Disclaimer: I do not own pokemon.

Chapter 12

In Blitz Kingdom:

King Ampharos had been anxiously waiting for the news about his only and mistakenly exiled daughter's whereabouts in his room. He was pacing frantically from one corner of the golden painted room to another. The sphere on the edge of his tail glowing a dangerous yellow with the electricity due to the tension and pressure he was in. Volt was supposed to arrive hours ago from the Aurora Kingdom with the news on whether Sapphire was seeking refuge with Queen Esperanza or not.

Suddenly, the door burst open and a Menetric walked in, breathing heavily. "Your Majesty!" he reported in a manly growl. "Prince Volt has returned."

"Send for him in the court room," King Ampharos declared and proceeded to go for the door. Apparently, Menetric wasn't finished with the message he came with. He stood tall and held his head high. He then proceeded to deliver the rest of the message he had brought from Prince Volt.

"Sire," He said. "Prince Volt wishes to rest before presenting himself in your exalted presence with the results."

King Ampharos thought for a moment and then sighed. Volt was right in his request to be allowed to rest. He had had a long journey after all. King Ampharos reluctantly agreed. "Very well," he replied. "What is the word about the result anyway?"

The Menetric hesitated for a moment, not sure how the king would take it. But since he was just an ordinary servant, he was bound to answer. "His highness has made an alliance with the Aurora kingdom," Menetric reported. After spilling it out, he held his breath, waiting for the response. Either the king would dismiss him without any particular reaction for which he would be thankful, or end up blowing out in anger, which was bad. Menetric was only too glad when he met with the former.

"Thank you," The King said politely. 'You may leave."

Menetric sighed in relief, then bowed his head in respect and left the King to himself. Whatever King Ampharos had in mind regarding the situation, it would be revealed in the evening when the King would confront his son about his expedition. If Prince Volt had made a mistake, it would be dealt with.

Volt, who had just returned from the journey, did not feel like in the mood to talk this over with his father. The plan he had in mind was carefully thought out. The only thing he had to do was put his father on a false trail once again until he would achieve his goal: To kill Sapphire and put an end to her once and for all.

Volt was in his room. He was lying on his back with his four paws in the air and he breathed heavily, smiling menacingly to himself. He had dismissed all the six Luxray who had travelled with him to the Aurora Kingdom and after sending the message to his father, he crashed in his room and tried to relax his muscles. His muscles were tensed, eager for a fight, eager to release all the electricity that had built up inside of them and had no means of getting out unless Volt used some kind of move. The Royal Advisor, Pachirisu, quickly climbed the bed of the prince and looked down at Volt with a worried expression. Although Volt had told him about the alliance with Aurora Kingdom, the royal advisor was very much frightened because he knew that Prince Volt had a much more sinister meaning behind this untimely and unplanned alliance. This, like all of his previous plans, was of course to be centered around the assassination of Princess Sapphire.

"Ah! Pachirisu," Volt addressed him, rolling over onto his stomach. "I am glad I am in your company. Do massage my back. I am awfully tired from my travels."

"I understand, your highness," Pachirisu replied, bobbing his head in a low bow. I was with you all the time. How do you think I feel about weariness?

Making his way to where the Prince was lying with his head resting between the paws of his front legs, Pachirisu turned around and began to massage the prince by thumping his back with the curl of his tail. The smile on the Prince's muzzle was signal enough that he was enjoying this treatment and that it was helping him relax. It was time to find out what the Prince was really planning.

"Your Highness?" He asked earnestly, keeping his tone balanced as to not show anger or any kind of sarcasm that he was feeling inside. 'Would you mind if I inquire about the reason you made alliances with Queen Esperanza and her kingdom?"

"Why do you ask, my dear friend?" Volt chuckled, clearly amused by the most obvious question he had coming. "Is it not good to have an alliance these days?"

It wasn't hard for him to guess that Pachirisu would be the first to ask. And as always, Pachirisu would be the first and only to know of the Prince's true intentions.

"Yes it is," Pachirisu replied a little hesitantly. He began to thump slower and harder on to the back of the Prince. "I agree with you wholeheartedly. But I was wondering. What good would it do to be in an alliance with a kingdom that has no desire to fight and only fights in defense?"

