Ch.100: Realm of the Abyss! Survive Pt.1!

In what felt like an instant, the entire Aqua Zone became engulfed in a corruptive wave of darkness. Those hiding out in their homes and safe havens soon found themselves drenched in a tsunami of shadows before all went blank. All that remained in its place were the corrupted forms of the Pokémon wrapped in the essence of their shadows.

No emotion.

No fear.

No ambition.

Only a singular purpose: to follow the will of the abyss.

Avoiding such a powerful, land-sweeping force seemed completely unavoidable to the helpless bystanders who couldn't do more than watch their own lives being drowned under the darkness. However, those quick-witted enough to avoid such a disaster were rewarded for their merits.

In one such village, where a small traveling theatre group found themselves stationed in, held such an example.

The village became infested with the corrupted villagers, all lumbering about as they adjusted to their surroundings. They showed no immediate hostility like their previous brethren, instead simply observing and wondering as to their purpose. They had no will to speak of unless the abyss spoke for them.

The Starlight Road Company suffered a major blow. Almost the entire troupe became corrupted in darkness and dragged their feet mindlessly around the wagon. Two performers, however, appeared to be missing from the horde.

Sitting not too far away from the wagon were five pink marbles sitting in the mud. They lay motionless at first, missing the attention of the corrupted villagers, until one started to shake. It twisted and turned inside the mud, trembling, before releasing a bright flash of light.

Fleurette uncompressed and fell face first into the mud. "Ow…" She pulled herself out and shook most of the mud off her body. Her eyes widened, and she quickly patted herself down. She sighed in relief and fell back on her rear. "Thank goodness, all my limbs are still intact."

She looked at the other marbles and snapped her fingers. It took a moment, but the marbles released the same blinding flash and released the Ciphers, Courtney, and Trevor the Runerigus. They splashed down into the mud before jolting up in alarm.

"Oh Arcues!" Elise gasped, hugging herself. "That was…so weird!"

Fleurette smiled awkwardly. "Sorry. I didn't have time to warn you."

Owen brushed the mud off his forelegs and said, "I thought you said you couldn't compress living creatures."

"I mean, I knew the formula, but I never…actually tested it on anyone. I'm honestly surprised I did compress all of us in time."

Trevor straightened up and shook the mud off his body. "What even happened? All I remember was a wall of black water heading our way, now I'm here."

Courtney glanced up at the sky. "How long have we been compressed? It's already nighttime."

The adults looked up and saw that the sky had turned darked. In fact, they were just now realizing how little light there was in the village. Only a few lanterns remained lit, though they were close to burning out.

"Strange," Fleurette commented. "What did hap—"

"AAAHHH!"

Everyone jumped from Elise's shriek. Before they could ask what was wrong, they spotted shifting in the darkness. Their blood turned cold as sets of red eyes peered in their direction. Even in the low light, the creatures blended with the shadows, barely visible by their outlines.

"What are those things—" Elise screamed, but Owen immediately covered her mouth and shushed her.

Courtney backed behind Trevor and shivered. "W-What's going on?"

Fleurette glared. "All the villagers were…"

"Boss, look," Trevor said, pointing to the wagon.

Fleurette's heart sank when she saw the corrupted Greedent, Centiskorch, Scyther, and Nidorina hanging outside the wagon. All their glowing red eyes zeroed in on the uncorrupted group, yet they made no move to attack.

"Our entire crew…" she gasped. "Not them, too." She clenched her eyes shut and covered her face. "Oh Arceus, I can't believe I…" She dropped to her knees and shuddered. "I could've saved them. Oh Arceus, I was so focused on saving the Ciphers and Courtney that I…"

Trevor rested his hand on her head. "Fleur, it's not your fault. You were panicking. They'll understand."

She gritted her teeth. "But…w-what's going to happen to them? Th-This…what is all of this?!"

"Shadows." The adults looked down at Courtney, who stared at the corrupted troupe with a sad gaze. "This was what Momma was trying to stop. Momma…had to stop the shadows." She bit her lip with tears welling up in her eyes. "Is M-Momma…?"

Fleurette relaxed her shoulders and frowned at the child. How could she forget? She made a promise to Willow to protect Courtney at all costs. Where else would her mind be in a crisis? After all, she wanted to start a family one day. Protecting your child was the natural first concern for a parent. Now, with the possibility something went awry…

She scooched closer to the little Absol and hugged her. "I'm sure your mom's fine, Courtney. She's stronger than that. She won't be defeated by something like this."

