A little Espurr woke up in her cozy little bed. She didn't know why she had woken up; she felt she could use another hour of sleep. Her mind still felt fuzzy and her eyelids wanted to stay closed. Her body didn't even want to leave the warm comfort of her blankets.

The Espurr glanced to her side. She could just barely see the first rays of dawn glaring down into her room through the windows near her bed. So that had been the reason. For whatever reason, the moment the sun came out, she would instantly awaken from any sort of slumber she was in. She didn't know why that was so. Perhaps it was a sort of psychic-type trait. Her own parents were the same way and so were a few other psychics she knew. Maybe it had to do with how they were the opposite of the dark-types, who seemingly became alert the moment the sun set behind the horizon.

It didn't matter in the end, however. She did have school in the next couple of hours; she decided it was best to ready herself for the day if she was already up and about.

The Espurr pulled off the covers and got out of bed before heading toward the pantry in the other room. What should she have for breakfast today? She did have a few oran and pecha berries. Maybe she could mix the two together and have a nice berry salad with them. After all, the sweetness of the pecha did go quite well with the myriad tastes of the oran. Or maybe she could have some bread with a bit of pecha jam smeared on top of it. Yes, that would also be quite lovely. Or maybe her parents would already be down there waiting for her with a nice bowl of…

The Espurr stopped the moment she entered the other room in her house. There, sitting at her table, was a Sableye. She could hear the Sableye rolling something along the table's surface, but she couldn't see what because the Sableye had its back to her. But that was good news for her, because that meant that she could hurry out of her house if she really wanted to. The Sableye would have never known she was there. But maybe she didn't. She did like ghost-types after all. She knew she should have been scared of them, given easily those ghost could hurt her, but she never was. There was something fascinating to be found in their perpetually sinister grins and how you could touch them and your paw would go right through them.

Still, why was there a Sableye in her house? She didn't know of any Sableye in the village. Not only that, but ghost-types didn't usually wander about in broad daylight, even if the day had barely started.

So why was this Sableye here? Who was it even? And why would it come her home of all-

"Oh, hello there. Trying to hide from me?"

The Espurr stiffened. The Sableye turned her head, allowing the Espurr to finally see its face. Quite surprisingly, this Sableye didn't have a menacing grin stretched across her face. She only had a pleasant one that easily complemented her bizarrely agreeable voice.

"I see you're finally awake," the Sableye said. "I was wondering when you were going to wake up."

"Umm, who are you, Miss Sableye?" the Espurr asked as she rubbed at one of her ears.

"Oh, me? Well let's see… oh, who am I, who am I?" the Sableye wondered aloud as she swung her legs back in forth in her seat. "Oh yeah, I'm Ker."

"What's Ker?"

"It's my name! What else would it be?"

"That's weird. Isn't your name Sableye?"

A low frown broke through the Sableye's friendly smile. She seemed to just barely resist groaning, if ghost-types could even do that.

"Let me guess. Your name's Espurr, isn't it?" the Sableye asked dully.

"Yeah, it is."

"Wow. This place is worse than I thought. You guys have the most unimaginative names. I mean really, what if there's another Espurr in your village? Do I just call you Espurr One and the other one Espurr Two?"

Espurr didn't know how to respond to that. This Sableye sure was a strange one undoubtedly. She didn't know if she was creepy though, now that she had spent a bit more time with her. Nothing about her seemed very threatening, even if some of the things she rambled on about didn't make any semblance of sense.

The Sableye turned away. She hissed something that Espurr couldn't hear before looking back at her with a little grin.

"Well anyway, I'm just someone passing on by through your town," Ker then said. "You could say I'm a wanderer that goes all around the continents. Been traveling all night and I wanted to stop somewhere for a little while. Your parents let me in a little while ago, but they didn't get to tell you because they had to go to the market or something like that. So sorry if I scared you or something like that! I just didn't want to show up in your room and suddenly announce I'm here and make you think I'm going to rip out your soul or something. I might be a ghost, but I'm not evil."

The Sableye giggled. Espurr couldn't help but giggle as well. There was just something so playful in that laugh.

"Well anyway, how about I offer you some company until your parents get back?" Ker then offered. "Like how about we eat breakfast together? I'm sure by the time we'll finish, your parents will be home again and then we can talk to them too."

Espurr nodded. There really wasn't a reason to be scared. Many Pokémon came in and out of the village all of the time. This wasn't even the first time Espurr's parents had allowed a guest to visit. They had done this plenty of times, though none of them had been ghost-types and they usually didn't leave her all alone with the guest. However, there was nothing to worry about with this Sableye. She seemed perfectly harmless, if a bit strange, just like quite a number of visitors actually.

Espurr went over to the table before sitting down in a seat opposite to the Sableye. She could now see that the object Ker was rolling around on the table was one of the many pecha perries in a basket that served as the centerpiece. Ker moved the berry delicately with a single claw, somehow not puncturing it with her sharp tip.

"So Espurr, why are you awake so bright and early in the morning? Everyone else in this village is asleep," Ker asked pleasantly. "Well except for some merchants and your parents, of course."

"I always get up at dawn," Espurr replied as she took out a pecha berry from the pile. "And I'm here because I want to eat breakfast before I go to school."

"Oh, you have school, do you? What do you do at school?"

"Anything really. Sometimes I learn about the different types of Pokémon like water -types or electric-types. Sometimes I learn about how to take care of trees. And then sometimes I learn about the other continents in the world."

"Uh huh. Sounds fascinating. I remember when I used to be in school. Used to learn everything you do, but I learned about more interesting things too, like how to make sculptures out of planks of wood."

"You can do that even though you're a ghost?"

"Oh yeah. How would I even be sitting here if I couldn't be tangible part of the time? I'm just like the rest of you types, except I don't have to let things like walls or doors get in my way. I just go right through them whenever I want."

"What does it feel like to go through walls? Does it hurt?"

"Nah, it doesn't hurt. It's like… oh, how to put this? You ever gone swimming before?"

"Yeah, I did once."

"Alright, and you've dived down far enough so that your whole body goes underwater, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well it's like that. Phasing through walls for me is like you going underwater. It doesn't hurt, but everything around you feels a little different. You get what I mean now?"

"Yeah, I think I do. And you can do this as much as you want?"

"Of course! If I really want to, I can stay inside of a wall all day. I could be in your ceiling for hours and hours, and I would never feel like I need to leave. I don't have to 'breathe', if we're going to use my underwater analogy."

Espurr smiled a little. It seemed Ker really was a nice ghost-type with interesting things to say after all, just like those Ghastly that she had seen that time long ago. They were just a little odd and loved to spook others. But deep down, they were as friendly as all of her friends and neighbors.

Espurr took a bite out of her pecha berry. Its overwhelming sweetness flooded into her mouth, making her ears perk up for just a moment. Espurr could hear the Sableye snickering as soon as she swallowed the fruit, but she made no remarks. She only sat there, still rolling her berry back and forth across the table.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Espurr then asked as she ate the rest of her berry.

"In a little bit," Ker replied. "In a little bit. I just like to roll this berry around, really. There's something just so mesmerizing about it. Just toying with it is so fascinating."

"That sounds a little like how a prank works. You like pranks?"