Volt chuckled again. Then took a deep breath and spoke: "She has seen Sapphire!"

Pachirisu's eyes widened. It was the part that the Prince had hidden from him; Or rather a part of a bigger part of the story that he had hidden from him. Suppressing his astonishment, Pachirisu questioned the Prince further regarding the matter, starting with the first thing that came in his mind.

"Is it true then?" He asked the Prince. "Was Sapphire really in Aurora Kingdom? Did you leave her behind on purpose then?"

Volt laughed slowly, closing his eyes. "No, she is not in Aurora Kingdom," he replied with a hint of humor in his voice. "But she has been spotted by Queen Esperanza in the Battle she had with Darkus."

"So she is in Darkus?" Pachirisu asked and the Prince nodded. "So what is your plan your Highness."

Volt gave a yawn. Clearly he was tired from his long journey and Pachirisu's interrogations weren't helping. "I made alliance with the Aurora Kingdom so I can lead a battle against Darkus. If Sapphire showed up once, she is bound to show up again in the next battle. Then, I shall have my chance to kill her."

Pachirisu, although sickened to the core of his heart by the Prince's ill intentions, found himself out of courage to speak against the matter. He didn't question the Prince further. He kept massaging his back in silence until Volt fell asleep.

That evening….

Whether he liked it or not, Volt had this coming. Sooner or later, he had to go report the entire mission to his father. Having rested peacefully all afternoon, he found himself in high spirits and ready to confront his father and tell him everything; tell him everything with a twist of his own that is.

His fur was standing on its ends, sparking with electricity that needed to be led out. Volt had spent quite a long time, trying to get his fur to sit down and make him look his natural self, not aggressive. It wasn't working. Fed up with his spiky hair and their wild electrical surge, he threw open his window and with all the energy he could muster, he lashed out all the electricity from the fur into the open air. He was able to keep up his thunderbolt for much longer than he had ever remembered. Finally, feeling the intensity of the electricity in his fur settling down, he withdrew his attack and closed his window. He had accidently hit a few innocent Pidove and even watched them fall to the ground and break their necks but he couldn't care less about their wellbeing. They probably died he thought.

With that out of the way, he swept out of his room in a yellow blur, dodging between the people standing in the corridors or just passing through. Being the smooth runner that he was, he made it to the throne room in the shortest time possible without knocking over a single pokemon. Taking a deep breath, he entered the room and walked down the red carpet and knelt before his father.

"Welcome back, my child," King Ampharos greeted him. Volt raised his head and looked up at his father.

"I hear you made an alliance with Aurora Kingdom," King Ampharos growled. "May I ask the reason behind this?"

"Father, I ask of you," Volt said as politely as he could. "Is it wrong to have an alliance these days when we are running wars?"

"No, not in the slightest," King Ampharos replied. "But I sent you to find your sister. Not find yourself a bride."

"Rest assured father that I do not harbor any romantic feelings towards her Majesty, Esperanza," He said rather quickly. It almost seemed like he was defending himself. "And I certainly do not plan to make her my bride. She is already married."

A few of the female servants in the courtroom snickered at this but their laughs were barely audible. Volt was a charmer alright with his natural good looks and riches, but given his wrenched heart, he wasn't the kind to savor the feelings of love. Not everyone can find love.

"Moving on," King Ampharos said, glaring at the servants that immediately wiped their smiles away. "Any news on your Sapphire?"

"I am deeply grieved to say that no," Volt answered, faking a frown when his lips really just wanted to curl upwards in a snaky smile. "I had been mistaken. She is not in Aurora Kingdom after all."

A few minutes of silence fell upon the court. King Ampharos pondered over this, and then finally spoke: "I suppose we are out of leads then, Volt."

Volt snickered. It was time to put his plan into action. "Are we now, father?" He said, smiling pleasantly. King Ampharos looked at him in bewilderment, and then motioned with his head for the Prince to continue.

"Well Father," He said. "I do believe that in their recent battle, Aurora Kingdom fought against Darkus Kingdom. I have a feeling that it was Prince Skull who found Sapphire and took her with him instead of Queen Esperanza."

