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.

9. Chapter 6 - Ice

It's been long, hasn't it?

Let's get right into it.

Chapter 6

Ice

To use reason and logic above emotions and feelings,

in other words, to be cold

Soon, sooner than it could imagine, they'd be heading towards the Sanctuary. They had another fragment in their possession, after all, and they knew very well what that meant and what that could do to them. Their powers had grown great with the previous four, but the Sanctuary had far exceeded its use… or perhaps there was something else it could do. These were the thoughts and ideas that coursed through its mind as it approached the lone mound of earth standing in middle of an open field. The stars above and the moon didn't reach that place, too far away from the world, and yet laid bare before everyone's eyes. The gate too, was peculiar, a complex mechanism, fit for only a very specific group of people that would ever be privy to one of the best kept secrets of that world.

And yet, even those select few would never be able to understand the true extent of its nature as it placed a hand on the door, caressing it as it trailed around in order to find that one dent, pressing and then pulling outward. The rock slid out, revealing a much more complex pad, with the indentation of a five fingered hand. It stuck its hand in, and waited… waited…. the glow changed from a bright red to a gentle blue as the gate slowly opened, giving way to a hallway that went neither up or down, contrary to when they had explored the sanctuary. It walked inside, confident, as it knew there was nobody who could be watching. The place he was headed to was far beyond the sight of mortals.

The walls changed, from simple cut out rocks to smooth white marble, which looked extremely frail, and at the end was a door with the same pattern. Said door slid upward as he approached, revealing a dark room on the other side, the thick scent of eons passed hitting its nostrils all at once. It walked inside, regardless, the heavy layers of tingling dust brushing its feet and cape as it reached to the right, searching for one more set of keys on the wall. Pressing them in what seemed like an arbitrary order made more lines of light surge out from the top and reach the ceiling. The room was made out of the same white marble, the white energy lines flowing through it and illuminating the rest of the room. In the center, an altar rested, as long as a sarcophagus, but it knew it was empty.

Still, it had a different use. It looked around, and at the ten pillars spread across the room. Four of them gave off a weak hue of their respective color: purple, red, blue and light green, while the others remained inactive. It approached the center and wiped off the layer of dust once, twice… as many times as needed for that keyboard to appear. Once it was clear, it pressed a single key, the temple itself humming as the true core of the world came to life, lights appearing across the surface of the sarcophagus. Walls of text and reports scrolled downward on holograms that appeared in front of it, pressing keys and entering rules and commands. It was familiar with the machine. After all it had been there when it was built.

It didn't take long to make a few changes. The wonders of magic and technology that lay in the circuits and crystals of that wonderful construct and their inner workings escaped even itself, as there had only been one creature capable of understanding them. What it knew however, was that when they returned to the Sanctuary to carry out their deed, they would find their experience to be much more different than the last time. And with its task done, it shut down the construct, the building once more returning to its languid dead state, returned to the entrance and pressed the same keys in reverse, the lights dying down as the room sank back into darkness, and finally the door slid down and closed as the figure left the room, sealing itself away from the world one more time.

---

"Hmmmm…" Nox stared intensely at Lucy.

"Hmmmmmmm!" She stared back at him over the chess board.

"Hmmmmhmmmhmmm!"

"Hmmmmmhmmmmhm!"

"Hmhmhmhmhm!"

"Can you two cease that noise." Jake was quick to end their strange exchange as he was pulled away from his book, only receiving a look of scorn from the two in response. "It is extremely hard to do anything other than respond to your idiocy when you are doing that."

"Oh come on, what's up your ass this morning ice?" The fire type was none too pleased with his treatment of the duo, who were facing off in a chess match which they had proclaimed "would go down in history", and so far, the only memorable moment in that whole match was when Lucy had properly used the Knights, only to lose one of them to Nox's rook and then go back to her nefarious ways.

"I will inform on both accounts: one, there is nothing inside my rectum, and two, the fact that a certain electric type, whose name I shall not mention should they attempt to retain their anonymity, has grown a certain habit of getting up extremely early in the morning just to spite me."

"The world doesn't turn around you, Jake! I get up early and go for a run daily, need to stay healthy and alert." Almost a week had passed since they'd gone back home, and Lucy had made a full recovery from the incident. The first few days had been extremely stressful however, as she had frequent nightmares and complained about her neck feeling cold. Elly's counseling and the comfort of her own mate helped her get over the latter and the subsequent stress, though the nightmares were still there.