"Oh yes, I do," Ker said with a devious grin that showed off all of her teeth. "I love them. Love setting them up with so much care and love, carefully luring my victim into them, making them think all is fine and dandy with the world, making them comfortable without them ever doubting a thing, and then… taking it all away."

Espurr froze for a moment. Something didn't seem right about what Ker had just said. Even though it had been for a split second, Espurr could have sworn that she heard a devious laugh echo in the room. But who could have been laughing? Ker certainly wasn't laughing; she was only playing with that berry.

As Espurr wondered this, the Sableye finally stopped rolling the berry. She picked it up between two of her claws, and then ate the entire thing in one bite.

"So yeah, I like pranks," Ker said with a little giggle. "Do you like pranks, Espurr?"

"Y-Yeah! Not a whole lot, but I do a little," Espurr quickly blurted out. "I like putting thoughts in my classmates' heads and making them think some legendary Pokémon is talking to them."

"Oh, sounds like a fun little prank! I do something like that sometimes. Like one time I hid in a wall and told everyone in the room that I was Giratina and that I was going to drag them down to the Reverse Dimension or something like that."

The Sableye took another berry out of the basket and then ate it all with one bite. Espurr laughed a little when she saw that. There was nothing to be anxious about. She had probably imagined that laugh.

Espurr grabbed another pecha from the basket and bit into it. Her ears once again perked up as warmth filled her mouth and spread to her cheeks. She couldn't resist eating it all the more quickly. Its sweetness was simply so addicting. Within seconds, Espurr finished the berry and didn't hesitate to grab another one before gobbling it up just as quickly as the last one.

"Hah. You really like those pecha berries, don't you?" Ker asked.

"Yep! They're my favorite berry in the whole wide world!" Espurr said as soon as she swallowed the berry bits in her mouth.

""Yeah, they're really sweet, aren't they?"

"Mmmhmm!"

"And they're really soft too, aren't they?"

"Mmmhmmm!"

Espurr reached for another berry and sank her teeth into it without wasting a second. She could hear Ker laughing to herself before she too picked up a berry from the pile. However, she didn't eat it. She only put it on the table and rolled it along the surface with a single claw, just as she had been before. The only difference between then and now was that now Ker's claw tip dug deep into the pecha's skin. Espurr could actually see some of the juice trickling out of the hole and onto the table.

Espurr stopped eating when she saw the juice. The juice wasn't the usual pale, pink color. It was a much darker pink now, borderline purple. Espurr couldn't understand why. She had never seen a pecha with that shade of color.

Ker stopped rolling the berry beneath her hand. She looked over at the Espurr and grinned in a friendly, innocent way.

"What's the matter, Espurr?" Ker asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost, and not just me."

"That juice is purple," Espurr stated as she pointed at the Sableye's berry. "Pechas don't have purple juice."

"Oh, they don't? Well I guess that would make sense. The thing isn't purple after all. Then again, apple juice is like gold even though apples are red and white."

"I think it might be rotten. Oh no! Mommy and daddy told me never to eat rotten pechas! They said it makes your tummy hurt and-"

"Oh don't worry, those things weren't rotten."

"Th-They weren't?"

"Nope!"

A huge, devious grin broke out on the Sableye's face. She flicked her berry at Espurr, who just barely caught it in her stubby paws.

"They were payapa berries."

Suddenly, Espurr was no longer holding a heart-shaped fruit in her paws. Now it was an odd, dark pink berry that looked like two orbs put together. Espurr's insides turned ice cold as she stared at the berry in her trembling paws. The world around her blurred into a chaotic mesh of colors that held no meaning as this numbing, tingling sensation filled her mouth.

Espurr dropped the berry and hurried away from the table. She only made it about two feet before her legs gave out from her and she tumbled to the floor. Something constricted her chest and lungs as her eyes filled with water.

She tried to get up, but her legs wouldn't listen to her. She could only lay there on the ground, the tingling sensation spreading down her throat and into the rest of her body with unsettling haste.

"It hurts, doesn't it?"

The Espurr looked up to see the Sableye crouched right in front of her, still wearing that evil grin. Ker giggled as she poked one of the Espurr's cheeks. Espurr shuddered at the touch; the Sableye's touch was deathly cold.

"You know, I'm surprised you didn't catch on to my trick," Ker said. "With you being a psychic and all, I figured you'd see through such a simple ghost illusion. But then again, you're just a stupid kid, so I really shouldn't be surprised. And it's not like you can read my mind anyway…"

"Wh-Why…?" Espurr asked with a whimper. "Why… Why did you do this?"

"Why? Oh, because it's fun. Because there's hardly anything more delicious than the dread someone feels when they're dying. Because you are dying now, you know. You ate just enough of those stupid berries for it to be toxic."

So she really was going to die. How could have been so stupid? She should have tasted the difference between her usual pecha berries and the payapa berries. She should have known something wasn't right.

Now she was going to die. She was going to die here and she would never see her parents or friends again.

Espurr felt Ker grab her tiny body and drag her toward her. Espurr shuddered even more as the Sableye wrapped both of her arms around her body like she was trying to hug her. The corners of Espurr's vision turned dark. Espurr squirmed, but it did little good. Ker held her tight in her twisted embrace.

"That's it, keep thinking about how you're going to die," Ker cooed in her ear. "Think about how much it hurts and how cold it is. Because it's cold right now, isn't it? You're losing body heat and it's so cold and you're losing more of yourself with every degree your body temperature drops…"

"Mo-Mommy… Daddy…" Espurr sobbed.

"They're never going to hear you; they're in a deep sleep right now. It's just you and me. You and me and Giratina. You see that dark spot growing in your eyes? That's him. He's coming for you, Espurr. Any moment now he'll be here and you'll be gone, and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it."

Ker held Espurr tighter as she ran a clawtip along the back of her ear. Espurr could feel a pit opening up inside of her. She could feel it eating away at her insides, feel it taunting her, feel it taking her mind away and replacing it with thoughts she couldn't even understand.

And she could feel the cold, that endless cold. She couldn't even feel Ker or the floor anymore; she could only feel the cold.

Espurr closed her eyes as tears leaked down her face.

It was so cold. So cold. So very, very cold.

Why did it have to be so c-

Espurr's body suddenly became limp in the Sableye's grasp. The Sableye looked down at the little one. She was most definitely unconscious now, barely breathing. Ker forced one of Espurr's eyes open by dragging her eyelid up with her claws. An unfocused, misty eye greeted her. Ker waved her claw in front of the eye, but the eye remained still in its sockets.

The Sableye grinned as wide as ever once she realized that.

She had done it. She had tricked this stupid kid into thinking she was just some kind Sableye who wanted nothing more than to have a pleasant conversation. She had made Espurr fall into her diabolical trap without her even realizing it until it was too late. She had played her so easily, so masterfully. She had done it all without any problems, whatsoever.

She had finally done it after all this time.

The Sableye unceremoniously dropped Espurr onto the floor with a thud before getting back to her feet. She reached inside of her spectral form and ripped out all of the pecha berries she had supposedly eaten, revealing them to be perfectly intact. Because of course, she couldn't actually eat mortal food. She couldn't even if she wanted to. She couldn't believe that Espurr had actually found comfort at the sight of her eating those things. What a stupid girl.

