The Running of the Clock


Whoever reads this in the future surely knows of my exploits. My feats. My rises and falls.

And most importantly, they will know about my final struggle against fate, throwing myself against an entire region in the hopes that their blood at my feet would quench the thirst for vengeance raging within me. They will know of my defeat at the hands of the three legendary siblings, their powers together at last.

All will know that tale; I made sure of that.

A tale of foolishness. Of suffering. Of hubris.

A complete fabrication. A lie.

Only once have the powers of the legendary siblings been brought together.

And it was by my hand.


Shadi lived by the motto 'If you want something done right, do it yourself'. Never was this clearer than right after someone she'd entrusted a task to fucked it up in the most moronic way possible which, lately, seemed to happen with increasing regularity.

The streets of Canalave made way for her as she walked, trails of curling darkness exuding from the back of her body like smoke, pooling in the air and obstructing what little moonlight there was. At her right, the ocean stood still like a sheet of endless black metal. Even the wind itself seemed to still at her presence, fearful of the furious blue gleam in her eyes and the frenetic rhythm of her steps, echoing as the only sound that could be heard in those streets.

There was no one out tonight. Good. She doubted she could have tamed her emotions at the moment, and it would have been a shame if any civilian had to pay for it.

No, only one person would be paying for this.

"Try again," she commanded. "Maybe she left town for some reason."

The eyes on her shadow gleamed, and so did hers. Shadi's vision went completely black and a moment after she saw a series of blurry images and garbled nonsense which made her head ache.

"Not possible," said Darkrai, his voice echoing inside her mind. "I cannot spy on her as long as she is near my partner."

Shadi clicked her tongue, hands balling into fists. "And her range is almost the whole fucking town. Great." She drove her one hand through her hair, starting to walk faster. "It's okay… it's okay. This isn't a problem, I can deal with this, Cyrus' fuck-up doesn't have to hurt my plan."

"Your panic is music to my ears. I hope with every fiber of my soul that this girl uncovers your secret."

"She won't," Shadi spat back, too fast for it to be a casual response. "And… and even if she does, there's no way she could stop me. Not in her current state. She'll…" Her lips felt dry. Her heart hammered in her chest. "She'll never master Uxie's powers. I'm sure of it."

"Then why are you heading with such panic toward the library?" asked Darkrai, a clear smile in his voice. "If this sister of yours is as incompetent as you believe her to be, then she couldn't possibly have stumbled upon it, could she?

Shadi swallowed, trying to keep her face as devoid of emotions as possible.

"Just in case," she whispered, lower lip trembling. "There's no way she… but yeah, just in case."


There was something about Candice, in the way that she acted and moved and talked, that Inyssa found oddly irritating, and she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Disregarding that strange moment where she'd mistaken her for someone else, every following interaction between them felt… cold, appropriately enough, she supposed. Not rude. Candice treated her with more politeness and attentiveness than anyone she'd ever met –a gesture she shared with everyone around her, clearly– but it felt somewhat forced and court when Inyssa was the recipient of that treatment.

Then again, it was just a hunch. It certainly wouldn't be the first time she'd over thought social interactions with new people and it sure as fuck would not be the last.

"Inyssa, please."

A steaming plate full of tomato soup was slammed in front of her, along with a rather heaping dose of homemade bread and a bottle full of deliciously clear-looking water. Candice stood at her side, arms crossed. The flower-patterned apron and rolled sleeves contrasted greatly with the demanding and honestly chilling look in her eyes. Hers was the kind of gaze that wouldn't take no for an answer. In that, at least, Inyssa saw something in common between them.

Not that she enjoyed being on the receiving end of it, though. She gulped and looked away toward Barry and Maylene –sitting at her left and right, respectively– both of whom seemed too fixated on their own plates to come to her defense, the bastards.

Candice placed both hands on her hips, frowning. "I made more than enough for all of us, so would you please help yourself to another plate?" Despite the tone she tried to put on, the concern was still clear in her voice. "You've recovered from some pretty serious injuries no more than a few hours ago. I don't care how much you usually eat; it isn't enough."

Inyssa slightly shrunk into herself, a pale blush forming on her cheeks. Who did this girl think she was? She didn't look much older than her, but here she was lecturing her as though she were an adult and Inyssa a misbehaving child throwing a fit.

She opened her mouth to protest, but froze at the sudden look that Candice gave her.

"I…" She gulped, leaning back a few inches. "Ugh, fine. I'll eat some more, whatever." She looked to the side and grabbed the spoon, pursing her lips. "It's not that big of a deal. Jeez."

A warm smile formed on Candice's lips just before she breathed out, the sternness disappearing from her posture.

"Now that's what I like to hear. Everyone feels better after a nice, hot meal and some shared talk, isn't that right?"

Maylene smiled, giving the girl a kiss on the arm as she passed by her side and headed for her chair. "Sure thing, though I don't know if you needed to strong-arm her so much, love."

Candice let out a Hmph, raising her chin slightly. "You need a sturdy hand for cases like these," she said. "I'll be damned if I let someone be hungry while on my house."

Barry and Inyssa exchanged a look, the amused look on his face pissing her off even more. How dare he not defend her? Spitting out a scoff, she leaned forward and went to town on the tomato soup, the rumbling of her stomach betraying her true intentions. There was truly nothing worse than admitting someone else was right. Especially when they were so annoying.

"You know you're like… not much older than me, right?" Inyssa shot her an icy glare, wiping her mouth with a handkerchief. "You're, what? Nineteen? Twenty?"

"Twenty-one this autumn, actually." Candice beamed with pride as she said that, showing a row of perfectly white teeth. "Third youngest Gym leader in the history of the region, and second youngest to work in a trainer school." She glanced to the side, toward Maylene. Her expression softened. "The two of us became Gym leaders the same day, didn't we?"

"Hah. Yeah, that was one hell of an afternoon." Maylene reclined back into her chair, letting out a dreamy sigh. "The test to become a Gym leader wasn't nearly as hard as trying to keep my eyes off this one while we took it, I admit."

