Pokémon Chronicles - Web of Lies

by Eric566

Three years after the disbandment and defeat of Team Uncario, the members of Team Star find themselves thrust back into stardom after a succesful mission in dealing with an unexpected menace. However, the fall of the last of the Dark Eons and this new achievement has stirred new enemies from the ends of the world, and re-ignited the fires of an empire best forgotten. Sequel to AHR.

6. Chapter 3 - Frostbite

And here we are, a whole month later! Sorry it took so long for me to publish this chapter guys, but Christmas is always a busy time of the year for me, as I usually put my family before a lot of things, including my studies. And speaking of that, right after the break my exams rolled around, so I had to focus on those as well, which kept me away from writing for far longer than I'd like to admit. But I've managed to find some time here and there these past two weeks and… well, here you go!

But before that, some reviews:

RuneTheLucario: I know right? Baby Riolus are the most adorable thing ever, and I can't wait to write more about them. And yeah, keeping secrets is never a good thing, but I won't spoil anything… except that I'm gonna give you guys looots of feels. Some good. Some bad.

Hjof: It's a Christmas miracle! (Or rather, WAS a Christmas miracle… you know what I mean). Vincent is a very enjoyable character to write, and sadly while he isn't the most legal, but he's as you said, the speaker of truth. No clue about his ability though, maybe you'll learn about it this chapter?

And who's to say they won't play a bigger role later on? We're still establishing some of the plot points from the previous fic and introducing characters, so the possibility of them returning, along with Dusknoir, is very high, don't you think? And Aiolos is damn cute, but I'm not gonna say anything about what the letters will spell out. You'll figure it out in due time.

WesternFail: It's just a normal day in the lives of team star: figuring out one of your friends is a chronic liar and has super powers, and then comes a guy you don't know telling you off about what is wrong or right when the guy just duped the entire restaurant. There's something pretty interesting with that whole exchange, and as I've said before, Vincent is a blast to write, so expect a bit more from him later down the line.

As for Aiolos… I'm glad to see that everyone liked it! I thought the reception for something to different to the main plot would be like "Ew, I don't like it", but I'm happy to see it's been a success!

(Also regarding your questions: no idea, no idea, no idea, no idea and no idea)

And now, without any further ado, enjoy my late new year's gift! My best wishes for you all in 2018, and enjoy the chapter!

Chapter 3

Frostbite

Press onward through the unrelenting cold, and claim your prize

"Aaaah…. aaaah…"

"Oh Arceus, here it comes again."

"Nox, I swear to god do-"

"AATCHOO!" A stream of fire spewed out from Nox's mouth three times in a row as he sneezed, scaring the living daylights out of Vincent, who was unfortunately in front of him at the time of the accident.

"Have you lost your sanity?! Control yourself and your cold!"

"I can't help it ya know?! I'd like to see you with a cold, see how much you can keep yourself from sneezing."

"Well, that probably has happened because you foolishly took off your sheets during the night. You may emit a lot of heat but your fur is extremely poor at retaining any of it."

"Shut up ice, I don't need your counselling on how I should live my life…"

"I mean so far you're doing a bang up job at it I think?" Lucy's teasing came in swift as ever, which annoyed Nox. She and Serge were the ones trying to alert the rest of his imminent outbursts, but they were getting mixed results. Sometimes he'd sneeze, others he'd stop at the last moment, and so nobody really knew it was going to happen. Normally, it wouldn't be an issue, but they'd left Cunabula early that morning and were heading up the moors towards the snowy mountains to the north.

"Well, it's only going to get colder from here on out… we should've gotten you some clothes, anything that could've helped you retain some heat."

"I'd rather be dead than wearing any pansy dress!"

"It doesn't have to be anything like that! Look at me." Eric showed the Nox his scarf, winter cap and the sweater he was wearing underneath the cloak he had. It was extremely good at retaining some heat, something his fur didn't particularly excel at either.

"Well, maybe Elly could've made me something?"

"I would've if you'd let me! But every time I try to take your measurements and numbers to make you something you're just cracking sex jokes! How am I supposed to work like that?!"

"They're only jokes they're not supposed to hurt you! The cold is! I feel I could die at any point!"

"Well… if that's the case, it's gonna get worse from here on out kiddo. Imagine being up there in the sky, how cold it is… well, it's gonna be something like that, but worst."

"Ugh… can't I just like, stay on top of you in your feathers or something?"

"Oh sure, and then Lucy wants to catch a ride, next is Zed and next thing I know I turn into a Zebstrika pulling a carriage of your fatasses."

"Hey! The only fatass here is Elly!" Lucy was quick to throw even more shade at someone else, if anything for the sake of humor, which Elly took… quite well.

"Oh you bitch! I thought we'd dropped that already!" Even though she had sweared, she did with a smile on her face…. but she had said a bad word still, and the others made sure she knew it with glances and chuckles. "What? It's obvious I didn't mean it."

"Meaning it or not, you're still going to put money into the swear jar when we get back. Nox and Serge didn't say anything… for a change." Everyone shared a good chuckle except for Vincent, who was… quite surprised by this development.

"You are all incredibly… lax. Is this normal, or are you simply staging it all to lure me into a false sense of security?" Jake, being the closest to him, took it upon himself to answer.

"Well, so far I'm afraid you've only seen our outer appearance. We must act in an official way in front of those we simply do not trust or we must intimidate. However, in reality… this is how we all interact on a personal level."

"I think Eric once put it very well… that we are sort of like… a big family." Vincent couldn't help but chuckle at Zed's words.

"He said that? My, I didn't take him for a romantic."

"But there is truth in that statement: our bickering, our lifestyles and our relationships are similar to those of families… it's just that we lack the blood ties between us."

"Besides… they always say that family aren't the pokémon you're related to, but rather the pokémon that make you happy and enjoy life." Everyone fell silent while Zed said this, and he ended up being the only one talking, which made him embarrassed and immediately look at the grass. It seemed that his words had rung true with many of the pokémon there, including Vincent, who thought about them long and hard.

"Family, eh? Hmmm… Well, I do suppose that's true. It has been a terribly long time since I last saw my family, but I was certainly blessed to have those two realities coexist in my case."

"Ooooh, privileged." He could not tell whether or not Lucy was mocking him with that statement.

"Actually, come to think of it, where are you from, Vincent?" Serge decided to continue that line of conversation, hopeful that they could learn something more about their new temporal companion.

"Didn't I tell you all during yesterday's dinner?"

"Maybe… unfortunately some of us don't hold our interactions with you with the fondest of memories." Eric's words were an indicator that he hadn't completely forgiven the Roselia… which Vincent honestly had expected at that point.

"So resentful… but I suppose it couldn't hurt to speak for a bit, perhaps restart this entire relationship, bury the hatchet and all of that. But I digress: I hail from this very region, Kanto, to the south, the border between Kanto and Johto."

"Oh wow, really? I thought that area was…"

"Mostly a wreckage? My, you're reading some antiquated history books! Some places are very ill fitted for life sure, where there is next to no basic infrastructure… but there are some cities where pokémon thrive and live. I was fortunate enough to be born in the latter. Still, the conditions in the lower areas is nowhere as bad as it is in Hoenn."

"Alright, let's NOT get political today… or I'll sneeze on your ass."

"Now now, there's no need to be so touchy! I was only saying that so that you had a better understanding of the area, that is all! I am sorry if I seemingly touched on a raw nerve." He cleared his throat and returned to the original topic. "The area is war torn still, even if it has been almost fifty years since the final truce and peace treaty between Johto and Kanto. And Johto has more pressing issues as it stands with the separatist movements off to the left."

"Well I mean, Johto IS the largest region in the world, followed by Kanto, then Sinnoh, Unova and then Hoenn. And Johto is like… twice as big as Kanto." Thanks to his bird's eye view, Serge could attest to what the Riolu said, nodding with his words, the Roselia joining them.

"It's surprising how much belief in Arceus' return has united the region when you think about it… but thankfully we don't have to go anywhere near there. Last thing I need is for some more religious creeps to start breathing down my neck." Eric cocked his head to look at Elly, but knew that the conversation about the differences between devotion and radicalism weren't on her mind. Besides, she was right to say that if they knew the truth of who she was, radicals or not they'd probably make quite the fuss.

"Perhaps so… but maybe we shouldn't look a gift ponyta in the mouth and calmly accept the peace that has been brought about during the last half of the century, don't you think? And besides, perhaps the armed conflict has stopped, but there is an on-going political and economic battle… but once again, I do believe I am falling back into politics that regrettably involve Hoenn."