Courtney sniffled and glanced up at the Cinccino. "A-Are you sure?"

She smiled. "You know her better than I do. I think you're the only one who can answer that." She pulled a handkerchief from her jacket and wiped the mud and tears off the child's face. "Until she gets back, I promise I'll protect you."

Courtney sniffled again, but managed a little smile. "O-Okay." She pressed her face into the Cinccino's chest. Fleurette smiled and hugged her.

"Uh, Boss? I hate to ruin the moment—" Trevor started, pointing anxiously at the wagon. "But we may have a situation."

The uncorrupted group noticed the shadow troupe growling in their direction. The shadows on their backs spiked up like fur, and they bared their teeth through tight snarls. Moreover, the rest of the infected villagers turned their attention on them, mirroring the hostile behavior. They made no sudden movements or motions to suggest attacking, but it became clear the shadow Pokémon were starting to become aggressive.

Elise cowered behind her husband. "W-W-What do we do?"

Fleurette glanced at the wagon briefly, then at the pathway leading to the village. She took a deep breath and stood up. "First things first, we need to run."

"There's too many of them for all of us to escape," Owen said. "I doubt we can outrun them—"

"But one of us can." Fleurette raised her hands. "Sorry about this."

Elise's eyes widened. "Oh no. Oh no! Not this again—"

Fleurette focused her magic and struck all four of them. In a matter of seconds, she compressed her party back down in marbles. She caught them before they hit the ground and stashed them away in her fur. She suddenly gasped and staggered to her knees. A brief, yet strong dizzy spell hit her.

"Ugh. Yeah, compressing living creatures down…too much. Ugh, Cosette makes this sound so easy."

She shook the dizziness off and raced to the wagon on all fours. Her corrupted troupe growled and lunged at her, but she leapt over and skipped off the back of the Nidorina's head. She skidded into the wagon and made a beeline for the storage units, digging out handfuls of compressed marbles.

The corrupted Greedent and Scyther jumped onto the wagon and rushed her, but she ducked and let them crash into the storage units headfirst. She dodged a swing from the Scyther and bolted out of the wagon. More of the corrupted villagers gathered around, but she bounced off their heads before they could make a grab for her.

They can attack fast, but their movements are still sluggish.

She escaped the growing crowd and sprinted out of the village, disappearing into the shadows.

Fleurette leaned up against a tree to catch her breath. She didn't know how far she ran out from the village, but hopefully enough that the villagers didn't give chase after her. She checked over her shoulder twice before moving onto the main road.

"Okay, we should be safe." She pulled out her marbles and tossed them down, uncompressing her party.

Elise groaned as soon as she became whole again. She stood ankle deep in fresh mud. "Are you serious right now?!" She recoiled and stepped onto the wet, but mostly mud-free grass.

Fleurette stagged from another dizzy spell, prompting Trevor to catch her. "Easy, Boss. Don't exhaust yourself."

She sighed and wiped her brow. "Hopefully that's the last time I'll need to do that for…ever."

Owen glared down the pathway leading into the village. "I can't believe this. It happened so fast, I didn't know what to do. Was it just us, or…?"

Elise looked at her husband worriedly. "What about Ella? What if something happened to her? Oh Arceus, what if she was turned into one of those monsters, too?!"

"Honey, calm down—"

"This is insane!" Elise shrieked. "She just had to go galivanting into danger, especially with these shadows running loose! Now this is happening, who knows what's happening to the rest of the region! Oh no, oh no, no, no, non, non—"

"Elise!" Owen grabbed the Espeon by her shoulders and gently shook her. "Elise, honey. Calm down. I'm sure wherever Ella is, she's fine. She's a resourceful young woman. She can take care of herself."

She frowned and looked down at the mud. "Owen, I…what's going to happen to us? If the rest of the region is like this, then…" She clenched her eyes shut. "Oh dear Arceus, why?" She pressed her face into his chest and sniffled. "This is just too much for me…"

The Pyroar gently stroked her back, accidentally smearing mud over her clothes. She didn't seem to notice or mind. "Elise, I…"

Fleurette frowned, wiping a few tears away from her eyes. She sighed and pulled out one of the marbles she grabbed. "We can't stay here. I suggest we head north and search for any survivors." She uncompressed a map and held it between her hands.

