It had been many minutes since Giratina left Glace. At least, that was true of his physical presence. His Weavile form, one of his many masks wandering the multiverse, no longer watched her. However, she could still feel the godly being deep inside her mind, waiting for her next move. If she focused hard enough, she could see him smiling within the darkness of her mind's eye.
She shuddered. She could never grow used to his presence, no matter how much he assisted her.
Go on, Glace. I'm waiting for you to leave this realm.
I need Sonata and Yore back first. They need to help me figure out where to go.
Oh? Are you sure about that? I do believe they were the cause for why you felt quite overwhelmed and gave into despair. I'm afraid if I were to allow them to speak once again, especially with all that has happened between you and I in this dimension, you will break once again. Though I must admit I would find that deeply amusing…
I'll be fine. They don't deserve to get locked up in my head.
Very well, have them back. I'm going to enjoy this.
There was a popping sensation in her head, and then the Weavile felt two familiar presences return. She took in a few deep breaths as Yore and Sonata settled into her mind and filled her thoughts with their own.
Hi Glace… um, good to see you again.
Good to see you too, Sonata. You too, Yore.
An awkward silence fell over the three. Glace could feel her other selves' nervousness in her heart, causing it to thump painfully in her chest. She even thought she felt the two nervously shifting around in her mind, as if fidgeting in place despite no longer having physical forms.
I'm sorry about what happened, you guys. I panicked when I started seeing Yore's memories and it was too much for me.
Yeah… I saw the whole thing. I can't really say I blame you for freaking out so bad. If I were you, I probably would have done the same thing. I'd be terrified if I couldn't tell which were my memories and which were yours anymore.
Thanks to Giratina though… I'm feeling a little better about all this. I'm going to keep searching for the other fragments.
You sure you're up for it?
Yeah. We have a mission after all. All the worlds depend on us. I'm going to end up losing myself one way or another; I might as well be proactive about it.
Glace felt Sonata's beaming approval, though still felt only skittishness from Yore. She shifted her attention from the Noivern to the quiet, shirking Tranquill.
Are you okay, Yore?
I'd be lying to say I was. The merging of our minds was traumatic enough, but seeing how much my world had changed while I was away hurt me most. I never thought time would pass so quickly while I was gone and just how little of my life remains in the present day.
I understand. It was hard on you, I could feel your pain.
I'll recover from this, eventually. It's not as though I can return to my world after this is said and done anyway. We will become Keeper of Realms once more, then probably remain that way forever.
Still okay to be sad though. I'm still sad about leaving Downfall and I bet if I went back to my world, he'd be dead…
Your sympathies are appreciated, Sonata, but I'll be alright. We have a mission. Our grief is secondary to that.
Glace knew that he was lying. She could still feel the sorrow and the longing within him. The two now shared the same heart thanks to the mind merge. Now not only were their thoughts connected, but their emotions too.
Yet she knew better than to press the bird further. If he didn't want to grieve, she wouldn't push him to. She would let him focus on finding the other fragments. The Weavile settled onto the bed behind her and looked up at the ceiling.
So where to now? You have any ideas on what fragment we should go after next, Sonata?
Well there's a few of them we could go after. Let's see… there's eleven of us total. We've already got the three of us, Jera is going after Abel and Caran, Giratina is taking care of Ker… okay, so we have four to choose from. Alright well we have Dimia, Cinder, Peony, and Nexus that we can go after.
Which one sounds the easiest? We could use a break after everything that's happened.
Ummm probably Cinder or Peony honestly. Cinder's just a Torchic that's at some random guild in her world and Peony is a Bayleef that runs some botanic garden Pokémon like to visit in his world. Both of their worlds are pretty laid-back too. They're not like in any crazy danger or anything like my world is.
I see. I think we should go after Cinder. What about you, Yore?
Cinder sounds fine. She's probably young if she's still a Torchic. It might be easier to convince her to come with us.
Plus she's part of a guild and I know all about guilds since I was kind of in one! So I can really be helpful here.
Then it sounds like we all know where to go.
Glace filled her claws with the eldritch energy Giratina provided her with and tore open a rift straight to Cinder's dimension. She quite liked this new way of traveling. It felt less abrasive and more predictable. She didn't feel like she was fighting against the laws of nature itself and forcing it to bend to her will. Now it felt like the universe wanted to assist her.
She took in a deep breath, settling the nervousness she and Yore shared, then entered the portal.