"First of all, the world spins on itself through the center of gravity, Lucy, that I know, and second of all, I find it improbable that what you are doing is exercising, as you are always the first to complain when Eric starts the warming up exercises."

"Wha." The Riolu stopped throwing the ball he was playing with up and down and turned to face at the duo, having heard his name, though a quick wave from the Sneasel dismissed him, returning to tossing that ball and catching it as it fell, laying on his back on the sofa with Elly at his feet, reading.

Lucy glared daggers at Jake. "Ok, first of all, the joke?" She moved her paws above and past her head, a motion the Sneasel didn't understand either. "And second, I do what I want, leave me alone. Just know that I don't do it to annoy you or whatever the hell." With that, they attempted to return to their game, but the mood was pretty much ruined by the fact that Nox had been moving the pieces while she wasn't looking. She caught him in the act with his queen in his fangs, giving her a sheepish smile before he was smittened by a bolt of electricity, knocking the chessboard and the pieces over and sending the Houndour tumbling to the floor in pain.

"Lucy, be careful with the board." Elly didn't even lift her eyes from the book as she said this, too absorbed in her reading.

"Yes, moooooom." The Eevee promptly shut her book and shot a look of annoyment at her friend, who just stuck her tongue out and picked up the pieces of the board, kicking Nox swiftly in the groin as she walked past him.

"Aaah! Fuck! What was that for?!"

"Being a pain in the ass."

"More like "I didn't get pounded this morning, so I'm just going to be a bitch all day 'till Zed comes b- Aarghgagagaga!" The second shock promptly silenced him, though Lucy wasn't about to deny his obscene accusations: Zed and Serge had left for a mission near town earlier that day, and wouldn't be back until nightfall. After the chessboard had been put back together again, Lucy laid on her back on one of the cushions, while Nox limped his way to be besides Eric, sighing repeatedly in an attempt to catch the Riolu's attention.

"What's wrong?" His plan succeeded, albeit through their crystals.

"Honestly? Bored and horny." Eric sighed and rubbed the bridge of his muzzle.

"That I didn't need to know Nox… how about you just go sort that out then? And if you're still bored by then we can go out do some sparring in the backyard."

"So you can give me an earful about teamwork again? Thanks but no thanks."

"Last time you didn't exactly follow orders, now did you? Besides, you were stressing out and crying like a baby after falling through that forest."

"Oh fuck off with that, I was in pain and my leg was broken! Besides, sure I may not have followed the initial plan to a T, but I did what you told me afterwards and it all worked out fine!" Eric sighed, knowing that this conversation wasn't going to get them anywhere and motion to the bathroom.

"Go." The Houndour got up and shot him a look of annoyance before heading to the bathroom and locking behind him, leaving the Riolu to sigh and ponder alone. He'd definitely improved when compared to when he'd first joined, and had a good idea of when he really had to follow and stick to the plan, but he was still much too eager to lead and be the boss for once, and that was something that put him at odds with Eric every so often. The house was in complete silence for the next half hour, the orange light of the setting sun coming in through the window and slowly transitioning from that gentle warm glow to a colder blue. Nightfall was upon them, but there was still an hour or two left of day.

It was around then when there was a knock on the door, snapping everyone out of their calm stupor. "Hello?" Elly called out, looking at the door, then turning to face everyone else in the house, who only answered with shrugs of indifference. She looked at Eric and the two had a brief exchange, which ended with him getting up from the sofa.

"Coming." He called out, walking to the door and undoing the locks before opening. "Hello, what can we do for you?"

On the other side of the door was a Luxray. Their eyes were emerald green, their mane long and furry, black and blue, albeit it went to cyan and gray around their legs and face, a sign of their age and maturity, and theirs ended on a three pointed star instead of a four pointed one. "Yes, hello. Is this the residence of Team Star? I am here t-"

The sound of someone shuffling around inside caught both of their attention, and they found themselves staring at Lucy, whose emerald eyes were glaring at the bigger cat's. "You…"

"So you were here after all!" The Luxray pushed past Eric and invited herself into the house, aggressively pacing towards the Shinx. "I've been sending you letters every single day for two weeks and not one did you respond to! Not a single one of them!"