Candice raised an eyebrow, the curl of her lips seeming to ask Oh? "Are you suggesting I sabotaged your portion of the test, love? You would have scored higher if I weren't there, is that it?"

"Dunno about that, babe. To me that was just another challenge, and I aced the test anyway, didn't I? You're underestimating me here."

"Am I, now?" She rested her chin on her palm, a tiny smile forming on her thin lips. "How rude of me. Then I guess I have to make it up to you somehow, eh?"

Both guests stared at the couple with similar looks on their face, though Barry's seemed more amused, unlike Inyssa who looked as though someone had brought a piece of Grimer under her nose. Awkward didn't even begin to describe how she felt.

This is the sappiest shit I've ever had to sit through, she thought. It's pretty much what I imagine mom and Fantina act like together, only a bit less annoying.

"Am I missing something?" Uxie's voice sprouted from the depths of her mind, making her gulp on her drink. "This is not unlike what young Barry and you act like when you're alone, am I correct?"

Heat rose to her face. Thankfully, she had the excuse that she'd almost drowned on her own glass of water to cover up for it.

I mean… yeah, but at least we have the decency not to do that in public.

"I see… how odd, these human relationships are."

Inyssa let out a dry chuckle. Yeah, you're telling me.

"Anyway…" She cleared her throat, wanting to change the subject. "You said something about working at the trainer school? I didn't think they'd let someone so young teach there."

"Oh, yeah!" Barry chimed in, shoulders raised and a curious look on his face. "How come you're a teacher there? Aren't most students close to your age or something?"

"Dear goodness, no. We do things a bit differently here in Snowpoint. Since we don't count with as many… resources, let's say, for putting their skills as trainers to the test, most aspiring trainers study here until they're fifteen and then transfer to a more prestigious school somewhere else in the region if they want to continue down that path." She placed a hand against her chest, smiling. "So I teach kids and young teens exclusively, which seems to be my specialty."

Maylene nodded. "If you become a Gym Leader you're automatically qualified to serve as a teacher in a trainer school. Though…" She looked toward Candice with a disgruntled expression on her face. "I don't know why you'd bother, really. Dealing with stupid kids as a Gym leader is already enough of a pain in the ass for me."

Both Barry and Inyssa protested at that, which drew a satisfied smile from Maylene. She had probably expected that.

"We're not kids!" yelled Barry.

"And you're not much older than us, for starters," added Inyssa.

"Can it, bean sprout. I'm twenty and you're not even of age yet, so don't go comparing the two of us."

"What'd you say!? I'll have you know I'm turning eighteen next week so you can shove that smugness of yours up your–!"

A chill passed through the room. It felt as though the walls had disappeared for a moment and the blizzard outside had fallen onto the table. A shiver of panic ran down Inyssa's back. She clamped her mouth shut, almost biting her own tongue. Judging by the way Barry and Maylene stiffened, eyes wide, she figured they'd felt it too.

Slowly, nervously, she turned toward the source of that feeling. Candice sat with her hands in a steeple, chin resting atop her fingers, nothing short of a Seviper's glare in her eyes, directed straight at them. It reminded her of Sarah. The way her mere glance could paralyze someone to their core if she happened to be on a sour mood.

"Now, now," she said, voice cold and smooth. "You're not all going to start a fight in my living room, especially after I went through the trouble to cook a delicious meal for the express purpose of all of us getting along, are you?"

Barry was the first to react, leaning back, his back as straight as a plank. "N-no, of course not! Right, Niss?"

"I… yeah." She gulped, unable to find any will to protest. "Yeah, sorry for yelling."

That's all it took for the oppressive atmosphere to disappear. Candice let out a relieved sigh, her expression changing so smoothly into a pleasant one that Inyssa wouldn't have believed the one she had before if she hadn't seen it first-hand.

"Good. A meal is much more enjoyable when everyone is friendly toward each other."

Okay, I can see how she handles all those brats, thought Inyssa. That glare could stop a rampaging Tauros.

Maylene swallowed. She looked the least worried out of them, though only by a hair's width. "The bloodlust face wasn't really necessary, babe."

"Of course… I'm sorry. It's a bad habit of mine." With a gentle push she moved her plate to the center of the table, leaning back on her chair. "Going back to what we were talking about before, it really isn't that much of a bother, regardless of me being fond of kids and teaching. We don't get many challengers here as it is, so I'm rarely busy as a Gym leader."

Barry and Inyssa perked up at that.

"Why not?" asked the first. "Shouldn't all the leaders have the same amount of challengers?"

Candice smiled. "That's a common misconception. Most trainers actually…"

"Quit." Inyssa nodded, grabbing her chin with one hand. "Of course. Only a fraction of the trainers that start their journey actually get to visit all eight gyms."

"Oh, right!" said Barry. "And most of them leave this place for last, right? Because it's so hard to get to?"

Candice nodded. "Not to mention the inhospitable weather conditions. And… I admit I'm not the most enticing challenge when it comes to Pokemon battles; I still remain at the bottom half of the Gym leader ranking."

The official League ranking… Inyssa remembered looking it up a few weeks ago. Candice was the sixth strongest, standing only above Roark and Gardenia. Then came Crasher Wake, followed by Fantina and Byron, whom usually traded places with one another every few months. Maylene had quickly risen in the ranks and now stood as the second strongest Gym leader in the region, with only Volkner of Sunnyshore as her superior.

She shivered at the thought of the man. There was a reason they'd left him for last; he was the first Gym leader to have not only remain in first place for so long, but to have also challenged the Elite Four multiple times in the past ten years, facing the Champion herself a total of five times so far. The mere thought of facing him sent a spark of excitement throughout her body, forcing her lips to curve into a smile.

Still, these two aren't bad for now, she thought, almost hungrily. As a matter of fact…

"Well, regardless of her low spot in that ranking, Gardenia gave us one hell of a fight nonetheless," she said, leaning forward on her chair. "So I hope you'll make this visit worth our time too. You know why we came all the way here, don't you, Candice?"

