o0o
Missy and Giovanni charged on their mounts as they rode into the prairie. They swiftly charged through it as they approached the massive cedar trees.
Their mounts sped past patches of Lilly flowers that lined the road. As they approached the massive forest she could feel her hearts throb with delight.
Giovanni on the other had seemed all but amused. His black eyes leered ahead, deeply. That look he had, it was one of a dour determination.
The forest seemed to grow and grow until the trees darkened the light from the sky. The few patches of sunlight that penetrated the canopy gave the forest its own luster.
She looked over to him again, still that dull look of determination. For a man who disliked riding on pokemon, he was quite proficient at it. He held the reins steady as he leaned down.
She had to admit he did look a bit ridiculous riding around in a suit and tie. Perhaps that's why he disliked the idea in the first place.
A smile crept upon her as she realized he hadn't thought about his travels much. She found herself wondering if he even cared about appearances. She thought it no secret that she didn't at the moment. There was no need for it.
They were riding through the trees, faster than she liked to keep up a conversation. She figured at best she would bring it up later.
They entered the massive forest of cedar pines. As they pressed forward they ran into a stampede of the deer pokemon, stantler.
The pokemon leaped as they passed them. Snorting and grunting out. A pair of stantler jumped in front of Missy and Giovanni causing them to pull back on the reigns.
Missy pointed ahead of the deer and shouted, " Onward!"
Rapidash and mudsdale leaned ahead as they picked up speed. The pokemon both neighed intimidating the stantler as they charged ahead.
The path was long and winding. To spite it being in a forest, the road was still gleaming white. It almost seemed like nobody had ever traveled this way.
She coyly smiled as he glared over at her. For a moment their eyes locked. They both quickly turned away and looked ahead.
The forest was becoming less dense. The trees ahead reminded Missy of the Japanese maple.
Only these trees were black and their leaves a vibrant blue. Yellow daffodils scattered the forest floors. As they approached they passed a stone obelisk with the words written on it informed her that they were in The Forest of Harmony.
Their steeds slowed their pace and soon their movements had slowed to a trot. Instinctively she looked over to mudsdale. The pokemon seemed tired, perhaps they had slowed to rest.
" At this rate we could outwalk them," she said.
Rapidash neighed in protest. It was almost like a shrill that shivered through the trees.
Solgaleo's last words to them, stay on the path and have faith in your partners. They won't let you down. She let out a sigh, their trip might be lengthened considerably at this rate.
Giovanni looked ahead intently, almost in a calculating manner. His eyes swept over the forest before he replied, " We wouldn't have the slightest clue where we're going."
Missy found herself unamused with his reply. She huffed before she replied, "So much for an adventure."
He shook his head in disappointment. "This isn't enough of an adventure for you?"
Her jaw dropped at the question. "This, this is plenty of an adventure I just find myself getting bored with this notion that we're all almost always on one path or another."
" You would rather create your own?" he asked.
" Why wouldn't I? I'd like to think that doing anything else would constitute as tourism. That's a crime to one's self," she countered.
Giovanni's eyebrows cocked up, his eyes widened with yet again the prospects of curiosity. She could feel her eyes roll while they began to wander.
She peered ahead, the forest was starting to thin. The light in the forest nearly resembled twilight. She focused on a clearing ahead, it seemed they would soon enter a meadow of some kind.
" A crime to one's self, that's a new one," he replied.
She let out a sigh, to spite the similarities they had, they both had drastic differences of opinion on these things. She took a breath then said, " I've run through fields and forest, crossed the stars, and traversed the eons all on a whim."
" I can hardly believe you of all people would travel without a plan," he said.
Giovanni was correct to a certain degree, but he still didn't understand. With this in mind, she said, " Can't make a plan without knowledge deary."
"What kinds of plans have you made?" he curiously asked.
Taking over the universe came to mind. That was too much and she didn't feel it would be appropriate to let him in on the grand schemes of her plans.
She had concurred a considerable number of worlds, that would certainly be something he would be interested in. She didn't feel ready to let that information go either. She found herself in a spot one that couldn't easily be gotten out of. She had to tell him something but what could she say?
" I've done all sorts of things, many in the name of science," she said. " I've even cheated death a couple of times."
It was a bit of an under-exaggeration, but he was impressed, to say the least. Giovanni gawked at this answer, then asked, "Is there anything that you haven't done?"