"Oh, you mean the letters I've been burning every day? Yeah, read the first one, then decided that what was written on them was less valuable than the paper, so I burned them to arm ourselves up. Got a problem with that, Amalra?"

"Amalra? How can you use my first name to refer to me! You will refer to me as your mother, Lucy Kissida!" The smaller cat hissed as the sound of a book hitting the floor echoed from behind them, Elly staring at the two in awe.

"Wow, already resorting to this, eh? Trying to make me look like trash in front of my friends… Well, guess what "mom", I'll call you what I think I should call you, but you definitely don't deserve to be called 'mother'." Amalra gasped, pained and took a step back.

"Oh you little…"

"Hey hey hey!" Eric stepped in between, having slammed the door shut and pushed them away from each other. "If you want to bicker like little children you can do that outside, this isn't your house you know, so take your own domestic disputes to your own!" He clearly wasn't happy with them bringing their issues to his home, but it seemed Amalra was ready to respond to this.

"Bah, I would if this ungrateful kit had the love in her to go back and visit her poor family… but no, instead she has me travel halfway across the region just so I can pay her a visit, and it turns out that she's so heartless she's been burning my love filled letters! How can you have someone so utterly heartless in your team?!"

"Love filled? Heartless?" Lucy shook her head and tried to walk away and back to her cushion, laying on her back. "That's rich coming from you, you know that?"

"Lucy Kissida! Stop being indecent!" She obviously wasn't happy with the position she was laying in, already painting a pretty conflictive picture between the two. "I can't believe that I've brought up a whore after all!"

A whore?! You were the first one that wanted to whore me out when the pretenders came, and now you have the guts to come over here and call me a whore?!" The language and the relationship between the two were only making this conversation more awkward for the others, who couldn't do much outside of listening and trying to cut into the conversation, only to be silenced by yet another insult or shout.

"I wanted to make sure you could have a happy life, all of those pokémon would've made turned you into a happy mother with a beautiful husband and kits… and instead you ran away and got together with… with a Zorua! And he isn't even here to begin with!"

"And probably for the better… Poor Zed wouldn't be able to withstand the assault of this mother…" Elly shared this thought with the others as she spoke up. "He isn't here because he's taking care of a mission, though he will be back soon."

"Good, then I'll stay here and wai-"

"Oh no, you're not staying here. You're leaving, and taking your stupid excuses and lies somewhere else." Lucy cut in again, absolutely livid with her progenitor, who stood her ground and shouted back.

"I will stay here! Your father and I only ever saw him once, and we were told to bite our tongues and not say anything about him, but now I'm going to say what I really feel about him!"

"Oh, so this is how it's gonna be then? Since you can't convince me to go back home and deal with your bullshit, you're trying to get my mate involved in this?"

"Mate?! Oh Lucy sweetie, don't tell me you…" She had to sit down, panting heavily and fanning herself, clearly distressed and with tears in her eyes.

"Oh yeah, we've done it again and again! And you know what? I was on top too! How's that for your customs?!" The mental image she was giving the others would've been received with chuckles or blushes normally, but in this situation it seemed to have much deeper implications that just the positions for intercourse. "And if it gets you to cry like the bitch you are, then I'll tell you that we haven't had kits yet!"

It seemed to work, because Amalra seemed to break down into tears, sobbing. "I've failed as a mother… How could you do this to me, my own blood! I'd come here to check how you were doing and all I'm met with are screams and obscenities. How can you do this to your poor old mother?!" She let out a heart wrenching cry, sobbing into her neck fluff.

"Lucy, stop! You're hurting her, she's your mot-"

"You stay out of this Elly! And don't you dare call her that! Does a mother try to actively ruin your life and turn you into someone's fuck toy?! Does a mother actively say she regrets ever laying your egg and refuse to feed you?!"

"I've never said or done such things!" Amalra seemed to go into full blown denial at these accusations, getting up and essentially screeching. "You ungrateful kit, I've worked my back off to bring you up with your father, and this is the respect you have for both of us?!"

"Don't you dare bring dad into this."

"He's the reason I came here to begin with! Your father is sick and dying, and you can't even bring yourself to go back and visit him in his deathbed! Heartless, that's what you are, you're heartless!" Lucy bit her lower lip and looked away.