"Damn right they do. I'm not gonna let ya talk trash about Hoenn dude, that's just fucked up." Out of everyone in the team, during their recent stay in the fragmented region, he'd been affected the most by all they'd seen and the extremists they'd interrogated. Never crossing over to torture methods, of course, but he'd been shocked at what they said constantly and the state in the which the pokémon in Hoenn lived. He shook his head as his mind drifted off to that, trying to keep his mind off of the fact that as far as their visit was concerned, they'd barely touched the tip of the iceberg. Vincent, on the other hand, also stopped, knowing that the fire type was capable and willing enough to burn him, if anything to teach him a lesson, and yet he was very intrigued by how he kept coming out to the defense of Hoenn.

Either way, the small talk continued for the next few minutes, followed by a long stretch of silence as they all focused on their own issues and thoughts. The landscape around them wasn't bare, but they could already see signs of the temperatures taking their toll on the area. For starters, they were yet to come across a single village or carriage, sign no doubt of the almost swamp like conditions of the moor. The grass below the feet was still very much green and lush, but little pearls of water tickled their feet as they walked. Eric decided to walk out of the path and simply breathed in and took in the landscape: patches of grass and water extended out below them, heading for a valley, whilst behind them the winding road ascended and snaked between hills, the air becoming colder and colder as they travelled. Behind those hills, the moor and the grass were slowly replaced by the naked rock, save for a few bushes and tiny trees.

"This is starting to remind me of home…" Lucy commented. The grassless hills were eerily reminiscent of the rocky area where her village was located, but of course it was much more different. Not only was the air there much more humid, it was also colder, the type of cold that seeped through their skin and to their bones, making some shiver where they stood, and Nox's sneezes only got worse and worse. An hour of similar looking landscape passed as they went up and down roads in the mountains, only exchanging a few words to point out weak rocks or exclamations when someone almost tripped and fell, triggering some laughter from the others. After a while, finally they saw the first signs of snow, tiny sparkling crystals lay on the ground in front of them, and slowly those grew into pure white mounds, the temperature dropping drastically.

"Brrrr! Arceus damned, it's freezing here!" Nox shouted, finding the cold almost unbearable, whilst Jake felt quite at home, the cold temperatures bringing a slight smile to his face. It wasn't often he could enjoy such temperatures, as living near the coast meant the water allowed for better retention of the heat.

"That probably means we're really close to the Lawin Everfrost…" Eric stopped as he was halfway through climbing a rocky area of the path, pointing upwards. "Probably past that cliff we'll be able to see the valley."

"The Lawin… Everfrost?" Zed inquired, unfamiliar with the name., continuing the climb after Eric, who made it to the top just as he finished speaking.

"I must say I have never been to this area before… thus I haven't heard that name being used to refer to this place. Might I ask wh-" Vincent was close behind Zed, and he fell silent once he reached the top, eyes widening, though his mouth didn't hang open in awe like the others when they saw what extended before them.

The path went further down the hill, which became much more dangerous the further down they went, down to an area where there was more green than the mountain they stood on. However, it was mostly moss, as the tundra extended to a crystalline lake, parted by an ancient wooden bridge just a few inches above the surface of the water. And just across, snow, few patches of green moss and bare black rocks were all they could see. The sky above them was clear, but near the mountains the clouds were a light gray, and they could see and feel tiny snowflakes flying around, gentle breezes of wind carrying a sharp cold nobody was prepared for asides from Serge, who'd been there before during his travels.

"Right… so the area is called the Lawin Everfrost, there we have Lake Tengu, and further beyond Lawin Valley between the mountains, where Akil is. The entire region is the Lawin Everfrost because quite literally, as the name suggests, this entire place is always frozen and cold, every time of the year." This news came as a bit of a shock to the group, though they were mostly absorbed by the beauty of the landscape and the fact they had to climb down the mountain they were on to get to the valley.

"I had read about this place in certain books and encyclopedias… although this entire area is located to the far north of the region, almost touching the great glaciers, the fact that snowfalls and frosts are extremely common in this area is highly abnormal… then again, during this time of year, the temperatures are so low that the water between the glaciers themselves and this peninsula freezes and allows one to walk across the ice. Rumors have it that Unova and Kanto were once connected like this, hence why there is pokémon life in Unova now."

"Huh… cool." Jake turned to look at Nox, who answered, and the fire type quickly defended himself. "I swear, that one wasn't intentional."

"Oh, of course it wasn't." The ice type wasn't too keen on those types of puns.

"Jake, you need to chill out… this is not a place t-" Eric soundly facepalmed as he said that, the echo spreading through the mountain and eliciting laughter from the others, whilst Elly stared at her mate, baffled and scared, asking what was wrong. "I swear, this place is going to be the end of me." He sighed and kept moving further down, leading the group through the safest route. Thankfully, nobody had fallen down, and even though the fall was nowhere near fatal, and the probability of such a large group being assaulted by bandits was next to none, breaking a leg or twisting an ankle was a bad way to start their trek to the village.

They stopped right next to the Lake's shore to eat. They didn't have to start a fire, since the light was good enough, but the cold forced them to stick together and share body heat.

"Well… if there's one thing that I like about this place it's the fact the food doesn't go to waste." The berries, albeit cold, were still ripe, even if they'd been picked and bought that very morning, and after a light snack and some time to relax and wander aimlessly, Eric, Elly and Serge packed up and called everyone back to the bridge to cross over and head into Lawin proper, the lake serving as some sort of natural boundary. Nox was sticking by the group, not keen on the idea of being isolated and freezing half to death, whilst Vincent lounged around the shore of the lake, Jake a few meters away from him up to his knees in the water, pondering and admiring the beauty around him.

"Well someone looks extremely happy to be here. Is this your home, per chance?" Vincent inquired as Jake returned to shore. The Sneasel didn't answer immediately, but once he was done drying his legs he shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. Coincidentally, this is the first time I have seen snow… well, that is not entirely true, but it is the first time I have seen such a landscape."

"Were you not born in a cold region?" Once again, his inquiry was met with a negative. "Where then?"

"I'm afraid that is a bit of a personal matter." His dry answer told Vincent there was no room for negotiation… but he wasn't about to give up.

"Hey, I told you lot where I was born and where I come from, but you guys have yet to open up to me. Wouldn't it be fair that I at least know why you're so passionate about this area? What harm can spreading this information do?" Jake wasn't trusting of the grass type, not at all… but he was right: it would be disrespectful to not return the favour, as they said, and he wasn't about to lower himself to his level.

"Well… if you must know I was born during the Time Freeze. As of now I am sixteen years of age, if you count the twenty years where time was frozen.

"Sixteen? Good grief, but you act as if you were-"

"Are you two coming or what?! Come on, we don't want to have to set up camp during the night! If we get caught by a blizzard before reaching the village we're boned!" Lucy managed to hold herself back, motioning with her head to the group that was already crossing the bridge, forcing the conversing bipeds to rush to their companions.

"Well… that comes as a surprise to me." Once they caught up, Vincent continued from where he left off.

"It surprises a lot of pokémon, yes… but please, do not ask me about my past or about the others. I am afraid that telling a semi-stranger the secrets of my companions would be incredibly disrespectful towards them." Though he stopped talking there, inside his mind he had to restrain himself to not say that some had outright kept their origins hidden, or mostly hidden at best. Vincent understood this and empathized with the sentiment, staying quiet as the wood creaked underneath them, making Nox look as if he was about to bolt for the other side, same as Lucy.

The two were walking almost side by side, sticking right up against each other and shooting looks of worry and fear at the water besides them, while the others watched this, somewhat amused. "Nox, stop pushing against me, you're gonna throw me into the water!"

"Wh-what?! You're the one pushing me! THe water here is shallow you aren't going to drown, so stop being so scared!"

"I'm not scared!"

"Yes you are!"

"No!"

"Yes!" Each time they pushed against the other as they spoke, almost as if trying to push the other inside, shouting and screaming the entire way, their bickering essentially getting on everyone's nerves… until Serge snapped.

"Alright, that's it, both of you are going into the drink." He advanced towards them menacingly, extending his wings, and the two pokémon panicked, bolting forward and tackling past Eric and Elly. Whilst the Eevee didn't move too much, Eric almost fell backwards and into the water, though was saved by Elly's opportune timing, grabbing his scarf with her psychic hold before he went any further… albeit he was in an awkward angle, his ears barely touching the water. He was also being strangled by her psychic hold, and what was initially quite a funny posture soon turned into quite a scare, as Elly pulled him back with haste once she realized this, her smile disappearing.