She scoffed in return. "Lots of things."
" Such as?" he asked.
" I've never snowboarded, or gone fishing, there's one for ya, I've never gone fishing," she said.
" That's rather mundane compared to scientific achievements and cheating death. Tell me Missy, I want to know about those things," he softly said.
Dodging this subject was getting her nowhere fast. " Well, I've helped improve many races technology. If you must know I specialize in creating useful things such as teleportation devices, a tissue compression eliminator, a sonic signaling device, you know sciency stuff."
" Sciency stuff, I can hardly imagine a woman of your intelligence just calling it sciency stuff," he said.
" That's what it is, just stuff, I'm very creative," she said.
" What else have you created?" he inquired.
" Oi," she said as she glanced back to the road. " I can't go on telling you all of mi secrets, there's no fun in that."
" We made a deal Missy," he said.
" We did and I'm living up to my part of the bargain," she said as she looked him in the eyes. " If that flashy screwdriver and the ability and knowledge to create energy weapons wasn't a good start then I don't know what else would be."
He nodded in agreement before he said, " I think it's a great start."
" Then what are you going on about?" she asked.
" I was just curious, just wanting to know more," he slowly replied.
She simply smiled and looked ahead. She had given them what they needed, it was simple really. The more she contributed the quicker she and ninetails would be out of this mess.
Having her revenge was one thing she was willing to live up to any challenge to save herself, let alone find out who the Professor was.
Whoever she was, she was a formidable opponent, someone she looked forward to defeating in person.
Apparently, it had been too quiet for Giovanni. She found herself being confronted with another question.
"What has of your traveling taught you?" he asked.
" Many things," she cautiously replied.
His eyes widened with curiosity. "Such as?"
She looked away there was so much she had learned so much, she found it rather difficult to answer such a question without giving too much information away.
" Nothing lasts forever," she said as she showcased the forest. " Let's take this forest for example. I think we both agree that it's an interesting place, it's certainly got its own enchantment, doesn't it?" she asked.
Giovanni said nothing in reply, he merely nodded.
" This place reminds me of the homeworld of the Vashta Nerada," she paused as she recalled the vast forest. " It was such a beautiful world and I could only stay there for a single moment."
" Why not any longer?" he asked.
" If I had stayed there I would have been eaten alive, Vashta Nerada nasty race, they're quick, faster than a banshee in the night, they'll make a meal out of anything that stops in on their homeworld."
Giovanni raised a brow. " Then how did you see it in the first place?"
She gave him a smug look then said," Very quickly."
Her smile broadened she quickly realized she was enjoying this, perhaps a bit too much. A dangerous beast was lurking in the forest, she needed to stay keen. As they entered the meadow she knew they could easily be targeted.
Giovanni gave her a peculiar look then said, " I would like to see it sometime."
She let out a long-drawn sigh, the forest was gone. It wasn't something she wished to dwell on with this in mind she said, " That's a tale for another time."
Sunlight had begun to penetrate the woods. Steadily they approach a clearing that stretched far and wide. She peered past the trees and leered at a thicket of red rose bushes.
Giovanni's eyes narrowed as he spied the area. " I don't like the look of this."
" Perhaps this is why they slowed down," she suggested.
" Perhaps," he said as his grip tightened on mudsdale's reigns. " We're going to have to charge through to avoid being spotted."
She braced herself on her steed as she recalled her observations, these creatures had a way of distorting this realm. Solgaleo, herself, and Giovanni had been so sure that they could win any fight.
These conversations these pastimes had gotten in her way, for a moment she thought she might have made a fatal error. She reached into her jacket for reassurance and drew her screwdriver.
As the scan came back her fears were alleviated, no dimensional shift had taken place. According to her readings, there were no other people or pokemon in the area. She scanned again for life forms
" What are we going into?" he asked.
" Screwdrivers got nothing, " she looked to the sky once more and pondered the possibilities before she suggested, " Perhaps it has to do with this dimension."
" Another realm where the dimension shifts rapidly," he dryly replied.
As they approached the gap she readied herself for the worse.
When they entered the meadow the area was almost serene, quiet, a nice nook in the forest.
She closed her eyes and breathed in the flowery aroma of the roses. It was a sweet melody she found to be quite pleasant.