"You… you're just using him as an excuse!" She walked over to her, her fur sparkling with electricity from anger. "I've heard enough out of you and your bullshit, Amalra! Get out of this house and out of my life! And I swear, if I hear from Zed that you've bothered or tried to talk him down of being mate at any point, I swear I will-"

"You will what?! Break my heart, when you've already stepped, shattered and spat on it?!" She howled out in pain, their bickering having gone on for almost half an hour of nonstop screaming, making Elly worry about whatever the neighbours would think. "I'll do what I think is best for my daughter, end of story!" Neither of them seemed to be willing to back down, but Amalra was headed for the door, absolutely livid and crying. "Ooooh…. I can't believe this…" She kept whining and limping towards it, leaving a trail of tears as she sniffed.

"Wow, maybe you should go look for a job at a traveling theatre, your acting skills would net you the spot as a lead actress!" This was the last straw for Elly, who stomped on the ground with her paw and glared daggers at Lucy.

"Lucy, stop!" In her eyes, she was essentially beating her up while being down, and the older cat turned around, sniffing and tried to direct a smile at Elly.

"Thank you, young lady… Elly, I assume? We've heard about your team and what you've done over in the Amp Plains, w-"

"Get out of here right now!" Lucy cut in again, clearly tired of even hearing her voice, and with that last threatening look and shout, the Luxray bowed, then exchanged a look with her daughter. The amount of emotions, from sheer pain, to resentment and sadness flashed across her eyes, whilst Lucy's only showed a deep seeded hatred for her parent. With her hopes of convincing her daughter dashed against the ground, Amalra left the house and slammed the door shut behind her, her cries audible in the street, and probably attracting the attention of many kind hearted pokémon. "Fucking attention whore, now everyone in the street is going to start wondering what the fuck happened…"

"I'm wondering that myself already! What the hell was that all about?!" Eric was none too pleased about all of that, the Eevee choosing to remain quiet and listen to her friend, whilst Jake returned to his reading, doubtful as to whether or not he wanted to listen or not.

"Kinda self explanatory, wasn't it? If you didn't catch on, then forget about it, because that's what she wants. She wants us to think about her and what she said and shouted at me, because she's that type of person." She was still actively fuming, laying on the cushion and hitting it repeatedly. "Who does she think she is, walking back into my life like that and threatening…" She roared out.

"Lucy, calm down!" Elly attempted to calm her friend down. "Look, we don't know what it is that happened between you two but she's your m-"

"No, I can't be calm, because this is exactly what she wants! She wants me to think about her, to feel pity and sorry for her because she's supposed to be my "mom". And yeah, sure she's the one that laid my egg, but she might as well have made an omelet out of it." She stood up and left for the stairs. "Look, I'm not going to think about it anymore. I'm angry, annoyed and everything in between, so I'm just going to lie down until dinner. I'm not going to give it any more thought, and if I don't care then neither should you!" She didn't let anyone try to discuss the issue with her, quickly escaping and locking herself in her room, the lock snapping behind her.

Elly sighed and sat down, looking at Eric with worry in her eyes, but the only thing the Riolu did was shrug. "Well… we can't go upstairs and get the truth out of her, Elly. Unless you want her to start screaming at you for sticking your nose into her business." The Eevee opened her mouth to reply, but decided to drop it, admitting that he was right.

"That just was a lot of things happening all at once, I just can't wrap my head around it. Can't stop thinking about it either, because she sure as hell isn't going to walk down those stairs looking fresh like a rose." They all knew that Lucy would be even more irritable than usual when she wanted to come down for dinner, if she did, but that was something they'd have to deal with one way or another. He patted her shoulder to soothe her a bit. "We'll just have to ask her about it some other time when the dust has settled."

"Yeah… If I understood anything out of that though, it was that her father is sick. We'll have to ask her if she's going to go visit him or not." As they attempted to put everything together and calm down, Nox came out of the bathroom, looking bothered.

"What was that all about? I heard screaming from in there, something about Lucy and her mother?" The duo quickly helped the Houndour get up to date with the issue, warning him to leave the Shinx alone for the rest of the day, something he agreed with without a second thought. "Dude, you crazy? She fried me earlier just from teasing her, I'm pretty sure she'd straight up fuckin' kill me now."