"Prince Skull you say?" King Ampharos replied. "I don't think so. If he had encountered Sapphire, he would have had her beheaded the very minute. She was an ice pokemon and Aurora Kingdom did lead the battle with an ice-type army."

"That would imply she is dead," Volt said grimly. No matter how much he wanted, this was not true. From what Esperanza had told him, Sapphire was very much alive. So Volt added: "Maybe not father. Maybe Prince Skull spared her."

"I find it very difficult to believe," The King stated, uncertainty clear in his voice.

"But, it is our only lead," Prince Volt replied. "As long as hope remains, we shall search."

The King wasn't entirely convinced about this idea but decided to trust his son on this, which was a huge mistake. Volt was bent upon killing Sapphire and with Ampharos's permission, there was nothing holding him back from accomplishing his brutal pursuit.

"Very well then Volt," Ampharos said, addressing the kneeling Jolteon. "You may write to your beloved and lead the battle."

"Thank you Father," Volt said grimly, kneeling. He muttered under his breath through gritted teeth: She is not my beloved!

In Aquanesia Kingdom:

Aquila, the Vaporeon queen was in her room, facing her shell-shaped mirror. Three wooper were standing around her. One of them was brushing the white ruff around her neck. The other was filing her nails using a pearl white seashell. The last one was polishing her tail with a blue glittering stone. They were her maids, dressing her up for the Ceremony of the Ancients.

"You're all ready My lady," The tallest wooper, the one brushing her ruff, said. The wooper slowly took a few steps back. Aquila nodded to them in dismissal. The bowed their heads and in a flurry of blue, swam out of the queen's room.

Kingdra, the royal Advisor of Aquila, came inside. He cleared his throat. "You Majesty?" He called to her, floating next to the door. She turned and walked over to him, a smile on her muzzle.

"Yes, I am ready," She replied. He nodded his head and then escorted her to the courtroom where the Aquanesia Kingdom was going to have its Ceremony of the Ancients. Aquila was half merry half anxious. For one, she had had no trouble in ruling her kingdom for the past month. Palkia, the legendary pokemon they worshipped, had ordered her to refrain from any fighting and she had done so without any trouble. Thankfully, the presumed attack on her kingdom from the Blitz Kingdom had also not taken place. This meant that the kingdom was spared of an unnecessary war. However, she knew that by now, it is possible that Palkia might encourage her into conquering a kingdom. This seemed like the most likely possibility. Many wars had been reported to have taken place in the past month and it was likely that each kingdom fought on the command of their respective legendary pokemon. It was almost inevitable that Palkia would be thinking the same thing.

She entered the throne room and walked down the aqua blue carpet of the throne room. Her army of Milotic, Huntail, Feraligator and Blastoise were all waiting for her, standing in files of their respective species and kneeling in wait of the queen. Mudkip, the other royal advisor was also present, waiting out front for the Queen and Kingdra to join him.

When Aquila reached the front, Mudkip took up his position behind her on her right, opposed to kingdra on her left and they both lowered their heads. Aquila kneeled down as well.

A portal with swirling pink mist and pearls appeared in front of them and then, a screeching howl was heard. After that, Palkia slowly emerged from the portal. First came his head, then that white body with its glowing pink lines running down his shoulders and then the giant tail. The portal closed behind him. He gave a loud growl and then craned his neck to level with Aquila.

"Aquila, you may rise," he ordered her and she looked up, gazing into his fierce pink eyes that seemed to be burning with anger over something she didn't know about. She had a pretty good idea she was going to find out anyway.

"Lord Palkia," she said, addressing him. "Everything is as you pleased. Aquanesia has refrained from any fights as per your command."

"I am aware of that," Palkia bellowed, bubbles swirling all around him. He blinked slowly as he gazed down at the small Vaporeon standing before him. "However, what I wish to discuss with you, is something else entirely."

Aquila's muscles tensed up. "What is it, My Lord?" She asked, stuttering a bit.

She never stuttered when she conversed with the legendary pokemon. But then again, she had never done anything with doubts that it might anger him. Even before the ceremony began, she had been anxious whether Palkia would approve of her friendship with a land pokemon, more precisely, King Blaze of Frere Kingdom.