Giovanni, on the other hand, leered ahead. His narrowed eyes and tightened grip told her all that she needed to know.
" Solgaleo said we wouldn't have a problem taking care of this," she reminded him.
There was a long pause, he chose to say nothing instead leered ahead. She rolled her eyes at his reaction then said, "If you could only look at yourself, so staunch you're making it obvious."
Still, he said nothing, this bothered her. She looked at the fields ahead and watched the roses sway in the gentle breeze. As their sweet scent filled her nostrils once more, it was at that moment that she realized what bothered Giovanni.
What Thomas Bernard had told them, I see fields of red roses burning.
She snatched hydreigon's ball from her bag. Before she could toss it into the air. A long and nasty snarl came from behind them. Rapidash let out a jittered cry before it lurched forward into a full-on run.
Mudsdale was just as quick to follow as jets of flames cut across the meadows. A series of shrilled cries and roars came from behind them.
The wind picked up and the shadows from above shifted and danced as this mysterious beast soared above them. While she watched their silhouettes move over as two creatures soared onto the road.
The first to land had very long wings. The black creature could have been the void itself. Its long and deformed tail thrust as the beast turned itself around.
The dog's sliver and black hair meshed with its wings. Looking into its narrowed face and red eyes she could tell that this pokemon was once a mightyena.
As she looked at the beast her curiosity peaked. How the Professor managed to create a reaper hybrid. What other fusions had she attempted to make before she gave up? Most importantly where did she get her resources from?
Next, to it, another grotesque creature landed. The cat was more graceful with its landing than its counterpart. What once were curved ears had long ago been misshapen into elongated points that blended with the sharpened spikes that ran down its back. Tinges of blue fur mixed with patches of leathery black skin. Its general appearance let her know that this was once a luxray.
To spite the sudden arrival of these challengers rapidash and mudsdale charged on. She had no doubt how dangerous these foes were. With little time to spare, Missy set the vortex manipulator to teleport.
She reached out to Giovanni and shouted, " Grab on!"
With little hesitation, he did so. In a burst of white light and energy, they teleported past their opponents and were now swiftly approaching the tree line. There was no time to rejoice, behind her she could hear the flapping of wings and the mighty calls from behind.
Giovanni intently focused on the road ahead before he shouted, "What are they?"
" They'll be our death if we can't outrun them," she replied.
As they rode on the rose bushes and fire blended with the smoke. The lush green forest that was ahead blended and wilted before her eyes. Far off, deep in the distance, she could faintly see a yellow sea of sand.
If she had not been experienced it would have been tempting to ride through the dead forest. It would be a useless endeavor. Those beasts would set the forest ablaze, that was a lethal trap.
She couldn't allow for this, her choices were becoming fewer and fewer by the moment. She did the only thing she could do, her grip tightened on the reins and she shouted for her mount to stop.
Giovanni looked over with surprise, as she dismounted the rapidash. His eyes gleamed with confusion and anger. " You're seriously going to fight them!"
Missy decided not to answer, instead, she reached for ninetails ball and toss it. "Flamethrower!"
The silver fox leaped forward accompanied by a jet of flames. It barely scratched the incoming opponent. The mightyena had hardly been affected. It roared as it soared past the flames.
Those poor pokemon, the fox said.
Giovanni swiftly dismounted mudsdale and called out a pokemon, " Rhydon!"
The pokemon growled as it bent its horned nose down. Its gigantic feet scuffed the road as it charged at the beast.
" Megahorn," Giovanni ordered.
Rapidash followed in pursuit, the horse charged at mightyena then slammed itself into the abomination.
Mudsdale was quick to follow. The horse dashed to the pokemon and snarled as it picked up speed.
It charged going faster and faster until it smashed into its weakened opponent. The move was high horsepower and delivered quite a punch. Mightyena whimpered as its body skidded into the fire.
The pokemon's horn lit up as it charged into the cat. The attack did little to no damage. Luxray merely took the blow as its claws dug into the base of rhydons horn. It snarled as it bit into the pokemon's rugged skin.
" Take it to the ground," he commanded.
Without hesitation, the pokemon grabbed the luxray then thrust its head downward.
Mightyena howled as it stammered up. With its unnatural wings, the pokemon took flight. The dog swooped up and away from ninetails. Its eyes and claws began to glow red as charged at rhydon.
