Hi everyone! It's time for another chapter of Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Reflecting Balance! We should be getting close to the conclusion of Cassandra and Pandora's story, which I'm guessing has explained quite a few things. After this part of the story is over, we will be returning to our regular cast of characters and hopefully find out how things will go. Since I'm on the topic of it, I suppose I'll ask:
Have you missed seeing the regular cast of characters while the current arc has been going on?
Let me know in a review/comment on this chapter! Although, just so you know, there will be at least one more chapter after this before we'll be returning to the present. I hope you have enjoyed this look into the past, though! And once it's over, I'll probably be sharing some trivia regarding what my original plans were. Hope you look forward to it!
Well, sorry to keep you guys waiting! Here's Chapter 39! Enjoy!
Chapter 39: I... I really didn't mean for it to turn out this way…
"After returning home to Silver Woods, Pandora found the magic scrolls that Erebos had hidden from her. With his apparent demise, the magic that Erebos used had weakened, allowing Pandora to retrieve the scrolls. She hoped that the other spells that Erebos had cast on the unfortunate wild Pokémon in the mystery dungeons near Illumine Town had worn off as well."
Pandora sadly looked down at the scrolls, thinking about all this chaos they had caused. She wondered what had happened to whoever may have previously owned them, if they had ended up like her brother. She then threw the scrolls down on the floor, glaring at them as she conjured up several small blue wisps of fire. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before letting the wisps float down to the scrolls, setting them on fire.
Pandora opened her eyes slightly, watching with a sad smile as the scrolls burned.
"Now these scrolls won't be able to hurt anyone anymore…" Pandora muttered, sighing in relief.
As the scrolls burned until there were only ashes left, Pandora glanced outside, looking up at the stars twinkling in the sky.
"I wonder if Cassandra is still awake?" Pandora wondered out loud. "Maybe she's watching the stars..."
"Feeling lonely…?" a voice whispered from the darkness.
"Who's there!?" Pandora exclaimed, looking around.
"I really wish I'd gotten here in time to stop you from destroying the scrolls…" the voice commented. "Although, I guess it doesn't really matter... I don't think I need the scrolls themselves anymore…"
"Erebos…?" Pandora said, seeming both nervous and hopeful. "I-Is that you?"
A dark mist began to surround Pandora's home, and as Pandora looked up at it, she saw two glowing red orbs within the mind looking back at her.
"Hello there, little sister…" the dark mist said, snickering as it swirled around Pandora.
"Erebos, you're…" Pandora muttered, nervously backing away from the shadowy spirit.
"Oh, don't worry about me!" Erebos responded. "My body may have been destroyed, but I still have most of my power! Isn't that great?"
"I... I really didn't mean for it to turn out this way…" Pandora said, looking away.
"Of course you didn't," Erebos responded, snickering a little. "But still, you did try to take my power away… I can't just let you get away with that, you know?"
Before Pandora had time to react, a bolt of ghostly energy struck her, knocking her down. She glanced up to see Erebos' corrupted spirit hovering above her as she tried to get back up…
Cassandra was running as fast as she could towards Simon's house. Since she sometimes had visions when she slept, it could at times be difficult to tell them apart from the regular dreams. However, this time there was no doubt that this was not simply just a nightmare. She finally reached Simon's house, and called out to him:
"Simon! Simon, you have to wake up!"
She waited a few moments, before the rather sleepy-looking Alakazam greeted her.
"Cassandra, what is it?" Simon asked, rubbing one of his eyes.
"You have to take me to Silver Woods right away!" Cassandra responded.
"Now…?" Simon asked, tilting his head slightly. "Isn't it a little late for that?"
"You don't understand!" Cassandra responded. "This is an emergency!"
"Emergency…?" Simon replied. "What are you talking about?"
"I had a vision…" Cassandra explained, taking a few deep breaths. "I saw… this… this thing attack Pandora, and… I think she might really be in trouble!"