Both Gym leaders raised an eyebrow in such a similar way that Inyssa wondered which one had gotten it from the other. Maylene's lips quirked up, a defiant spark in her eye. Candice's wasn't as noticeable, but it was definitely there too, for the first time since she'd met the girl.

"I assure you I have no intention of being either of your punching bags. Despite my demeanor and proclivity toward Ice types, I still got that characteristic flame of a trainer." She met Inyssa's glare with one of her own, sharp and fierce, like an icicle. "I will give it my all during our battle, Child of Thorns."

Inyssa recoiled at the sound of that, making a face as though she'd been punched in the face.

God did she fucking hate that name.

"I… see you've heard of me," she said, frowning.

Maylene chuckled. "Well you're certainly not someone that's easily ignored, that's for sure."

"Yes, that's true," nodded Candice. "I'm not sure what kind of region this one would become if under your thumb, Inyssa, but I'm not one to cast early judgment on others. Besides, if Maylene's words are anything to go by, you're not the same girl she met a few months ago."

"You're a lot less hotheaded and self-destructive, for one thing. Or you've gotten better at pretending, one of the two."

Inyssa glared daggers at her. "Shut it, pink hair."

"She's right though!" exclaimed Barry, raising both fists, smiling. "You're obviously the best, Niss!"

"You shut up too."

She looked away from both, trying to hide the reddening of her cheeks, and just then caught the strange, almost somber look on Candice's face. It was gone in a moment, though.

"Yes… I've certainly heard of you," she said, almost in whispers. "Though I have to say…"

Inyssa perked up. "Hm? What is it?"

Candice looked straight at her, a serious look on her face.

"You're a lot shorter than I imagined."

It was a good thing Candice had fast reflexes. She barely flinched, catching with her left hand the piece of bread Inyssa chucked at her.


Post-lunch idling in front of the fireplace was significantly more peaceful, partly because everyone was full and dozy and also due to the hot chocolate Candice prepared for everyone as dessert, along with a bowl of homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Inyssa and Barry looked with awe and confusion at the Pokemon that brought them the cups in a silver platter, a warm, sweet smile on his face and a matching apron tied around his body. He was short and stout, with stubby legs and ribbon-like ears. Most of his body was cream-colored, with the exception of the top half of his head and the jacket-like patterns on the sides of his torso, which were pink.

Neither of them waited to bring their Pokedex out, the dual electronic voices breaking the peaceful atmosphere of the living room.

"Audino: The Hearing Pokemon – Normal Type. A natural healer and empath; this Pokemon is often employed to work in Pokemon Centers in regions that don't have access to Chansey or Blissey. The feelers on the tips of its ears emit a radar-like wave which is capable of discerning almost any ailment affecting a Pokemon or human, whether it be mental or physical, with the greatest of ease."

"Auuui!" The Audino let out a spirited cry, smiling from ear to ear. He seemed to have liked hearing his own name. "Auui-no!"

"Whoa, that's amazing!" Barry leaned down on his chair to get a better look, awe sparkling in his eyes. "Imagine how awesome it'd be to have one of these in a team! They'd be able to heal everyone no problem!"

Inyssa furrowed her brow, nodding slightly. "I'm guessing he's the one that healed me, then."

"Auii!" The little bugger threw his hands up in the air, smiling at her.

"Now, now, keep it down, Kaguya." Candice started patting his head, earning a multitude of cute noises from him. "There'll be time for praise later. And yes, it's a good thing I have him; otherwise you might still be in a hospital, Inyssa. I'm sure Maylene already told you this, but you were in pretty rough shape when she brought you to me."

"Yeah, no kidding," nodded Maylene.

Inyssa pursed her lips, looking away. God, what must she have looked like, all beaten up and half-unconscious like that? Why did everyone have to meet her like that? How embarrassing…

"I don't know much about Pokemon that specialize in healing, since they're rarely used in competitive teams," she said, trying to change the subject. "But her Heal Pulse must really be something else if it could cure me overnight, considering… you know."

"Considering you had a boiling fever, a broken nose and a bruise in your stomach the size of a football?" said Maylene.

Inyssa was about to spit something back at her when Barry spoke. "Yeah, that's true! And she even closed up that cut in my forehead like it was nothing, look!" He grabbed a tuft of his hair and lifted it, showing a miniscule silver scar running from his scalp down to the start of the right side of his forehead. "That's some super strong healing!"

It was subtle, but Candice's chest seemed to puff slightly at that, her hand petting Kaguya's head a bit more enthusiastically.

"She's always been strong, even before I trained her, so it comes as no surprise," she said proudly. "Though her healing isn't a one-for-all solution. She poured pretty much all of her energy into restoring you, Inyssa, and I doubt she could pull something like that off more than once a day, if even."

Her voice staggered slightly as she said that last part, and for a moment Inyssa noticed something strange in her expression, a slight furrow of her brows, though it was gone a moment later.

Hold on, she thought, frowning. Why would an Ice-type master have an Audino as one of her main Pokemon? And those bags under her eyes... Not to mention she's blinking a lot, as though her eyes were very sore.

Could it be that Candice needed the Audino for some medical reason? She didn't look as though she suffered from any kind of ailment, but Inyssa knew that such things could be easily hidden, especially for someone as energetic as her. And if that was the case, and if the Audino had used all of his energy for the day healing her…

Guilt formed in her throat like a solid clump, forcing her to look down. Well… it was already done. Not much she could do about it, except give Candice some respect and not bring up what she'd just…

"Oh, why'd you have that Audino anyway?" asked Barry, an oblivious smile on his face. "Aren't you an Ice-type trainer?"

Inyssa punched him in the arm.

"Agh! What was that for!?"

"Have some tact, dumbass!" She shook her head at him. "And you're supposed to be the empathetic one…"

"What are you…?" Realization dawned on him as he noticed the awkward looks on Candice and Maylene's faces. "O-oh… I'm sorry, I…"

"It's fine. Curiosity isn't something you should be ashamed of."

Candice leaned back on her portion of the sofa, softly placing a hand over her stomach. Her expression was hard to read. Maylene held her other hand, looking at her girlfriend with a mix of concern and remorse.