She dropped the berries onto the ground right beside the Espurr. Then, she screamed a laugh without restraint as she spun around in circles while wildly waving her arms in the air.

Oh how great did this feel! To finally have made someone think that she was a gentle, harmless Sableye, and then turn on them when they least expect it! Even that dread she had just eaten from that gullible little Espurr couldn't have made her feel more alive. Well, as alive as she could ever feel, given what she was.

"I did it, Gallows!" she cried as she finally stopped spinning and looked up at the ceiling. "I finally did it!"

The Chandelure drifted out of the ceiling and settled himself over the table. The Sableye could see his delightfully baleful flames burning far more brightly than they had before he had hid himself away. Perfectly complementing those purple fires were his eyes, glimmering with that amused light that was so contagious and inviting.

Oh what she would give to always see Gallows like this, so pleased with her and nothing else. Like she was the only one that mattered to him in all of the infinities.

"So you did," Gallows remarked with that irresistible, velvety voice. "It only took you about twenty tries, but it seems you've finally grasped the art of appearing harmless and maintaining the illusion for some time."

"Oh right, like it didn't take you at least twenty tries before you became a master," the Sableye scoffed. "I'm sure that you knew right away how to manipulate feelings and perceptions and all that good stuff."

Oh she should have known he wasn't impressed with her, just amused that it had taken her this long. Gallows was a tricky ghost; his emotions were never straight-forward. You thought one thing about him, and then you found out minutes later that everything was the complete opposite of what you thought.

Such a puzzle Gallows was. He was the greatest puzzle there ever was, frustrating everyone who dared to come across him.

But that was exactly what made him so fun…

"Ah Ker, I don't mean it as an insult," Gallows then said with a laugh. "I'm quite happy that you've achieved this! It's true that there are many more milestones you have to reach before you're on my level, but there is substantial progress to be seen with you."

So he was proud of her after all. He had only been teasing her as friends do sometimes. Just the thought of that made Ker smile.

"Besides, we all have to start somewhere, and your first step is to learn to manipulate children," Gallows went on. "Now that you've mastered that craft, we can apply that manipulation tactic with adolescents and adults."

"Right, because kids are gullible and stupid and adults aren't," Ker said with a nod. "Well at least, not as much."

"Precisely. Adults might be more rational but they can be manipulated all the same. All you have to do is produce lies that conform to their beliefs or play with a very basic need they have. There's many other ways to sway someone's thoughts in a direction of your choice, but I'm afraid that's a lesson for another day. All of the processes are a bit much to discuss at the moment."

"It's just weird. It feels so much safer to just destroy mortals' minds with words and make them feel paranoid, especially when I'm not even pretending to be me. But when I'm copying nobody and I'm just trying to lead them down a certain path, I don't feel as invincible. I feel like it'd be so much easier for the mortal to figure out I'm just there to get their fear."

"I think I can understand that. Before, everything was already in place. Everything you needed to collect the dread was just waiting for a catalyst to begin a chain reaction, and you always became that catalyst. However, what I am teaching you is to wear a mask. I'm teaching you not to take advantage of what's already there, but to create the perfect situation to achieve your results."

"Yeah, I think that just about sums it up."

Gallows laughed that devious laugh before he swooped toward Ker. Ker felt a nervous shudder run through her as the Chandelure drew closer. She almost found it amusing how that shiver would go through her without fail every time Gallows wanted to get closer to her. Despite all of the time they spent together, that feeling always struck her without fail, like it was just something she had to deal with now.

But it was alright. It always went away pretty quickly. So when that Chandelure stopped right by her side and wrapped one of his tendrils around her and ran its tip along the odd little horns protruding out of her head, Ker giggled. His touch felt very much like a tickle.

"You'll grow used to it," Gallows assured. "It takes time, but soon enough wearing a mask will be as effortless as changing your voice or appearance. Then when that happens, no one will ever know what is actually you and what isn't. You'll be a true master of the game."

"That would be just great," Ker said dreamily. "How long does that take?"

"It depends. There's much more to learn at this point due to the complexities that intertwine with adulthood. To understand all of these complexities and to learn to twist them in your favor takes quite a bit of time and effort. If I had to guess by mortal standards, I'd say that it might take you… oh, seven years to completely master it all. Perhaps even ten."

"Takes that long to learn how to mess with mortals' heads, huh?"

"Quite. There's so much to learn, dear Ker. You cannot possibly comprehend how much there is to know about the workings of the mind and how it reacts to the outside world. Even I learn something new every time I play my game."

The Chandelure laughed as he tightened his hold around Ker before dragging her close to him. Ker felt a flash of warmth as he held her close to his domed form.

"But none of it compares to when I'm in your presence," Gallows then said with that tantalizing voice that made everything except him disappear from Ker's world. "You're simply so much fun, Ker. We could play together for the rest of the eternity and you would never once ever bore me."

"Hahahah! Yeah right. Quit messing with me."

But even as she said that, she couldn't help but shirk a little. Even after all this time, she still hadn't grown used to his compliments. Nobody had ever really complimented her on anything before, so when Gallows suddenly showed up in her life and seemed impressed with just about everything she did…

Gallows wrapped his other tendril around Ker and pressed her into his being. She could hear his fire crackle as he took in her flustered emotions.

Typical Gallows, trying to get her emotions at a time like this.

"Delicious as always," he purred. "So divine, so succulent, so intoxicating. It makes my flames quiver just savoring it."

"Oh come on, you don't need to say it like that," Ker groaned. "You sound like a freak when you do."

"But it's true, dear Ker. I wouldn't say it if I was lying. Playing with you and then consuming your emotions is just so… exciting."

Yeah, he most certainly did sound like a freak now. Or maybe he was just saying it like that on purpose because she could still feel him sucking out her emotions. She didn't know and she realized she didn't actually care either. Gallows was happy and enjoying himself and that was all that really mattered. It wasn't like what he did hurt her.

Ker only felt the warmth from his ghostly fire flooding into her.

Gallows didn't even seem to care as Ker slumped into him. He only tightened his grip around her and supported her weight against his ghostly form. The flames upon his tendrils licked at her form, but they didn't burn her. They instead left her feeling intoxicatingly dizzy. Ker moaned softly as she pressed her forehead against Gallows.

Yes, this was where she belonged. She always belonged with Gallows, entwined with him more tightly than a knot. Nothing else could ever fill her with the ecstasy that she felt coursing through her now.

But… he was holding back, wasn't he? Ker could feel it; Gallows was too careful, too gentle. He didn't attack her with the ferocity she always saw in those eyes whenever he wanted to feed. He didn't attack her like when a Mightyena leaps upon an Eevee and tears open its throat without hesitation. He was like a little Poochyena in a litter, tackling his siblings down from their sides and harmlessly biting at their legs.

Why did he do that?

Better yet, why did she even care?

"I thought I told you that you can't hurt or kill anyone during your feedings, Ker."

Ker's insides turned cold. She swiftly glanced over to her right and saw she was no longer alone with Gallows and their victim. Now a certain Dusknoir hovered in the corner of the room, looking directly at Ker with an insidious glow in his red eye.