Giovanni's rhydon was better trained than she had realized. The pokemon swung its tail and smashed mightyena to the ground. The hybrid quickly got up and charged at rhydon again.
" Confuse ray," she ordered.
Blinding multi-colored orbs surrounded the fox. Ninetails yelped as she released her attack. The dog glared at the orbs, it didn't seem to be affected by the move.
Smoke from the fires billowed past them causing rapidash and mudsdale to cry out in protest. Ninetails must have gotten distracted by them an instant later the fox had been thrown across the road.
What was that about? Missy asked as she watched the pokemon stammer up.
It's fast, I think they're playing games with us Mistress, she replied.
" Earthquake," Giovanni commanded.
Missy would have to get her answer later. Ninetails was trapped in the attack zone, she quickly countered, "Baton pass."
Ninetails returned to her ball and left behind a small scroll of black paper. Missy reached into her bag and took out charizards ball.
She tossed the ball and shouted, " Charizard, mega evolve!"
Missy braced herself as the ground below her began to quake. Luxray and mightyena shrieked as they took damage from the attack.
Before the dragon took flight it picked up the scroll of paper and crushed it. The pokemon soared over the broken earth.
As it flew higher the pokemon was engulfed by a blinding white light. After a moment the pokemon had fully evolved, it roared, ready for battle.
" Heat wave," Missy ordered.
Both hybrids took off from the ground as charizard unleashed a wave of fire. Instead of going after the dragon, both pokemon split up in the flight.
Sparks and lines of electricity surged around them. She reached for her umbrella and opened it. The force of the blow was enough to push her back. Giovanni reached for the stem and grabbed it, his action stabilized the shield.
A tornado of flames followed suit. She and Giovanni watched as the fields around them set were set ablaze. The heat from the inferno was becoming overwhelming.
Rhydon huffed as it got up. It grunted as it attempted to overcome the heat. Giovanni frowned as he recalled his pokemon.
Charizard soared through the flames with little difficulty. Its eyes locked on the mightyena. Judging their current situation she could tell they were still in a lethal trap. They needed to get out of there.
She threw her purse up to charizard, then shouted, " Charizard take my bag and head into the sky."
The pokemon snatched her bag, at that moment she teleported herself and company to the tardis. They arrived in the control room.
Quickly she drew her screwdriver and turned the interior walls into a projection of the outside. Rapidash and mudsdale both let out a shrilled neigh as they continued to fight the luxray.
Shrieks filled the room and caused her to look up. The hybrids were gaining quickly on charizard. Following through with her idea she emptied her bag of all its contents. She snatched the black controller and clipped it to her belt.
The pokeballs arrived in the box in the main council. Hurriedly, she opened the drawer and looked over her collection. She snatched the pokemon she felt she needed the most, Ninetails, Hydreigon, Charizard's unoccupied ball, Emolga, Rapidash, and Pidgeot.
Giovanni took her side. She realized he probably came to the same conclusion as she did when he said, " They're deviant, I don't like it."
" They're going to burn us out of the sky," she replied. She looked over the controls and eyed the siege mode, she didn't have the power to activate it.
As she recalled what Solgaleo said about the Lustrous Crown, she could use it to summon Palkia. She supposed now was a better time than any. She teleported the crown into her hand.
She looked to Giovanni then said, " Do you got my number?"
He shook his head no, she aimed at his jacket pocket. With a wave added her personal number. She placed the crown on her head and said, " Now you do, give me a call, I need to know what's happening on the outside."
The room shook violently as charizard made a sudden turn. Bolts of electricity flew past them and struck the road beyond.
She snatched hydreigon's ball and gave it a toss. The dragon's eyes widened as it looked at the control room then at the battle.
Giovanni looked around then asked, "Is there anything else I can do from here?"
She eyed the computer, she supposed he could use it to gather information about the fight. Perhaps, with the arsenal of data, she had onboard maybe he could help her out.
The tardis rocked again, this was a serious battle. Telepathically and perhaps unknowingly to Giovanni she locked the computer leaving only able to analyze the fight.
As she mounted hydreigon she looked over and said, " The computers all yours."
As she teleported herself out she sent him back to a stable room. What she could only presume was his second office.
She held onto the dragon as they arrived in the sky. Hydreigon quickly took flight, together they soared over the billowing forest.