"I am… somewhat frail, you could say." She grabbed the fabric of her shirt, frowning. "And I suffer from a very persistent form of insomnia, which makes it very hard to function on a daily basis. Or… it would, if it weren't for Kaguya." She shone a smile at the Pokemon, who now rested peacefully against the foot of the sofa. "Her Heal Pulse makes me feel as rested as I would be if I got a full night's sleep, without actually sleeping. It's certainly more convenient than drugs or meditation."

Inyssa and Barry shared a look, their shoulders similarly slumped, an equal look of guilt on their face. It mustn't have been very subtle. Candice picked up on it right away.

"Oh, you really needn't worry about me," she said, morphing her expression into a court smile. "I'm a teacher, remember? Sleep deprivation is pretty much in my job description. Going without Kaguya's help for a day isn't a problem at all."

"I…" Inyssa looked down, fingers closing more strongly around her cup. "Thanks. For the help, and for letting us stay here."

Candice flashed her a quick, tired smile. "My pleasure. It's nice to have company once in a while."

She leaned back, folding her arms, expression turning pensive for a few seconds. Tilting her head, she looked past the living room and toward the window next to the door, past which only a slow, persistent hail could be seen. Her eyes narrowed.

"I have to go back to the academy in an hour or so, for the afternoon classes," she said. "I'm guessing you two want to explore the town and find a place to train your Pokemon?"

Barry nodded. "We didn't get to see much of the place when we came in, so we were thinking about doing some sightseeing."

"Is there a good place to train outside of town?" asked Inyssa. "We could…"

"I wouldn't recommend that."

Both of them startled at the suddenness of Candice's interruption. Her lips were pursed, pale.

"There are a lot of very aggressive and dangerous Pokemon on the outskirts of town, not to mention the hail will be much stronger and it will be easier for anyone to get lost."

Maylene chimed in. "That and we can't discount the possibility of more Galactic grunts waiting for you to leave town so they can attack you."

Inyssa opened her mouth to argue, but couldn't find anything to say. She was right. A few hours ago Barry and her had explained all they knew –a.k.a. very little– about that strange device which had been used to forcefully return their Pokemon to their balls, which seemed like a more advanced version of what Cyrus had used in Celestic. With something like that at their disposal, there really wasn't much they could do if they were attacked again.

"There's a dojo north of town that I had built a couple years ago for Maylene. You could train there," said Candice. "Or you could use the open space where the old docks used to be, either would work fine and are still within city limits."

"Oh! I'll take the dojo!" Barry raised his hand high, as though he were a student wanting to get a teacher's attention. "I've got a super secret strategy I wanna develop for the Gym fight. Niss you're okay with the docks, right?"

She raised an eyebrow at him. "How gentlemanly of you to leave your girlfriend in open air right after she recovered from a fever. But yeah, I'll be fine. I prefer open spaces to train anyway, so…"

"Oh, and one more thing."

They both turned toward Candice, who'd folded her legs and rested her cheek on her hand in what almost seemed like an attempt to appear aloof.

"There's a tower north of here, at the very center of town. It's very tall and made almost entirely out of obsidian, you can't miss it. Used to be some sort of temple." She paused for a second. "It's closed due to structural damage and there's also rumors of Froslass infesting the top floor. Don't try to go in there, unless you want to die."


Luckily for Inyssa and Barry, the hail slowed somewhat as the sun advanced through the sky and evening turned to afternoon. It was still cold. Fucking hell was it cold, but it was nothing compared to what they'd had to endure back in the forest, and besides, that was just more incentive to get moving and start training again. They both had left as soon as they'd finished their hot chocolate. Partly because they were eager to get out and stretch their legs, but mostly to give Maylene and Candice some time alone together before the former had to go back to her job again.

"Is that all you got, Enma!?" she cried out, arms folded and a stern scowl on her face. "Put your back into those kicks and punches! If you don't you're never going to hit her, got it!?"

The abandoned dock sprawled all around them, nary a sign of life or vegetation to be seen. That's how she liked it. Sparks, flames and jets of water sprinkled the air as her Pokemon engaged in brutal combat with one another, moving about the snow-covered field with a frenetic speed she hadn't seen in them before. It seemed the return of their long-lost partner had lit a fire under them, appropriately enough.

Said long-lost partner let out a blood-curdling howl as he threw himself forward with a flame-coated fist, which was deftly –almost effortlessly– parried by Shadi's scythe, a tiny yet clearly smug smile forming on her lips.

A few hours ago when Inyssa had told Enma he didn't stand a chance against the Kricketune, her words had been mostly fueled by spite and a desire to see him cringe at such a statement. The fact that it was actually true was a welcome surprise.

She's surprised me time and time again, she thought, a proud sigh leaving her lips. I really should stop underestimating her.

Uxie's voice emerged from inside her head. "You seem very good at instilling that fiery, almost psychotic determination of yours into your Pokemon, for better or for worse."

She couldn't help but laugh. It was a matter of time before Uxie brought the matter up, she knew that.

"That's me, the 5 foot tall, 110 pound feral girl that never gives up. It doesn't matter how desperate a situation is, as long as you're reckless enough to go for people's eyes like a crazed fucking Rattata."

"A fearsome beast, for sure," said Uxie, no hint of sarcasm in its voice. "Perhaps not as regal and honorable as previous heroes, but I had started getting tired of that kind, if I must be honest. You're a pleasant change of pace, Inyssa."

She looked over her shoulder, grinning. "Well just you wait. You haven't seen the height of my stupidity yet, I can assure you." She looked down at her hands, feeling a tingle run through the length of her scars. "Though I got pretty close last night, huh?"

There was a short pause and, whether due to Uxie's power or not, memories of that moment flashed across her eyes once more. Lightning curling around her arms. The roar of the coming thunder looming above her, ready to be unleashed. A single moment of mercy, responsible for saving everyone's lives.

"First time I actually harness your powers, and I almost kill us all with it," she said, eyes narrowing in frustration. "Blasted hero I am."