Meanwhile, the other two had made it across and were relaxing on the snow, which was melting underneath Nox's heat, chuckling at the entire sequence of events. "Yeah yeah, laugh it up… if that'd been you I would've let you two fall straight in, and then you deal with the cold and whatever it is you catch!" She wasn't happy that had happened, but they didn't care, the others chuckling too. Once they were across, they began to trudge through the snow. This time, Nox took the lead for one simple reason: his body heat essentially melted the snow as he moved through it, and made it easier for them to move, almost as if he made a path through it. It wasn't anything too serious, but the other quadrupeds were having some issues traversing, and Zed eventually had to get on Serge's head from how difficult getting through it was turning out to be.

"Geez… I'll let this one slide but you gotta man up a little Zed! Why not just… transform into something?"

"With this cold? No way… transforming takes a bit of concentration, and I'm literally freezing here." Sure enough, he was shaking like a leaf on Serge, even though his feathers were incredible at retaining the heat. Luckily, it didn't take them long to reach the valley they'd been speaking about, and though the cold got worse and worse and a light snowstorm started blowing their way, the setting sun shone through the snowflakes and gave them the visibility needed to spot the town, a few kilometers away from the mountain they stood on. Before them extended a vast snow white valley, not a spot of green asides from the tall, long pine trees having grown, covered in the same pure white powder, those dark signs of life visible only underneath this coat of white.

"Wow… this place looks incredible. There's a load of snow too." Elly voiced everyone's thoughts as they stared at the landscape, mesmerized by its serene beauty.

"I don't think this is normal here, even at this time of year." Jake was the one to point this out as they descended the side of the cliff and approached the bottom. They could see that the trees were actually somewhat buried under the snow. It wasn't until they got to the very bottom however, that they didn't realize the severity of the situation: at the bottom, a path had been dug from the base of the mountain all the way to the middle of the valley, the snow having progressively built up to being taller than Eric, only Serge being capable of peeking out. Not only that, but there were pokémon there, seemingly digging out that path, who were terribly shocked to see them. A Beartic gave a cry of alarm and the other pokémon, a couple Snorunt and a Glalie turned to face them, the piles of snow they'd been digging up falling to the ground.

"Halt! Travellers! Turn around this instant, this place is no longer safe! If you hurry, you may still be able to return to where you came!"

Eric, being the leader of the team, walked up and try to speak for them. "Calm down, we didn't come unprepared. We-"

"Didn't come unprepared you say? Bloody hell you're wearing nothing but a scarf yourself! That hat and that sweater will do you no good, and… is that a Houndour? For the love… are you trying to kill the poor sod or something?!"

"Actually, considering where we are I have my doubts." Nox decided to be funny at a pretty inconvenient time, but at least Vincent found that sentence amusing.

"Now's not the time… alright, let's get to the point: We are an exploration team, Team Star, and we've come here on special behalf of the ETF and its highest representative, Ferrus the Lucario, to try and help Akil survive through this abnormal cold." For a second, he saw the Beartic's eyes widen at the mention of the name Team Star, but once again, doubt settled in. Even after he showed him their official badge, the large ice type had his doubts and worries.

"Well… awfully nice for them to send some help, but… This ain't gonna cut it pal. We didn't ask for some itsy bitsy explorers, we asked for a full blown large operation."

"Well… We are as big as they have. Besides, a full team of seven highly trained pokémon should be more than enough to deal with anything you have, right?"

"Eight, Eric. I am afraid you didn't count me." Vincent took a few steps forward and gave Eric a coy smile before looking forward, using that fabricated smile he'd perfected. "Vincent, at your service." The Beartic looked at his hand, confused as to what he was offering, and even after the Roselia shook it again, he still didn't catch on to what he was supposed to do.

"Yeah well… if you ain't gonna do much with seven, eight isn't gonna be enough either now is it? We asked for like… fifty pokémon, maybe more."

"Fifty pokémon?! Are you outta your mind?!" Lucy's outburst was heard by all, and she got a few stern gazes from the teammates, muttering an unapologetic 'sorry' and looking away, mildly annoyed. It seemed that the Beartic hadn't taken offence to her words.

"Eh, honestly I don't blame ya… that's what they probably thought back there in Cunabula, so that's why they sent you guys… you ain't to blame, it's just those shit headed bureaucrats."

"Preach it, my friend." Once again, Vincent's words were received with scorn from the others but the Beartic. "But I digress, why is it that you want fifty pokémon? The threat here doesn't seem that real."

"Well, isn't it obvious? We're getting everyone out of here. Whole town's migrating somewhere warmer." The Beartic pointed at the sun above their heads, which was slowly setting. "You see that? That's the only thing keeping any of us alive. When it goes down, you're going to know what true cold is. And I do mean that in the worst possible way: ice types have already died from frostbite. It is that severe."

"You're kiddin' me." Nox's sank through the floor when the Beartic said that, now visibly scared while everyone turned to face the ice type in shock.

"Wish I were, kid. Now, are you gonna take my word and turn around, or are you lot gonna press your luck to try and help us?" The Beartic wore a grim look on his face, enough of a warning to dissuade any other pokémon… but of course, none of them were exactly normal, and the bear had noticed this from the very beginning. With a sigh, he conceded. "Right… well, come along now, we were planning on going back home anyways. It's dangerous to be outside this late, lest the blizzard catches you off guard or if there's an avalanche." He whistled to call the other pokémon's attention. "Aight boys, pack it up! This is all we can do!"

"Cross your fingers this works, we ain't have much time left Leon!"

"Think I don't know that? Get your asses in gear or you'll be frozen, nice work today everyone." The beartic, his name now known to the Team, ordered the voluntaries to go back home with their families, and none of them could really say no to such an offer. Leon took the lead as he lead the group through the pathway and to the village, the amount of snow gradually decreasing as they went deeper into the valley. The village before them was actually pretty expansive, many tall buildings, amongst them an observatory too, built right up against the cliff, overlooking the village, even if it constituted of one long main road with mirrored wooden buildings on either side. Each was of different sizes, and at the very end of the road the hills curved and descended to something beyond their sight.

"Over there are the glaciers. They are dangerous this time of year, even if the ice has settled and it's safe to walk on it, there are many areas where there is no water, and instead one can plummet to the darkness below the glaciers themselves."

"Wait, you're telling me that there's actual hollow space underneath the ice?" Serge, who'd been there in other occasions, had never noticed this… probably because he didn't go anywhere close to ground level if he could help it.

"Yeah, kinda like… another world. It's insanely cold down there, even an ice type has problems, so there is no reason to go there. Anyways, as you can plainly see…" Leon broadened his arms and invited them to inspect the village: the road was completely empty, doors were locked tight, some covered in snow too, smoke coming from each and every single one last of the houses. Not a child could be seen playing outside, even if the sun was still shining down. Elly thought that back home, in Treasure Town, it was the dead of night, but up there the sun was just setting, it's usual warm orange glow now feeling more distant than ever, making them dread the coming cold blue moonlight. The haunting sight was only accentuated by the falling snowflakes, tiny shards of what seemed glass refracting the light in front of the burning star.

"It's so… empty." Elly pointed out the obvious, but her words only accentuated the emptiness, echoing slightly.

"Everyone is waiting in their homes, preparing for the night. Consistently, every night for the past several months, that blizzard above their heads gets stronger and blows down on the valley, freezing everything and covering everything in snow. This is why we've been working extremely hard to make a clear path for us to lead everyone out of the valley without having them sink under the snow. At this rate though…" Leon definitely sounded somber as he lead the group to a large tall wooden building, which he explained was the hotel. "There's obviously no tourists staying here, so you will find it all empty. I recommend you stay in the main hall during the night, right next to the fireplace. And… do not, and I repeat, do not lose sight of your fire type friend."

Nox looked pretty scared right now, unsure of whether the Beartic was joking or not. "Wait, you still haven't answered any of our questions. Why is this happening and why do you want to evacuate the town now of all times? We're here to help you survive this by finding the source and eliminating it, not by taking you out of here." Eric finally found the time to speak up and explain what his team was there to do.

The ice type rose an eyebrow and looked at him, smirking. "You really don't have any idea of what you've gotten yourselves into, have you?" Nobody spoke back to Leon, which was enough of an answer for him.