This would have been a disaster if this had been the real world. Thankfully it wasn't, she closed her eyes and focused on the Lustrous Orb. In that instant, she was surrounded by a brilliant white light. As her eyes adjusted she realized that it came from above.
Palkia swooped down from above. The white dragon spread its short and stocky wings and took flight next to her.
" You couldn't have picked a better time, Time Lord?" he telepathically asked.
She could tell he was being somewhat sarcastic and disregarded the question. Instead, she prepared a quip but stopped short when her controller began to ring, she reached over and clicked it on speakerphone, " Missy, warrior princess speaking."
" Right," Giovanni replied. "They're gaining on you and according to your computer there's trouble down below."
" Splendid," she said. " What do you got?"
" Cyber-"
She stopped him right there, "That can't be right."
" Cyber hound incoming," he said.
" Great," she replied, if that was correct she was flying into a disaster.
If she hadn't had the warning she might have been surprised. In a blaze of blue fire was followed by a silver and black dog. The hybrid pokemon jetted from the fires below. Its gleaming red eyes were a mix of software and living intellect.
" Palkia aura sphere," she ordered.
The dragon charged ahead, she had little time to watch the carnage. Giovanni's voice shouted through the phone, " Behind you!"
To her dismay, hydreigon reacted to his concern the pokemon made a hairpin turn, narrowly dodging the golden bolts of electricity.
" Flash cannon," she commanded.
A burst of silver energy manifested around her and the dragon. Shards of steel and power smashed into the luxray hybrid. Shrieks of pain coursed through the air as the attack struck.
" These pokemon are insults to their true forms," Palkia said while he snarled at the cyber dog.
" I'd hardly call these insults," Missy said while she reared hydreigon down. Not wanting to allow the dog to attack she continued her onslaught, "Dragon pulse!"
Purple streams of energy surged through the mouth of the dragon. The attack struck luxray closer to the flames of the forest.
Charizard swooped past luxray, mightyena was in close pursuit. The pokemon stopped the chase as it looked at its fallen partner.
Both pokemon snarled, their eyes began to glow. Shades of the night took the sky and it meshed with flames from below. The forest twisted the chard trees began to grow unexpectedly.
" Missy, they're causing a dimensional shift, you need to fly higher," Giovanni said.
Palkia charged at the hybrid houndoom. The pink orbs that encased his body began to glow. The dragon lifted its arm and smashed the houndoom.
Special rend, the move shattered the pokemon's body a heap that once was they hybrid fell to the ground.
Palkia turned and faced the reapers. " You would be fools to do so abominations!"
The hybrids paid little attention to his words. They continued to twist and split the realm.
Palkia's eyes narrowed at them, his body began to shine brilliantly. While she watched she wondered which would win, the broken creatures of the vortex or the pokemon of space and creation.
Her thoughts were disrupted by Giovanni, "Missy you need to get out of there, according to the computer the space around them is unstable, you need to move."
She growled, then looked ahead. The smoke meshed with the sky, she hardly had any idea where she should go now. Malcontent and left with no options she asked, " Which direction gets us out of here?"
She listened as he scrambled with the computer then said, " Fly north, you're four miles from the ruins." That was some distance away. They roughly had Six and a half Kilometers to go. She grimaced at the thought, dwelling on it wouldn't get her to where they needed to go.
" Charizard let's go," she said as motioned for hydreigon to go head.
Both pokemon swooped into the smoke, instinctively they flew higher and higher until they soared above the smoke and the heat.
The view was majestic. The sky filled with puffy white clouds sailing on an ocean that was the night. Off in the distance, the untouched forest halted at the start of the sands.
An explosion of tremendous magnitude distorted her view. She looked back to see Palkia streaming above the clouds, her eyes narrowed at the dragon. His pearlescent body had been burned.
He let out a mighty roar before he regained his composure. His body began to glow once more as he unleashed another aura sphere. The attack broke the clouds, then there was silence once more.
The dragon leered on almost as if he was disappointed, he looked at her then began his pursuit.
" Any idea if he beat them?" she asked Giovanni.
There was a pause in between her question and her answer, then he said, "No."
" Are they indestructible or something," she asked, uneasy she beckoned for charizard to give her back her bag.
She frowned as she brushed away the dust. She shook her head there was no saving it. She snatched the tardis and placed it into her jacket. Deciding her purse had no use she sent it back to storage.