"It… is a step in the right direction, at least," said Uxie. "I doubt such dangerous circumstances will repeat; the only reason you would have been able to summon thunder was because a storm conveniently raged above you. You just need to keep practicing."

She nodded absentmindedly, grabbing onto her wrist with her other hand, glaring down at it.

It was… more than that, she thought. I could've sworn the lightning was cursing through my scars, but why would…?

"I guess you're right," she said. "Not used to being so bad at something, but that's not an excuse. I might be the shittiest hero of all time but if history has showed us anything is that all you need to do is be the right person at the right place in the right time to change things."

She felt a sense of pride coming from Uxie, though it didn't say anything like 'That's the spirit!' like she expected. Maybe that pun was too bad even for Uxie.

"In the meantime," she said, curling her hand into a fist. "I'll hone whatever tools I already have at my disposal."

"Are you referring to that remote teleport trick you used against Pyxis?" asked Uxie. "I must say, I'm impressed by your application of it during your confrontation."

"I've always been good at turning my weaknesses into strengths," she said. "Though… are you really telling me no one before me had ever used that power offensively? It's pretty fucking useful."

"Hmm. There might have…" Its voice trailed off for a moment, before returning with a sound like a gasp. "Ah, yes! One of my previous companions made good use of that trick, now that I think about it. Poor girl. It's been so long since I've thought about her…"

"Really!?" asked Inyssa sharply turning toward Uxie. "Who was it? Maybe I heard of her!"

"I… sincerely doubt it. She was not the kind of hero people wrote stories about." There was a bit of hesitation in its voice. "She was known as Vera, the Thread of Fate."

Just then, a multitude of light motes appeared in front of Inyssa, merging together and taking the form of a lean, olive-skinned young girl with flame red hair and eyes of the same color. The first thing that caught her attention was how delicate her features were. The second was that the skin on all of her fingers was flayed and torn as though someone had carefully and thoroughly carved at them with a knife.

"She, like most other humans who bonded with me, was a warrior, though a very unusual one."

The girl's eyes flashed golden and in an instant about a hundred dark figures materialized around her, floating lifelessly in a formation that made it seem as though she were in the middle of a wall made of people. Thin threads of light tied her fingers and each individual figure together.

"After each fight, she would take the corpses of those she'd slain and turn them into taxidermied puppets, the insides of which were full of hidden blades, bombs and other such clever contraptions." Inyssa's eyes went wide at that, mouth gaping. "During battle, she would deploy these puppets and control them with threads made of psychic energy so that they may fight her opponents in her behalf. Her personal army, you could say."

"I… that's…" Inyssa gulped, feeling her stomach turn. "But how did she…?"

"Additionally, she would use my powers of illusion to make every single puppet look like her," explained Uxie. "Then, if anyone managed to locate the real her, she would use that teleport trick to switch places with one of her booby-trapped puppets. A simple, yet deadly strategy."

Inyssa stared at the girl –now the aloof look in her face much less attractive to her– and couldn't help but shiver at the thought of a hundred of her rushing at her, ready to kill her in cold blood and turn her corpse into a puppet.

"Right, so…" She swallowed. "I'm not… gonna do that."

"Yes, I imagined the idea wouldn't strike your fancy."

She shook her head in disbelief.

"How… did she even fucking bond with you in the first place?" she asked. "She was a psychopath!"

"Ethics have varied broadly between different ages of…"

"She desecrated corpses!"

"Mere husks without a soul," argued Uxie. "I apologize, Inyssa, but I've never understood your kind's obsession with dead bodies. It is something no other species possesses."

She must've made one hell of a face at that, judging by the way Uxie attempted to explain itself further.

"Additionally, being a good person has –unfortunately– never been a requirement to bond with one of us. Make of that what you will."

Well… she'd figured that much out, at least. After all, as tragic a figure as Nyss was, no amount of sad backstory would change the fact that she'd killed hundreds over the course of her life and Azelf didn't seem to have thought badly of her for it. But then, if the only standard to bond with one of the Lake Trio was to embody their aspect…

Can't even take pride in that anymore, she thought bitterly. I'm sharing the podium with a bunch of monsters.

She looked toward the open field, where her Pokemon took a small break in between their sparring matches. They looked completely exhausted. And still, the look of determination in their eyes hadn't gone out one bit. The sight of them brought a smile to her face.

True, she might not have been the best of heroes, but at least she didn't string up corpses and used them to f–

A thought came to her. She turned to Uxie again, frowning.

"How could she swap places with the puppets? I thought that… ugh, calling it teleport trick is really annoying, I'll come up with something shorter." She bit her lower lip, her foot tapping against the snow for a few seconds. "Spirit-Magnetic Teleportation, S.M.T for short."

"You seem to have a knack for coming up with… interesting names for things."

"Anyway, I thought you could only use S.M.T. to pull yourself toward an object, or vice versa."

"Ah. Yes, there is another way. I suppose I…"

"You forgot," she spat out, poison in her voice. "Yeah. Figured."

"I sincerely apologize. It is just that I have lived for so long that sometimes I forget certain things."

She shrugged. "It's fine. Over the past few months I've come to the realization that not only is the world run by total morons, but not even gods themselves know what the fuck they're doing. It's… relieving, if a bit worrying."

Walking a few steps, she knelt down and picked up a small stone from under the snow, cleaning it off with her thumb as she rotated it on her palm.

"How does it work, then?"

"It's rather simple. Remember what I told you before; that body and mind are intrinsically linked together?" Inyssa nodded at that. "The principle still applies when only part of the mind is separated from the body. Any part. It doesn't matter how small or insignificant."

"A small part of…" She blinked a few times, mouth slightly agape. "Memories?"

"Yes. I would take a single memory from Vera, something she wouldn't miss, like the last meal she ate, and then forcefully sever it from her mind. Then, I would insert that memory into one of the puppets. This way, she wouldn't have to summon herself to the mindscape in order to use the tel… er, I mean, S.M.T." It was clear from its tone that it wasn't much of a fan of that name. "As for the second part, I would simply release both sides at once. They would immediately teleport toward each other's location, effectively switching places and allowing Vera to escape harm."