"Right… well, I guess I should explain myself then. As you heard before, the name's Leon, and I'm the leader of the Snowtrackers, a group of voluntaries that banded together to try and fight back against the effects of the curse on this land."

"The… curse? Are you suggesting that there is an inexplicable force acting maliciously in this region?" Jake wasn't superstitious, but given the strange conditions these pokémon were living in… he was more acceptant of those types of explanations. The others simply listened, at this point buying anything the Beartic said.

"Curse indeed… see, it's a long tradition for us folks here in Akil. I'm far from being the eldest in the village, but traditions here are pretty important when it has anything to do with the gods of the mountains. You see, that peak above our heads…" He pointed at the twisting mass of snow above their heads, hovering above the highest peak of the ridge of mountains surrounding the valley. "That's the Howling Spire, and that's where the blizzards are coming from. At the top there's a shrine that's very sacred to us, the people of Akil, where we offer tribute to the gods of the mountains and the founder of this village and original discoverer of the region, Akil himself."

"Woah woah woah… please slow down, trying to wrap my head around the whole… you know… some angry god blowing cold wind down to this village to try and kill everyone. I mean… doesn't that sound kind of ridiculous? No offense." Lucy definitely didn't mean any offense, and Leon didn't take any, shaking his head.

"I know, don't worry… It is strange for anyone who doesn't belong to the village, but for us it was an extremely important event. Legend has it that when Akil came to the region, it was like you saw it: covered in ice and forever buried in snow. Because he thought it was inhospitable and believed true beauty waited underneath, he went up to the highest mountain, the closest he could get to the gods, and spoke to them. He pleaded they let the sun shine down in this barren region and let his people live there in peace. His wish was granted, but he was encased in ice and trapped forever at the top of the mountain, a seal protecting him from the outside world." The team had turned away to face the mountain itself, mesmerized by the tail and the myth surrounding it.

The peak itself was barely visible, merely a shadow, a twisted hook pointing sky high, parting through the storm clouding it, hail descending from it, transforming into snow which in turn covered the entire area in that infernal coat. Jake was the first to crouch and brush away the snow, and sure enough, deep down, dead green grass met him back, and in some patches it was still very much alive, showing that life persevered, as always. "That, is the beauty Akil saw in this land hundreds of years ago… But unfortunately, it seems nothing's made to last." He looked at the mountain now. "A few months ago, the temperatures suddenly dropped at the beginning of autumn, and ever since they've been descending. The cold has already claimed a couple of elderly pokémon and m- a child. They were caught off-guard by one of the first blizzards that swept the town… and after much mourning the night curfew was enforced, for everyone's safety, and the plan to evacuate the town was put in motion."

Once he'd finished his depressing tale and the others were up to speed, reality sank in: they'd been waiting for something much different than a small team of explorers, but that was exactly what they'd gotten… and at the same time, they'd been sent into an extremely dangerous area. There was no doubt in their minds that Ferrus hadn't actively sought to do them harm or kill them, but that was clearly an assignment they weren't ready for, at least with what these pokémon had in mind. "That is… We are deeply sorry to hear that, mister Leon."

"Please… I accepted long ago that it isn't the time to cry. It's the time to act. To make sure no one else goes through that, that no one else dies. That's what matters in the end. We will leave if we must, even if it pains us deeply to leave the lands our hero made for us. Now that you know what is happening, we should be on our respective ways: night time is almost here, I'll be praying you survive. There should be more than enough wood down in the basement. Food will be an issue however, as it's scarce enough as is."

"Oh yeah, regarding that…" HIs brief comment reminded Eric of their second request. "You notified that someone was stealing the food during the night? How do you think that's possible if it's impossible to walk around at night without running a severe risk of dying?" The Beartic crossed his arms and closed his eyes, glancing every so often at the sun, which was dangerously close to disappearing over the horizon the longer this conversation went on.

"Now, ain't that a tricky one… Yeah, it's true, someone's been stealing the food, but only me and a few of folks at the town hall know about that. Guess whoever wrote that letter included that detail in there. As far as I'm concerned though… that's the least of our worries, we're leaving tomorrow and we took most of the food somewhere else and have guards watching it constantly. So whoever wants to steal food now is gonna have a rough time doing so. Seriously though, we should cut this short, because the sun is almost gone. If we all survive, we can continue this tomorrow, alright?"

Considering the conditions they'd found the village in and how nervous he looked, they had no reason to think he was lying. On top of that, the blizzard was getting stronger and stronger by the minute, and the cold was starting to get to the rest, Nox scuttling up to Serge whilst he kept sneezing like crazy, melting the snow underneath them. "Yeah I think we should go somewhere warm, Nox might catch something bad at this rate."

"Yeah, you don't… Achoo! Say! What gave that away?!" He sneezed at least three more times while they said their farewells to Leon and headed into the building… or rather tried to, as when Jake attempted to open the doors they found only a light coat of snow and frost falling on him. "Oh come on! Don't tell me the thing's frozen solid! I'll burn this place to the fucking ground if I have to!"

"Geez, you're really cold…" He was trembling even more than Zed was, and Zed had probably the second thickest fur out of everyone. Jake attempted to open it again, but it would not budge, essentially a frozen block of wood blocking their way inside. Eric rolled his eyes and pushed Jake out of the way, putting his shoulder forward and banging on the door a few times until it finally gave, making him faceplant into the dusty wooden floor. This elicited a few chuckles from the group, relieving some stress from the task ahead as they headed in to shelter themselves from the cold.

---

"Aaaaah… this is actually pretty friggin' awesome." Nox couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief between sips of hot berry soup from his mug. Zed had found a pot in the kitchen area and some extra food and pastries, and so they'd decided to make themselves something warm. After ransacking most of the rooms in search of sheets and other things to cover themselves and conserve their warmth, the group had done as Leon had told them and bunched up around the fireplace. Nox was the closest to the source of heat, being the one sustaining it with his flames and covered in a layer of sheets. Serge was already snoring away, the comfort of the warmth proving to be too much for the sleep easy bird, while Zed, Lucy, Eric and Elly were hugged together with their respective mates underneath a thick blanket. The only ones still pacing around the room were Vincent and Jake, who glanced outside through the window.

"Arceus… they were not kidding when they said the snowstorms were brutal. I can't see anything outside." The only thing they could see outside was the stream of snow falling on their heads, the wind hitting the windows and making them tremble, almost as if the entire house itself shivered.

"No wonder they want to leave… I cannot see anyone surviving in such a harsh environment." Vincent leaned up against the fireplace, in front of Nox. "But it can't be just me who thinks this a bit too odd. Blizzards so cold they can actually kill ice types are something unheard of in this world."

"Well, it is a big place… but I have my doubts too yeah. Their biology shouldn't allow them to die like that." Zed's observation confused Lucy, who inquired on what he meant by that. "Think about it: ice types always seem to be so physically cold, right? But if they were cold blooded, then that'd mean they wouldn't be able to live out in the cold. So each species has some way to defend themselves from the cold, be it insulating fur or skin, like Jake's." The Sneasel nodded. "Or incredibly thick fur with fat, like Leon earlier, and to some extent feathers, like Serge."

"Huh, wha." He stirred to consciousness as he heard his own name being mentioned, slurping the drool from his beak. "What'd I miss. What?" The others chuckled at his reaction and Lucy looked at Zed in awe, nuzzling him.

"So smart!"

"Actually… that is rather basic information Lucy." Elly couldn't help but tease her friend a little bit, which ended with the Shinx sticking her tongue out at her.

"Well, I'm sorry I didn't receive an education."

"I taught myself mostly… I just read a whole lot of books and learned about pretty useful stuff. Maybe you should give it a try?"

"Naaah, that sounds boring! You know I like running around all over the place! Besides, I bet ya I know a couple of things you don't know about electricity, it's my specialty after all."

"And there's also the fact that if you didn't know how it worked you'd probably end up hurting yourself. Though to be honest… You probably figured all of that out through trial and error." Eric's theory seemed to hit the nail on the head, as her tongue turned to the Riolu, she scoffed and retreated deep into the recesses of her blanket, seemingly teasing the Zorua besides him as he let out a loud 'Yip!'.

"So you're self taught, Elly? That is quite an accomplishment, to be so cultured and intelligent only by reading books and literacy…" They could tell Vincent's stream of verbose was slowly approaching, and so she decided to stop him.

