WARNING: This chapter contains a rather gory and macabre scene at the end. It's also sad. T-T But hey, that doesn't really need a warning.
And it contains a rather significant event in Finis.
And it's so long that I split it into two parts. Two chapters. Zah.

Phantomness: Hurrah!
Ah, that's good to hear. But now I do think that Lugia was too much like Ayame Sohma from Furuba. (sweatdrop)
Chapter's not very shippy, not too convenient in this situation. I'm putting it in a little bit later on, ok? I'm sorry...I promise...but it's still Red and Lance in this chapter. T-T I'm sorry...and I mean, a huge overdose of Lance and Red.
Steven; stupid and insensitive...I can't deny that he's a bit stupid, but he focuses on Wallace's wellbeing to some extent. All the characters have their cons though. Heck, Lance is a first prize lifeless shell. (wink)

Darkness: Red's fine, he's with Lance. Red's my favourite character in this right now, excuse me. XD

TIP: Well, we did. ;P And I was extremely stuck, so I remembered that and just used it.

Some of the ideas in this chapter are recycled from an old fanfic I wrote yonks ago, nobody else's fanfic ideas were taken. Ehehe. It was so ugly and non-descriptive that I grabbed it again and made it HORRIFIC. :D

- Part One -

The Earth began to roar, spilling out her fury in the force of the storm. Her anger was built up through the expertise and control of another being. This being concealed the flailing entity named Anger within himself whilst allowing the elements to express it.

The sound of thunder rumbled through the solid rock wall, but from experience the Dragon Master's partner tried to ignore the crashes and remained curled up on the ground. He was attempting to figure out why they were here within this locked chamber at all. Slowly seeping back into his mind were the memories of the whirring helicopter blades, the feeble endeavor to escape, their own yells and screams, the explosions...

The young teenager curled up tighter and rocked back and forwards, forcing himself into the constricting cube again; where he could be separated from all others and where he could scream out as much as he liked...

Another lightning bolt shattered through the atmosphere. Lance still sat on the ground, his face blank and papery white.

"Lance, if you continue with this the world will never see sun again." Red whispered in one of the breaks between the rolling of thunder.

Lance blinked his amber eyes once as a supposed 'reply'. He then stood up calmly, much to the relief of the other person present. Then again, what was the likeliness of other people being present now?

"Lance, you don't look too good..."

"Come on, let's investigate this...place," was once again his supposed 'reply'.

Red reluctantly followed. Lance seemed vaguely out of character, there was something going on within him. It wasn't visible, but that didn't make it unidentifiable. It was unnecessary to fuss on about such a thing though, so Red tore his attention away from his worries and concentrated on surroundings.

They were cautiously stepping through what seemed to be an abused graveyard. The area had been destroyed intentionally, it appeared. The slabs of roughly crafted slate lay strewn like the victims of a mass-death across the tiled floor. The tiles themselves had been disturbed or perhaps trampled, scattered about in fragments and battered by an unexpected invasion.

Beyond this scene was a crude archway, eroded away by man's hands. Lance and Red stood in the gaping space; Red gazing around the area beyond, Lance glaring. It was a greater cavern that met their eyes with more archways that led to sub-chambers.

The only sound that broke the cold silence was pattering of soft rain, a symbol of the Dragon Master's calmed mood.

"Is it safe?" Red asked for the single purpose of breaking the silence of voices.

"What is?"

Retaliation was not advisable at this comment. Momentarily the clouds outside poured out the rain more densely. Somewhere beside the younger teenager, a heart pounded.

Lance moved forward again into the next chamber, stepping slowly across the cracked tiles. From where he followed behind, Red watched him raise a hand up to his chest again. Concern for the problem within his heart was showing through Lance's movements once more; something that his partner frowned upon in worry. The first adjacent room was entered inquisitively.

"A...plaque..."

Sure enough, there lay one large marble slab in the centre of the room, embedded into the floor, again having disturbed the worn old tiling. It was the same kind of plaque that would be placed there in memory of something or in recognition of somebody.

"Purities of...mankind..." Lance read aloud in an unnaturally timid manner. He still held his hand up to his chest.

Below the title that Lance had just read were six capitalised words engraved into the stone.

INNOCENCE

HATE

GRACE

SINCERITY

MIND

YOUTH

"Innocence...Hate..." Red recognized them, but how? Were they alike something they had experienced? Were they qualities; even – as this stated – purities of mankind?

Were they words that connected with him and Lance? Am I the representative of Innocence and he the representative of Hate?

It was harsh to think that Lance being Hate was the case, but it seemed so relevant.

"Grace and Sincerity; Mind and Youth. They have connections to all of 'Humanity's Treasure'." Lance said calmly, even though hints of disgust were still apparent in his tone.

