Chapter 4


His legs ached, his heart pounded, he was very sure his phone battery was on its last legs from how long its flashlight had been left on (today was a terrible day for the electricians to be conducting checks on the streetlamps), but there was no way in hell he could stop running.

Curse the train for taking twenty years to show up! Fox thought, willing his feet to just move ten more meters; home was finally within reach! Unfortunately, with that came another problem: mustering the energy to check his watch, pure dread pooled in his guts. A minute past nine. His parents were going to Aura Sphere him to death. He could practically see the headlines now.

"When I get a hold of that Zoroark, I'm going to skewer him, marinate his corpse and roast it over the stove!" That was definitely Jake, his pissed cursing somehow managing to overpower the roar of the football match being shown on television. Suppressing a very audible gulp, Fox inched closer to the window, sweating more from fear than physical overexertion. There his parents were, in front of the couch, probably debating over phoning the police at this ungodly hour because of him.

"Honey, calm down - I'm sure he has a valid reason to be back late!"

"Valid? Lenda, we've told him a million times, there's criminals prowling the streets at night! What if he's off stoned in some alleyway, or dead, or worse? He hasn't even contacted us since noon!"

"I know, honey, but just give him some room to explain-"

With shaking paws, he fished the door keys from his pocket, twisted the lock, and hoping his father didn't just so happen to find an actual skewer to shove up his sorry butt within that short span of time, pushed the door open with a resounding creak.

If looks could kill, Fox reckoned his corpse would've been riddled with more bullets than a target board the moment he glanced towards the couch.

"I'm...uh, home…"

Almost immediately, Jake was up and glaring daggers into his soul. "Lenda, get the skewer."

Oh boy, I'm dead.

Her harsh stare softened ever so slightly. "Jake, we've talked about this. Only diplomacy in this house."

A resigned grunt in response, but no less infuriated. "Fine. Fox, come in, close the door, and where have you been this whole afternoon? Do you know how worried we've been this whole damn time? You know exactly how many times I've told you about coming home late, young man-"

Yeah, he definitely wasn't prepared for another six hours of lecturing.

This is gonna suuuuuuuuck.


And sucked it did. Having to wipe the house clean from top to bottom after receiving a hefty earful for who knows how long after sprinting the whole way back home took quite the toll on him. Heck, he thought he was lucky to hit the bed at two in the morning after that whole ordeal.

Of course, he ended up failing hard for concentration the next day.

"Mr. McClaws! Are you even listening?" He could make out a towering figure of green before him and the strong scent of lemongrass...and then reality finally slapped him in the face. Startled and about ready to wet himself, Fox sat up straighter and turned his widened eyes towards the annoyed Sceptile, who was now drumming his claws on his table in irritation.

"Y-yes, sir?..." He could practically feel everyone's gaze on him as he forced himself to stand, legs aching from the sudden exertion. How long had he been zoned out?...

Without skipping a beat, Mr. Woods continued with his signature dead-eyed stare. "Explain what chance music is, Mr. McClaws, and tell me who made it."

Barely suppressing a gulp, he mumbled out, "W-well...Chance music was created by…" Unconsciously, the illusion fox fingered his textbook, hoping to cheat by reading off its pages-

"And no touching the book!" - well damn, he was screwed. Fox jerked his paw back and winced, desperately combing his groggy mind for something, anything about chance music…nope. Nada. Blank as a clean whiteboard. And having (subconsciously) chosen to drift off into Dreamland instead of actually paying attention to vital, if slumber-inducing, droning (But I had...like, four hours of sleep last night! Sleeping's important, isn't it? Even if it's in class...this is getting me nowhere, isn't it?), he was pretty much doomed. To detention, probably, or something more embarrassing.

Or would have been doomed, if Arceus hadn't taken pity on his recent streak of misfortune and thrown him a bone in the form of the school bell signaling the end of class. He was saved!...from having to answer the question, not his teacher's sideways glare.