"Please, don't start twisting around your tongue so much. It gets annoying." His eyes widened as the others chuckled.

"Ooowned."

"What? Bu- Oh, fine then, I shall go straight to the point: were your parents unable to afford appropriate schooling?" The question dropped on her head like a bucket of cold water, and Eric glared at the grass type. That look was all he needed to know, as he fell silently after muttering a less than sincere apology.

"Alright alright people… let's stop that conversation right there before we go down a depressing road. Situation's already shitty enough, specially for us guys."

"Huh? Why?" Zed innocently asked, and Serge's smirk immediately made them all regret the Zorua had ever spoken up.

"Because whenever you go to the bathroom, you run the risk of getting a popsicle!" He burst into chuckles whilst the others either groaned or chuckled along.

"Arceus damn it Serge, that's disgusting." Even if Elly pointed this out, Eric was already chuckling along, getting the elbow from her.

"What? It's true! It's a real danger. You wouldn't know, you don't have to-"

"Ok, no I don't need to hear this right now. Please no." She covered her ears and folded them to the sides of her head, blushing.

"Oh come on what are you blushing about now?! You've already seen all I have to offer!"

"Eric stooop!" At this point the smile on the Riolu's face couldn't go wider as he pulled her into a hug and closer to him, making her scream as they fell backwards, rolling on the ground and becoming a cocoon in their bed sheets, everyone else looking at their interaction in a mix of amusement and confusion, whilst Lucy stuck her head out, made as if she gagged and then returned to her kingdom of warmth and fur. After a bit Elly's screams and complaints transformed into giggles as she got over it, the couple getting back to their original position.

"You guys done with all that? You are literally the corniest couple I've ever met, and I've met a ton of couples in my life." Serge's observation didn't face them, and instead they nuzzled together, ignoring his criticisms.

"Yeah well, at the very least they have a stable relationship. That is something you cannot boast about, now can you?" Jake's swift comeback made everyone wince or hiss, the Pidgeot shifting to face him and shooting a look of betrayal in his direction.

"Et tu, brute?" This made everyone laugh, including Jake, who recognized the reference. "Besides, you're one to talk about, you're still a virgin!" His observation was met with a strange look for Jake, making him lift his finger and then a frown… a combination that Serge hadn't predicted. "Wait a minute…" He stared at him for a longer time, narrowing his gaze to scrutinize every facet of Jake's face… "You son of a bitch!" He jumped up from his seat and immediately Jake attempted to silence him.

"You're misunderstanding! My private life is of no concern to you!"

"The hell it isn't! Boy do you know who I am?! You didn't even have to ask for me for help, and I'm supposed to be the wingman!"

"You a wingman?! You drive females away from you with the amount of testosterone you willfully emit!"

"Wait wait hold on, back up!" Everyone but Vincent had gotten up and looked at Jake, unsure of what was happening, and it was Nox that demanded they explain the situation better.

"This guy's already jumped someone else's bones! And I wasn't notified?!" The surprise spread through to everyone else… except for Vincent, who didn't know what in the world was so special about Jake being in a relationship.

"I don't have any need to notify you of what I do in my personal life! And besides… this is a very serious matter that I do not wish to share with anyone! You have misinterpreted my words and motions, and I shall make myself clear: I have not fornicated with any other pokémon on this world that I would love or desire." By then the damage was already done, and if they had learned anything from the Sneasel was that he was a terrible liar. They continued to press him for answers, trying to pry the answer from his lips… but something in his eyes convinced even Serge that this wasn't such a good idea. Still, the teasing was all in good fun, and Jake knew this… they had no way to know what had transpired.

"Come oooon, tell us the name of the lucky g-" Serge's question was interrupted by the sound of bricks and plans shifting snapped everyone from their stupor, looking around. "Did… did you guys hear that?" For a second, they all stood still and held their breaths… and there it was, again, even closer, the sound of something scratching against the bricks outside, this time far closer to the windows.

"Shitting hell… is that… someone outside?!" Nox's exclamations got Eric out of his shared cocoon of blankets and approached the door. Just getting a bit far from the fireplace was enough to make him shiver, the temperature dropping quickly to being far colder than what it'd been earlier that morning. He carefully leaned against the wall and looked over the wooden frame, trying to catch a glance of whoever was outside… but he could see nothing, the streets empty whilst the hail seemed to be their only companion that night.

"There's nobody out there." He stood up and double checked, looking both ways… and still nothing to be seen. He turned around and headed back to the group… when someone started slamming on the door, scaring the entire group. Vincent was the first to react adopting a fighting stance with a hand above his head, almost as if ready to lunge at whatever came through with an invisible weapon, and Eric's arms were already being charged up with aura, the others taking just a bit longer to snap out of their shock and prepare for whatever was going to happen… but eventually, the slamming stopped. The door stood still for a few seconds, and once again the scratching noises were heard, this time right up against the wall between the door and the window. Eric expected to see something or someone crawling against the wall, guiding themselves through the snow with only their sight. But instead he stared back at that white nothingness, until the sound finally disappeared.

The sensation of dread in the air lingered for a long time, during the which nobody made a sound, still coming down from the adrenaline rush those noises had put them through. Thoughts ran through their heads, wondering what it was that had transpired. The scratching noises could've been easily written off as the sound of the hail hitting the walls or something equally logical in a sense… but the way that door bent and was almost pushed out of its hinges made them shiver in discomfort. There was something or someone out there, during the time where essentially any living thing would curl up and die from the cold.

And it had tried to get to them to do Arceus knew what.

After a few more seconds, the air visibly relaxed, and the cozy warmth of the fire reached even Eric, who walked backwards to where he'd come. Chuckles and sighs of relief spread through the group, and Nox just burst into nervous laughter. "Dude, who in the fu-"

A gurgling screech echoed from the fireplace, a voice carried by that chilling wind as snow, hail, ice and that gust of freezing wind burst through the hole, extinguishing the fire in an instant as the sound of the snowstorm around the house intensified. They all turned to fireplace, but the wind was too strong, snow already piling up and threatening to bury an unaware Nox, spreading all over the room in the span of seconds. And the cold… Zed, Lucy and Nox opened their mouths to let out an exclamation, but they found their drool and mouth frozen solid the moment they opened them, closing their eyes to protect them from freezing too.

"This isn't a normal snowstorm… this is an attack!" Eric trudged through the snow as he said this, grabbing a chair and smashing it, trying to clear the fireplace of snow to start the fire again. He was also forced to close his eyes from the cold. "This is…" He couldn't use his aura to see either, unable to focus enough. The shouts from his teammates were barely audible by this point in his head, instead replaced by swearing or incoherent shouts as Elly joined Eric to try and start the fire, Elly using her black craft to try and block the entrance… but to her horror, the cold wind was too strong and blew even her magic away.

"I can't block it!" Eric was having more and more difficulties to hold the wood in his paws, and the moment it slipped out of his grasp and onto the snow… he noticed that he was already waist deep in it, and couldn't feel his lower half anymore…

"Bastard…. Who are you?!" He shouted in anger at the top of his lungs, a grave mistake as the air slipped into his body immediately…

"Serge!"

Jake's exclamation made everyone weakly look at the Pidgeot, standing on top of the snow… his left wing glowing intensely.

"Sare!" He swung his limb, and with it a strong gale washed over the room, the cold air retreating, as it seemingly condensed into a quadruped shape, semi-transparent before it retreated through the chimney again, leaving the room is complete darkness as the temperature rose and went back to normal. Eric breathed in and coughed, his mouth and throat incredibly dry, swallowing and breathing out to melt whatever was in his mouth still whilst he looked around, check to see if they were ok whilst Elly dashed to the fireplace, pushing the snow out of the way and repeating what Eric had done a few moments ago, generating friction with the stick to try and start up a fire to warm them up. She used this in conjunction with her pyrokinesis, and after a few seconds of intense focus a blazing fire erupted from the wood, spreading warmth rather quickly throughout the room.

"Is… everyone alright? Eric?" She was still very shaken from the sudden rush of adrenaline, but the Riolu coughed and spit a couple more times and gave her a thumbs up, saying he was alright.

"We are ok here…" Zed lifted the sheet and revealed himself and lucy, cuddling together and shaking. Jake got out from under the snow and nodded, and Vincent simply had to shake some snow off of his shoulders. However, Nox didn't answer, and the silence that followed the Roselia's motion made them uncomfortable.