Letting Gallows eat her emotions suddenly felt very wrong right now, like they were engaging in some kind of taboo that they weren't even supposed to think about. She could feel heat rise in her cheeks at the very thought that Grim had seen the two of them in such a private, passionate moment, that he had heard her making those noises…

Ker straightened herself back up and wriggled her arms out of his hold before pushing Gallows away from her, prompting a groan of protest out of the Chandelure. How he did that, Ker didn't know. She wasn't even sure how he could talk when he didn't have a mouth. Then again, Ker didn't how she could talk and laugh when she didn't need to breathe…

Gallows removed his tendrils from around her and put a small amount of space between them.

"Ah, don't worry, Grim," Gallows assured with flawless composure, as if the two had been doing nothing more than talking before Grim ever showed up. "This Espurr's heart will not be stopping any time soon. She is merely unconscious, having thought she was dying due to the effect of a placebo. Understand, Ker here had this poor Espurr believe that she was eating poisonous berries when in reality, they were nothing more than harmless pecha berries that couldn't do anything more than cause a stomach ache when overindulging in them."

"Y-Yeah," Ker quickly added in. "It was just an illusion I made up. She'll wake up in a little while, don't worry. See look, she's still breathing."

Grim followed Ker's gaze down to the Espurr. The little child's chest still rose and fell rhythmically. Ker could even hear her heartbeat, thumping softly in her chest, the same kind of beats she would hear from a mortal in the middle of a restful sleep.

"Fine. I'm glad you that didn't kill a mortal, Ker. You know the rules against that."

"Yeah, I know," Ker said quietly. "I know. I'm not going to be killing anyone anytime soon, don't you worry."

Grim kept his eyes on the Espurr for a moment longer, and then brought his gaze back over to the two ghosts. Ker felt something crawling through her form as the Dusknoir stared at her. Why was he here? He had never bothered her any other time when she was out of the spectral dimension. It was true that Ker could always hear him in her mind no matter where she went, she heard him every time he wanted her to come to the spectral dimension, but she never saw him. He seemed attached to the spectral dimension, only appearing whenever there as a new ghost to welcome.

Had she done something wrong? Was he here because she had done something she wasn't supposed to? Was it because of Gallows? Did she not teach him something correctly? She was sure that she taught him everything she was supposed to. In fact, she was sure he was better at his job than all the other ghosts in the entire spectral dimension…

Ker looked at Gallows through the corner of her gemstone eyes. He didn't seem particular bothered, only hovering there right beside her, his fire crackling quietly. Of course, he always looked that way. Nothing seemed to bother Gallows. And if something did, Ker would never know, because he was so talented at hiding it.

Part of Ker hated Gallows for that. Part of her wish he wasn't so difficult to read. And yet another part of her was glad. Just seeing him so composed, so unfettered by the situation, made everything seem less frightening. It gave Ker the strength to not give into the paranoid thoughts running rampant through her mind.

"You're needed back at the dimension, Ker."

"Huh?" Ker asked, her thoughts still hazing up her mind.

"You need to go back to our dimension. There is business to be dealt with there. Multiple someones want to speak with you."

"Oh," Ker said, finally getting everything. "Um, well okay. But why didn't you just tell me that in my head like you always do? You didn't have to come here to tell me that…"

"Because I'm personally going to escort you to where you need to be."

Ker honestly didn't know what she wanted to say to that. She knew she was supposed to stay respectful toward Grim, but with all of this baffling information he kept telling her…

"Who wants to talk to me?" Ker decided to ask. "Nobody ever wants to talk to me."

"Pokémon you are familiar with."

Now Ker really didn't know what she wanted to say to that. What Pokémon wanted to talk to her? Was it her friends? She hadn't seen them in some time after all. Maybe they wanted to know why she had disappeared for so long. That was the consequence of being with Gallows in so many dimensions, you see. It was very easy to forget how long you had been gone when you dimension-hopped so much and dwelled amongst the inhabitants. Time in the multiverse was never simple; it wanted to be as complicated as possible. Time demanded Ker be thousands of years old in some dimensions and only ten in other dimensions. If Ker actually cared about a single dimension, she would have had to keep up with time's overly complex ways throughout the multiverse, but of course, she didn't. All of the dimensions were her playground. Who cared what happened to just one dimension while she was gone when there were countless others that were just as entertaining?

It was why she gave up trying to understand the mysterious and confusing ways of time a very, very long time ago.

So maybe it was her friends. It made sense. For all she knew, she could have been gone fifty years with Gallows, supposedly teaching him in the ways of the ghost. Of course they never would have guessed it was the other way around and he was teaching her something so much better…

Ohhhh, she knew what she needed to do now. She needed to bring Gallows with her and show him off to her friends. She was going to prove that there were other ghosts just like her and who appreciated her supposedly disturbing thoughts. She was going to show them that she wasn't some freak, some monster.

Yes, that was exactly what she was going to do.

"Alright, I'll come with you," Ker decided. "But, can I take Gallows along with me? Don't want to just leave him here all by himself. I've still got things I need to do with him. You know, stuff to teach and all. I don't want to just leave him all alone with nothing to do while I'm gone."

"I doubt that."

"Oh, but she speaks the truth, Grim," Gallows then said with an earnest, almost child-like voice. "At least, she does partly. I do resent being alone. Ker has been instructing me so much that I haven't had the time to become acquainted with anyone else. Ker is my only companion and to strip me of her would be most disastrous. But then again, you should know that, considering that you were the one who turned me into what I am now."

Ker had to resist gawking. She couldn't believe Gallows had the nerve to say that to Grim, especially so effortlessly, like he wasn't even worried that Grim would trap him in his unsettling and ghoulish maw for being so rude. Like this was yet another game of his and he already knew how it was going to end.

Grim's glare darkened just a small amount.

"Sometimes I wonder why I brought you here, Ignis."

"Gallows. My name is Gallows," the Chandelure corrected with an insidious chuckle. "As for why, you know why that is as well."

The Dusknoir made no remarks. He watched the two ghosts for a moment longer, and then snapped his fingers. A massive dimensional tear opened up along the wall right beside Grim. The inside of the rip was blurry, like trying to see the bottom of a pond filled with murky, muddy water, but Ker could make out the dead trees that littered the realm.

"Time to go, both of you. We've kept our guests waiting long enough."

Ker looked over at Gallows to see that he was looking at her as well with that conceited glimmer in his eyes. Ker couldn't help but laugh a little as soon as she saw it. There was something so endearing about all of that vanity welling up inside him.

"Come along, Ker," Gallows said as he lowered one of his tendrils to the ground. "Let's go see these supposed Pokémon that can't wait to have you in their company."

Ker smiled as she sat down on the tendril nearest to him, as if he were a swing. She felt Gallows settle the end of his tendril around her shoulder, tightly securing her in place as he lifted the appendage right back up. She didn't even need to hold onto him as he swooped toward the tear.

She only sat there and thought about all of the amusing things she was going to say to her baffled friends.

Glace could still see that demonic Sableye sitting before her, still watching her with those black pools that were its eyes. She didn't know how long it had been sitting there and staring at her like that. In this sunless, utterly lifeless realm, an entire century could have passed and she wouldn't have even known.