They all attempted to return to resting normally, laying around and reading or something like that, but there was an air of tension about them that kept the four pokémon from resting properly. Eric and Nox left for the back of the house, where they'd draw a crudely made arena with chalk across the grass. However, the previous night's rain had washed it all away, forcing them to draw it again before they did some warming up exercises and sparred. They both knew the other's fighting style: Nox's was more based on his flames and trying to corner his opponents, but Eric could get through those hinders with ease by jumping over them with his wind spheres. However, he wasn't allowed to use those abilities, and neither was Nox allowed to use his fire, since there was a risk of burning the house down, and so it was mostly physical.

Even in that area, Nox was a force to be reckoned with. He rushed down his leader and swiped with his front claws, leaping at him and then quickly bucked his back legs at him, turning and twisting as he constantly slashed and kicked away at the Riolu, even if he was a quadruped. He and Eric traded one last blow straight to their chins and knocked the other down to the ground, finishing the session and leaving them panting, exhausted from the exercise. "Well, you're definitely getting better with close quarters combat… you don't hold a candle to me when it comes to using weapons though."

"Well, what weapons do you want me to use with these?" Nox, who was laying on his back, showed his paws. "It's alright hard enough to do what I do without twisting his wrists out of shape! At least without fire."

"Well I'd rather not have second degree burns all over my body each time we spar, or do you want Elly to come down on you for singing my fur?" Eric joked as he got up, helping his companion as well.

"You've got a point…" He accepted his help, then sighed. "Hey, um, about what you told me earlier about me not taking orders." Eric turned to look at him. "Well, I know I don't always follow instructions to a T, but you know I don't fool around when it's serious stuff, like what happened the other day in the mountains. Sure I like, complained for a bit, because it fucking hurt like hell, I'd never broken a leg before, but I still did all you told me!"

Eric sighed, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah well, maybe I shouldn't have used that situation as an example… Ummm… Oh, right ok, remember the whole caravan interception thing we had to do while in Hoenn?" Nox nodded, hissing as he knew exactly where this was headed.

"Ok yeah, I did fuck up pretty badly in that one, they almost got away."

"And all because you decided to jump in when you thought that was everyone in the caravan. You went right in, and Serge and Jake had to follow you in while we watched. You tore right through them sure, but that Rhydon would've cracked your skull open if you hadn't reacted quickly."

"Well, it worked out in the end didn't it? We managed to stop them from taking those pokémon away to be sold as slaves!"

"That's not the point, Nox. Everything worked out fine, yeah, but what if it hadn't? What if nobody'd seen the Rhydon? What then? We would've had to carry your wounded body, or hell, even worse, your dead body, back to a safe spot, and there aren't many of those in Hoenn. And that's considering he even went to attack you. What if it had been Jake he'd gone after? Or Serge?"

"Ok ok, I get it!" The amount of things the Riolu was claiming he'd done wrong was almost too much for him to keep track of, but he got the gist of it. "I went in when it wasn't safe and it almost cost us, I get it. I just… look, every single time I just feel like I'm doing nothing, like I just stand in the back and let you, Elly and maybe Serge or Jake do the heavy lifting, while I'm just cruising along, maybe shooting a fireball or two. But I know I could like… do better!" Eric listened to what he was saying and his words, closing his eyes and weighing his words.

"Well… I see that. I agree, maybe you haven't been getting too much action, but at the same time, the other time with the Rebscura you were at the forefront and you remember what happened."

"Yeah, but I wasn't the only one! Zed had most of his back burnt off, Elly broke her paw as well, and Lucy just straight up fucking d-" He was silenced by the Riolu as he brought a paw up to his lips and silenced him, motioning to the house's second floor. Nox turned around and saw that one of the windows was open, and even though it was dark inside, it could very well be where Lucy was, and the last thing she needed was to be reminded of that. "Right… still, you get what I meant. We all got fucked over by that thing. Also, real talk, was that the kind of shit you had to fight while the whole time freeze thing was happening?"

Eric nodded, looking extremely troubled for some reason, something that Nox hadn't noticed. "Yes, and that's what I wanted to get at Nox. You aren't ready for the type of opponent that awaits us going forward. Lucy wasn't prepared either, nor was Zed, or Jake… I don't think any of us were prepared for that. We all make mistakes, and what we did that day was a serious mistake, which is what I wanted to get through to you. You need to try and understand the importance of being a l-" He was cut short when a voice called out for them. They both turned to face the house, leaning to the side to look at the veranda, where they saw Elly leaning on the railing, waving at them.