Palkia steadily caught up to her and said, "We have to keep them bound here, those things are serious trouble."
" That's why they're here in the first place, I'm surprised you don't keep up with these sort of things," she replied.
" This realm is none of my concern," he said. " But if those things want to leave and if they do, it would cause an unparalleled crisis."
" Missy, the computer is going on about a paradox influx," Giovanni said.
" Of course it would, it's a multi-dimension-" she stopped herself there.
That was how they continued to thrive. They were in a center world, a universe of all universes. She could think of only one reason why Solgaleo hadn't told them what these creatures were, that was because they alone could manipulate the factors. It was better for them to leave than to fight with monsters that could never die.
" I've got some terrible news for ya," she said.
" So does the tardis," Giovanni dryly said.
" Well now that's a joy," she deadpanned.
Giovanni sighed then said, " As long as they reside here, they're indestructible."
This wasn't news to her anymore so she simply said, " Thanks for the update, how long before we're outta here?"
" At our current speed, nine minutes," he said.
That news was worse than her realization. At that rate, they were going to be lunch. What she need now was speed. Her mind spun with statistics of pokemon as she tried to think her way out of this.
Giovanni's calm voice penetrated her thoughts, "Missy."
Agitated by his interruption she sneered then replied, "Oi."
" Perhaps Palkia can do something," he suggested.
Her eyes darted over to the dragon, the pokemon exchanged the look. The dragon grunted before he said," I can not do the impossible Time Lord."
"No one asked you to do the impossible, all we need is a boost," she replied.
The distant shrieks of the hybrids were becoming more apparent to her. She and Palkia glanced back to witness a darkening sky. " Can you do that for us?"
Palkia gazed ahead his eyes began to glow brilliantly. The wind picked up as power surged through him. His body began to irradiate light and power. He leered over to Missy and said, " Hand me the tardis.."
She didn't have to be told twice she reached down and grabbed the tardis when she was sure she had it good in her clutch she brought it up. She looked over to Palkia he had gradually gotten closer to her and hydreigon.
With one swift motion, she brought the ball up and handed it to the dragon. He clutched the ball tight then looked over to her. " You should seek shelter Time Lord."
She nodded in response before she teleported herself, charizard, and hydreigon into the tardis. She sent the pokemon to their rooms as she joined Giovanni.
Her eyebrows cocked up as she took in the room the tardis had made for him. The office was dark and sleek. Grey walls with black molding went well with velvet red carpet. He sat at his desk, his eyes fixated on a large monitor on the forward wall.
He glanced at the desktop screen and pressed the enter key before he paid her any attention. Her eyes narrowed as she glared at him. " I can see you've made yourself at home."
The tardis teleported a cup of black coffee onto his desk. Giovanni picked it up and said, " I didn't ask for any of this."
She rolled her eyes and found herself no longer wanting to be a part of the explanation. For the moment she'd let things be as they were. He took a long drink of coffee before he set the cup down.
For a moment she briefly wished they could warp out of there. Like they did in a spaceship on television or a music video.
She walked over to the desk and leaned back, half-sitting on the edge. She looked at the screen the clouds were becoming streaks of light as Palkia soared through them.
" Warp speed full ahead," she mused.
The chair squeaked as Giovanni leaned into it when he spoke it was clear to her that he was not amused, "Let me guess, more fandoms?"
" It's a pity you don't know about any of these things," she softly replied.
The screen had blurred. The image displayed was a series of rainbows and streaks of light.
As she watched she wondered if her imagination had somehow influenced the dragon. She tapped the crown on her head and considered the possibilities momentarily. That was a question worth asking.
The display rippled like an image in a pond. The sky became more apparent, just below the clouds, she saw the gleaming white marble road. It shimmered like a river in a sea of goldenrod sand.
In the distance, three stone pillars could be seen. They could have been compared to Stonehenge if they had been on a larger scale.
While she stared at them she waited for them to get closer. It took the dragon less than a minute to arrive and land at the ruins.
She looked to Giovanni and smiled. "I guess that's our cue."
He nodded in agreement, with his indication she teleported them onto the road. Palkia landed next to them the dragon turned and looked back. "They're catching up, Time Lord."
" We should be gone long before they arrive," Giovanni dryly said.
A small young girl dressed in a gypsy-like dress dashed in between them and said, " Like hell they will."