She glanced over at her other selves. Yore was settled on the ground and was now preening his feathers, though keeping an occasional eye on the Sableye. Sonata was also sitting down, but she still towered over the two fragments. She had her wings wrapped around her body as though she were hugging herself while her tail kept a loose circle around Glace and Yore. She too kept a cautious eye on their odd company, though not as alertly as Glace. Glace could see her occasionally looking over her shoulder and look at seemingly nothing in particular.

Glace didn't know how much longer she could stand being around that Sableye. While it hadn't moved an inch since it said it was retrieving Ker, Glace still felt her skin crawl every time she saw those bottomless holes in its head. They beckoned her to come closer, telling her that if she would just peer deeper into the endless black, she would gain all the knowledge of the multiverse.

The sounds of bones cracking filled the air. Glace jolted and snapped her gaze over to the Sableye. She could see it still snickering as the white light in its eyes glimmered.

"Ker is here."

"She is?" Sonata asked as she straightened herself up. "Where is she? I don't see her anywhere."

"Here, and with her amusing little companion as well. Ketetet. I do hope you don't mind him."

Glace and Yore joined Sonata in twisting their heads about, searching for the supposed Sableye. However, no matter where they looked, all they saw were trees. Glace wondered if anything lived in those trees, or was perhaps hiding behind them right now. Nothing had happened when that demonic Sableye had been disappearing behind their black trunks, but Glace knew not to take comfort in that thought. Anything that could possibly be living in this dimension probably obeyed that demonic Sableye without question. They could be staying hidden on its command and were waiting for a signal to come out and bombard Glace and the others.

"Hey, where exactly is Ke-"

Glace stopped as soon as she brought her gaze back to where the Sableye sat. It was no longer amongst the three. It had disappeared without a trace, just as it had done repeatedly during their conversations with it. Glace shot to her feet as her heart raced, prompting Yore and Sonata to do the same.

A portal opened up right where the Sableye once was. The three fragments backed away as two Pokémon flew out of the portal and entered the dreary forest. However, they didn't seem to notice Glace and the others, as they had their sides to the fragments.

Glace recognized one of the Pokémon to be a Chandelure. He was easy to identify, given that she didn't know any other Pokémon that had such odd bodies seemingly made out of glass. She only had to meet one in her entire life to forever remember what a Chandelure looked like.

The Pokémon hovering right beside that Chandelure though, Glace didn't know the name of. It was a large, bulky ghost with a massive mouth on its stomach, along with a single, glowing red eye. When Glace looked at that ghost, no names rang in her mind. Only a shudder went down her spine as soon as she saw the hulking ghost, followed by a single, perpetuating thought that she needed to run very far away.

Something about that particular ghost seemed unsettlingly familiar. Something about the way its eye gazed upon the world with a cold indifference, as if everything were a meaningless speck it could destroy with a single thought.

The monstrous ghost suddenly turned its head and locked its gaze onto Glace, paralyzing her on the spot.

"There they are."

The Chandelure turned his whole body toward Glace and the others. When he did that, Glace saw that there actually wasn't just two new Pokémon in her company; there was actually one more sitting on that Chandelure's arm.

It was a Sableye, grinning to herself for seemingly no reason at all.

That was Ker. That was Ker, the fragment of this dimension. The moment Glace gazed into those gemstones, she knew that. From the way her companion's eyes also seemed to light up as soon as they saw the Sableye, Glace imagined they had the same epiphany.

The Sableye's smile faded as she leapt off the Chandelure and quietly landed on the ground. She eyed the three with an odd stare that Glace couldn't read. Her lack of actual eyes made it rather difficult to tell what sort of emotions the fragment was feeling.

"Who are these guys?" the Sableye asked as she pointed a finger at the three fragments.

"Pokémon who wanted to talk to you. They will explain themselves soon enough, rest assured."

The behemoth ghost then looked away from Glace and the others and gazed down at his two ghostly companions.

"I leave them with you now. My work here is done."

Then, the ghost snapped his fingers, and he was gone, just like that. Just like how that otherworldly creature from before would disappear into thin air. However, the Sableye or Chandelure didn't seem very surprised by this. They only looked at each other for a moment before bringing their gazes back to the group.

"Alright, who are you guys?" the Sableye asked as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Better yet, how did you even get here?"

"What do you mean?" Glace asked cautiously.

"Oh, don't play stupid with me," Ker said with a scoff. "You guys are mortals. The air around you tastes like mortal emotions."

"Oh can't disagree with her there," the Chandelure added in with a laugh.

The Chandelure left Ker's side and swooped right to the three fragments. He stopped right next to Yore as he wrapped one of his tendrils around his neck. Glace could feel Yore squirming uncomfortably at his touch.

"You three are so lovely," the Chandelure mused with an uncomfortably alluring voice. "Especially you, Tranquil. The way you writhe but remain too paralyzed to fly away is quite adorable. I want to frame your face forever in my memory."

Yore had no reaction to that statement. He only stared up at the Chandelure with a frozen, petrified expression, perhaps thinking that by being still as possible, he would become invisible.

A long scowl broke out on Ker's face.

"Oh come on, Gallows! You just ate!" she cried, whining like a child. "How can you possibly still be hungry?"

"Nonsense," Gallows said nonchalantly. "There's never enough dread to eat. Besides, these three are irresistible. Their dread calls to me like a siren song. In fact…"

He released his grip on Yore and wound it around Glace's arm. Glace wanted to lash out at him and strike him with her claws, but his very touch froze her on the spot. She could only sit there helplessly and watch the fire inside of his domed body sway and crackle like a bonfire. She thought she could feel something leaving her body as she watched those flames, but she couldn't tell what. She only knew that it felt like she was being forced to exhale all of the air out of her lungs.

After what felt like an eternity passed, Gallows released his grip on Glace, allowing her to finally breathe. Sonata shirked away from the Chandelure, undoubtedly thinking he would come after her next, but he didn't. The Chandelure only drifted back over to the sulking Ker and wrapped one of his arms around her shoulder and dragged her close to him.

"Ah, but alas, their emotions fail to please me," he then said in a disappointed tone. "Theirs lacks any true flavor. It's filling, but it lacks the richness that remains with me long after I've devoured your emotions. How pitiful. It seems yours is still the most delightful there is. There seems to be no replacement for you."

Ker didn't say anything or even look at the Chandelure, but she did smile a little. The two ghosts remained there, leaning into one another and perfectly content to be amongst themselves, completely ignoring everything around them. Glace was sure they had forgotten all about her, Sonata, and Yore.

Ker's eyes flashed, and then she looked back at Glace. The glower returned as soon she saw the Weavile. Glace felt her insides crawl when she saw that scowl. She honestly wished Gallows would go back to tormenting her and the others rather than have Ker look at her like that.

"Oh right, you mortals," Ker said with acid in her voice. "Seriously, how did you get here?"

"Someone brought us here," Glace answered, forcing herself to sound more calm than she actually felt. "We were looking for you and then someone brought us here. They said that you were here."

"Right," Ker said with a scoff. "Like I'd believe that."

The Sableye eyed the three fragments for a moment, perhaps reading their souls with her disturbing ghostly powers.

"Who brought you here?" she then asked.

"This thing," Glace answered. "I don't really know what it was, but it could change into different beings. Like one was this Sableye without eyes and another was this giant monster without a face."