"Hey! Nox! Are you alright?" Again, more silence. "Nox?" Lucy became panicked in two short sentences as Eric looked at the Houndour: he was lying on the snow, face down, and didn't seem to be moving. "Nox! This isn't funny! Nox! Nox!"

"Nox!" Eric reached for the Houndour and flipped him onto his back, putting him as close to the fire as he could. He was much colder than usual, but could still feel warmth from him.

"Kiddo!"

"He's alright, he's just… fainted." Vincent walked over to them and gently pushed Eric away.

"Allow me." Zed looked at the grass type and slipped out from underneath the sheet, going over, having some medical knowledge himself. "Hmmm… his temperature has dropped considerably. Keep him as close to the fire as possible and bring some blankets, we must warm him." Zed nodded, reaching the same conclusion and the two headed to gather sheets and blankets, quickly bringing them over to the like warm Houndour, who Eric was keeping near the fire source, throwing the cloths over him.

"I'll go get whatever leftovers there were from dinner and I'll warm them."

"Yes, that'll do wonders for him. Hurry." Zed left briefly only to come back with a pot, holding it over the fireplace, which was already melting the snow that was still around them. Elly, Lucy and Eric were nervous, as the Riolu kept checking the Houndour's pulse and temperature level with his paws, comparing it with his own, whilst the females did their best to push the snow out of the way so it wouldn't bother anyone. Eventually, Nox hummed and groaned as he came back to consciousness. "There he is!"

"Wah… what happened…" He started shaking, the coldest he'd ever been. His muscles could barely move besides from the shivering, and his throat was still dry. Eric carefully got him to sit up, talking him through the whole process to calm the Houndour and handed him a cup of the warm berry stew they'd had for dinner. Albeit he ended up coughing up the first chug, the fire type took down the rest of the cup eagerly, feeling the hot stew washing his insides and reigniting his fires. "Hoooo! That hit the spot!" He was mostly back to his usual self… albeit still shaking and incapable of doing much other than shaking.

"Yeah well, you won't be feeling so hot if you don't lay down and rest for a while… so do just that and warm up. You're in the clear." Zed's reassurance made the Houndour calm down, the Zorua looking extremely confident in his diagnosis.

"Oh thank fuck for that." Serge, who'd been pacing back and forth and holding his left wing this entire time, finally approached the group. He crouched besides Nox, a weary smile on his face. "You're gonna be alright kiddo. Snowstorm won't be slipping into this house anytime soon."

"Heh… thanks… Cool moves dude. Blowing away that… blizzard." Nox pointing that out brought back that little detail to everyone's mind, making Serge bit his tongue and turn to Jake, who merely shook his head.

"Well… that's something I'd been meaning to tell you guys for a long time… just didn't know when to do it." It wasn't entirely true… but he wasn't lying either. But Eric didn't know that, so it didn't come to a surprise to anyone when the Riolu stood up, looking rather angry.

"Tell us what?" The dry delivery of his question let Serge know that he had no wiggle room left in that conversation. So instead of prolonging the situation any further, he simply sighed and started pushing his feathers up and down, trying to make it so the flesh underneath was visible… and there, beneath the multi colored feathers, were black drawings and markings. They didn't need to see the entire thing to tell what was underneath. Eric only had to check the back of his paw and look back at Serge's wing: the emblem of the wind on his paw and the one on his wing were a perfect match. "...Since when have you…"

"Since I was fifteen. I… Don't remember how it happened. I just remember flying around one day a bit too close to the ground, saw something shiny and decided to check it out… next thing I knew I was a Pidgeot and I had those markings."

"You evolved because of a fragment and gained its power… and all this time, through all that's happened and the many, and I do mean many situations we've come across, not once did you think on telling us about it, let alone use those powers?!"

"I've been using them all this time, you know? How else do you think I get to fly and carry your asses so smoothly through the air? When you're so high up the wind currents are insane, and it's dangerous enough flying alone, let along with passengers on your back. Plus, the air's thin, and you'd lose consciousness if I wasn't constantly tinkering with it." The Pidgeot stepped towards the Riolu, towering above him. "Every time we've sailed and gone somewhere by ship? The wind was always blowing in our favour, so you know which mother fucker you have to thank for all that. And let's not forget that one time I pulled Elly out of that lab and fought off the pokémon chasing us."

"Still doesn't excuse you withholding all of that information from us! Why?! Why'd you do it? Why didn't you tell us from the get go?"

"Oh, you want me to walk up to you guys and say 'Hey, you know how the bad guys got all their powers? Well a couple years ago, the same thing just happened to me, but I have no memories of it!". Like, come on do you honestly think you would've believed me back then? You wouldn't have believed me if I told you yesterday, now would you?"

"If there's anyone we can blame for that then it's you! You're the one who keeps hiding stuff from us and keeps lying about the simplest things! How are we supposed to deposit our trust in you if at every turn we find out you've been keeping like this from us?!"

"There's no reason to hide these things from us anymore Serge… we're supposed to be a team! We're supposed to work together!" Elly's words rang true with the others, who nodded and looked at the Pidgeot, who wanted to open his beak to say something… but instead they were cut off by the sound of Vincent's laughter, who cackled from the other end of the room. He'd sat on a chair and pulled some blankets over him.

"What's so funny?" Eric's aggressive tone didn't do anything to calm the grass type.

"This! All of this!" He kept clapping. "Absolute. Hilarity. Seriously, this team is the biggest joke I've ever seen: The leaders are oblivious of what is happening with their team mates, most of which are blatant liars or simply too inexperienced to be of any real use! And you are supposed to be the guys that stopped Blake and Team Uncario? He must've been a real pushover then, because if he went down to guys like you th-"

"You better shut the fuck up you damn freeloader! What have you done so far that's proven to be of any help to us?! I didn't see you risking yourself trying to start a fire and fight the cold when we were being attacked!"

"Because I was too far away from the fire and I had to protect myself from the cold! Had I not done that I would've ended up like Nox… or far worse! I do not exactly have anything to protect myself from the cold biologically speaking! But that is beside the point: this is the reason why I prefer to act alone: unreliable partners like yourselves only drag me down, and could get us killed in critical moments… like what happened just now. Had Serge opted to keep his own abilities a secret, we would've most likely died. Let that sink in." Eric wasn't listening to him anymore, feeling only contempt and anger towards the grass type, but the others did find his words to be true.

"I digress however… The fact of the matter is that we were just attacked by a seemingly invisible enemy, and…" He pointed to the window of the hotel that Eric had tried to spy through earlier. "They seem to have left a message for us." The group turned to face the window, barely visible with the dim light of the fireplace, but if one looked hard enough they could make out a sentence written on the windows from the outside, as if someone had spelled every letter out by rubbing the frost off of the window.

"WE ARE WAITING FOR YOU"

"Well… that's fucking ominous." Lucy's observation earned a chuckle from Serge.

"You don't say… Seems like whoever "we" is, knows us well enough to try and kill us the first night we're here, which means…"

"That Ferrus might've been right to say there was a fragment here. Don't think we're done talking about this Serge. The moment we have some free time we'll be discussing your approach to try and earn our trust, understood?" The Pidgeot nodded when the stern Riolu threatened him like that. "Alright… for now, we should try and get some rest. We'll take turns overnight to stand guard and make sure that doesn't catch us off-guard again."

"You kidding me? I'm not gonna be able to get any shut eye after that unless we close the chimney and every other hole in this house." The rest of the group felt the same way as the Shinx, but they could also feel their eyelids growing heavy. From that moment onward, they had very little time to rest and recover their energy before… whatever it was that threatened to kill them came back to try and finish the job. They all wrapped themselves up in blankets as best they could and tried to get some sleep, Eric opting to be the one to stay awake to tend the fire.

The minutes passed and nothing happened, the Riolu's only company and solace in the night being the crackling fire in front of him. He watched the flames dance, licking away at the wood they were consuming, tearing it into ashes. He tossed some twigs and another log into the fire, feeding it further as it convulsed and grew, almost happy to have gotten some more sustenance. He then glanced at everyone else, his eyes resting on his mate, sleeping right besides him, reaching for her cheek and caressing her. In her sleep, Elly pushed and purred against his paw, caressing her ear tenderly. He then looked at Zed and Lucy, who were curled up together underneath their blanket, Nox laying on at the other side of the fireplace from where they were.