"W-What about food? Water? Shelter?" Courtney asked.

"Shelter's going to be tricky, but I grabbed some of the compressed rations from the storage units. Nothing extravagant, but enough to survive for a month or two." She grimaced. "I'm just hoping we don't have to wait this out for that long."

Trevor hopped toward the Cinccino and asked, "Why are we heading north?"

"That's where my sister is. Her academy might serve as a temporary shelter in case this goes on longer than we hope."

Trevor flinched. "The academy? But that's way too far on foot. It'll take us forever to reach the border."

"Then we better make time. We'll camp at nightfall—err, whatever time it is, I guess." Fleurette waved her party along and took the lead.

Trevor sighed before scooping Courtney up and dumping her on his head. "Hold on tight, kiddo." He hopped on behind Fleurette.

Owen saw the trio heading off ahead of them and turned to his wife. "Elise, you can ride on my back. I'll carry you."

She pulled her face from his chest and wiped her eyes. "O-Owen…"

"Get some rest. You need it." He lowered himself to her level.

She sniffled once more before accepting his offer. She climbed onto his back, adjusting herself until she was laying down comfortably, and closed her eyes. Owen stood up and briskly followed after the others. They had to make good time if they wanted to seek civilization again.

It was going to be a long day for everyone.

Oasis Zone

"Everyone alright?"

"Yeah…"

"I think so."

"I'm good, Granny!"

Medusa sighed and tapped her staff down, dropping the magical barrier engulfing the hut and her farmland. It a matter of minutes before the wave passed over them, the witch instructed Cicely to stop time and draw several symbols in a ring around her property. Once finished, Medusa activated a protective field to ward off any dark entities encroaching over the area. Her recent experience with the shadows proved informational for such an eventuality.

Though, she never expected to create a barrier for something like this.

Cicely peeked out the windows and winced. "This doesn't look right."

Beyond the boundary of the runic ring surrounding the property, the entire Oasis Zone twisted in form. The lively flora that made up the lush land had been warped into maniacal variants of themselves. Serrated black bushes, carnivorous plants baring more teeth than usual and actively scowling, mangled tree limbs clawing at neighboring plants, and more. The Oasis Zone went from a paradise in the middle of the desert to a horror-themed attraction at a haunted house.

Medusa tapped the ground and grimaced. "I…can't see much. My vision has been greatly limited. I can only see through the eyes of my garden. Everything else is murky. Tainted. Sickly."

Cicely glared. "I sense a bad omen in the air."

Andre sat up in bed, grunting as the black marks constricted over his body. "Something…could've happened to the nearby towns. We should—"

"We will do no such thing," Medusa interrupted. "You are in no condition to be moving, unless you wish to shorten your lifespan further."

He groaned and plopped back down on the bed. "I hate feeling so useless."

"You'll be even more useless if you don't rest." Medusa nodded at Venus. "Sweetie, can you make up Andre's medicine? Gather the ingredients from the garden, but don't go beyond the boundary line."

"Yes, Granny." She jumped down the stairs and raced to the backdoor. She stopped once she touched the handle and turned back to the Serperior witch. "Granny, are we in danger?"

"…" She briefly opened her eyes, staring solemnly at the floor. "Go get the ingredients."

"…Yes, Granny." She opened the door and stepped out into the back garden.

Andre craned his neck and glared down at the witch. "For a crazy old woman, you're not subtle."

She shook her head. "I don't want to worry her. The corrupted plants should stay away from the house, and we have a sufficient garden. We'll be fine."

"Will we?"

She sighed through her nose. "Just get some rest, Andre." She slithered to the front door. "Cicely, would you mind joining me so we can investigate? I'll be needing an extra pair of eyes."

Cicely pressed her hand against the snake's back. "Of course." The older women exited out through the front door, shutting it behind them.

Andre sighed and rolled onto his back, glaring up at the ceiling. I hope Flint and the others are doing alright.

The women wandered the path to the edge of the Oasis Zone. Medusa mostly guided herself based off memory, having slithered this exact path numerous times. Cicely, however, took charge to keep the rogue plants at bay. Any carnivorous or violent flora that snapped in their direction, the time mage would click her fingers and put them into temporary stasis.