Glace soon found herself in Cinder's realm in a little town called Sitrus Village. It was a quaint little place that reminded Glace's hometown. As Sonata had suggested, everything seemed rather peaceful. The buildings were well kept, the sky was clear blue and lacking a particular vortex, and wandering Pokémon seemed rather placid and without troubles. There was a group of merchants not far from where Glace stood, drawing in small crowds of Pokémon towards their exotic wares, but that seemed to be the only excitement in this town. Sitrus Village seemed to be the epitome of a small, quiet town.
However, despite the peaceful sight, something was off about the village. Glace had to confirm with Sonata and Yore that she wasn't hallucinating.
Almost all of the Pokémon had strange mutations to them.
For instance, there was what looked like a Chikorita begging a normal-looking Bayleef for a strange, exotic berry at one of the merchant booths, but she had puffs of cotton around her neck and ankles. Then there was a Riolu not far from the duo who had a long, striped tail like that of a Furret. With him, there was a Charmander with odd, feathery ears not unlike those seen on a Dragonair.
Even the merchants weren't immune to these strange variations. The Sableye selling jewelry made from the teeth of other Pokémon had milky white gems for eyes and more rounded horns protruding from her head. The Scyther selling fresh cuts of fish from far-away oceans had a pink carapace and bold yellow eye patterns within his wing membranes. There was even a Decidueye whose normally brown plumage had turned white and dark blue, making it resemble a creature that would live in the colder climates up north.
There were some normal Pokémon of course, so Glace's presence wasn't an anomaly. However, their numbers were greatly overshadowed by the mutated Pokémon. For every one pureblood Pokémon, there were at least fifty hybrids.
Glace gawked at each of these Pokémon, struggling to wrap her mind around the baffling sight. This had to be the strangest dimension she had visited yet, even in comparison to Ker's. At least Ker's had Pokémon that looked like normal ghost-types.
Oh wow, this is very new! Huh, I wasn't expecting this for Cinder's dimension. Wonder why everyone looks this way.
It's the result of the parents being of different species, Sonata. While in all of your dimensions nothing peculiar happens if the parents are of different species, the same can't be said for here. For instance, the offspring of a female Torterra and male Feraligator would produce a Turtwig with ferocious jaw strength and rugged skin. The coloring would also take on a greenish-blue as well.
Oh. Well that would explain it.
Won't the species be impossible to tell apart within a few generations if this keeps up?
Perhaps, Yore. Who's to say?
Glace had a feeling that Giratina knew exactly what would happen to all these Pokémon many years from now and was just toying with the Tranquil. After all, he was a god. Of course he knew the fates of the dimensions' denizens.
However, that was irrelevant. They needed to find Cinder and hopefully sway her over. Sonata didn't think it would be very difficult, and Glace was inclined to agree. This world seemed harmless and a simple guild member seemed easy to convince. It wasn't like Cinder was a specter that routinely travelled throughout the multiverse or a dedicated caretaker with an entire ocean of children to save.
The Weavile made her way toward the group of merchants. First she needed to find the guild. She figured the village only had one guild, as having two or more sounded superfluous. She approached a Mismagius that seemed oddly wispy and took on a dark purple hue compared to normal ones. He had a bag wrapped up in his tassels and seemed ready to swoop back home.
"Hey, do you know where the guild is around here?" Glace asked.
"Sure, it's just over the hill that way," the Mismagius said after pointing off to the right. "You can't miss it, it's a big old building with a huge flag on top."
"Alright, thanks," Glace said with a nod.
She headed for the guild, though couldn't help but note that the Mismagius watched her from afar. He was probably perplexed by her lack of variations. She did her best to ignore him. She did start to wonder just what she would look like as a hybrid though. Perhaps she'd have tougher, diamond-hard skin if one of her parents was a Mawile. Maybe she'd have fur atop her head instead of feathers if she had a Flareon as a father. The possibilities were endless.
Glace climbed up the hill and stopped at the summit. Like the Mismagius had said, a guild did wait at the bottom. It resembled a small castle of sorts constructed of wood. It was painted bright shades of red, green, and yellow, making it stand out amongst all the buildings in the vicinity. At the very top of the guild waved a brilliant blue flag with a smirking Gengar embroidered into its fabric.
Yep, that looks like a guild to me! Let's get going, Glace!
The Weavile complied and made her way down the hill. She wondered if Cinder would be in the guild right now. From Sonata's memories, Glace knew that most guild members were out until the evening. With it being just past noon, perhaps Cinder was still away with her team on whatever mission they had selected for the day.