Jake was a bit further away, sitting on a chair with his arms crossed and covered by a blanket. Serge was further away, his back turned to the group, and Vincent was behind Nox, laying on his side and facing away from the others. The grass type's words echoed in his head, taking a deep breath to calm himself down., then glanced at the others. Sure, they weren't a perfect team, but… him saying that was just pure nonsense. He didn't know what they'd gone through and what had happened, and therefore didn't know jack about the team's cohesion. He sighed, and once again turned to look at the window, reading the now faded threat for the eleventh time, and once again, that visceral gut feeling that something bad was about to happen shook his body, looking beyond the window and at the snowstorm… where for a split second, he could've sworn he spotted a maddened smirk beneath a pair of cold blue eyes.

---

Far away from that mountain, and in a completely different region, buried deep beneath crimson sand, a hollowed city awaited in silence. Torches and other sources of light were scattered about, and pokémon stood guard and chatted amicably as yet another day of work began. The excavation was going great, and the amount of relics and technology that they'd recovered exceeded even their wildest expectations. The pokémon that was the most excited for this was a Slowking, who kept eyeing and inspecting every bit of scrap and stone that his fellow archeologists found interesting.

"Hey, Slew!" The psychic type looked up to stare at his most trusted aid down in those ruins: a Sigilyph called Rubert, carrying a bag behind him with his psychic powers, laying it on the table and undying the rope. Metal and rocks slipped out, along with other gadgets that they couldn't recognize. "Look at all of this! The boys just fished up all this stuff from the chasm, I'm telling you we ought to go down there, that's where the good stuff is!" Slew picked up one of the gadgets, a rectangular metal box with glass on it. It was shattered and completely useless, but he analyzed it anyways, hoping that by some miracle it would just magically turn on. Alas, it didn't, and it joined the ever larger pile of gadgets that had been broken through the passage of time.

"And I keep telling you, going down there without being sure the whole place won't fall on our heads isn't a good idea. Give it time, Rubert, this isn't a race to see who will uncover the next miraculous technological advancement."

"Yeah, I know… but man, every time we got into one of those buildings it's like winnin' the lottery! Sure, there's the occasional carcass, but then there's shiny artifacts and even some jewels! And the loot gets specially good wh-"

"What did I say about looting the corpses?"

"Dude… they've been here for like, millions of years, all that's left are a couple tatters and maybe if we're lucky a bone or a skull. Don't worry, we're conserving those as best we can so they can be exposed later at a museum. Must say, those humans were pretty uniquely built… bland, but unique. Besides, can't help it, we all have families to feed here, and considering how bad things are looking, wouldn't hurt to keep one or two earrings locked away at home."

"You think war's gonna break out?" Slew looked up, raising an eyebrow. The Sigilyph shrugged with its wings.

"Dunno man, been hearing stuff in the streets… About those terrorists and what they want out of all of this… It doesn't sound too good. It's only rumors though… and personally I don't give a Ratatta's ass. I just want to be able to afford the food my family needs to survive. War between two regions wouldn't affect people like us right? It'd all be between armies and shit."

Slew gave him a troubled look, but he couldn't say no to his reasoning. "Well, that's none of our business right now… excellent job, keep it up and we will probably get enough funding to get our people. And maybe then we'll be able to organize that expedition to the depths of the crevasse. Deal?"

"Of course it's a deal, you're the boss here man." And with that and a smile, Rubert walked out. "Alright boys, lunch break! You've earned it!" The pokémon all gradually stopped working, checked all the tools were safe and secure with ropes and then walked away from the edge of the large crack that divided that human city. A wooden bridge had been carefully made with ropes, secured to ensure it didn't snap all of a sudden, and on the other side the other expedition group did the same, some opting to approach the lake where one of the time gears had formerly been located. The sand had collapsed around that area, so now the sun came into the strange cave and gave them an idea of what time it was outside. The scaffolding and the ramps that they'd built had transformed that large maw in the middle of the desert into the de facto entry point for the archeologists. Much less treacherous than the route a certain Riolu had taken years ago.

However, one of the pokémon, an Excadrill, in his hastiness, forgot to tie his chisel properly, and as such when he got up and kicked the rope the tool slid across the ground and over the edge, which made him swear loudly and triggered laughter from his companions, and a shout of annoyance from Rubert. "That's the third chisel this week! What is it with you people and not taking care of your tools!" More laughter echoed in the settlement as the discussion went on, the sound of the chisel bumping and falling on ledges and rocks being lost in the infinite dark void of that ridge.

However, for as much as it seemed to have no end, it wasn't bottomless, and when the chisel slammed down into the ground at the bottom it did so at the feet of a cloaked figure, which looked up purely on instinct. Only darkness greeted it, and as such it visibly relaxed immediately.

"Why don't we just kill them? We can get what we want and be done with this place."

"And attract the attention of the authorities? We must be discreet now, calm your blood lust. And besides, they are harmless, and you heard what they said: some could prove to be useful assets if we talked to them."

"Blah blah blah. Less talking, more action." The voice went silent after that, which was usually for the better, and the figure proceeded further down into the earth, approaching the ruins of a once tall skyscraper. Rusted billboards and colorless advertisements littered the ground, the ruins of a civilization that was perhaps too absorbed in their own self-gain to realize that their time was running short.

"Just like that other world I suppose… humans are vain by nature. And so are pokémon. Really, we weren't so different, bar a few notable exceptions." They were essentially talking with themselves at this point, as the voice didn't reply. They finally reached their destination as they slipped through the cracks in the walls and went further into the ruins.

"Ya think this time they'll wake up?" The voice finally asked this as they came up to a long glass tube, covered in a thick layer of dust and rubble. There were others beside it, broken and with the rotting corpses of pokémon and humans inside. But this one… the one he wiped clean to reveal that haunting blue glow from within… it was working.

"I have my doubts… but we must ensure they at least survive to ensure our plan is a success… They are the legacy of a race long extinct." The Pursuer closed its eyes and focused. "And we cannot let it go to waste."

---

"That's pretty ominous." Leon repeated their own opinions from the night prior as he read the message that had been left on their window. Nothing else had happened and the night had transpired with relative normality until the Beartic went to check on them. Only then did they walk outside and check the door: there were numerous scratch and claw marks on it, and they found some splinters buried underneath the snow. "So, you're saying that there's someone up on that mountain blowing all of this snow and trying to kill us… and that the moment you guys came to this town they somehow recognized you and came downtown to try and finish you off personally?" They nodded in unison, and the Beartic placed his hands on his hips. "You guys keeping something from me?"

"We already told you: we are the legitimate Team Star, so the probability of it being a dangerous pokémon that recognized us and is afraid we'll stop them is very high." Eric soothed the Beartic's worries, trying to make sure there was no relation between them and the snowstorms.

"Right. Well, if that's the case, then that means there's a way to stop all of this… unless it's the gods themselves, in which case I wouldn't understand why you somehow have a chance of stopping them. Are you gonna go up there?"

"Well… they're waiting for us, aren't they? Shouldn't keep 'em. We've got ways to keep ourselves from dying from the cold, so it's a matter of getting up there… and beating the shit outta those bastards!" Nox's impetuous nature came through, intensified ever since he'd almost died from frostbite earlier that night.

"Well… good luck then. Well be evacuating the town either way. It's not that we don't have any faith in you guys… but better safe than sorry, right?"

"I cannot really blame you for thinking like that, my friend. We are not infallible…" The entire Team glared at Vincent when he said that, but he paid no mind to their reaction. "So it is a good idea. We shall cover your retreat as best as possible. Should we succeed in our mission, where shall we find you?"

"Across from the lake. The snowstorm doesn't reach that far, but we may go even further should anything happen." The group nodded, and it seemed that they had nothing else to discuss with Leon. There were more pokémon on the streets that morning, but none of them greeted them or said much. Everyone was focused on grabbing what little they had and stuffing it into convenient bags so they could escape the valley. The sight of those pokémon being forced out of their homes by forces they couldn't fight back against was heartbreaking, and even the children knew that the road ahead would be rough. Even if they did manage to escape, whether or not they'd be properly received in another city like Cunabula was yet to be seen.

"Right… well, we won't fail. Your people won't be going anywhere today Leon." Eric's words didn't do much to convince the Beartic… but he still smiled and nodded.

"Good luck then. I get the feeling you're gonna need it." And with that, the massive ice type walked off to meet up with another Beartic, embracing them and walking off to their own house.