Once they reached the edge, Cicely got a better look at the warped terrain. While the sand remained normal, black crystal jutted out from below either as clusters or giant spires. She could see thousands of clusters scattered all across the sand and into the horizon. Even the sky turned dark despite being somewhere in the afternoon.

"Everything's changed," Cicely muttered.

Medusa coiled her staff tightly. "Yes. Even though I can't see anything, I can sense the vile aura around me. It's everywhere, even in the air. It's almost suffocating."

"Will you be alright?"

"Bah! This is nothing." She glared her closed eyes toward the sky. "What could've caused a catastrophe of this scale?"

Cicely bit her thumb and grimaced. "I have an awful idea how."

"The Idol of Origin, you mean."

"Yes."

The witch nodded. "Then that means the Shadow King obtained it before the others. They failed."

"I'm afraid so."

"…" Medusa sighed. "After all that trouble those poor dears went through, this is their reward for their hard work?"

"Life's not fair, I'm afraid."

"Or perhaps the universe wishes to return the world to darkness, thus sided with darkness itself." She shook her head. "Nay. Such nonsense is too grand."

"Do you think the entire region has been corrupted?"

"Without a doubt. This vile aura extends further than I can detect, and I doubt it centered itself on the Desert Zone."

"The entire region could be in shambles. Who knows how many were able to avoid the corruption."

"More worrisome, what has become of those who aimed to protect us from such a fate?" Medusa glared. "What is the status of Team Ravenfield?"

"…Knowing the Shadow King, I doubt he would allow loose ends regardless of becoming a god."

"I hold faith in Team Ravenfield's resourcefulness," Medusa said. "They hold great strength."

"No amount of magic could save them from this."

The witch shook her head. "I don't speak of magic, but a stronger force. A universal debt that will always be paid."

Cicely raised her brow. "What do you speak of?"

"Aye. Forgive me. These are just the ramblings of an old woman hoping for a miracle." She shook her head and glared. "But this is not a generation meant to rely on heroes. If we are the last to stand against this catastrophe, we will face it with all our strength."

Cicely rubbed her chin. "We may not be lost yet. Master Cielo, for all his paranoia of the future, would foresee an outcome like this. I'm willing to bet he and the mages were spared of the corruption wave. Though, I do concern for the status of Seth and Leroy since they weren't present either. Seth might've had countermeasures at least, but Leroy's been galivanting all over the region putting a stop to the civil wars and shadow attacks. He could've been consumed by his own shadow, too."

"Hmm…" Medusa glared at the open sand. "Regardless, I'm confident there are many who survived the corruption. It's now a matter of how to end this darkness. This is a task far too large for us mere mortals. Against the Idol of Origin, we have no hope of winning."

Cicely crossed her arms. "The idol is incredibly powerful. I've heard the horror stories regarding previous mages trusted to defend it. It takes an iron will not to be tempted by godhood. Its immeasurable power couldn't withstand the greed of more than one host. It takes a single, disciplined mind to wield that idol. Any more than that, and…" She shrugged. "Who knows what could happen?"

Medusa chuckled dryly. "How tragic. A single mortal can wield the power of the gods, but two conflicting wills can change the balance. Sounds like a certain legend."

"Hmm, perhaps."

Medusa opened one cursed eye and glanced at the Gothitelle. "If there is a chance for mortals to take back their rightful place in this world, what would you have me do to assist?"

Cicely glared up at the darkened sky, her aura billowing around her. "You've been researching shadows since their last visit here. Got anything I can use?"

Aqua Zone, Nightfall

Fleurette's traveling party traversed the wetlands of the Aqua Zone for hours, taking caution to avoid corrupted Pokémon lost on the side of the main road. They grew weary from their trek, but pressed on until the hour of night came at last in hopes adequate shelter could be obtained.

Soon, they walked off the main path and entered the forest, where they eventually came across the side of a rocky hill. Dense packs of trees surrounded the area, making it nigh impossible for anyone or anything to spot them.

Fleurette sighed and compressed the map. "We'll camp here for the night." She uncompressed an axe and tossed it to Trevor. "Trevor, think you can build a shelter for us?"

The Runerigus rubbed his knuckles and said, "Aye. I'll see what I can do." He hobbled toward the trees, spinning the axe in his hand.

Fleurette looked around. "I managed to grab some rations before we left, though best to scavenge for any berries or fruit growing nearby."