"Hmph! Lucky little rascal. Anyways, pop quiz tomorrow, covering chapters one to three! Goodbye, class!" As much as he disliked being labeled a rascal, between his cold, sweaty paws and his general sluggishness, there wasn't much he could do about it other than glare and go about the usual ritual of respectful goodbyes, and maybe wonder about his absurd luck as he packed his bags and trudged his way to freedom.

By some miracle, he didn't end up falling deeply unconscious leaning on the wall bordering the school by the time Luna showed up, dispersing from her clique and giving her brother that look which basically said "I know what you did and shall now proceed to bug you the hell out about it", as customary for siblings.

The walk home wasn't going to be any better, was it?


"So, big brother, about last night…"

"Nooo, sis, please…" Fox whined, the pure mischievous snark in his sister's eyes foreshadowing the conversation hell that awaited him. Could he even hold a coherent discussion anymore? "Let me have my quiet...you can nag me about it laterr…"

By another miracle, Luna actually spared him, giving the Zoroark a smug eye-roll instead. "And I thought you'd be up for talking! Fine, I'll leave you alone...until later. Last one home's a rotten egg!" Instantly, the Lucario took off down the street, leaving her brother to groggily chase after her as she repeatedly taunted him about being in the lead.

While all that running did effectively shorten the time taken for him to reach home and take his well-deserved nap (Luna, being the typical brat sister, gleefully reached the front door first and proceeded to rub it in his face), and prevented him from face-planting on the floor and staying there, by the time he reached his room he dunked his bagful of books, chemistry worksheets and math homework on his chair, barely mustered the energy to don pajamas and immediately afterwards crashed into the open arms of his quilt, his remaining brain cell too sleep-deprived to notice the faint pink glow emanating from his school bag.


Oh, a cave again...what are those silver and gold bits in the ceiling? They're so pretty...

...another cave...

...wait.

Considering how tired he was, no one could blame him for taking a solid minute to come to the earth-shattering conclusion that he was, in fact, in another cavern, and that he probably wasn't supposed to be there.

Oh boy, I'm dreaming again.

As much as he would've loved to lie down for a couple more minutes, he soon found the rocky, uneven ground to be quite the unconducive mattress for further slumber, leaving him with no choice but to get up and look around. Precious gold and silvery ores, dotting the walls like natural mosaics, were on full display, and the various rubies and sapphires and multi-colored diamonds clustered in crystalline formations on the ground and embedded between the metals alone probably could've made him rich beyond his wildest dreams.

"I offer you one last mercy. Stand down and leave this place, or I will not hesitate to crush you where you stand." A commanding growl, betraying hints of weariness, echoed through the tunnels and snapped Fox out of his thoughts, the Zoroark instinctively glancing towards the supposed source of the voice.

...W-who's there?

"...I can't afford to leave empty-handed, I'm afraid. To save this world, I must take the Gemstone." A familiar voice replied through gritted teeth, battered but determined.

"Hah! A fool you are indeed, if a determined one. En guarde!" The sounds of clanging steel and shattering rock quickly followed, piquing their unlikely eavesdropper's interest. Against his better judgement, Fox ventured deeper into the depths of the crystal caverns, the harsh scrapes and clangs of battle growing ever louder.

Yet, as the fight raged on in the background, the only thing his eyes could focus on was the crystal glowing with silver light, floating above its intricately designed pedestal, fashioned in the image of strong metal beams. Curious, Fox crept closer to the enigmatic object, until he could practically almost touch it-

-crash! He flinched and turned, only to see a rising dust cloud and that familiar Lycanroc standing before it, panting audibly yet poised to strike. The Pokémon that lay crumpled within the resulting crater wasn't one he could recognize, yet the teal, spiral-horned being radiated such an aura of nobility and justice that even he knew that this was no ordinary Stantler.

A ragged breath escaped the legendary Pokémon as they struggled to their hooves, likely standing through nothing but pure will and determination. "I...admit, you have...bested me. But as long as I live…" They stepped out of the gem-encrusted crater, their legs just slightly trembling under their weight and the pain of their wounds. "...I cannot let you paralyze another element of this world."