"Right… Then you can do that yourself if you want to," whispered Inyssa. "That's a much faster and practical way to go about it. And you clearly don't seem to have a limit, seeing as you did that with more than a hundred of her puppets at once." She looked up at it, an excited look on her face. "For how long can you separate a memory from someone's mind?"

"I… well, I doubt there is a time limit, really," said Uxie. "At full power I am able to completely erase a human's memories. Holding a few at bay is nothing, in comparison."

Inyssa closed the hand holding the stone, a rush of energy bursting from her belly and spreading all throughout her body. She couldn't help but grin. All this time, she'd felt as though she was the worst legendary hero in history, and maybe she still was, but at least now she could do something about it. Finally she had a way to improve, a way to develop her powers like Barry did.

Sure, it was just developing the shittiest power at her disposal into something only marginally less useless, but it was a starting point.

"Alright!" she yelled, balling both hands into fists. "Let's do this, Uxie! We can start with my belt!"

"I… start? What?"

"Like this," she said, unclipping her belt and raising it in front of her chest. Six gleaming Pokeballs adorned both halves. "Take a memory from me and insert it into this belt. Any one is fine."

"But you…" There was a moment of confusion, followed by realization. "Ah, I see! That way you could teleport it to yourself or vice versa in case it is taken from you again. Brilliant!"

She felt her eyes spark to life. Crackling energy rushed from her head down through her arm, setting on the leather belt, which glowed for a moment before returning to normal. Still, she felt it. If she concentrated and squinted her eyes really hard she could see a thin strand of ethereal energy connecting her to it.

You're not getting the better of me again, Team Galactic, she thought, smiling confidently.

"I took the memory of you eating lunch from 230 days ago," explained Uxie. "It was rather unremarkable."

"Now let's do it with each Pokeball individually. Just in case they're separated from the belt."

They spent the following ten minutes attaching memories to every object Inyssa figured she might desperately need if forcefully separated from it. The hat came first, obviously. Her Poketch and Pokedex followed soon after, as well as her backpack and coat, just in case.

"Alright, I think that's…" She frowned, looking down at her balled fists. "Uxie, could this work on a person?"

"I'm afraid not. There is a reason Vera used corpses exclusively; this power cannot interfere with actual living beings."

She sighed. "Bummer. Guess I couldn't…" She froze for a second. "What about clothes? Could I put a mark on Barry's jacket and teleport to it if I needed to?"

"I suppose, though the opposite would not be possible. You would just teleport the jacket to yourself instead."

She shrugged. "That's good enough. Okay, now…" She began nibbling on the side of her finger, eyes narrowed. "I think… there's one more experiment I'd like to conduct. Just in case."

"I see… And what kind of experiment would this be?"

"Did you and Vera ever test the limit of the markings' distance?" she asked. "Like, if I left one on an object and put it very far away from me, would the link break?"

"I… Well…" She could perfectly imagine the thoughtful frown that formed on Uxie's face. "That is a good question."

"Thanks. I'm full of them." She turned to look at her Pokemon, lifting her chin so she could locate… "Hey, Enma! Come here for a sec!"

The Infernape shot up like a spring from where he was sitting, the sudden burst of heat coming from his crown forcing Inyssa to squint slightly. He'd been sitting alone. The rest of her Pokemon weren't too far away, perhaps as to not discourage him too much, but also make it clear that he wasn't fully part of the group yet. Shadi, however, sat a lot farther. Her point was just as clear.

At least I can make him feel useful with this, thought Inyssa.

He approached with a controlled, casual strut that didn't do well at hiding how excited he was to be addressed by her.

"Do me a favor," she said, placing the stone she'd been holding on his palm. "Chuck this with every ounce of strength you have in that direction, toward the outskirts of town. Throw it as far as you possibly can."

Enma raised an eyebrow, clearly expecting an explanation, though he was given none. After a moment he simply shrugged and turned around, rotating his right arm with his other hand on his shoulder, flames starting to lick at the outline of his body.

Inyssa took a few steps back, bracing herself. She'd left a mark on that stone. Now it was time to see how far the link could hold.

Taking in a deep breath, Enma leaned as back as he could, left leg lifted into the air, then howled as he threw himself forward with all his strength. The back of his hand left behind a trail of flames. There was the sound of an explosion and the next thing Inyssa saw was the stone, a miniscule dot in the horizon which fully disappeared a moment after.

"Nice throw," she whispered, tensing her body in anticipation. "Alright Uxie, release in 3…2…1… Now!"

The air around her vibrated for a moment before she vanished. All sensation left her body.

A gust of fresh air hit her face as she materialized again, stone in hand. Her feet weren't touching the ground. But then again, she didn't expect them to.

Two thoughts came to mind, in that infinitesimal moment where she opened her eyes and looked down.

The first was Yes! There is no significant range on the markings!

The second, as she noticed what lay beneath her, was less a thought than a panicked scream inside her own mind.

SHIT, LAKE!


Barry took his time strolling through the city once he and his Pokemon finished their training.

It hadn't been a long session. Niss' would probably last twice as much and he didn't even need to be in the same place as her to know that. But that was just fine. It wasn't like he disliked training, but he'd always been one to prioritize instincts and going with the flow instead of slowly and meticulously planning his every move like Niss did. He was fine with that.

His body shivered as a sharp gust of wind ruffled the back of his neck. The streets were almost empty. Very wide and covered in thick snow, it gave Barry the impression that the two rows of houses were oddly divided, pushed aside by the hazy white of the blocked-off horizon. The sky could barely be seen. It made him feel as though he were inside an enormous tunnel full of diamond dust.

A middle-aged woman passed him in the street and he gave her his best smile. She did not respond in kind.

Geez…

It wasn't the first time that had happened. While the architecture and feeling of the town reminded him strongly of Celestic, the small-town friendliness was completely absent from Snowpoint. It felt like the opposite, almost. These were a reserved people. Close amidst each other but wary of outsiders, possibly due to whatever history the town had and how the local culture had developed.