When Glace entered the guild, she found it to be mostly empty, save for a few Pokémon. A small team made up of a Charmander, Psyduck, and Vulpix were picking out jobs from a mission board. A Caterpie with stripes running down his exoskeleton crawled his way toward a mess room, where the kitchen was serving the last bits of lunch. Further back into the guild, Glace could hear a few voices of some late risers. It was a quaint little guild all things considered, especially compared to Sonata's guild. Deep within the Noivern's memories, Glace saw a much more impressive guild with glowing lights strung up everywhere to ward off the darkness of the guild and far more numerous facilities for the teams to use, like a daycare for ferals and a training center. Of course, that was to be expected when the guild was run by a Suicune.
The Weavile approached the team eying the mission board. As she drew closer, the Vulpix's ears perked up. She turned around to address the Weavile. Glace tried to ignore her oddities, which had turned this Vulpix's fur pure white.
"Do you know about a Torchic that's named Cinder?" Glace asked. "I heard she works at this guild."
"Cinder… uhh guys, do you know any Torchic named Cinder here?" the Vulpix asked as she nudged her teammates with a paw.
"Hmmm nah, name doesn't ring a bell," the Psyduck said with a shake of his head.
"Her name kind of sounds familiar? I don't know, you should probably ask the Guildmaster," the Charmander said in return.
"And where can I find him?" Glace asked.
"Down the hall, first room on the left," the Charmander said as he pointed a claw to Glace's destination.
Glace left the three unceremoniously, now searching for the leader of the guild. She wasn't surprised that those kids didn't seem to know about Cinder. There could be a lot of members in the guild. In fact, Glace actually didn't know the names of most of the Pokémon working under Downfall. She had never really paid them in mind, dedicating her whole life to the Suicune.
The Weavile stopped herself. No, that was Sonata who worked for Downfall. Glace was the sentry for Lilac City. No, that wasn't right either. That was what Yore did. She smacked her temple a few times with her claw, as if trying to rattle loose her actual memories from her brain.
You can't remember, can you?
I can. I just need a moment.
I know you're lying.
The Weavile scowled. She could hear him snickering, not even bothering to hide his twisted amusement.
If you can't handle this, Glace, just say the word. I'll find someone else to gather the other spawn while you spend the rest of your existence away from it all. There's no shame in admitting that you're too weak to keep going.
Stop taunting me. I thought you were supposed to be helping me.
Am I truly taunting you? Or perhaps I'm only reminding you of a mercy I promised? Which one is it, Glace?
She knew this argument would go nowhere, so she ignored him. Part of her wondered why Yore and Sonata weren't backing her up, but she figured that Giratina wasn't letting them hear anything. He had probably made the shared mindspace private, accessible only to Glace and Giratina. She didn't like that. She didn't like how much control he had over her thoughts, even if it was to be expected of a god.
Glace reached the Guildmaster's office. It didn't seem that much different from the other rooms in the hallway, save for a sign hanging over the door that spelled out exactly whose room this was. She knocked on the door with her claws.
"Hello, who is it?" came a cheery voice from inside.
"I'm a visitor," Glace answered. "I had a question about one of your guild members."
"Oh come in!" said the voice. "I'd be happy to answer!"
Glace pushed the door open to find herself in the office. It wasn't a very impressive place with only some chests along the walls to decorate the place and a table covered in papers. Sitting at that desk was a Wigglytuff with an apple sitting perfectly between his large ears, which had taken on a rounder shape. He seemed to be doing a balancing act with it, all the while resisting the urge to grab it and munch it down with his exposed, buck teeth.
"Welcome!" the Wigglytuff said. "How can I help you?"
"I was looking for one of your guild members," Glace said. "She's a Torchic named Cinder. She took one of the jobs I sent to you guys and I wanted to thank her."
"Ohhhhh you're the one who had her son lost in the Blackwood Forest, aren't you?" the Guildmaster smiled.
"Yeah, that was me," Glace said simply.
"Oh well, Cinder's out on a mission with her team right now, but she'll be back for dinner!" the Wigglytuff said. "Why don't you come by then?"
"Sure, thank you," Glace said with a nod.
She left without another word, leaving the Guildmaster with his apple. She exhaled a deep breath. So Cinder was here at this guild. She only needed to play the waiting game. Well, that was fine with her. At least Cinder would be easy to find. Plus with her being a little Torchic, if she did try to run away in a panic like Yore did, it'd be easy to catch up to her. She had such little legs that couldn't run far and mercifully couldn't fly away on her useless wings.
The Weavile left the guild and sat underneath a tree growing just outside the building. She held her chin in her claws as she looked out into the distance, idly listening to the pleasant songs of the wild birds.
You did a good job, Glace! Good idea making it sound like you were one of Cinder's clients.
It sounded like the best reason anyone would want to visit a guild member. I wasn't about to say we were old friends or anything like that.