"...then so be it, Cobalion." With a forceful slash of his claws, the Lycanroc thrust his foe back onto the ground, where they remained, unconscious. He stared at the body in silence, as if contemplating his next moves.

"In another life, maybe, we could've been partners...oh, who am I kidding? Seth, this is not the time to show sentimentality...that can wait until after I prevent the inevitable." The Lycanroc - Seth, his name was? - huffed and turned towards his eavesdropper, eyes set on the pale gemstone floating above its pedestal.

Oh geez, he can see me! I'm so, so dead- Fox suddenly realized, and backpedaled away from the quickly approaching Lycanroc in fear. "L-look, man, I-I didn't mean to come here and-"

-and then the Wolf Pokémon just walked right through him.

Literally.

Without another word, Seth pocketed the gemstone and left through the tunnels, leaving Fox frozen in utter shock.

It was a wonder that he hadn't pissed his pants yet...or was he just too numb to realize it?

"...what the heck was that?"

In a possible attempt to avoid answering his question, thick fog condensed and clouded his vision, before the dream thrust him into the deepest reaches of the ocean, forcing him to hold his breath and attempt to swim to the surface, until he realized that, after he breathed out, his lungs somehow managed to function as if they weren't under thousands of gallons of water.

Taking advantage of the strange water-breathing physics, he dove towards the pinpoint of light beneath him, until he could clearly make out the watery blue gemstone atop the wave-muraled pedestal.

A strange, nauseating feeling grew the closer he swam to the crystal, intensifying until his vision seemed to sway slightly. He choked back the dizzying sensation, attempting to get as close to the crystal as possible, before his limbs refused to move another inch and his eyes slowly fluttered shut, embedded with the blurry image of the gemstone of water before it all faded to black.


He felt so, so sick, vomit burning his throat and threatening to come out in disastrous fashion. Not giving his vision time to adjust, he shot out of bed, burst into the bathroom and heaved the digested remains of his lunch straight into the sink, likely within the span of ten seconds or less.

(Had he the mental capacity to joke, he might've boasted about breaking the world record for dashing to the bathroom in desperation. If that was a thing.)

After spending the next minute or so dry-heaving horribly and hyperventilating like no tomorrow, Fox stared blankly at his own reflection, eyes bloodshot and unnaturally pale. He could even clearly see the bags under his eyes, which, for a dark-furred Zoroark like him, wasn't exactly a good sign. Added with his burning forehead, he was pretty sure that his rest hadn't done much good for him (...is sleep supposed to give me a fever?), if at all.

Groggily, he blamed the previous night's stint in the attic for his current predicament. He'd suspected that dust up there probably contained some nasty pathogens, and now he had solid evidence.

Well, nothing to do but to take a pill or something…

The window cabinet in his bathroom had, alongside the usual bathroom amenities like extra toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper and so on, some basic medicine and painkillers for fevers and stuff like that. He popped a fever pill out, filled his cup with some water, and knocked the whole thing down, afterwards pressing a paw to his forehead a second time to determine whether he was cooling down somewhat.

Unfortunately, it still was about as warm as it was the first time round. His fever would take a while to subside.

Trudging out of the bathroom, he took a glance at his alarm clock and immediately realized he'd slept in way later than usual. It was twenty-three minutes past nine and he hadn't had dinner yet. More importantly, how did his parents even let him sleep this late? Maybe they thought he deserved it for staying up until the ungodly hours of the night to sweep the house (and catch a cold in the process)?

And then his eyes fell on his school bag and the textbooks inside it.

Oh Arceus, I have homework.

...which he couldn't afford to not do if he wanted tomorrow to be anything better than today. "Well, self," he sighed dejectedly, "looks like dinner will have to wait."

