's ice or not. Your mind was already on the road to fading away before," Giratina bluntly stated. "You were alone, nobody liked you but your mother, everyone around you saw you as a bother. You didn't come close to death very often, but your soul was already fading away slowly. Then you joined the Unity Guild, and that had changed you and your life. You may have come close to death several times, but your soul has never been more alive! Even now, you're still fighting to keep from fading away. I lied before, me being here doesn't actually delay your mind from fading in the ice. You yourself are delaying it. Because you know why? You have hope. Your friends, your team, they're coming to save you, and you know it. Dying now would only hurt them, and be an insult to their efforts!"

Dust was still confused, but his mind had calmed down more. He truly couldn't wrap his mind around why someone like Giratina would try so hard to help someone like him. But at the mention of his friends, he realized that what Giratina said was true. He recalled how readily he had accepted Sparks' mission, despite knowing the danger. Before, at the Olympus Guild, Dust wouldn't have even bothered thinking about taking his request, and yet now he was willing to help someone he didn't know, putting his life in danger. He then thought about all the other times where he had almost died, but each time was for a reason. Each time he was there trying to help someone else. Others who he didn't owe anything, and yet he still risked his life to help them. Dust finally remembered how worried his mother was when she learned of how many times he came close to dying, and the words he said to her came rushing to his mind.

"Every other time your life was in danger, it was because you were doing what you were supposed to be doing. Being a Crusader," Giratina remarked, as though he already knew what Dust was going to think.

Dust wondered how Giratina knew what he was going to say, but figured that it was due to him already knowing his thoughts. Still, there was something else that had lingered in his mind. Now that his mind was clear and he had calmed down, Dust was unsure of what he should do with all the other victims.

I understand now that I shouldn't give up. And you're right, knowing my friends, they are most likely risking their lives to try and save me, as well as Juice and Eli. But...what about the others? If they have been frozen for a long time, is there really no way to save them? Dust asked, concerned about the fate of all those frozen by Articuno.

"Those who have been frozen for a long time have already lost their mind and their souls…" Giratina hesitated. "Well… there is something you can do for them. Once you're able to free their bodies from the ice, their souls will finally be able to move on. Their bodies will die, but the souls will finally be free."

Dust was afraid of that. He had hoped that Giratina would've revealed a method to freeing them, or him using his own powers to free them. But he understood that if this was the only way, then he would do everything that he could to try and save Articuno's victims. Even if it meant their death. He only hoped that Juice and Eli weren't among the lost souls.

"Remain strong, Dust. No matter what hardships you'll face, or near death experience you go through. Just remember…" Giratina began to say before Dust saw some cracks in the darkness. "That you are not alone."

The cracks in the darkness became bigger and bigger, until they completely shattered. Dust was blinded by light, but he heard the echo of someone calling his name.

---

Skywalker405: DarkFoxKit: It was never dead. We announced we were going on hiatus.

Oragonking: Traveling Master: There's still a big mystery behind what happened to the humans, and so far only the ghosts from the Strange Mansion and Articuno have any clues as to what happened to them.

It's gonna be tough to say if Articuno gets redeemed or not, because keeping others frozen for most of their lifetime against their wills isn't exactly a good thing.

DarkFoxKit: I'm not sure where you got the idea they were turned into Pokemon instead of fusing with them, as we didn't lean into one way or the other with that. It's meant to be vague to keep you guessing.

Guest #1: DarkFoxKit: Yes, that's because it was taken from the Silver Resistance. I'm actually surprised it took someone this long to realize that.

Berry4Goodra: DarkFoxKit: Yeah, I'm sure Berry's reaction to Shab's evolution would be fun to see. I'm not touching the rest of that sentence because it just kinda looks like you're trying too hard to explain something that I can't quite understand and now it makes even less sense than before.

I'm going to be straight up with these answers. No, Shab's evolution is not near. I don't know what you're asking about Berry's mind being the same. I'm not answering anything regarding future evolutions for the main characters.