So now we wait. Dinner was always right around sunset back in my world, so we've probably got a few good hours until she comes back from her outing. You want to do anything until then?
No, I think we should wait here until Cinder comes back. I don't want to miss her.
Sonata seemed fine with that, and Yore offered his silent agreement. With nothing else to do, Glace leaned against the tree trunk and searched through her memories. She needed to know what life had been like before she had been caught up in her dimension-hopping adventure. She needed to prove that she could still remember who Glace the Weavile was, not Glace With The Assimilated Souls of Yore the Tranquil and Sonata the Noivern.
She remembered she lived in Granite City. That wasn't difficult to remember. But what did she do again? After she left her Weavile clan, what had she done with the rest of her life? What had she done until Sonata tracked her down? She racked her brain, desperate for answers, but could find nothing. She could feel Sonata and Yore wanting to help her, to outright give her the answer, but she refused. She needed to remember on her own, because if she couldn't remember herself, then was she still actually Glace? Or was she only Glace in-name only?
So it begins, albeit faster than I anticipated.
Go away, Giratina. You're proving to be a lot less helpful than you made yourself out to be.
Oh how cruel of you to say that. Am I still not helping you? Perhaps I'm not saying what you want to hear, but am I not assisting you in your journey? Have I done anything to impede your progress?
I should kick you out of my head. You're obligated to leave if I don't want you around. You said it yourself.
Indeed I am. I'll leave you if that's what you truly want, though that wouldn't be in your best interest. You need me and you know it. You need my godly knowledge to traverse the multiverse confidently and safely.
But did she really though? True, Giratina had shown her the more efficient way to travel through dimensions and he was quite knowledgeable. However, did she really need to tolerate his remarks to find her other selves? She only had three more fragments to find after Cinder, then she just needed to reunite with Jera and pick up Ker whenever Giratina got ahold of her…
Not only that, but Glace simply couldn't feel the least bit comfortable around the god. He claimed to be benevolent and want nothing more than to offer his aid, yet she couldn't shake off the feeling that something was not right about him. He felt cold and shadowy, like the bottom of an abyss.
If he truly only had her best intentions in mind… why did he feel so sinister?
"So we meet, Glace."
The Weavile snapped out of her thoughts to find that she was no longer alone. A Braixen now stood a few feet away from her, wearing a long, pensive scowl. She was a pureblood like Weavile, showing no hybrid qualities, but proved odd in her own way. She wore a number of personal ornaments, such as a silver necklace, diamond bracelets around her wrists, and a silver circlet with a single large amethyst fastened against her forehead. She had a regal, almost queenly air to her, as though the next successor in a long line of royalty.
But most strangely of all, Glace felt that she knew this Braixen. Even though Glace knew she had never met this girl, somehow, someway, she was familiar. The implications dawned on the Weavile immediately.
Oh gods, that's Dimia, Glace! That's her! What's she doing here?
Glace ignored Sonata's screaming as she stared back at the Braixen, forcing herself to remain calm.
"You know me?" Glace asked.
"Oh yes, quite so," the Braixen said, her scowl turning up into a tight smile. "Glace, Weavile fragment of Keeper of Realms. That's you, is it not?"
So this Braixen knew. She knew about the fragments and their original self. Somehow, someway, she knew unlike any of the other fragments Glace had encountered besides Sonata. Glace didn't know if Dimia knew much more than that, but she was too stunned to ask. She hoped her face didn't betray too much of her shock.
"I'll take that as a yes," Dimia said simply. "Ah, to think this day has finally come. I've had so many visions about you, yet you never felt real. Even now, despite you sitting there before me, I cannot help but feel that same disconnection."
Dimia approached the Weavile with soft, dainty steps, just as a princess might. Glace resisted the urge to bolt right then and there. She didn't like this Braixen. She knew she had no reason to fear the fragment, yet something about the fox seemed off.
The Braixen stopped before Glace before performing a curtsey, pulling the fur tufts at her hips with her dainty paws as she bowed her head.
"My name is Dimia," she spoke as she straightened herself up. "I have a hunch that you already know my name, but I can't help with the formalities."
"Why are you here?" Glace asked tersely.
"To find you, of course," Dimia said, ears flicking. "My visions told me you'd be here at this exact spot, in this exact dimension, at this exact time. It was certainly easier than waiting for you to come find me. It would have taken you ten years in my world's time, after you'd found Cinder and Peony. I'm afraid I didn't have time to wait that long. The rift will have already begun its terrible destruction upon my world by then."
"You know about the rift," Glace said, grimacing now.
"Of course," Dimia said. "I also know how we fragments are supposed to stop it. We are to merge together and become Keeper of Realms so it might correct this world-ending problem, are we not?"