And wait it did. By the time he'd scrawled his last mathematical proof onto the paper, his dinner could already be considered supper. Gently massaging his aching forehead (he took so long that his fever had been cooled off for a long while now), Fox stacked his unneeded textbooks at one side of his desk and packed his homework back into his bag, before suddenly remembering the existence of that music pop quiz with a heavy sigh.

...that can wait. I'll just have my dinner while studying up…

As silently as he possibly could, he crept downstairs into the kitchen to find something to eat. Maybe his parents had already left that night's leftovers in there which he could microwave (or not, the cooling mechanism inside didn't even work anymore anyway) for a quick meal? Or he could even raid the candy jar if he didn't want to risk waking anyone up with the blaring microwave alarm…

The door didn't budge. Annoyed, he tried again, this time pulling the handle more forcefully. The fridge didn't open an inch.

His stomach growled in protest, yet the fridge absolutely refused to open. Finally, with a resigned sigh, the Zoroark came to the conclusion that his body was simply too weak at the moment to open the damned contraption, and went back to bed with a rumbling stomach.

Those music chapters could wait until tomorrow.


"Honey...did you lock the fridge?"

"No Jake, I didn't."

"But it just won't budge!"

As tired as he was, he couldn't exactly continue to sleep with all the ruckus downstairs. Groggily, he cast a side glance towards his alarm clock - half-past four in the morning, his parents had probably been called in early today - and then covered his ears with his pillow in an attempt to drown out the conversation and get just another hour of rest.

...what the heck is up with all that banging?

"Jake, no! The kids are sleeping!"

"Well, do you have any suggestions on how else to crack open this blasted contraption, dear?"

...Looks like my beauty sleep is ruined. Mentally cursing, Fox begrudgingly crawled out of bed, and trudged downstairs for the sole purpose of finding out what his parents were getting so heated over at the ass-crack of dawn. Maybe he could fetch himself an early breakfast too? His empty belly rumbled in agreement.

"Oh, good morning, honey," Lenda tiredly greeted, glaring slightly at her husband. "You slept well?"

"Yeah, I guess," the Zoroark replied, immediately making a Combeeline for the couch. "About the noise…"

"Sorry 'bout that, son," Jake immediately apologized, before directing some frustrated kicks at the impregnable fortress that was the refrigerator door. "But this gosh - dang - fridge is absolutely stuck! Not even my Close Combat could break the thing open! Makes you wonder what they make 'em out of."

Fox shrugged in reply, attempting to get comfortable on the sofa. "Yeah, it was stuck when I tried to open it last night. It's probably locked or something."

With a disgruntled sigh, Lenda checked the time and got her things together. "Jake, we don't have all day to mess with the fridge. We should get going soon. And Fox…" She added, placing some money on the table, "Wake up Luna and leave early, I've left you two 350 Poké to spend on breakfast at the local restaurant."

Eh, he'd wake up his sister in ten minutes. No harm in snoozing a bit longer, right?

Once his parents had packed their things and left the house ("Don't come home late," his father warned in the most threatening tone he could muster on an empty stomach), there wasn't much stopping him from browsing the television channels out of boredom.

Apparently, there also wasn't much stopping the news from reporting breaking headlines at the crack of dawn.

"...appear to be unable to function, reportedly fading to a dull grey color as well. Similar problems have been reported with some household appliances…" Shown on screen were cars and buses stuck in their parking lots, lined up like bars of cast iron, and about as useful. Immediately, Fox sat up and glanced at the refrigerator, it too having faded to that signature dull grey hue.

Slowly, the gears started turning in his tired brain. Rena's prophecy of gemstones and balance. That Lycanroc stealing the embodiment of steel in his dreams. The sudden stasis of machinery.

When his visions coincided with the disappearance of the ice, back then he could've explained the phenomenon as just that - coincidence.

But now, with knowledge of a prophecy and a second theft, a second disastrous phenomenon, he wasn't so sure anymore.

...damn, the Stasis Prophecy is legit…I can't see this as coincidence anymore, can I?

...but why do I have to be the chosen one?