"Hey! Come in! Zed and Serge came back, and they brought a guest with them! You won't believe who it is!" She retreated back into the house, looking really excited. Eric looked at Nox and shrugged.

"Well, I'll tell you some other time, but point is: you'll get your chance when you earn it, Nox. But don't worry, because you're certainly closer to it than you think. Have patience and you'll see, ok?" He patted his shoulder, though the response was certainly not the one that Nox had wanted, he wasn't going to get more explanations that day, that much he knew for sure.

They both walked back inside, and as they turned to face the couch, they saw a pokémon that Eric did not expect to see anytime soon: a huge Slowking taking a relaxing cup of tea and avidly talking with Elly and Jake about ancient ruins he'd been researching. "Heeey! Look who it is!" Eric greeted him, Slew turning his head to look at the Riolu, getting up and shaking hands with the fighting type, a smile on both of their faces.

"Yep, I've returned! I decided to take a few days off, come back home and check on the town. I've been gone for like… six months? You guys weren't even back from your adventures by the time I left, and when I come back you've moved out into a bigger house and have been making your names in other regions? It feels like it's been more than just six months!"

"A lot of things can happen in just a few months, but these past weeks have been specially hectic for us. Wouldn't believe what happened this m-"

"Ahem!" Elly coughed from across the room, pointing at her nose, which Eric mimicked, then catching a whiff of his own sweat, realized what she was on about.

"Ah, right, umm… can you give us a second, we need to take a bath. We just came back from training and all that." Slew nodded.

"Yes, of course, but before that…" He looked at Nox, looking at him from top to bottom, rubbing his chin and inspecting everything, from his posture, the look in his eyes and the coloring of his fur. "You must be the promising youth I was told about before you guys left. You've changed quite a bit from what I was told!" The Houndour looked at him, confused, but before their conversation could continue Elly once again coughed, sending the duo to the bathroom to wash up. Inside, however, were Zed and Serge, trying to scrub themselves clean, and when they walked inside…

"Woooo! Sausage party!" Serge's voice echoed from inside the bathroom, followed by a squawk, most likely motivated by someone slapping him in the back of the head for that comment. With them bathing and the noisier pokémon gone, Elly and Jake breathed a sigh of relief.

"Sorry about them, you can see how crazy things can get here from time to time." Elly apologized, though the Slowking dismissed her worries with a laugh.

"No need, no need! I remember when I was their age I was just as rambunctious, if not more! I am glad to see that not much has changed, even if all you have grown since the last time I saw you. I believe that this interdimensional trip you talked about played a part in that?"

Jake nodded. "Yes, we were taken to another world by accident when Palkia mistook us for a strange man clad in a cloak, who we later came to call the Pursuer. His identity still evades us, but we believe he is related in some way or form with the Terrorist attacks in Flumerc Ars, Pontavicel, the rebellions in Hoenn and what happened in Akil."

"Hmmm… Yes, I heard about all of those. What is happening to the world… You'd think that after the time freeze and how much damage primal regression caused, that pokémon would stand more united than ever…" He crossed his arms. "But if anything it's like it's only divided us further than before!" The two present members of Team Star nodded.

"We have not been around for far too long, but from what we gathered, the attack in Flumerc Ars set many things in motion, starting with an increase in security and distrust in the ETF, and ending with the rise of the Judges of Arceus." Jake started naming off all that had happened in the past few months that they had any notice of.

"Oh it was far more than that, Jake. For starters, it seems the ETFs issues started after the primal reversion cases became more and more apparent. I told Ferrus that he was trying to bite more than he could chew. I may be an old coot, but I know a thing or two about trying to do a lot of things for a lot of pokémon at the same time. Ever heard about the Treasure Town library?" Jake and Elly exchanged a look of excitement, but still shook their heads. "Well, forget I ever said anything then. That was an embarrassing disaster. Point is, you need to know what is well within your limits, and Ferrus sadly didn't."

"That was… when I was going through my depression, right?" Elly asked, and the psychic type nodded.