Courtney raised her paw. "I can look for food."

"You sure?"

"Uh huh. Momma taught me a little about surviving in the wild. I can identify most berry types in the Storm and Aqua Zones."

Fleurette nodded. "Alright, but tread carefully and don't wander too far away."

Elise sighed and joined the little Absol's side. "I best come along and keep an eye on her. I've rested up enough as is. Come along, dear." She pushed Courtney along and followed her into the forest.

Fleurette sighed and walked over to Owen, who had sat down to rest his paws. She joined his side, plopping down on her back and spreading her limbs out. She took a couple deep breaths and nestled into the wet grass. "I anticipated having to go through something like this, though I expected it to be due to an unexpected fire on the wagon. Never thought I'd be surviving the apocalypse."

Owen nodded. "A sad truth, but the universe is cruel in its judgment. If we become too complacent in our day-to-day lives, we'll be woefully unprepared for disaster. Perhaps we could've done better to prevent this event."

"In what scenario could this be classified as avoidable?"

"You have me there, but you can't help but let the mind wander in crisis."

Fleurette frowned and turned onto her side. "Don't think of this as your fault. None of us could've expected this." She closed her eyes. "Alice, Colin, Xavier, Paulina…"

"Hmm?"

"The rest of my crew. The ones that were corrupted. We had a bright future ahead of us. We were hoping to gain notice from all the towns we visited. Our dream that the Starlight Road Company would become an official acting troupe. Bigger and better performances." She closed her eyes and sighed. "All that for nothing. I can already hear my parents scorning me…"

"You…have trouble with your family?"

"I was the heir to the Glowkeeper family. Specialists in compression magic and held up as one of the elite magic families." She closed her eyes. "Was, being the keyword."

"Hmm…" Owen stroked his chin. "Now that you've mentioned it, I believe I've heard of the Glowkeepers. Probably done business with them, if I'm correct."

Fleurette smiled bitterly. "They disapproved of me attending community college to pursue theatre. I'm surprise they didn't have a stroke when I said either of those. They said the arts were pointless and unforgiving, that I'd be wasting my time pursuing a career that'll never land." She dug her fingers into the wet dirt. "Look at me now, still doing small shows just to get by for a group of six. Still, I could never go home. If I did, poor and coinless, they'd never let me live it down."

"…" Owen closed his eyes. "How awful."

"Heh. I must be stupid, leaning on my pride over my humility. I went nowhere, and now I'll die having accomplished nothing but proving my parents right. I really did crash and burn in the end."

"…" Owen opened his eyes and glared. "Nothing about your career was pointless."

"You're just saying that—"

"You spent your time in that village keeping the morale of its villagers up during a crisis. Even if the results ended up as…this, that doesn't change the fact you accomplished something. In times of sorrow and fear, a little joy can make a world of difference."

Fleurette turned herself around and raised her brow. "You think I was actually making a difference?"

He smiled. "Well, you made someone's day. That young girl, Courtney, looks up to you. You've inspired her to make people happy through your art. You…" He frowned and looked down. "You encouraged her dreams."

Fleurette sat up. "Mr. Cipher?"

He sighed and smiled sadly. "You remind me of my daughter. You remind me of how…neglectful my wife and I were about her feelings. We, too, put a lot of hefty expectations on our daughter so she could takeover my company. We gave her every opportunity to become a competent businesswoman and lead a successful life. Successful…but not fulfilling."

"Mr. Cipher…"

He covered his face and shuddered. "We were too critical on her, and she kept pushing us away and rebelling whenever we reached out. We were too focused on our status that we forgot we were supposed to be parents. A parent's job isn't just making sure their children lead a successful life of their own. Our job…is to encourage growth and help them find their individuality. A parent should never put so many burdens on a developing mind. They need time to learn at their own pace, lest they become incapable of deciding for themselves. That's not what we wanted for her, but we were blinded by our own pride."

Fleurette frowned as tears fell from the fire lion's eyes. She reached over and patted his back. "If you ask me, just admitting that you screwed up is the first sign that you care."

He sniffled and wiped his eyes. "We're doing better. We're trying to be supportive of her nowadays." He sighed and looked away. "Though, I wish now we were harder on her had I expected something like this to happen." He glared. "Even so, you'll make a name for yourself. Not everyone gets their chance, and sometimes dreams don't always come true, but a parent's first job is to help their child achieve their dreams."