Along with thrusting upon him the immense responsibility of becoming the so-called "chosen one", karma seemed pretty determined to make Fox's life an even more chaotic rollercoaster of pain, bouncing from sleep deprivation to starvation within a single day. Even with their money, any and every early-bird diner on the way to school was plagued with the same problem: their fridges simply couldn't open, and hence they couldn't serve.

At least the sibling duo weren't alone in their misery when they eventually showed up to school, about a whole hour early. While not as crowded as it would be during peak hours, there were quite a number of student clusters scattered about the main hall, yet the volume was unusually low for such a large group of people, likely due to hunger, general sleepiness, or some combination of the two.

"Big bro, I'm sooo hungry…surely there has to be something to eat here?" Luna whined, clutching her belly to emphasize her sentiment. "There's the cafeteria…"

The Zoroark's stomach couldn't help but agree with her. "Ugh, me too...but the cafeteria is closed right now…at least you'll have recess way earlier than I will," Fox moaned, unsure of how much longer he could last without having a bite to eat.

Suddenly, he spotted a familiar Glaceon near the lockers, alone and away from the crowds that littered the hallway. Hoo boy, do I have some questions for you…"Hey, sis? You go ahead first, there's someone here I need to talk to... "

Luna shot him a confused look, before she presumably figured out a reason for his sudden departure and gave him a menacingly coy smirk. "So you've finally made a new friend this year! Good for you!"

Before he could even voice out a proper retort (Sis, please, I've had friends even before this year started, give me a break!), Luna was already off to find her friends. "Alright, see you later, big brother! Tell me what they're like later~!"

It's not my fault that I'm always alone in class! Sighing, Fox pushed the odd exchange to the back of his mind and approached the Fresh Snow Pokémon situated near the lockers. "Um, hey, Aurora!" Said Glaceon flinched and immediately glanced up at him, likely snapped out of her online browsing. "Did you see the news yet?"

"It's taking the internet by storm, dude. Who hasn't heard of it? Especially with the fridge this morning…" Aurora replied, her own gut letting out a well-timed growl of discomfort. "...luckily we had some Oran berries on the fruit stand, but it wasn't much…" She then perked up, as if something had crossed her mind. "All this...is it connected to another gemstone being stolen?"

"Uhm...well, yeah, I had another dream about it yesterday…" he nodded tentatively. "The culprit was some Midday Lycanroc, if I remember it clearly? And his name was S...well, something starting with an S…"

"Hmm, a Midday Lycanroc…" The Glaceon took a moment to mull over the information, before asking again. "Did you see the next possible location he'd go to? Or any location?"

This, he had to think over to make sure his answer was actually legitimate, as his mind wasn't in the best state while exploring the gemstone's location, added on top of the fact that it would be kind of impossible to reach anyways. "Well, the next gemstone was like, super deep underwater, pedestal and all that...wait, I think we've run into a dead end."

"Why is that so?"

"It could be anywhere underwater! The only way we could ever find it, or anyone, really, would be if we got some of that high-tech diving equipment and scoured the entire bottom of the seafloor for it, but that's a terrible plan anyway…" The Zoroark sighed, strapped for ideas. "You got anything?"

"...maybe we could narrow down our search to one specific location? I've read in one of my old books somewhere that Lyrin has underwater temples…" Aurora suggested, about as unsure as he was.

"Yeah, maybe we could check over there…...wait a minute," Fox paused in sudden realization. "Lyrin? As in, like, on the other side of the world Lyrin?"

Judging from her no-nonsense stare, the Glaceon definitely wasn't kidding. "Unfortunately, that's the only lead I got, unless Santis also has mysterious temples under the sea."

"Then how are we supposed to legally get there? We're school-age! No sensible rider would fly us there without getting suspicious! What if they checked our IDs?"

"...True. But we can't exactly afford not to go, can we?"

Considering I'm the chosen one, inaction would lead to further disaster… "...you got any suggestions? I've got nothing."

It took a few moments for her to figure out a solution that wasn't entirely wack. "...one question. Do you have any friends who can fly?"