"Well that narrows it down to about a billion entities I know that are shapeshifters," Ker stated blandly. "It didn't have a name or anything?"

"It had a name. But, I can't pronounce it," Glace then said before she looked over at her companions. "Do you guys know how to say the name?"

"Knee-Are-Let… Knee-Are-Lay…" Sonata tried as her tongue struggled to produce the alien sounds. "Knee-Are-Leth-Oh… bleh, I can't say it. Was a really weird name."

"So some being with this name you can't pronounce brought you here because you were looking for me," Ker said, not even bothering to hide the skepticism in her voice. "What, you don't want to be anymore vague?"

"Well actually, it had a bunch of names!" Sonata added quickly. "That unpronounceable name was just one of them. Like it said it was also Giratina. I'm sure you know those him since you're a Sableye."

"Giratina, that giant shadow dragon that lives in a separate dimension from a bunch of Pokémon dimensions. That Giratina," Ker stated, still unimpressed.

"Yeah, him! I know it's hard to believe, but that's what he said he is. He said he's Giratina and a bunch of other things too."

Ker's scowl only deepened.

"You guys must be stupid if you want to make me think that Giratina brought you here," Ker said lowly. "I know about ten Giratina and not a single one has access to this place. Only Reapers and other ghosts like me can get here, and he sure isn't one of them. He's just some oversized worm that watches everything you Pokémon do. Or I guess is the guardian of some spirit world. Or plotting to take over the dimension he's watching. Depends on where you go."

"T-Ten Giratina?" Sonata asked frailly. "There's not just one in the whole multiverse?"

"Oh, so you're aware of the multiverse. You're even dumber than I thought if you know that but still think there's just one Giratina," Ker retorted. "I don't know if I should pity you or laugh at you."

Sonata opened her mouth, perhaps to say more, but the words never came. She only stood there, completely at loss. Glace couldn't blame her for her reaction; she also had a hard time understanding what Ker meant. There couldn't be more than one Giratina. While it was true that there were many different universes, she was sure that a deity as mighty as Giratina could travel to all of the dimensions with ease. There was no reason it could be restricted to merely one.

Because that was what that demonic Sableye was, wasn't it? It was Giratina. So how could there be so many Giratina when there was only one of that demon? Why would there be a single Giratina for each dimension?

"I do suppose one can't blame her for thinking that," Gallows suggested in a mocking tone. "After all, mortals can be aware of quite a number of things, but they can never actually see the full picture. It would destroy their fragile little minds."

"Oh, of course," Ker said with a snicker. "When they start to realize how pointless their life is in the grand scheme of everything, they go completely insane."

"Quite."

"What a waste of time this is. And here I was hoping these three would be my friends. Ohh, it would have been great to show you off to them, Gallows. Would have loved the looks on their faces when they saw I found someone like you. Someone who's the greatest at scaring mortals and thinks just the way I do."

"Oh, you don't know where they are?"

"Nope. They could be anywhere. But knowing them, they're probably at that dimension where all of those ghost Pokémon look-alikes fly around at night. It's such an easy dimension to get food from. You just pretend to be one of those ghosts, pop up next to some unsuspecting Pokémon, and then BOO! Instant food."

"That sounds terribly boring."

"I know, right? Such a boring, lazy way to get food. But hey, maybe we can visit that dimension sometime. I heard some things are happening there right now that would be really fun to watch. Not to eat or anything, but you know, just to watch."

"Hmmm, maybe. I did want to continue teaching you the game though. You've made so much progress and it would be a shame to suddenly halt it."

"Yeah, but we've gotta just have fun sometimes! I mean, I always have fun learning things from you and just being around you and everything… but you know, it's fun to just explore sometimes. See what kind of stuff is going down throughout the multiverse."

"True. I did enjoy that dimension you brought me to after you showed interest in learning how to play the game. Such unsettling creatures lived in that dimension, defying all logical understanding with their shapeless bodies and countless eyes. Was quite a sight after living in such a dull, monotonous dimension that offered me no sense of wonder."

"Yeah, exactly! So why don't we just…"

The two ghosts continued like this, rambling on and on without ever once glancing over at Glace, Yore, and Sonata. They only talked amongst themselves, completely absorbed with each other as if not a single thing in the world mattered except the other.

Glace honestly didn't know what to think of the situation. She didn't know what she expected about Ker, especially after Sonata had such an uncanny way of describing her. Maybe she anticipated a near identical copy of that Sableye she had been talking to earlier. However, she never would have suspected this uncanny, peculiar Chandelure to be in any part of her journey.

Even though he seemed quite friendly as he conversed with Ker, something about him didn't seem right. There was a particular aura about him that made Glace wary of everything, including her own thoughts. So why did Ker seem so attracted to him? Why did she only focus on him and nothing else?

Glace knew she needed to break the two of them apart. She needed Ker to come with her, or be assimilated. So long as that Chandelure was still there, Ker wouldn't even consider listening. But how could she get that Chandelure to leave? He seemed just as equally attached to Ker, maybe even more so with how snug his grip around her was.

"We need to talk to Ker alone, Gallows."

The two ghosts stopped talking. They both brought their bemused gazes to Yore, who was now standing and casting them a resolute glare.

"There's something we need to discuss with Ker," Yore went on, his voice as unwavering as his stance. "Would you kindly leave us alone for a while?"

Gallows hovered there, speechless and with a glazed over expression. However, it was only momentary, for his fire flared and the glow in his eyes grew brighter.

"Oh, being too distracting for you, am I?" Gallows asked rhetorically. "Do I keep driving Ker's attention away from the three of you? I suppose I do when I truly think about it. However, you can't fault me when you three are dreadfully boring with equally boring taste. It's no wonder Ker finds far more fascination in my jabber than in your presence."

"Call us boring if you want, but we do need to talk to her," Yore said again. "It's about an important matter."

"As all the mortals say about subjects that are always trivial in the end," Gallows quipped. "But very well. I'll depart from your banal company and allow you the attention you want with dear Ker."

"Aw, what? Gallows, you don't have to listen to them!" Ker whined.

"Oh, but I do," Gallows said as he unwound his tendril from around her. "They clearly want your undivided attention regarding something petty, I'm sure, and they won't leave you be until they get what they want. But don't worry; you and I will be reunited soon. I'll be waiting for you at our rendezvous point. I presume you remember the dimension and the location within?"

"Of course! I'm the one who made it up after all."

"Excellent. Well then, until I see you again. I do hope that these mortals don't cause you too much pain."

Ker cast him a longing gaze, but didn't make any attempt at forcing him to stay. The Chandelure glanced over at the three and gave them a nasty, mocking glare. He didn't even need to say anything for Glace to hear exactly what he wanted to say in her mind.

"Don't feel happy about any of this."

It sent shivers down Glace's spine.

Gallows kept his unsettling gaze on the three for a moment longer, and then swooped away into the distance. All of the fragments watched him swiftly disappear from sight, becoming little more than a purple wisp in no time.

When even that faded into the darkness of the dimension, Ker finally turned back to the group. Glace could see her gemstones flickering dangerously. It reminded her too much of the way Gallows's flames had blazed earlier.

"I can't believe you made Gallows leave," she said bitterly. "Bet you feel so accomplished right now, don't you?"