Red sadly watched him instinctively clutch at his heart again and put on a pained expression. It was almost as if he didn't notice that there was something wrong.

Across the larger room and in the second adjacent chamber they entered was an extremely large database consisting shelves completely coating the walls.

"Do you think this is all just paperwork?"

"I suppose so. It's easiest to preserve, I believe. For as long as paperwork can preserve."

"How did they do all this...?"

Red gazed around whilst Lance began to physically hunt through the stacks and rows of papers, although he was one pushing aside every one of them.

"This all looks like something that Steven would have been interested in..." Lance whispered to himself whilst roughly pushing away more of the folders and bundles.

Red turned away from the destruction and began to browse a line of shelves. His fingers flicked past the documents one by one and he began to read the many faded labels that were peeling away. The Stone Family, Complete Anthologies of Ecruteak Legend, Dragon Mastery Success throughout the ages...it was almost as if the entire documented history of the world had been shelved here randomly, in no particular order.

There was a clatter and a hard slap behind him and he turned to see that Lance had managed to tip about a dozen folders off one of the higher shelves. Red sighed, the worried feeling within him clutching harder as time went by.

Lance stood there hopelessly, like the twisted memory of a lost child.

"You silly old thing..." Red's joking side chimed nervously through the tightly enveloping worry. It tried to; but as the boy knelt down to help clear up the mess, the sight of Lance's again oblivious frenzy stabbed through him again. It still tugged at his struggling heart, but he knew that something...something was troubling Lance's more.

This is becoming unbearable...

Red's hand fell upon a folder that had another old, peeling label. It had the words 'Viridian Power' scrawled upon it, obviously being gnawed away more and more by time. Lance watched wearily whilst he opened it, revealing what appeared to be a photocopy of an ancient-looking document tucked inside.

"'Ancient power of Lady Viridian - passed on to fauna over granted generations – allows unique abilities of empathy, telepathy and healing.' That's how it's described," the inquisitive teenager began. Lance fiddled with a piece of grit.

"The power of the Viridian forest or of the Viridian Lady – the name that the area is spiritually known by – has been possessed by certain fauna born under her protection since the date her first saplings appeared. The history of granted beings has not yet been recorded, yet in modern times it has been noticed that uncommon glitches within some human beings born within the forest depths has resulted in them inheriting the granted power...There is yet lack of research into this abnormality because of scientists' skeptical views of the power's true existence. It is currently unknown whether individual human beings are capable of containing the Viridian Power and there is worry of weakness to those who possess it in later life..."

"Dimensional Breakthroughs?" Lance's voice interrupted.

Red - still partially drawn to the Viridian Power document because of his increasing worry - reluctantly turned to what had just picked up. Lance swept away some of the dust coating that hung on to the crumpled old cardboard and examined it from all angles, as if there was something other than the label on the cover. He then stood up, tucked his find under his arm and walked away without a word. Red also stood up shortly after. He left the sea of mysterious papers and – similar to a small kitten – followed his worry.

The next room across the hall that they entered was similar size to both the others, but appeared a bit too spacey to house only a few squat pedestals.

"Humanly discovered objects?"

"Some of them look like they're manmade...others just look like they've been dug up by men." Lance picked up the moonstone that lay on the nearest pedestal and turned it over in his hands.

On top of the other neatly placed platforms around the chamber were many other items. Close to the moonstone pedestal was a glittering pearly feather and another flaming red one, each curled around each other.

There was a sudden crash and Red tore his eyes from the feathers in time to see a circular device clatter into the shadowed corner. Lance stalked away from the surface on which the Gym Badge Energy Amplifier had been.

"Lance..." He had stopped again to glare at the next object.

"Pathetic..." he hissed to it, ignoring Red's tone, "this object here is a shard, a small patch of what...'we' have claimed to be treasure. But it's also disgusting. It's the coldest, darkest prison that we could ever force upon our sibling: a...Master Ball...it's as simple as that but it's so incredible...it's..."

"Lance, I know...let's have a look somewhere else."

With that, Lance's arm was grabbed and eased away from the room that was angering him.

He's still trying to help me. This is what he lives for...isn't it? He tries to live to see others with smiling faces. But I stand here, paining him with my gash-like frown. This is why I am so unworthy...

Now that only I cling on with him...a lifeless shell that sits stubbornly in its pool of darkness...he may have some sort of despair.

But I cannot tell because he still wears that pretty little façade...

He has only one person in this world that he can attempt to lighten, a person he loves for reasons unapparent. Red, why do you love me?

Why do you love...an emotionless, disgusting object that is kept as a treasure...but is actually the coldest, darkest prison you will ever have...?

- End of Part One –