"I see…" Simon responded, nodding his head slightly. "And you are sure it wasn't just a regular nightmare?"
"Yes," Cassandra replied, nodding her head somberly. "This feeling is so strong…"
From the look on Cassandra's face, Simon could tell that this was really serious. He just nodded his head, and wrapped his arm around Cassandra.
"All right, let's go," Simon said.
"Thank you…" Cassandra responded, holding onto him tightly as they teleported away.
The two psychic types quickly made their way over to Pandora's home. Upon reaching it, they discovered that something had torn the tent-like structure apart, and several of Pandora's notes and pieces of broken furniture were scattered around. Pandora herself was lying face down in the grass, not moving.
"Pandora!" Cassandra exclaimed, rushing over to the Mismagius and picking her up.
"Is she okay?" Simon asked, also concerned for the ghost-type Pokémon.
"I don't know…" Cassandra responded, examining Pandora. "She's unconscious…"
Simon walked over, and took a closer look at the unconscious Mismagius.
"Well, at least the gems on her body appear to be unharmed," Simon said. "So, her life shouldn't be in any danger."
"Oh, really?" Cassandra responded, sighing in relief. "Thank goodness…"
"We'd better take her back to town," Simon said, putting a hand on Cassandra's shoulder. "It is probably safer there."
"Yeah…" Cassandra replied, nodding her head and glancing around. "Look at this mess…"
"Poor Pandora…" Simon commented, picking up and examining a piece of paper. "She's lost her brother, and now her home too…"
"Looks like some of her notes are intact, though," Cassandra responded, noticing the writing on the paper Simon was holding onto. "They might be useful later, so we should bring those along as well."
"Understood," Simon replied and nodded his head.
Simon took a moment to telekinetically gather up the papers scattered on the ground, before teleporting himself, Cassandra and the unconscious Pandora back to Cassandra's house. The various papers with notes on magic written on them were placed in a pile on a table, while Cassandra put Pandora down on her bed.
"You're safe now, Pandora," Cassandra whispered as she sat down next to her and held Pandora's sleeve-like hand.
"What do you think did this to her?" Simon asked, sitting down next to Cassandra.
"I'm not sure," Cassandra responded, thinking for a few moments before looking over at Simon. "Hey… Do you think Erebos… might have survived whatever happened to him?"
"Oh?" Simon replied, tilting his head slightly. "You think Erebos might've done this?"
"Who else could it have been?" Cassandra responded, closing her eyes. "Pandora wouldn't have tried using that spell she did if it wasn't for me… and if Erebos attacked Pandora because of it…"
"Cassandra…" Simon replied, unsure what to say to her. "Well, um… We won't know what happened until Pandora regains consciousness, so until then…"
The two psychic type Pokémon quietly sat there for a while. Simon tried to think of something he could for Cassandra, but everything that had happened coupled with the fact that it was getting really late and he hadn't gotten much sleep yet made it difficult to come up with anything.
"I wonder what is going to happen from now on…" Cassandra said, glancing towards the starry sky visible through the opening in the ceiling.
"Cassandra… It's really late, you should get some rest," Simon commented, putting a hand on Cassandra's shoulder. "I think I'll stay here for the night, if that's okay with you. And if anything happens, I'm sure I can teleport the three of us to safety even if I'm asleep!"
"Thank you, Simon…" Cassandra responded, smiling and nodding her head slightly. "If you're here, then… I might just be able to get some more sleep tonight…"
Cassandra eventually fell asleep, still sitting by the bedside and holding Pandora's hand. Simon sat there and watched them for a while, before he too eventually fell asleep. He hoped that tomorrow would be a better day…
The next day was a cloudy one, and most of the Pokémon seemed rather uneasy, yesterday's events still fresh in their minds. Aside from that, everything seemed to be back to normal in Illumine Town. Era's three heads were chatting amongst themselves, occasionally glancing up at the light gray clouds.