Traveling Master: In regards to Calcifer… no, I was just saying that Calcifer eats a lot, just like Al. Wasn't really confirming it, just comparing the two.

DarkFoxKit: Okay, listen carefully. I feel like I'm just repeating myself as I explain the differences between A and S Rank outlaws. A Ranks are the highest tier for most powerful outlaws who do bad things. Which is what Articuno is, she's powerful, and does bad things like kidnapping. S Ranks are outlaws who don't necessarily have to be powerful, but do such heinous things that they need to be caught and arrested before they do serious damage to any Pokemon and their society. They're the types that are difficult for any Crusaders to track down and catch, not just because they're powerful and do bad things. Meaning S Rank Pokemon are more dangerous than A Rank, not more powerful. There is a difference. And I wasn't offended, I was trying to explain the differences the best I could.

Traveling Master: As for the Master Ranks, that's a different topic, cause it involves more than Crusaders being powerful, but how resourceful, how adaptable and such they can be. So trying to compare power levels of Master Rank Crusaders to others is difficult, just cause there's more to power when it comes to Master Rank.

DarkFoxKit: I mean to be fair, most legendary Pokemon are pretty much the Pokegods of their world. So it would make sense that the anime would portray them as such. The games still need to have some semblance of balance, so of course they wouldn't let you steamroll everyone with a single Groudon, at least not unless you were at max level. In this story, as I said before, the legendary Pokemon are a mix of both the anime and the game versions. They are powerful, some are almost god-like, but they are also beatable, and aren't invincible titans.

Here's a tip for you, you don't have to keep repeating yourself. You can tell us once that you understand we're the authors, and we get to decide what to do, but that's it. Saying it over and over again in the same paragraph gets very grating, and starts to lose its meaning, and it also makes it hard to tell what your point was. We don't plan to go on another hiatus unless it becomes absolutely necessary, which we hope it won't be. We're just saying we can't update every week like we would've liked after the hiatus.

Traveling Master: Regarding the deity stuff, I only meant Arceus, Giratina, Palkia and Dialga, since I recall them being classified as such.

DarkFoxKit: As for the other legendary Pokemon, they have their own lore and backstory, yadda yadda, we're not focusing on that. As for Berry, she is indeed still distancing herself from Tsunami. Berry hadn't truly accepted being a Goomy, or Tsunami's child. She's accepted that she can't help that's what she is, but she hasn't embraced it, she's ashamed of it.

Windy Tower is indeed an original location, if there's another dungeon with that name in any of the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon series, then it's coincidence, and definitely not the same dungeon. As for the whole Shab using Ice Beam to make a bridge, well there's a reason why that wouldn't work. But the idea was kind of absurd to begin with, and wouldn't work in a later scene anyways, so the throw away line was deleted.

Traveling Master: Just as Articuno had said, even she wasn't entirely sure what happened to cause them to become Articuno in the first place. Only that she happened to be next to Articuno when it happened.

DarkFoxKit: It doesn't matter if Articuno was Lusamine or someone else. She no longer remembers her human life, or her human name. She's just Articuno now, with the memory of being human in a past life. Whether or not she was Lusamine will not be confirmed or denied, because that isn't the point. As for if she's from another world, no, no she isn't. I don't really have an answer for 'which Lusamine' this is, because we haven't confirmed or denied this is Lusamine, and even if she was, it doesn't matter which Lusamine she was. As for Solgaleo and Lunala, it's debatable if they even are legendary Pokemon, because they're actually Ultra Beasts, we don't know much about Ultra Beasts, and how they age. In Child of Mew, they're considered creations of Ash, so there, they are legendary Pokemon. But here, that is unknown right now.

Berry, as I said earlier, doesn't like that she's a Goomy or Tsunami's child, she's ashamed of it.