"We do need to talk to you, Ker," Glace said. "And Yore wasn't lying when he said that it was about something important."

"Uh huh, right," Ker said with a scoff. "Didn't mean you had to make Gallows leave."

"Well we kind of did because you kept getting distracted by him," Sonata said pointedly. "Plus it's probably just better not having him around. He's kind of a creep…"

"Yeah whatever," Ker said with a dismissive wave of her claw. "Just tell me what you wanted to tell me so I can go be with Gallows again."

Glace was about to talk, but then realized she didn't actually know what to say. She knew that hypothetically she could convince Ker that she knew them and use that as a way to make the Sableye come with them. However, Glace now saw that wouldn't work. Ker didn't have a reason to believe she knew the three of them. In fact, she didn't even seem open to persuasion; she seemed actively hostile to them. Glace honestly didn't know how she wanted to react to that. None of the other fragments had ever been this way, besides Glace herself.

Glace briefly wondered if this conversation with Ker would end the same way it did for Sonata, with Ker clawing out the Weavile's eye.

"Ker, we wanted to something that might be a bit difficult to believe," Yore suddenly said. "You probably won't want to believe us, but it is the truth."

"Uh Yore? Are you sure you want to just tell her everything right away?" Sonata quickly cut in. "Remember what happened when we told you everything right away?"

"I don't quite see-"

"Hey Noivern, you shut up for a bit," Ker hissed before looking back over at Yore. "Don't let her stop you. I've seen a lot unbelievable things you mortals would never even dream about, so just try and see if you can surprise me. So go ahead, say whatever you've got on your mind."

Glace could feel Sonata squirm nervously, but she didn't argue with Ker. She only kept the quiet as she wrapped her wings tightly around her body.

Yore ruffled his feathers before he stood taller. Despite his stronger stature, Ker didn't seem fazed. She only kept her bland, almost bored gaze on the Tranquill.

"If you had been a mortal, I would have hidden this information from you until I had felt you were ready. Mainly, when I had gained your trust," Yore began. "However, considering your position in life, I realize that there is no reason you would ever trust me. You seem above mortality, and while I don't quite understand the full implications of that, I understand it means you can never fully connect with me. You and I exist on very different planes of existence, in a sense. You want nothing to do with me or the ones with me."

"Got that right," Ker said in a dry tone.

"There is a great danger lurking across the multiverse," Yore continued on, unaffected by Ker's remark. "As we speak, something is destroying the barriers between all of the dimensions. It will only be a matter of time before they all collapse on each other and wipe out everyone. The only one that can stop that from happening is a great guardian of all the dimensions called Keeper of Realms. However, in order for it save the dimensions, it has to come to them in pieces as multiple Pokémon. Understand, it's normally locked outside of all of the dimensions, residing in a place outside of reality, making it impossible to interact with reality. So, its plan is to have all of the Pokémon be brought together, and then through them, it will bring itself back together in reality. By doing so, it will finally gain access to the tear rending apart reality and prevent the annihilation of reality.

"We are the pieces of that guardian, and so are you, Ker."

Yore released a great sigh once he finished and slouched his posture. Glace watched with him and Sonata as Ker kept her impassive stare fixed on them. Glace searched for any semblance of surprise, a mere glimmer of emotion, but there was nothing to be seen.

"I get it now; you guys aren't stupid at all," Ker finally said after a few seconds.

"Well we-"

"You're just hopeless."

The three stiffened as the Sableye shake her head as a vicious scowl broke out on her face. Glace could see her teeth glimmering in the light of her gemstones.

"I've seen a lot of mortals believe in things that make absolutely no sense, but I don't think any of their beliefs have ever topped the gibberish you guys are spouting," Ker spat. "You know about the multiverse, but you call it limited and containable! What, do you think there's only two dimensions or something?"

"Well there's probably a lot more than that, but there's a set number, isn't there?" Sonata asked. "I mean, nothing exists in infinites…"

"Hahahah! Yeah, there it is. There's that thought that tries to make sense of everything so you can control it," Ker sneered. "Well let me tell you something; there is no end to the multiverse. It just exists, growing bigger all the time. It stretches on into the infinities and it never stops. You can't destroy the entire multiverse. You can destroy quite a number of the dimensions, but you can't destroy every single one. That's like trying to count every single grain of sand on a beach."

"But… Keeper of Realms… he said that the multiverse was going to be destroyed!" Sonata insisted frantically. "He said that everyone was going to die! He made us so that we could stop all of that from happening!"

"Well maybe you're just crazy then, or that supposed keeper is just messing with you," Ker stated. "Whatever it is, you're wrong either way. You can't destroy the multiverse. Hah. Can't believe that Grim was acting like you three had something important to say."

The Sableye took one of her claws and lashed out at the air. Her claws ripped through an invisible dimensional barrier and tore open a dimensional rift. What was inside of that rift, Glace couldn't tell. She only knew that it had a large amount of bright, flashing colors that nearly blinded her.

"Ker, wait!" Sonata cried. "C'mon, we need you to believe us! I mean, you have to at least think we look familiar! Don't you feel like you've seen us somewhere before?"

The Sableye scowled as she studied the three with her scrutinizing gaze.

"Yeah, you guys look familiar. I'll admit that," Ker said.

"Then doesn't that mean something?" Sonata asked hopefully. "Doesn't that mean that at least part of what we said has merit and that maybe we're telling the truth?"

Ker scowled even deeper as she lowered her claw to her side.

"I've been to at least five billion dimensions in the time I've existed, and that's just something I'm saying to conform to your limited perspective," she said flatly. "Some of them don't even exist anymore. Just one day, went to go visit this dimension I liked, and then it wasn't there anymore. You want to guess how many Pokémon I've met in all those dimensions? You want to guess how many Weavile, Tranquill, and Noivern I've seen that look exactly like you guys?"

Sonata didn't say anything. She could only shoot Ker a desperate gaze, her mind spinning with possibilities, but finding nothing to offer her aide. The Sableye scoffed as she faced the dimensional rift again.

"Ker, wait a moment," Yore said this time, though with more calm in his voice than Sonata.

The Sableye groaned as she brought her agitated gaze back over to the group. Glace could see those gemstones flickering dangerously now, like she'd rip open all of their throats if they dared to push her any more. Glace saw Yore take a step back as soon as those jewels locked onto him, but he didn't remove his gaze from Ker.

"I think there's another reason you might not be willing to leave," Yore said, though more feebly than Glace imagined he wanted to sound. "You might be accusing us of being untruthful, but with the way you act around that Chandelure… I suspect other reasons you refuse to leave."

It that moment, Ker's frown twisted into an uncomfortable grimace and her stance weakened.

Ker forced a glare onto her face, just barely masking her awkwardness.

"Gallows has nothing to do with this," Ker stated firmly. "He's just someone I happen to enjoy hanging out with. Your insane idea that the entire multiverse is falling apart is what makes me not want to go. That whole idea makes absolutely no sense."

"See, I have a question about that," Yore then said. "Is he really only someone you enjoy being around, or is he your mate?"

Ker's grim expression grew. Glace even thought she saw the Sableye's cheeks turning a faint shade of red.