"Aquila, is there something you wish to tell me?" Palkia growled. "Something about a fire pokemon?"

Aquila gulped. "Y-yes, My Lord," she replied hesitantly. "There is no use shielding this from your eyes. I have indeed befriended a fire pokemon."

Palkia was silent for a few minutes which didn't help to relax the frightened Queen. She stayed still, breathing slowly and waited for Palkia to tell her whether it was a huge mistake or a welcomed accomplishment.

"I have nothing against this friendship," Palkia stated bluntly. "But, you feel something more towards him. You fancy him, do you not, Aquila?"

No use lying, he'd know anyway. Aquila thought as she felt her cheeks growing hot. Somehow, she managed to counter her little crush with other feelings so that her blush wouldn't appear on her cheeks. It worked.

"Y-yes, I actually do," Aquila finally spoke after getting herself back together. "King Blaze really did win my heart."

"I see," Palkia replied, blinking slowly. "But, you want to be with him on land. So I ask with that in mind, what does your underwater world lack for you to desire such a thing?"

"Love crosses all barriers!" She practically screamed this but the legendary wasn't offended. He listened with his full attention. "And I believe he won't want me to abandon my kingdom to earn his love!"

"Yes," Palkia said manipulatively. "But if you marry him, you'd be his queen. You'd have to live in his palace, on land. You would belong to him."

Aquila was stunned. Her heart was shattering at those thoughts. Why hadn't they occurred to her yet? Simple, because she had been lost in her fantasy with Blaze. She wasn't even sure if he felt the same way about her, whether he fancied her or some other fire pokemon or whether he had been completely honest with her on that one day he had spent with her. Now that Palkia said it, it was impossible to avoid those thoughts. She took in a heavy breath, and sighed.

"We'll find a way," she said, assuring herself more than actually answering the legendary. Palkia gave a growl.

"That, my dear, is impossible," Palkia growled. "Don't be fooled by something as petty as love. It does not exist. Don't let your heart weaken at its thought. It will destroy you."

Aquila looked down. "What do you ask of me to do?" She asked solemnly. She didn't want to talk about Blaze anymore.

"To lead a war against the Frere Kingdom," Palkia said, emotionlessly. A gasp involuntarily escaped Aquila's mouth. Palkia gave her a sinister smile, and then added: "It will help heal your broken heart. Do as I say Aquila. Or consequences won't be pretty."

The portal appeared behind him again. Palkia gave another screeching growl, deafening the people in the courtroom, and then he disappeared into the swirl of pink. The portal vanished, leaving behind a broken hearted queen and two worried royal advisors. Aquila's legs gave way and she crashed on her front paws, her tail sprawled behind her. She was gasping for air, her eyes wide with fear and horror.

"YOUR MAJESTY!" Kingdra and Mudkip squealed simultaneously, worried for the Queen's health. Still gasping, she held up a paw, telling them to stay back. They took a step back reluctantly, their brows furrowed with worry.

"You Majesty?' Kingdra asked her, tilting his head to see if she was hurt. It seemed that she was somewhere else entirely. She didn't want to fight Frere. But Palkia had ordered her to and because of that, she had to. Or consequences won't be pretty. His words echoed in her head.

"Prepare the army," she ordered grimly, fury and hatred burning in those blue eyes. Somehow, Mudkip couldn't bring himself to accept that this fury she felt was for the Frere Kingdom or King Blaze. By the look on her face, it seemed like she was in some sort of trance. Aquila slowly stood up, regaining her strengths as she found herself recovering from the shock. He is right. Why did I let myself believe that something as beautiful as love could happen to me? I have been deprived of it all my life.

"Your Majesty, are you sure?" Mudkip asked hesitantly. Aquila nodded, frowning.

"Yes," She said, yelling so that the entire army in the room could hear. "You heard Palkia's orders. Who are we to deny our savior? Who distorted space to bring our kingdom into existence? Sharpen your weapons! We fight Frere!"

The army in the courtroom roared, acknowledging her orders. Aquila turned her head away from them and looked down on the pearl floors of the throne room.

I'm so sorry Blaze.