Niss would probably feel right at home here. He, not so much.

"At least the Gym fight will probably be exciting," he sighed, holding the back of his neck with his hands. "I can look forward to that."

"Curb your enthusiasm, my liege." Mesprit's voice resounded inside his head. "I wouldn't want you to overflow your emotions or anything of the like."

"Oh har, har har. Did you hear that, Mesprit? That was me laughing at your amazing joke!" He rolled his eyes. "Also I told you to not talk to me when I'm in public! Everyone's gonna think I'm hearing things."

"I doubt I could make the people of this town care about you any less. Additionally, you're doing a good job of being suspicious yourself; you've been levitating those small stones for a few blocks now."

He frowned, then looked down at his feet where three pebbles danced around his feet, their outline coated in a pale purple light. As soon as he noticed, they fell to the ground.

"That's been coming to you easier with every day that passes," said Mesprit. "And while I am proud, I'd advise against wasting your power reserves unnecessarily."

"I… didn't even realize I was doing that. Sorry." He shook his head, folding his hands into his pockets. "Oh well."

He made it to the end of the block before Mesprit decided to talk again.

"I have been thinking…"

When aren't you? thought Barry. Everyone always thinks too much.

"You have felt… off recently, Barry."

"Off? What do you mean?"

There were a few seconds of silence. "Often, when I bond with a human, I can feel as our shared power develops and evolves. But lately…" It stammered for a moment. "That flow of power has felt… stagnated."

Barry stopped on the side of the street, eyebrows joining together. He looked over his shoulder at Mesprit.

"Your psychokinetic abilities have been developing at an acceptable pace. The other side, however…"

"I already told you I don't know how to get better at that," he snapped back. "And what about what just happened with Team Galactic? How did nothing develop there?"

"That's just the thing. You see… last time you faced them, I felt a burst of determination and righteous anger from the very depths of your heart. It made the power bloom inside of you. But this time…" Barry immediately cringed, knowing what was coming. "All I felt was fear… and regret. Commonly known as the mind killers, yes, but they don't do the heart any favors either."

Pain sprouted from his lower lip as he nibbled on it, the stagnating energy in his body making it feel as though ants ran under his skin.

"Niss was in danger. Of course I felt those things, I wanted to get her out of there."

"You wanted to run," Mesprit told him. "Never, not for one moment, did the desire to fight back valiantly burn inside you. That is not very hero-like, you see."

"What could I have done?" he asked, heat rising to his voice. "That whole emotion wave thing? That thing that paralyzed Niss and pretty much tortured her?"

"If it could have saved you both…"

"What do you want me to say!?" he snapped, fulminating the empty air with his glare. "I was scared, okay!? I didn't think of it. It was super cold and there was blood running down my forehead and I could feel Niss being scared even from that far away, what did you want me to do!? I can't be as brave as her." He shook his head. "No one can."

Surprisingly, Mesprit did not yell back, as he expected it to do. That was almost worse. He could feel the weight of its gaze on the back of his neck and every second of silence made his skin itch more and more. When it finally spoke again, he was a shaking mess.

"Barry. Your decision to fight back against Galactic… to help me free my siblings, are you… regretting it?"

He frowned, grabbing onto the fabric of his sleeve with his other hand, unconsciously holding himself.

"I want them to go down. And I know someone has to do it, and we said we'd help, but…" He sighed. "Sometimes… it gets a little too scary, you know? I wish Niss and I could go back to just having fun and being dumb and only have to worry about our journey and taking on the Gym leaders. Just… be kids. You know?"

He remembered all the trouble they'd gotten in every single time they had interfered with Team Galactic's plans. How proud he'd felt, nonetheless. And how that feeling had completely evaporated after last night.

A sad smile formed on his lips. "Mom was probably right," he said, letting his shoulders drop. "Sorry if I'm disappointing you, Mesprit. I'm sure… I'm sure I'll get my groove back soon."

Yet once again, the legendary Pokemon surprised him. Instead of sounding offended or put off as he expected, there was a certain warmth and amusement present in its voice as it spoke.

"Ha! Can't be helped, I suppose. You Galehearts are all the same, deep down." Laughter boomed in its voice, for the first time in so long. "You remind me of Synn, you know?"

Barry mumbled for a moment, unsure of how to react. "I… how?"

"He had that same wimpy mentality. 'Oh, why can't everyone get along? Why must I hurt people in order to be a hero; can't everything just be black and white? Boo-hoo-hoo'." That impression sounded in a different voice than usual, one he didn't recognize. "Too much of a softie, if you ask me. Still, he was a good man, and it never really hurts to wish for less conflict, as useless as the sentiment is. So you shouldn't worry so much."

Laughter rose from his stomach, making his lips quiver. "That was… an impression, alright." He hesitated before asking his next question. "I… do I really remind you of him? Synn, the greatest hero of all time…?"

"I told you, all you chumps are the same," said Mesprit dismissively. "Fickle and oblivious like the wind. You get carried along by anything that crosses your way and you listen to everyone unless what they say happens to be for your own good, in which case you adamantly ignore them. You despise being chained to a single mission or purpose. You'd rather breeze through life getting into as many miscellaneous adventures as you possibly could, instead of actually accomplishing something big and important."

Barry pursed his lips, cheeks reddening slightly. He wished he could protest at that, but deep down knew that it was one hundred percent true.

"Your friend, on the other hand, could not be more different." At that point, the tone in Mesprit's voice made it clear it was talking mostly to itself. "Friendship. Family. Duty. Bonds. They all serve as shackles, keeping her grounded, focused on the practical and unimaginary. Truly tragic. Her spirit will never know the freedom yours does."

He considered that for a moment. It was true, mostly, that Niss tended to get way too attached to… pretty much anything that struck her fancy, whether it was a person, a Pokemon or a concept, but Mesprit was definitely giving her too little credit. After all…

"You're a real pessimist, you know that?"

Now he felt it. Confusion, anger and indignation rushed him one after the other, followed by its voice booming in his head.