"S-Stop trying to label us like that," Ker tried to hiss menacingly, but failing. "I hate it when you mortals try to do that. You see two whatevers being close together, and you just have to say that they're mates, or boyfriend and girlfriend, or a couple, or in love, or that they're in a relationship, or that they're partners, or whatever you mortals say. Have to feel like you need to understand it even though it's none of your business."

"But does he mean enough to you that he's the real reason you don't want to come with us?" Yore asked.

Ker finally snapped. A harsh, guttural growl escaped the back of her throat as her horns elongated and sharpened.

"The answer is that it doesn't matter," Ker snarled. "Maybe I don't want to leave him. Maybe I don't want to throw my life away when I'm perfectly happy with how things are now. Maybe I think you guys are insane and don't understand anything. Maybe it's all of those things! But it all leads to the same thing in the end: I'm not going with you."

And then, without any hesitation, Ker leapt into the dimensional tear.

"No, Ker!" Sonata screamed.

The Noivern scrambled after the Sableye, but it was too late. The portal closed itself up just as Ker disappeared into it, leaving the three all alone in the insidious dimension. Sonata stood in front of where the rift had once been and stared into it, as if thinking that Ker might suddenly come back. Glace and Yore didn't bother saying anything to her. They only sat back down with long frowns and heavy hearts.

After a long minute of silence, Ker still hadn't returned. Sonata released a deep sigh and hung her head. She sluggishly made her way over to Glace and Yore, her wings hanging limply at her sides.

"This is disappointing," Glace said glumly.

"That's a big understatement," Sonata remarked, equally as gloomy as she settled herself beside the others on the ground. "But I mean… why was she saying all of that? She says that there's an infinite amount of dimensions, but can there really be? I just can't imagine there being a literally endless amount."

"Keeper of Realms specifically told you two and Jera that all of the dimensions would collapse, didn't it?" Yore wondered. "That's not something all of you imagined?"

"It told me specifically I had to stop all this destruction from happening," Sonata stated. "Had this vision and then it talked to me directly."

"I had a vision that showed many places falling to ruin until all of us gathered together," Glace added. "Then from how Jera described her experience, a voice talked to her when she was out and about. It told her she wasn't really an Octillery and that I wasn't a Weavile and so on."

"I see. So only Ker and I have not had any conversations with Keeper of Realms, if her reaction is any proof of that," Yore said with a nod.

"Maybe she's just saying all of that because she doesn't want to leave," Sonata offered. "I mean, she was spouting a lot of nonsense, like how there's ten Giratina. She could have just been doing it to confuse us."

"Maybe," Glace replied. "However, you have to admit that when she talked about it, she seemed as though she believed every word she spoke. Even that Chandelure seemed to believe everything she said."

"Well even if everything she said was true, it doesn't really change the fact that those rifts exist and they are causing problems," Sonata then said. "You heard about what happened in Jera's dimension; she wouldn't lie about that. And then there was that fire in my dimension…"

"I can hardly think of a reason that a rift would open up in the sky and have it not be an omen for disaster," Yore said with a flick of his tail. "So, you are probably right in that regard. It still perplexes me, however, that Ker so adamantly believes there are immeasurable amounts of dimensions. I wonder if she is correct, given what she is, and if our old self can actually solve the problem."

"Well that thing we talked to, uhhh, Giratina, he said that our old self was basically Palkia and Dialga," Sonata said. "The myths of my dimension say they can do all kinds of crazy things. So maybe they really can fix a whole multiverse if it's as big as Ker says it is."

"I hope so," Yore stated. "I only wonder-"

"I see you Yog-Sothoth spawn were unable to convince Ker to go with you."

The three looked over to their side and found the eye-less Sableye in their company once again. It sat down in a cross-legged position, watching them with a sort of stare Glace couldn't read. It seemed to be disappointed, but at the same time, very amused.

"Oh, you're here again," Sonata said uneasily, scooting away from the Sableye.

"I'm always here. I see everything in this realm of mine."

"Well… okay then. So um… you know we failed."

"Yes, I know. I know Ker fled to another dimension."

"We don't know where she went," Glace then said, trying to ignore the twisting of her innards. "I couldn't see the dimension she disappeared into. Do you think you could bring her back, or at least tell us where she is?"

The Sableye snickered that awful sound. Glace felt a shudder go down her spine as the white within those empty eyes grew. Now there was more light than dark in those bottomless holes.

"Oh, I can do much better than that, Yog-Sothoth spawn. I convince dear Ker understand the situation and assist you three."

Glace shot the Sableye a disbelieving look, but its sinisterly smug expression didn't break. It only widened its smile and tilted its head to the side like how some hatchlings might. However, unlike when those hatchlings did that, this Sableye didn't look the least bit endearing. It only brought out how unnatural it was, because not a single part of its body, not even the neck, twisted to accommodate for the change. Only the head moved, as though it was disconnected from the rest of the body all together.

"I promise, I'll be able to change her mind. No one knows Ker better than I do. You three can continue searching for the others without ever having to worry about her."

"You would do that for us?" Sonata asked carefully, though Glace could still hear the enthusiasm in her voice.

"Of course. I promised Yog-Sothoth I would help with its plan. Ker is a part of that plan."

"Well, thank you then!" Sonata said, a gleeful smile breaking out on her face. "That would help us out a lot! You just made me feel a lot better about this whole thing."

"Ketetetet. I know. I know, Noivern spawn."

The Sableye brought its head back to its normal position and seemed to smile to itself.

Glace couldn't help but stare at that uncanny Sableye. She too felt her heart soaring at the thought that this entity would be helping them get Ker. After everything that had happened, she was sure they would never be able to get Ker. But now they had help, and not just from a mortal, but from a powerful, shape-shifting deity. It would undoubtedly be able to find Ker again.

But even with all of these hopeful thoughts circling around in her mind, part of her couldn't help but feel something wasn't right. Something about the way that Sableye watched them with its otherworldly eyes that were filled with an alien sort of glee that Glace couldn't comprehend.

"It's time for you three to depart. May all the luck in all the universes be with you as you set out to find the other spawn."

There was movement from the ruptured tentacle from before, still remaining close to the four. The fragments snapped their gazes at the tentacle just in time to see it suddenly lurch at them. They didn't have any time to react as it wrapped its slimy body around the three of them. The three thrashed and squirmed, but the tentacle's hold wouldn't relent.

"Don't fret, Yog-Sothoth spawn. This is the only way to put you all back together."

Just then, a smaller, thinner tendril emerged from the gaping hole in the large tentacle and tied itself around one of Sonata's circular ears. She didn't even get to scream as it pulled her into the hole, wiping her off the face of the dimension.

"This will soon all only be but an unpleasant memory you could never comprehend."

Another tendril slithered out of the hole and wrapped around Yore's neck. It too yanked him into the hole as soon as it had a secure grip around him. And just like Sonata, he too disappeared without a trace, without a sound.

"Very soon, you'll be in the comfortable lie of a mortal reality."

Glace whimpered something, but she didn't know what. She couldn't even move as that tendril returned one last time and circled around her arm. Then, with an effortless pull, it dragged her into the massive, black hole.

"And you'll wake up, your narrative as flimsy and as skewed as it always has been and always will be."

There was warmth and wetness all around Glace, and then, there was nothing.