"Sure hope it won't rain," Era's middle head commented, seeming a bit concerned. "Don't like running around when the ground is all muddy…"
"I know, right?" the right head responded. "It'd be better if it was sunny all the time, don't you agree?"
"Yeah, it's much better to run around when the ground isn't all wet and slippery!" Era's middle head replied, nodding. "Plus, the sun is so nice and warm…"
"Girls, it has to rain once in a while," Era's left head said.
"Well, why can't it just rain during the night, then?" Era's middle head asked. "That way, it wouldn't bother anyone since most Pokémon sleep during the night!"
"Ooh, that's a good point!" Era's right head responded, smiling.
"… That's not how it works," Era's left head said, sighing.
"Oh hey, there's Richter!" Era's middle head exclaimed, noticing the Swampert standing near the center of the town. "Maybe he can tell if it'll rain today or not!"
Era quickly ran over to Richter, and who seemed to be watching the sky as if he was looking for something.
"Hey, Richter," Era's left head said, glancing up at the sky for a moment. "What are you looking at?"
"I thought I saw something…" Richter responded, squinting a bit as he kept his gaze on the cloudy sky above them. "It was only for a moment, but I'm sure there was something there…"
"It might've just been a Pokémon that was flying past, or something," Era's left head replied.
"You know, it's really strange how we're part flying type, yet we can't fly," Era's middle head commented.
"Well, we can jump really, really far!" Era's right head said, smiling. "Isn't that kind of like flying, except that we're not actually flying?"
"You have a point there…" Era's middle head responded, tilting sideways.
"So, was there anything you wanted from me?" Richter asked, looking over at the Dodrio.
"Oh, right!" Era's middle head exclaimed. "You've seen how it's all cloudy today?"
"… Considering I was watching the sky just now, then yes, I've noticed," Richter responded.
"Do you think it's going to rain today?" Era's middle head asked.
"It's very likely," Richter responded, nodding his head.
"That means "yes", doesn't it?" Era's middle head replied, frowning a bit. "Ah, I don't want it to rain!"
"I wouldn't mind some rain, actually," Richter commented.
"Eh? How can you say that?" Era's middle head asked. "Rain makes everything all cold, wet and muddy!"
"And he's probably okay with that," Era's left head commented, looking over at the middle head. "After all, he's part water and part ground type."
"So? We don't go grazing just because we're part normal type!" Era's middle head responded.
"… What?" Era's left head replied, blinking a few times.
"I don't get it," Era's right head said, tilting to the side quizzically.
"Well, Miltank are normal types," Era's middle head explained, grinning. "And Miltank like to eat grass!"
"Oh, I see!" Era's right head responded, smiling and nodding her head. "That does make sense!"
"… What?" Era repeated, staring incredulously at the other two heads. "Listen, I... I don't even... If you wanted to make an argument about not all Pokémon doing what is typical for their type, why didn't you just go with the whole flying thing that you brought up just a few moments ago?"
Richter chuckled as he watched Era's three heads continue to talk amongst themselves, before noticing Simon walking by.
"Hey there, Simon," Richter said, waving to him.
"Oh, good morning," Simon responded, waving back.
"Morning?" Richter inquired. "I think it's already past noon."
"Ah, well… I only got up a few minutes ago," Simon explained, tapping his spoons together sheepishly. "I spent the night over at Cassandra's house…"
"Ooh!" Era's right head said, grinning and looking over at Simon.
"… No, it wasn't like that!" Simon responded, blushing slightly. "Cassandra had a vision of Pandora being attacked, and asked me to bring her to Silver Woods. Turns out something did attack Pandora, and we brought her back here to keep her safe."
"Huh, is that so?" Richter asked.
"Yeah…" Simon responded, nodding his head. "We don't really know who or what did it…"
"Hmm… Do you think this turn of events is something we should be concerned about?" Era's left head asked.