"Well… let's get going people." The team's leader looked at the climb that was waiting for them and started walking, heading for the village's entrance and out of it. As they'd predicted, the path they'd taken the last day was completely buried in snow, though wooden pegs stuck out from underneath, marking the relatively safe route that they could follow to either climb up the peak or leave the village. At that point in time however, they only had one option, and that was to confront whoever it was up on that mountain waiting for them.

"I'm so sick and tired of all this snow and cold… Brr!" Nox was now better equipped than he'd been the previous days, wearing a cloak designed for quadrupeds, a winter cap, a scarf and paw pads that basically insulated his body, retaining the heat he emitted and keeping the cold out. The same could be said for essentially everyone on the team: they were wearing either cloaks or other accessories to protect them from the cold, but unfortunately they hampered their mobility.

Still, as they ascended the mountain, the paths got narrower and narrower, and soon the village itself was just as small as when they'd first seen it from over the other ridges. They also saw pokémon slowly walking out of the village and heading through the valley at a crawling pace, no doubt the villagers trying to make their escape from the mountain. The sun was already at its highest, so from that moment onward the temperature would only lower. Even so, the complaints about the temperature and the cold only increased in frequency as they ascended. "If we really are about to run into a fight, then don't worry: you're going to be heating up really soon. Mind your step." Jake's warning came a bit too late, as the snow gave out beneath Nox and he face planted into it, melting it all and threatening to soak his clothes.

"Arceus damn it." Usually the little incident would've been met with some chuckling or smart comment, but things were tense that morning. Silence was their only companion as they all followed the Riolu leading them, all of them absorbed in their own thoughts and isolated from the rest. It seemed that yesterday's conversation still lingered in their heads, and the words they'd uttered were sinking in at the worst possible time. Elly was clearly affected by all of this, and kept glancing at her best friend constantly, trying to discern something from her concerned gaze.

"Something on your mind?" She slowed down moderately to try and walk besides her, Zed instinctively walking ahead to join Eric. The Shinx didn't answer immediately, instead glancing at the Eevee.

"Eh, nothing important."

"From the look on your face, I'd say otherwise."

"Meh." She was keeping her answers as short and basic as possible, trying to convince the Eevee that she wasn't in the mood for talking. But Elly didn't budge and tried to press her a bit more.

"Come on, Lucy, you can tell me! I promise I won't tell anyone, especially Nox, if that's what concerns you." She tried to smile for her friend, but that gesture quickly faded when Lucy rebounded, clearly annoyed.

"I told you I'm alright and I'm alright, ok?! I've got a lot on my mind right now, but it doesn't have anything to do with the team, you, Zed or whatever, ok? It's just… dumb. It's a dumb worry I have, and it's so stupid I know you'd laugh at me if you knew, so… just leave me alone, alright?" The fact she was repeating herself so often was all the indication Elly needed to back away. There was something on her mind, and it wasn't anything dumb, but Elly didn't want to try her luck and have the Shinx tell her off in a coarser way, so she backed away, slightly wounded.

Meanwhile, Eric and Zed simply walked together, side by side, without uttering a word, much like their respective mates. However, being in the lead, they were the first ones to feel the chilling breeze around them suddenly shift into a strong gust of wind, which evolved into a raging gale as it dragged snow right onto their heads: the storm was coming and it didn't waste time completely enveloping and covering them. They all crouched down and tried to protect themselves from the cold. "It's here! Serge, you know what to do!"

"On it!" The Pidgeot had already been mentally preparing himself for this, and quickly stood up, stretched his wing out and repeated the same motions from the other night, though this time there wasn't any need for him to shout. Instead, the snowstorm halted, the wind dying right at that instant, which allowed them to look around and check on the effects of Serge's ability. For one, the storm hadn't subsided, in fact, it was still raging around them, but the entire area around them was completely clear of snow.

"What in the world… Is this what you did yesterday?" Elly's inquiry was met with a nod. It wasn't a perfect sphere, but there were ten meters of clear air and sky around and above them. Snowflakes slipped into the circle every so often, falling down at a crawling pace. So slow in fact, that one could easily assume they weren't moving at all, suspended in the air indefinitely.

"Yeah. Ever since that accident I've been able to tell the wind what I want it to do. It's… weird, and hard to explain. I'm just thinking with all my strength and focusing on the idea that the wind can't blow in the area around us, and… it's working, almost as if it was part of me. I can feel the pressure of the snowstorm outside of the circle too. It's like flying through the air: the gusts are almost as strong, if not stronger than then, so I'll be able to keep this up for a long time, I've gotten used to it."

"I guess the closest thing I have to that would be my psychic powers… I can understand the whole feeling aspect of it. It's not a part of your body and yet it's there, that invisible pressure on your head… it's that why you get migraines sometimes?"

"Yeah, but… that only happens when I'm actively messing with the wind a lot, like to make a certain space have a really strong gust of wind for just a moment to make myself faster and attack… that's what usually gives me a headache. I guess stopping the wind is a bit easier on the head than commanding it and make it do your bidding, especially when it's crazy shit that it doesn't normally do."

"Maybe keep the chit chat about your powers for later Serge… For now, focus on keeping this snowstorm away from us. Can you increase the range further?" Eric felt that they had others worries, and the group immediately dropped the conversation.

"Yeah, but at that point it's going to strain me, and even then if I want to keep this up I need to focus, so forget about me participating in a fight. It's a radial thing: it only takes effect around me, I can't make it so it stays on you guys while I go off do my thing."

"Well… I guess you'll have to stay grounded with us then. Alas you shall be fine, I will be right by you to ensure this protection is constant." Vincent got closer to Serge, same with Nox, the two promising to guard the Pidgeot under these new conditions. Once it was all set, they continued to hike up the mountain. Their visibility was rather reduced, as they only have ten meters of visibility before everything became fuzzy and white. Even so, it wasn't completely opaque, so they could make out whenever they were heading for a cliff or a rock. The snow piles became much larger and exhausting to trudge through however, and so their progress slowed down.

Thankfully, they could still look up at the sky and easily tell the time, and though they didn't know it yet, they were extremely close to the peak. It wasn't until they saw the snow curving downwards all around them except their front that they assumed they'd reached the peak. The snowstorm subsided slightly, which confirmed their theories: Howling Spire, that twisted hook-like peak was right in front of them, and at the base of it was a black hole, which they assumed was the entrance to the shrine Leon had mentioned to them.

"Right… we're almost there, people, get ready." They all kept their eyes peeled as they took a few slow steps forward… until Serge gave a cry of alarm.

"I just felt something weird brush up against us. The blizzard is shifting out there, it's doing weird stuff… it's not a normal snowstorm." They all followed his gaze and focused on that spot… and this time, clear as day, they saw it: a mass of what seemed to be white smoke was shifting and staring right at them, that same pair of cold blue eyes that Eric had seen the night prior greeting them back. There were no other distinct features besides those two frozen sapphires, languidly hovering in the air, shifting and trying to burst through Serge's protection. However, it wasn't long before it caught on to what was happening and shot the Pidgeot a piercing look, which made a chill go down his spine.

The mass shifted and bunched up as it pushed against the invisible barrier, trying to get in and is twisted constantly. "What's it doing?!" Eric's question was answered soon enough, as a large icicle suddenly burst through the barrier, aimed directly at Serge's head, threatening to pierce it cleanly. Fortunately however, Vincent and Nox were ready for it: the Houndour shot a fireball at the shape, forcing it to retreat whilst Vincent stepped in between Serge and the ice and flicked his wrist. From his right palm, a blade of what seemed to be brown dried up leaves and green vine like materials that held it together burst out, and holding it like a rapier he took a swing at the icicle, hitting it away and effectively defending the Pidgeot.

He even struck a pose, looking rather proud to finally show his weapons… but everything was replaced by a look of panic as a gurgle of pain echoed from behind them. Elly, being the closest, immediately turned around. She saw many things happen simultaneously: she saw blood flying across the air and landing on her cheek, another cloud of white mist, similar to the other one quickly fading away into the blizzard… and Lucy fallen on her side with a blood coated icicle stuck on the ground besides her. Her eyes told it all: she didn't know what'd just happened, she couldn't understand what was happening. She just knew that everything hurt, her neck was cold, very cold, and she tried to scream, but couldn't, only the sound of the blood gurgling from her throat coming out

Instead, she only heard her friends cry out her name as her whole world faded to black. Her last thought before she fell unconscious was the letter she'd received a few days prior… and the last words she'd told her best friend.

Just leave me alone, alright?