She carried two bronze rings among the many that decorated her body. She threw them up and shouted, "I could use a hand over here guys!"
The rings became suspended in mid-air. Inside the hoops, black portals formed, in that instant the mighty pokemon rayquaza came from it. The long emerald dragon seemed to go on forever as its snake-like body coursed through the portal.
From the second portal, a white dragon-like bird appeared. Its blue underbelly soared over as the pokemon took flight over the desert. The small nub-like spikes on its back extended as it slowed its speed, unnaturally hovering over the desert. Lugia looked surreal away from its home in the Whirl Islands.
Missy looked over the girl and examined her garb carefully, then concluded that the girl was the mythical pokemon Hoopa. Considering the pokemon's ability to open portals to other dimensions her conclusion made perfect sense.
She pointed ahead and shouted," Go get 'em boys!"
Both pokemon roared in response before they flew ahead of them, the young girl waved as they flew off and shouted, "Thank you!"
Missy leered at the young girl before she dryly said, "You're a bit too enthusiastic about that."
She grinned as said, "You would be too if those were your pokemon."
Giovanni's eyes narrowed before he interjected, " I don't think she would be so childish about it."
Missy smirked at this and replied, "No, I'd be a bit more playful about it. Tell them to bring mommy home some of the scraps."
The girl's eyes widened. "You don't have to be so sinister about it."
" Sinister wouldn't even begin to describe it," Palkia interjected.
Missy's eyes shot over to the dragon. "You didn't happen to-"
Before she could finish the question Palkia answered, "Unfortunately Time Lord."
She ripped the crown off her head. "Stay out of there!" she shouted in disgust.
" If I only could have," Palkia said as he held out the tardis.
She stomped over to him and put out her hand. Palkia grunted when she took it from him then asked, " I wish to leave, Time Lord."
Giovanni slightly shook his head no as he stepped up to the dragon. "Before you do, there's something I want to know."
The dragon looked into his eyes, something Missy found hard to watch. That look was almost menacing and dark. Giovanni was unthwarted he looked back and asked, "Can we use that crown to summon you from any world?"
" Use it for what you need," Palkia said.
The girl danced in between them and broke up the tension as she playfully said, " Use it for anything you want."
A hoop manifested around her torso she began to swing it around her hips. She twirled with the motions as she continued, "If you two keep this up the only place you'll be going is the Distortion Realm."
Her words were a bit too chipper for the circumstance, that was something Missy liked about this girl. Alas she was correct death was down the road and it was time for her Giovanni to leave.
She stepped up to Palkia and said, "I think we'll have to agree with her." She looked over to the dragon and pointed to the crown. She placed her finger on the orb and did what came naturally to her and said, "Return."
It was almost like calling back a pokemon, but not really. A white portal manifested before her followed by a flash of bright light. It disappeared as quickly as it came when she looked around the dragon had gone.
" Now that, that's over with," she said as she walked over to the ruins. "Can we get this over with?"
Giovanni's pace quickened as he caught up with the girl. "You must be the gatekeeper."
She spun around and snarkily replied, "I was wondering when one of you was going to ask." She offered her tiny hand as she introduced herself, " I'm Hoopa, Fuupa, dippidy do, I might be some trouble for you."
Hoopa carried the tune nicely. While she sang about Missy muttered, " And make it double."
" Some might say that's my middle name," he said.
She quickly changed her tone as she offered her hand. " No seriously just Hoopa."
Giovanni bent down and took it, "It's nice to meet you."
Missy smirked her intuition had been correct about the girl. Then she frowned, her instincts were almost never wrong.
She briskly stepped past them. "I love introductions and pleasantries kids, but let's not forget about the monsters that want to rip us to shreds."
Giovanni followed her and she thought heard him mutter something about not being a child. Hoopa turned and dashed to her side then said, " I like your style."
Missy smiled and replied, "I'm glad somebody here does." She looked back at Giovanni. "See, she's got good taste."
" I never said your choice of attire was terrible," he deadpanned.
She looked down at Hoopa and asked, "Do you like bow ties?"
Hoopa rolled a hoop in her arm and replied, "They're the best."
Missy smirked as she looked over at him. "See she's got great taste."
He crossed his arms and looked away. "I'll never understand you two."
When she stepped up onto a large stone disk in the middle of the pillars.