"Huh, why would we need to worry?" Era's middle head inquired. "I mean, I hope Pandora gets better and all that, but the thing that attacked her attacked her while she was at home, and that means the thing that attacked her is there, and not here, where we are, right?"
"Oh, but what if it leaves the forest?" Era's right head asked, tilting slightly to the side. "And then decides to come over here?"
"Ah, you think that might happen?" Era's middle head responded, looking somewhat worried.
"Well… Cassandra did have a theory regarding the identity of the attacker, but…" Simon said, rubbing the back of his head. "We won't know anything for certain until we've asked Pandora about it."
"Maybe we should be keeping our eyes open," Richter responded, crossing his arms. "Keep an eye out for anything unusual."
"What kind of unusual things?" Era's middle head asked.
"I think just about anything you don't usually see around here," Era's left head responded.
"Like Rayquaza?" Era's right head asked.
"Oh, that is indeed something we don't usually see around here," Era's middle head responded, nodding slightly.
"… I doubt any legendary sky deities will show up, but at least you get the idea," Era's left head said, rolling her eyes.
"Well, I'm going to go buy some Oran and Sitrus berries," Simon said and started walking towards one of the shops. "The healing properties of those berries should help Pandora recover faster."
"I hope everything turns out okay," Richter said.
"Me too," Era responded, nodding all three of her heads.
"Thanks," Simon replied. "Well, I'd better get going, then."
Cassandra was still keeping an eye on Pandora while she waited for Simon to return. She had this nasty feeling that something horrible was going to happen, but she didn't know what. She occasionally glanced towards the opening in the ceiling, wondering if the stars were trying to send her another message that had failed to reach her during the night. As she sat there lost in thought, Pandora began to stir.
"Ah… E-Erebos…" Pandora muttered as she slowly opened her eyes.
She looked around, taking a few moments to realize she was no longer in Silver Woods, and who was currently by her side.
"Cassandra…?" Pandora said, blinking a few times. "Where… is this…?"
"Pandora, you're awake!" Cassandra exclaimed, sighing in relief. "Thank goodness…"
"Is this… your house?" Pandora asked, looking around. "Why am I…?"
"Simon and I found you passed out in Silver Woods," Cassandra explained. "We thought you might be safer here, so… we brought you with us."
"I… see…" Pandora responded, closing her eyes for a moment. "Yes… I remember now…"
"What happened to you, Pandora?" Cassandra asked.
"I… I had just destroyed the dark magic scrolls," Pandora replied, opening her eyes again and looking up at Cassandra. "And then… Erebos showed up…"
"So… He did survive…" Cassandra said, holding a hand to her chin.
"Yes, but… he's no longer a Mismagius…" Pandora responded, sighing. "His body was destroyed by the spell, but… his corrupted spirit is still around…"
"So… He went from ghost-type Pokémon… to actual ghost?" Cassandra asked.
"I… suppose that's one way of putting it," Pandora replied, nodding her head slightly. "He still seems to have access to his dark magic too."
"I… see…" Cassandra responded, looking away.
"I'm back," Simon said, as he teleported back into the room with a handful of Oran and Sitrus berries. "Ah, I see Pandora is awake."
"Oh, hello," Pandora responded, looking over at Simon.
"Nice to see that you're up," Simon said. "I'm going to make you some berry juice, so just relax."
"Oh, you don't need to do that… I'll be fine, really," Pandora responded, trying to get up.
"I don't doubt that you'll be fine," Simon replied, glancing over at Pandora. "However, this will just help you regain your energy faster."
"… Understood," Pandora responded, nodding her head slightly. "Thank you."
While Simon prepared the berry juice, he listened to Cassandra explain what Pandora had told her regarding Erebos' fate.
"So… That's what happened?" Simon said, handing the cup of berry juice to Pandora.
"Yes…" Pandora responded, taking the cup. "I don't know what he will do next… He has to be stopped as soon as possible…"
"How do we do that?" Cassandra asked.