"Well...I've got Dracon? I think? I've shown him the Dreamscape crystal like, once before, but whether he'll be onboard with this mission is another issue…" Fox mused. "Maybe if I'm really lucky, he'll not think I'm off my rocker and help?"

"Best of luck with that. Without him, there won't be many options left for us to find the Water gemstone." Aurora checked her watch - not yet time to head to class, but close - so the two decided to stay in place and causally browse the internet and talk.

"Hey, wait. If metals have technically stopped working," Aurora asked, "then how are our phones still functional?"

Fox shrugged, equally nonplussed. "Maybe it's the electricity inside, and the metals are still conducting even in stasis?"

"Hmm, valid point. Can't stop the flow of electrons, even with lame, sad metal…Anyway, how did you decide so quickly that you had to uphold the responsibility of the Chosen?"

"The responsibility of the what now?...oh yeah, that, uh…"

"I mean, not even three days ago you were pretty reluctant about this whole shebang. What made you change your mind?"

"Uh, well...actually, I haven't really changed my mind on all this, but I just…" It took him a moment to formulate an answer that wasn't mostly stuttering. "...it doesn't really feel right for me to just sit on the sides and wait for the whole thing to blow over, y'know? These disasters just aren't the problems that can be waited out...if I'm really the chosen one like you all say and I do nothing, then that…"

"...would pretty much guilt-trip you for the rest of your life," Aurora replied.

"Yeah. Sort of. If I don't do anything to help, I'm putting my family in danger, my friends in danger, everyone, really...so if I'm the only one who can put a stop to all this, I guess I'll just have to do that?" He ran his claws through his hair, absentmindedly twirling the locks around them as he sighed under the weight of his newfound responsibility. "...I'm just not sure if I can do it alone, though."

Immediately, Aurora shot him a quizzical look. "Who said you were going to do it all alone?"

"Huh?"

"Heck, there's a reason why we're depending on your friends to buy our story to fly us into the next region. If you think you're all alone in this, you may want to think again...besides, if you're responsible for saving the world, someone else needs to be responsible for saving your ass in turn," she said coolly, before realizing the implications of her last sentence. "Don't get any ideas, I'm tagging on because of moral responsibility and as your friend."

Fox mentally balked at the thought. He? Having a romantic relationship with her? How about no. "I wouldn't…well, noted."

Riiiinnng!

"Good," Aurora nodded, briefly glancing at the incessantly ringing school bell before making her way towards the stairway. "Do remember to tell Dracon about all this, and best of luck convincing him. We'll meet up after school."

"...Alright then." Hastily, he grabbed his things and followed her up the stairs, plotting how in the world he would persuade his friend to get in on his plan and hopefully not think that he was slightly insane.


Convincing the Charizard to meet up with Aurora using the vaguest reasons possible was successful, somehow. He'd leave most of the explaining to her, because a lore ramble coming from him would probably not end well.

"Alright, Aurora, this is Dracon," he introduced, noting her looking his friend up and down with a raised eyebrow. "And Dracon, this is Aurora."

"Why thank you, Fox. Nice to meet you," Dracon started, offering a hand to shake. "Fox said you wanted to speak with me about some stone...what's that about, if I may ask?"

"Nice to meet you too...about that. We need your help on something," Aurora replied, taking his outstretched hand.

"On what, exactly?"

"Fox, show him the dreamscape stone."

"...The dreamscape what now?" The Charizard's brows furrowed harder as Fox pulled out the vibrantly glowing rock from his pocket, its brightness practically making a mockery of the sunlight filtering in through the trees. "...hold on, WHAT. Isn't that supposed to be a myth?"

"Was supposed to, yes, until Fox found...wait, you know about the Stasis Prophecy?"

"Ma read me the fairytales when I was a kid, but that's supposed to be the stuff of legend!" Dracon exclaimed, nostrils flaring with thin streams of smoke. "I mean, sure, this fancy rock looks a lot like the thing in the stories, but it could always be a prop too, right?"