Missy looked down and looked over the hieroglyphs in the stone. She recognized some from the Ruins of Alph, others resembled the pokemon unown, there were some she didn't recognize but bared some resemblance to the old symbols of alchemy.
Hoopa threw the hoop onto the ground and spread her arms wide. She gestured for them to come closer and asked, "So where will it be?"
The Temporal Realm crossed her mind, her jaw tightened as she grimaced. If Solgaleo could get them there neither could Hoopa.
With that in mind, she said, "Back to the Hall of Origin."
She looked up to her, Hoopa's dark green eyes gleamed with hope before she said, " It's okay, someday we'll get ya to the Temporal-"
Missy cut her words short, "I know, let's just get on with it."
" Sheesh, alright, alright, I'll send you off," she defensibly replied.
Giovanni stepped up to the ring, but just as he began to enter Hoopa stopped him, " Where did your mounts go?"
A burst of bright light caught her attention. She looked over and watched lugia shoot a stream of energy into the clouds.
Even from its distance, she confirmed that it had used the move areoblast. They were running short on time now, it was best to get going.
" They ran off, horses and fires don't mix well," she said, she wished she hadn't the pokemon rapidash was an exception to this rule.
Hoopa nodded, perhaps acknowledging that she understood or perhaps to get them moving. She waved for her to join Giovanni. She took his side as another blast of energy lit up the area.
Hoopa turned and glanced over before she let out a sigh. She shook off her worried expression and clapped her hands together. " So long, farewell, I don't need to say adieu."
As she said the words she and Giovanni were overtaken by a bright flash of light. There was no spinning or morphing colors. No wormhole that she spotted, of course, she hadn't the time.
She dropped on her bottom onto a solid slab of stone. Giovanni had landed similarly. He quickly got up and dusted himself off.
Missy let out a sigh and prepared to get up when he offered her a hand. She took it and helped herself up.
She looked around, then to the vortex manipulator. According to the coordinates, they had arrived a few minutes after they left.
The date was still December 21st, 2012. What was off was the lack of machinery, Cyrus, and Charon.
It was perplexing, had Team Flare returned and retrieved the machinery? Surely they must have left. Or perhaps Cyrus left his journal and he and Charon went into the portal.
She looked to Giovanni, it seemed he was just as perplexed as she was. He stared ahead then said, " Team Flare must have come back."
She looked at the runes and took note of the fresh scrapes in the stone. If she had been able to take her tardis with the vortex manipulator then she had little doubt that Team Flare could do the same with those machines.
" What of Cyrus and Charon?" she mused allowed.
Giovanni sighed then said, " They could have run off, from what I gathered from the journal I suspect they may have entered the portal."
" I think I can agree with that. Well then that about sums it up," she replied.
Giovanni took her side then asked, "Can we pop back around and be sure?"
Her eyes glanced down at the vortex manipulator while she briefly thought over it. " Nope that would be too dangerous, I don't trust the vortex manipulator to that degree, and if we disrupt the timeline we could easily destroy ourselves."
" Destroy ourselves?" he inquired.
" Yes destroy ourselves, you know go kaboom," she said she looked away in an attempt to hide our frustrations. "We could get caught up, seeing ourselves could change everything, we could get trapped in a time loop and be stuck there forever, or heaven forbid unleash reapers-"
He stopped her there and said, " That would be too much."
" That would give me an enormous headache," she replied.
Giovanni took his phone from his pocket. His finger slid across the screen and his eyes lit up as he opened a window. His keyboard clattered as he typed a message.
His eyes looked away from the screen over to her and he said, " I'm sure we'll figure this out." He slipped his phone back into his pocket as he took her side. " I just got a message from headquarters, Jessie and James are on hold, I'm told they have some intriguing information."
She noted his draw on intriguing, she shrugged it off. " Zager mentioned that lot," she said as she recalled him mentioning that they were on a mission to expand Team Rocket. " Expanding the team?" she inquired.
Giovanni nodded then slowly said, "They are, they're particularly good at what they do." He offered her his hand. " We should get going."
Missy looked down at and punched in the coordinates for Team Rocket headquarters before she took it. " I think that's a splendid idea."
She took his hand. With the push of a button grey sky muddled with the slate stone. Symbols of time and space meshed with the waves and ripples of time travel itself. Shadows moved from beyond left and right along with the ever-shifting colors of time travel and the spaces beyond.