"Perhaps there might be a spell I could use…" Pandora responded, taking a sip of the berry juice. "I'd need to go back to Silver Woods to retrieve my magic scrolls, though…"
"That won't be necessary," Cassandra replied, smiling and pointing to the pile of papers on the table.
"Ah, you brought them with you?" Pandora asked, giving a small smile. "Thank you… That saves us some time…"
"I'm surprised the scrolls weren't destroyed when your brother attacked," Simon commented.
"That's because I was able to cast a spell on my most important scrolls during the fight against him, so I would be sure that there was still something I could do…" Pandora explained. "The first thing I need to do is cast a spell to make sure that evil spirits can't get into this house, so that Erebos won't be able to attack you. Then, I need to cast the same spell on the rest of the town."
"I see…" Cassandra responded, nodding her head slightly. "And then what?"
"I'm not sure yet…" Pandora replied, taking another sip of the berry juice.
"I understand," Cassandra responded, sighing. "This… must be very difficult for you."
"I… I don't know if I'm able to do… whatever it might take to stop Erebos now," Pandora replied, looking down so that her eyes were hidden under the brim of her hat. "But… at the very least, I need to protect…"
"Uh… Sorry to interrupt, but…" Simon said, looking rather nervous. "Do either of you smell smoke?"
"What?" Cassandra responded, suddenly getting a nasty feeling that something terrible had happened while they were distracted.
Cassandra and Simon rushed outside to investigate, and were greeted by the sight of Illumine Town engulfed in flames.
"N-No, this can't be…" Cassandra muttered, staring blankly at the burning town.
"Wait here," Simon said, before teleporting away.
"Be careful, Simon…" Cassandra whispered, silently praying for things to turn out okay.
Richter shot a stream of water from his mouth at one of the burning buildings, but it didn't seem to be having any effect against the flames. Era was running around in circles behind him, despite the left head complaining that this was not helping them at all. As far as they could tell, they were trapped in this area as flames were blocking them off from the other parts of the town, as well as blocking the nearest way out of the town.
"Why can't I extinguish these flames?" Richter wondered out loud, looking around. "Are these… not normal flames?"
"I don't know," Era's left head commented, as she finally got herself to stop running around on the spot. "But instead of wasting your energy, I guess we should try to think of something else, although… there might not be much we can do in this situation."
"Ah, it's over!" Era's middle head shouted. "We're all going to end up as roast fowl!"
"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Simon said as he teleported over to them.
"Simon!" Richter exclaimed, grinning.
"We're saved!" Era's right head said, smiling.
"Oh, thank goodness…" Era's middle head replied, giving a sigh of relief.
"Don't worry, I'll get you guys out of here now," Simon said, motioning for them to come closer.
"Thank you, Simon," Era's left head responded, nodding.
In a flash of light, the three Pokémon disappeared and reappeared a good distance away from the burning town.
"All right, you two wait here," Simon said. "There are still more Pokémon I need to save."
"Go for it," Richter responded, nodding his head slightly.
"Good luck, Simon!" Era's three heads said in unison, as Simon teleported away.
A Scizor and a Leavanny were struggling to stay standing from the heat, the flames slowly getting closer to them. Two Audino were trying their best to support the two, while a Banette was sitting on the Scizor's head in hopes of staying safe there. The Banette quietly wished that his body was made of a fireproof fabric, and hoped the flames wouldn't reach him. He glanced down with a concerned look at the Scizor and the Leavanny, wondering how they were going to get out of this situation.
"W-What are we going to do?" one of the two Audino with the group asked the other, looking rather worried.
"I don't know…" the other Audino responded, shaking her head. "These guys don't look like they can resist the heat much longer…"
Suddenly, Simon appeared in a flash of light.
"Look, Cassandra's boyfriend is here!" one of the Audino exclaimed.
"Please, help us out!" the other one said.