Glace could only nod. Dimia plucked the branch protruding from her bushy tail, but unlike most Braixen wands, this one actually resembled a magical rod and not a frail stick torn off a random tree. Strange runes lined the shaft of the wooden wand as she idly twirled in her paw.
"Tell me, how many fragments have you assimilated within yourself already?" the Braixen asked, sounding indifferent, but unable to keep all of the keenness out of her voice.
"I assimilated two of them," Glace answered. "There's also two other fragments I met, one doing her part to gather more fragments while the other is… waiting for us."
The Braixen seemed to stare through Glace for a moment, as though suddenly lost in a deep trance.
"I presume that these two fragments you've already assimilated are Yore the Tranquill and Sonata the Noivern?" the Braixen then asked, the murk in her eyes clearing away.
Again, Glace feebly hid her shock. She clutched a tree root near her and dug her claws deep into the bark.
"How do you know that?" Glace asked.
"So then it's true," Dimia said simply, pointedly ignoring Glace's question. "Then I also presume that Jera is the fragments you allowed to search for the others?"
Again, Glace could say nothing as a dreadful feeling crept over her and sent chills down her spine. And once again, all Dimia had to do was see Glace's mortified stare to get her answer.
That same hazy expression came over Dimia again as she continued twirling the wand between her delicate fingers. Glace thought she saw something in the Braixen's crimson eyes. For just a moment, something white streaked across Dimia's eyes as she seemed lost in her own little world. Something that seemed unnatural, uncanny.
"This Jera fragment is searching for Caran and Abel, isn't she?" Dimia then asked.
Glace finally had enough. She leapt to her feet and raised her claws threateningly. Dimia took a step back and pointed her wand at the Weavile, muzzle twisted into a long scowl.
"How do you know all of that?" Glace asked with a growl.
"The same way I know of your existence: through visions," Dimia answered curtly, tightening her grip on the rod. "Allow me to explain something, Weavile fragment."
The end of the wand suddenly caught fire, burning an ethereal violet. It crackled and hissed, yet somehow, didn't spread further down the shaft in its endless hunger. Glace instinctually backed away from the fire, hissing and baring her teeth at the sight.
"H' tharanak mgep ya," the Braixen uttered under her breath.
As she spoke these guttural, awful words that were not meant for any mortal's tongue, the fire leapt off Dimia's wand and latched onto the ground between her and Glace. The fire blazed as it towered into the sky, quickly taking on a new shape. Glace watched as the fire morphed into a creature, a tall, humanoid creature draped head to toe in a robe, hiding its features from the onlookers, save for its long, thin fingers protruding from the sleeves. A crown of golden spikes erupted from its head, accompanied by a pair of glowing eyes within the dark hole that was its face.
Glace knew that the creature was nothing more than a spectacle. The being was still only a flame and showed no semblance of life. Yet as Glace stared at this strange being that easily stood five times her height, she couldn't help but think it watched her from perhaps another realm of existence far separated from her own. Something in its blank, golden eyes told Glace that she could never be safe from its gaze.
"In my dimension, we do not have an Arceus to watch over us," Dimia explained. "There we are under the watchful and gracious eye of The Faceless God, who blesses the kingdom's children he deems worthy with a precious gift. Those who are blessed with his gift we call 'The All-Seers'.
"The All-Seers are not simply prophets that see into the most likely future that is to happen. Rather, they see into multiple futures that could happen, all at once. With the gift granted to us by The Faceless God, we are able to see all the possibilities that could befall our world and work to follow the paths that lead to the most desirable of these futures.
"I am my kingdom's current All-Seer, and I have seen much of you in my visions, Glace. I have seen what happens when you triumph, when you falter, when you give into despair. I have seen you in futures where you have only gathered all of the fragments before you came to see me, I have seen you in futures where you cannot even gather a single one and are instead consumed by either Jera or Nexus. I have seen futures where you feebly hide away in a dimension in hopes that no one will find you, allowing all the worlds to end due to your frailty."
The Braixen swiveled her wand and the fiery manifestation of The Faceless God was swept away in a strong gale. Her mouth tightened into a hard line as she kept her wand pointed at Glace, the runes of the shaft glowing an ethereal red.
"You've confirmed with me just now which visions can still be a reality," Dimia said. "The timeline in which you have only assimilated two fragments, yet have found four in total leaves me with three branching timelines…
The Braixen's eyes seemed to alight as she took a step forward, the grass beneath her foot hissing and blackening as they curled into burnt knots.
"And I'm afraid the only timeline in which my kingdom doesn't perish is the one where I assimilate you right here and now."