Fox shrugged. "Maybe, wanna try and break it and find out?"

"Are you two kidding me right now, this is a serious conversation," Aurora deadpanned, smacking a paw against her forehead. "Anyways, Fox has been having dreams lately that coincide far too perfectly with the recent disasters-"

"-I second this, had this really terrible one yesterday which made me throw up," the Zoroark added on, inwardly grimacing upon remembering the bitter taste of bile.

"-we did not need that detail, but anyways," the Glaceon continued, eyeing Fox with a hint of disgust, "he said that he saw both the Steel gemstone being stolen and the location of the next gemstone, which is probably somewhere underwater in Lyrin, in that dream. That's probably where the thief is heading next, and that's what we need your help for - to fly us over there so we can prevent the gemstone of water from being stolen too."

Dracon paused for a lengthy moment, staring at the glowing rock skeptically. "Hold on, I'm just...gonna need a while to process all of this...it's all too wicked strange to grasp. Fox, remember when you mentioned a dream a few days ago?"

When Fox didn't respond immediately, he shot him a particularly intense glare. "Don't tell me you don't remember that! You just blanked out on us like it was nothing!"

"Oh! Uh, yeah, that…" he winced and scratched his head, attempting to recall that dream through the slight haze of typical afternoon grogginess. "I think that one was about the ice gemstone being stolen, and then the location of the steel gemstone too?"

"And that coincided with all the ice melting," Aurora added. "And now look at this most recent dream coinciding with all the metal in the world just giving up on itself. If you think all these visions are baloney, then how do you explain this?"

"...Damn, you're right! I can't explain that," Dracon huffed, smoke billowing out of his nostrils. "But I can't help but be skeptical still - there's two wielders of the dreamscape in the legends, yeah? So this dreamscape stone chose Fox for whatever reason - where's the other one?"

"...uh, with the thief," Fox answered with some hesitation. "A midday Lycanroc, if I remember correctly…"

"So if what you're saying is true, we're going to have some fun times ahead with the second chosen," Dracon commented, tone dripping with sarcasm. "Joy."

"Yep, pretty much," Aurora let out something between a groan and a sigh. "So. Are you on board with our plans? We can't let the thief get away with the water gemstone and plunge everything into more chaos, but we can't stop him without your help. Will you fly us to Lyrin?"

"...I still think all of this is real crazy, but I'll trust whatever's in Fox's head for now, yeah?" The Charizard answered after a long pause. "And besides, I'm always happy to help out a friend. When are we leaving?"

Silence. Fox really hadn't thought about that, and to his dismay, apparently Aurora hadn't either, judging from her expectant look. "Well?"

"Wait, you're putting me in charge of this?"

"Well, you're the one with the visions." Okay, fair point by her, but why did that have to matter.

Luckily, today was Thursday, so they could probably get going in about a day or two… "Um. Okay, let's leave on Saturday night," he suggested. "Until then, we have both tomorrow and most of Saturday to buy supplies and...reasonable clothing, whatever that would be. That all good?"

Thankfully, his friends didn't seem to notice any holes in his plan. "Yeah…we're gonna be a whole exploration team, aren't we?" Dracon mused. "Off to save the world or something like that, haha."

"Heh, yeah...actually, that reminds me - you mind if you bring along your Mega Stone as well? Y'know, to just deter hostile Pokémon from fighting us?" Fox asked, receiving a nod from the Charizard in return.

Internally, Fox's mind was buzzing with anticipation. They would be flying to a whole new region to stop the big bad!...how would they stop that Lycanroc, though? Eh, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it…

"Oh yeah," Dracon piped up. "The legends never said anything about the dreamscape stone being breakable, and assuming we've got the real deal on hand...want to test it?"

Aurora gave them both the biggest eye roll Fox had ever seen. "No."

"You're no fun."


A/N:Freaking finally! My laptop decided to be an a, and decided to give up on life. Anyways normal schedule should be up, I hope.

Beta'd and Edited by Rockium