"I-I'm not Cassandra's… oh, never mind," Simon said, holding out his hands. "I'll get you guys out of here."
A Liepard and an Audino were attempting to figure out a way to get past a wall of fire that was blocking their path. As far as either of them could tell, there was no safe way to get around it. Jumping over it wasn't an option either. The Liepard had no intention of giving up, however.
"Come on… There has to be something we can do!" the Liepard said, looking around.
"Um… We could call for help?" the Audino suggested.
"Hmm… I suppose that would be a good idea…" the Liepard responded, sighing. "If it weren't for the fact that everyone else is probably in danger too…"
As if on cue, Simon appeared. This time, he didn't bother waiting for them to say anything before he grabbed them and teleported them to safety. Then he teleported back to the town, as he sensed there were still more Pokémon to save. He paid little attention to the wooden buildings that were burning around him as he tracked down the various Pokémon that were trying to avoid the flames. The important thing was to find all of them and get them to safety.
Cassandra and Pandora were watching the burning town, quietly rooting for Simon and hoping that he would be able to evacuate everyone. Suddenly, Pandora heard a familiar laughter, and glanced up to see the dark spirit hovering amongst the smoke.
"Erebos…" Pandora muttered, glaring at the dark spirit.
"Huh, didn't except to see you here, little sister," Erebos commented, snickering a little. "So, what do you think? Doesn't this town look much more illuminated now?"
"Erebos, put this fire out, right now!" Pandora shouted, before wincing in pain.
"Pandora…" Cassandra said, looking over at her friend with a concerned look.
"I-I'm fine," Pandora responded. "D-Don't worry about me!"
"You want me to put the fire out?" Erebos inquired, snickering some more. "And why should I listen to you?"
"Erebos… I'm warning you…" Pandora responded, shaking a little. "I'll… I'll…!"
"Pandora, try to save your energy," Cassandra said, putting her arm around the Mismagius. "You haven't fully recovered yet."
"Cassandra…" Pandora muttered.
"Look at you, Pandora," Erebos said, two red orbs of light staring down at the two Pokémon below. "Someone as weak as you could never defeat me."
Pandora didn't say anything. Cassandra didn't say anything either, even though she wanted to tell Erebos that Pandora was much stronger than he thought. She had a feeling that it was best to just remain silent for now.
"Well, I think I'm done here, so I think I'll go look for something else to do now!" Erebos said, as he slowly vanished into the smoke. "Perhaps… we'll meet again."
Thanks to Simon's efforts, the Pokémon of Illumine Town were all evacuated and brought to safety. The flames continued to burn on, until the buildings were reduced to nothing but ashes. Until Illumine Town was no more. The Pokémon looked out over the remains of their home, unsure of what to do now. As it started raining, they realized that they had to find somewhere else to stay for the night, preferably somewhere where they were sheltered from the rain.
Cassandra followed the other Pokémon, even though her own home was still intact. However, she just didn't feel like returning home.
"I must be the worst town oracle ever…" Cassandra muttered to herself. "I couldn't even do anything to protect my town, and now… there's not even a town for me to be the oracle of…"
Pandora quietly shed a few tears as she watched Cassandra from a distance. She could tell that Cassandra was crying too. Pandora closed her eyes for a few moments, before heading back to Cassandra's house. She began looking through her magic scrolls, before she found the one she was looking for.
"It's strange…" Pandora said to herself, reading through the scroll. "Even though he did this horrible thing… I just can't bring myself to hate him…"
She quietly rolled up the scroll, taking it with her as she went back outside.
"I don't want to do this," Pandora muttered, before taking a deep breath and looking up with determination in her eyes. "But… since it's for Cassandra's sake… I'll do whatever it takes."
The rain continued to pour down as Pandora flew off into the night. Even though she hadn't fully recovered yet, she wasn't going to wait. She knew what she had to do, and nothing was going to stop her.
End of Chapter 39