Fleurette smiled a little. "Heh. I almost wish I was your daughter."

"Tell you what. If we get through this, perhaps I can find a way to help."

Her eyes widened. "Really?"

"I have plenty of connections around the region, especially in the entertainment business. Perhaps one of them can help your crew make your big break."

Fleurette gawked at the man for a moment, stunned speechless. She felt some tears forming in her eyes, but she quickly wiped them away before laughing. "Well, I guess that's enough incentive to survive, right?"

He grinned. "A dream makes for a strong motivation even on the worst of days."

After a long half hour of construction, Trevor completed the temporary shelter and gathered everyone under its roof. With what little he could produce from the available trees, he constructed an elevation off the ground to protect from any random floods passing by, a roof that should keep most rain out, and enough space for everyone to sleep comfortable (especially with a giant cursed slab and lion taking up space).

Unfortunately for Courtney and Elise, they couldn't find any edible berries. Most of the plant life had been tainted by the corruption, leaving any fruits they did come across completely intolerable to the tastebuds. Courtney learned that the hard way when she tried one, now cursed to remember the rotten taste that besmirched her tongue.

Fortunately for everyone, Fleurette did indeed gather plenty of compressed rations during their escape. She placed all the food items in the center of the shelter and made note of how much they had/needed. Based off her count and the size of their party, they were looking at two weeks of supplies. That's only if they eat the bare minimum, too.

Everyone was thinking the same thing: it was a pitiful stack of food.

Elise grimaced. "This was all you could grab?"

Fleurette pinched her nose and sighed. "How about you try to steal food from a wagon filled with your corrupted friends and see how that goes?"

"…No need to get snippy, young lady."

Trevor glared. "Dried berries, jerky, a couple dozen bottles of water, snacks…a bar of soap?"

Fleurette shrugged. "The apocalypse isn't an excuse for poor hygiene."

"What about brushing your teeth?"

She picked up the bar of soap.

"…It's moments like these I'm grateful to be a Runerigus."

Owen sighed. "We can't be ungrateful. We've traveled too far to go back for the rest of your supplies."

Courtney pouted. "Are we going to die out here?"

Fleurette straightened up. "Of course not. We're going to survive, I swear."

Elise grimaced. "Hon, no offence, but that academy you mentioned is way too far out for any of us. It'll take more than two weeks to get there." She glared at their provisions. "And even then, we won't get very far if this is all we have to sustain ourselves."

Fleurette glared. "It's better than staying out in the forest. Finding civilization should be our first priority."

"We're low on supplies and have several kilometers of land to trek before we get anywhere close to your sister. On top of that, those monsters have us outmatched. Two upper classmen, two actors, and a child. We're not exactly equipped to defend ourselves."

Fleurette looked aside. "My sister wouldn't give up this quickly, so neither should I."

Trevor tilted his head. "Actually, is there a way to contact her? Did you grab a crystal orb?"

Fleurette uncompressed a crystal orb into her hand. "Fortunately, yes, but I haven't been able to contact her for ages. She always just ignored my calls. Besides, with everything going on, would she be able to…?"

Owen glared. "You won't know unless you try."

The Cinccino sighed and waved her hand over the orb. "Connecting with the aether. Contact Cosette Glowkeeper, my sister."

The orb pulsed with light as it tried to reach out to her younger sister. Her party leaned forward as the orb blinked in rhythm. Fleurette bit her lip, feeling each pulse drumming through her ears like a growing heartbeat. Slow, yet thunderous in her head. It killed her seeing how long it was taking to get a signal out. Perhaps the corruption made it impossible for crystal orbs to work, or Cosette couldn't answer her orb.

Regardless of either possibility, she had to live with them both as the light dimmed, failing to locate her younger sister.

Fleurette closed her eyes and sighed. "Of course…"

Courtney patted her shoulder. "There, there."

Elise frowned. "I'm sure she's fine, dear."

"Yeah…" Fleurette muttered. "Here's hoping to that." She set the orb on her lap and leaned back on her hands. "Maybe going to the academy is a bad idea, but where else could we go?"

Owen frowned. "Not much we can do out here. I doubt any of my contacts made it out of the corruption."

Trevor nodded. "We'll just have to make do with what we got and hope this all blows over. I do agree we should find somewhere safe. If the corruption affected the berries here, I'd hate to see what it did to the rest of the plant life."