"Excuse me? I believe I told you I am the original optimist, you half-wit."

He shrugged. "Well, you're underestimating us."

"How so?"

"Can't count the number of times Niss brought me down to earth," he said, looking up with a smile. "Whenever I was being too oblivious or was getting too carried away she'd yank me down and remind me what was at stake and what I could to to help."

"Yes, well…"

"And I'd do it for her whenever she needed me, too," he interrupted it. "Every time she's sinking into her murky thoughts and stuff I'd grab her and pull her up as high as I could so she could look at the big picture from afar and stop being so… deep into all that. Just because you're chained up doesn't mean you can't make the chains as long as you need, right?"

Mesprit seemed out of words for a few seconds.

"I… suppose that is one way to look at it, yes," it said. Barry could feel it frowning. "Sometimes I forget that no human exists in a vacuum, but I am grateful for your reminder of that."

"Heh. No problem." He threw up both hands into the sky, stretching with a smile on his face. "Thanks to you too. I feel a lot better after this t-"

His Poketch rang. Barry frowned, looking down at his wrist and pressing on the screen only to see a message from Niss.

Back in the house, it said. Fell into a lake. Almost got hypothermia. Long story.

Barry stared at the message for a few seconds, blinking slowly.

"...What?"


The book wasn't there.

Shadi stared up at the empty space in the shelf for almost a minute, eyes wide in shock and disbelief. Darkness pooled at her feet. The pale flames of all the Litwick in the library shone at the very end of the hallway, every one of them pressing against the edge of the room with looks of utter terror on their face. The temperature of the place had dropped a few degrees ever since she'd walked in.

Finally, after what felt like minutes, she closed her mouth and swallowed. Her lips felt dry. The exhaustion she'd been carrying in her shoulders felt twice as heavy as usual, though that was nothing in comparison to the cold rage bursting from her stomach, spreading throughout her veins like poison.

"She's got you."

Darkrai's voice brought her back to reality. She blinked a few times, her breathing fast and shallow, and tried to compose herself before answering.

"It's fine," she said, her tone too neutral. "This isn't a problem. I'm sure Cynthia was the one to point her toward the book; she showed it to me in the first place after all, but it's not a problem."

She took in a deep breath, then another. Calm. She needed to stay calm. Anger wouldn't fix this, no matter how tempting it was to give herself to it.

"She won't learn anything useful from it unless she awakens her powers," she whispered. "Which she won't."

"If you say so."

Now… for the other book. The really important one. She pressed a hand against the shadow of a nearby pillar and began to sink into it, tendrils of black hungrily licking at her arm as she phased through.

Darkness swallowed her. She felt herself traveling at a high speed, her whole body weightless.

It would be fine, she assured herself. Niss finding that book was always a possibility, but there was no way in hell she could have stumbled upon the diary. She'd coated it with a layer of Darkrai's essence, after all. No one but a fully developed legendary hero would be able to find it, and she knew neither of those two were anywhere close to that.

A silver of light broke through and she emerged into another hallway, a few floors up.

"There."

Disregarding any semblance of poise, she practically ran down the hallway toward that bookshelf, feeling her heartbeat in her ears. It had to be there. There was no possible way anyone could have taken–

There was an empty space, high up in the bookshelf. The red of the diary's cover was nowhere to be seen.

It had been a long time since Shadi had felt anything close to fear. The last person to instill such a feeling in her had paid dearly for it.

"Darkrai…"

Eyes appeared on her shadow. The air around her began to shake, layers of dust flying off the rows of books, forming a cloud all around her. Darkness licked up at the walls, hungrily. As though wanting to swallow the entirety of the library.

"How long until we can enter Snowpoint?" she asked, voice shaking with fury. "How long until the moon is on our side?"

No response came. She could feel his hesitation.

"How long?" she repeated, voice on the brink of breaking.

"…A week. Once that moon rises, I will be more powerful than my partner."

Shadi closed her eyes tight, her breathing slow and deliberate. High above, cracks began to spread through the stained glass, small pieces breaking off by the sheer pressure exuding from her.

"A week," she repeated, eyes gleaming with cold fury. "Send a message to your partner, Darkrai. Tell her she has a week to deliver Inyssa to me peacefully, because after that, I'll be coming for her with everything I've got."


Inyssa thought cuddles were already nice in everyday life, but they really showed their usefulness after almost catching hypothermia by idiotically teleporting herself above a frozen lake.

Which, okay, wasn't an epiphany she imagined anyone had ever had but her, but whatever.

She'd been about to fall asleep when yet another chill overcame her. The sudden shaking woke up Barry, whose arms she was currently smuggled between.

"Ah, shit. Sorry." She gave him an apologetic smile. "I'll try to stop doing that."

"N-nah, it's…" He stopped to let out a big yawn. "It's fine. About time you surpassed me in stupidity."

She head-butted him slightly in the chest.

"Agh!"

"Serves you right," she whispered. "I've been training with my powers all day, and sometimes experiments…go wrong, you know?"

"Oh yeah?" He rested his chin on the top of her head, letting out a tired sigh. "Think you're making progress?"

"…Kind of. I was thinking of trying my hand at that book tomorrow, see if I c–"

A clicking noise reached her ears from downstairs. She froze, eyes going wide.

"What was that?" she whispered, voice thin.

"Huh? What d'you mean?"

"Didn't you hear it? It was like…"

A delicate slam, followed by the same clicking sound, only slightly louder.

"There! I think someone… hold on."

She jumped out of the bed, leaving behind a very sleepy and confused Barry.

"Niss… what are you doing?"

Ignoring the question –and the sudden cold coming over her muscles– she walked over to the room's window and looked down, squinting her eyes.

She let out a tiny gasp.

"What?" asked Barry, pushing himself up. "What is it?"

"Here, quick!"

Both of them huddled in front of the window, looking down at what looked like a figure exiting the house, heading north through the dark street.

"Is that…"

"Candice," she whispered, brows furrowed. "Where the hell is she going so late in the night?"