Traveling Master: We didn't really cover Heliolisk or Helioptile's abilities, since we were only introducing them to Berry, so we didn't put much plan for their abilities. As for Solaris and Sandy, they are the only siblings. Just the two.

DarkFoxKit: As you can see, Berry was able to help Team Volcano out without getting caught herself. She's pretty sneaky. And you're asking Sparks is a reincarnation. A reincarnation of what? Of a human? Of a legendary Pokemon? Of something else? Regardless, no, Sparks isn't a reincarnation of anything.

FoxyKhai0209: DarkFoxKit: Why do people keep thinking the story was abandoned? We kept saying it was going to go on hiatus. That means it won't be updated for a while. If we were abandoning the story, we would put up an announcement that the story has been abandoned and we would not be updating it anymore.

Earthpatrio117: DarkFoxKit: The hiatus worked fine, it was actually needed, it was just unfortunate we couldn't get enough time to write more chapters. As for the underwater city, uh, I don't remember what we were talking about with it, but that's a pretty good idea with the whole humanity building a safe haven.

Traveling Master: While technically yes, you're right, Darkria is more mythical, but they still fall into the legendary category. XD

DarkFoxKit: Well, you won't know until later regarding the whole evidence being erased thing. It could just be time itself erasing what was left of the humans since it has been deemed that humans had been gone for hundreds if not thousands of years at this point.

Sobbas: DarkFoxKit: I apologize for keeping you waiting for so long. We didn't intend for the hiatus to last as long as it did. We were hoping for two, maybe three months at most. But the reason why it took so long was due to deployment, covid, and family time. I'm not gonna go into detail, but that's why it took so long, and why we couldn't even find time to write often. Some details may be a bit inconsistent due to this. But I'm just going to say it now, the story is not abandoned, even if the hiatus takes longer than expected. We would post if we decide to abandon the story for whatever reason.

Traveling Master: Hey, completely understand, it's like picking up a video game you haven't played in a long time, you barely remember the controls or where you last left off. Or when reading a book and you go back to it, it takes some time to refresh yourself. Hope everything is also going well with your life, but glad to here you are caught up and are looking forward to your questions and theories.

DarkFoxKit: Heh… well, the Rowlet may not be what you're thinking as you'll see. The Mystery Dungeon stories from the games are actually told as legends in this story. Since it's been hundreds if not thousands of years since humans were seen in this story, it's very possible everything that happened in the Mystery Dungeon games happened in this world too, but they happened a long time ago. We have plans for this kind of formula, but they won't be revealed until much later on. As for the comment about human turned Pokemon having higher than average strength, that actually came from a few lines of dialogue in the original Mystery Dungeon Red and Blue Rescue Team, and its DX remake, after defeating Zapdos Team A.C.T. mentions that the player character is stronger than the average Pokemon they were. So evidently yes, it's confirmed human turned Pokemon are indeed stronger than average.

Traveling Master: It is still hard to say what exactly happened to the humans back then, mostly because the only ones (so far) that were there when it happened, don't know exactly what happened. Both Mimi and Articuno were present at the time, but at this moment, the mystery behind the humans' disappearance is still that, a mystery. Not a bad theory you have, but it can only be confirmed or disproved much later in the future.

DarkFoxKit: Yeah, Hector paid the price, though it was also sort of his own fault for trying to keep a curious child indoors all the time, and not allowing him to explore, as well as lying to Juice about Articuno being lonely. Although technically Articuno was actually lonely, so maybe there was some truth to that, not that Hector knew about that. But yeah, the world is cruel and unfair, even to good people, and sometimes especially to good people.

Traveling Master: XD Well I'm glad that you enjoyed the character Solaris. What's funny is that while the character's personality and concept was something I had planned for a long time, I always struggled on what Pokemon he should be. Really glad we decided on Heliolisk for Solaris.

DarkFoxKit: We hope to keep going with the story until the very end. We're also happy to see you enjoy this world's lore and characters.