Fleurette took a deep breath and sighed. "Alright. We'll get some sleep and work out a plan tomorrow." She leaned forward and shuffled through the provisions. "Let's get dinner ready. Anyone up to split a can of beans—"

DING! DING! DING!

Everyone nearly jumped out of their skin as Fleurette's crystal orb started blaring. She dropped the can and hurriedly picked up the orb, nearly dropping it in the process. "C-Cosette?"

"Hurry, answer it!" Elise exclaimed.

"I am, I am!" She waved her hand over the orb. "Cosette, is that you? Are you okay?"

The image was filled with static, making it difficult to see anything for a moment. However, after a few seconds, the other connection cleared up to get a better look. Her eyes widened at the face appearing on the other side.

"Um…sorry, not her. Sorry to disappoint you," the Fraxure on the other end said dryly.

Fleurette gawked for a moment, then smiled with a blush warming her cheeks. "Heh. Don't sell yourself short. It's been a long day." She rubbed her fingers against her engagement ring. "But I'm happy to see one more face in this disaster."

"…Hey. I missed you, love."

"Hey, Brainiac. I missed you, too."

Oasis Zone

"You sure it's a good idea to head out on your own?"

Cicely finished packing a small travel bag and slung it over her shoulder. She glared at Medusa and said, "Someone needs to survey the region for survivors. Plus, if I can locate Master Cielo and the others, we may have to stage a counterattack against the Shadow King."

Medusa frowned. "Weren't you the one who told me the prophecy foretold disaster to the mages if they fought this war?"

Cicely smirked bitterly. "To think I got sucked into Cielo's paranoia. Me, a mage of time." She shook her head. "Perhaps a part of me did fear that possibility, but…that young man, Wes. He made his point clear during his fight with Master Cielo: why should we concern ourselves with a prophecy? Destiny may sound impossible to avoid, but why fight against it when you can break through it? He claims he'll take destiny into his own paws, so maybe it's time we do the same."

Medusa tilted her head. "Even at the cost of your life?"

"This is what I trained for. I've always believed in helping others. Why stop now?" She patted her friend's shoulder and smiled. "Besides, if anything does happen to me, I count on you to protect this world."

The witch smirked. "You're asking an old woman to be this world's last line of defense? Oh joy, this really is the apocalypse."

Cicely laughed. "That's what I thought."

"…You won't die, though."

"Are you saying I won't or making me promise to stay alive?"

Medusa shrugged. "Who knows? I'm not the destiny weaver here. That's your decision, not fate's."

Cicely smiled. "Right. I'll keep that in mind." She adjusted her pack and headed for the door. She stopped and glanced up at the second floor, being observed by Venus and Andre. "You two take care, alright?"

Venus saluted. "We promise!"

Andre coughed before saying, "Be…careful."

"It's what I do." She pushed the door open, took a deep breath, and took off into the sky.

Medusa pulled the door closed and sighed. "That woman, I swear…"

Venus sat on the edge of the second floor and asked, "What are we going to do now, Granny?"

"Who's to say? We can't risk leaving the Oasis Zone. I don't have the strength to make the journey, especially with Andre's condition."

Andre frowned. "So, I guess this means…"

The witch nodded. "Since I'm the only able-bodied adult left, I need to devote all my strength to protecting you two. We'll have to postpone the ritual."

Andre narrowed his eyes and turned onto his back. "I'm…sort of glad about that. I didn't want you suffering just for my sake." He closed his eyes and sighed. "You…seriously intended to take on my curse to spare me?"

Medusa nodded. "The youth should thrive, not suffer. I've lived a long enough life. Handling one more burden wouldn't make much difference."

"…I'd still feel bad about being the cause of your suffering."

She smiled. "You took on that curse protecting my granddaughter. If anything, I have all the reason in the world to repay your kindness. Rest assured, we will see the sun again, and you'll be freed from your burden."

Andre frowned. "I just wish there was a way to spare both of us from this curse." He coughed harshly and held his chest. "A-After all, no one in their right mind would take on this pain…"

Medusa narrowed her closed eyes. "Believe me, youngling, I wish there was an easier way to remove that curse. For someone to willingly take on its burden, you'd have to be on the cusps of dying already. I can't imagine someone like that coming by to save us both."