"He said he would handle all of the cases of primal reversion, which in part, he did. He mobilized a large amount of pokémon and teams to solve the most pressing issues across every region, even Hoenn. His actions were praised at first, but it soon became apparent that something just… wasn't right. And I think you guys can guess what went wrong. Your team was indirectly involved in it after all."

"...The fakers." Elly said after much meditation, an answer that Slew nodded to.

"When about a dozen or something Team Stars started popping up everywhere, promising to help those in need only to run away with loot and stealing, the ETF was caught with its ass up. Sorry for the crude expression but there are barely any sentences that suffice to describe the situation they were put in. The regional governments and the international leaders in Cunabula cracked down on the ETF, and what they found wasn't good. About a hundred or so teams were being formed per week, and out of those hundred, at least forty of them were deemed to be criminals acting under the guise of explorers to make a quick buck. Turns out that to get the necessary personnel to cover so many requests, the ETF decided to lower the restrictions necessary to be a team. The measure, called internally "Article 74", was uncovered, and the media outcry was… awesome, in a bad sense."

"How could Ferrus do something so foolish?!" Jake and Elly were caught off-guard by this revelation, as they hadn't been informed prior to then.

"This was all classified, but being Ferrus' friend he told me this in confidence. I'm telling you now just so you understand what I am going to tell you all when they come out of the shower." There were sounds of shouts and laughter coming from the bathroom, and none of them were interested in knowing what was happening in there. "But anyways, what followed was a massive sanction to the ETF, and many of its former directives were fired. Pokémon that had good intentions and optimistic ideas about this project, Ferrus amongst them. They thought the same you and I did: with the current situation, pokémon would be more lenient to helping others in need, and made an exception.. but it seems we all made the wrong call in judgment."

Jake silent nodded. "Had I been in his situation, I can safely say I wouldn't have trusted so much on complete strangers."

"It's so sad though… I mean, I can understand why he did it though, you need to have hope in pokémon kind, you can't just think that everyone out there is a piece of trash! Heck, you said it earlier that out of a hundred teams, about forty turned out to be bad! There were still more good pokémon bad that ones!"

"But the bad stuck out more than the good, and made things far more complicated. The entire directive was purged, save for Ferrus, who lost his position temporarily, though managed to return to being the chairman about a year and a half later, along with most of the circle that had been in power in the ETF since its foundation. But now he had enemies, both inside and outside the ETF, given that a lot of pokémon blamed him for either losing their jobs and jeopardizing all the work they'd done for the last ten years." Thus, his strange, almost obsessive behaviour while they'd seen him in Cunabula was explained.

"So that's why he was like that. It must've been rough for him, having his own allies turn on him like that."

"Even good righteous men like him make mistakes from time to time. Don't think him to be perfect… it would surprise just how many errors he's made in his lifetime. But regardless, something good did come out of it: what is colloquially known as the Purge."

"That we know about. Rick and Grey, remember them? The Purugly and the Mienshao that helped us in the future and then here when we came back." Slew nodded, but Jake seemed to only remember them as members of the group of survivors hiding in the mines. "We saw them not long after we came back, and gave us a brief retelling of what happened. Apparently, they were one of the teams that were kicked out because of previous criminal records, more specifically Grey's." Jake inquired what it was she was talking about.

"Oh, right… Grey, you remember her right? Well, she used to be the leader of a bunch of goons called Team Skull. The day before the Rebscura attack in Treasure Town, they tried to come for us one last time, but we beat them and locked them up. The next day, her subordinates were all caught in the crossfire and killed by Rebscura, but we managed to save both her and Rick, and from then on they cooperated and helped us. Turned out that they were alright folks! But after Blake and all that, they decided to take it a step further, in both senses of the word, turned the knot and decided to become explorers."

"But the Purge put a swift end to that." Jake concluded.

"Yep. Still, they are in Treasure Town, you've seen them while walking around, living a normal life. I think they're expecting an egg soon too!" That last bit of information drew a smile from the Slowking sitting opposite of them, but that quickly vanished. "But they didn't just go for the criminal records. Remember those tests we had to take before we left?"

"The psychological tests? Yes, I remember you were deeply concerned, as you'd just gone through that depression."

"Yeah well… if they'd concluded I could fall into another depression I may not be here at all to begin with. Psychological profiling became a necessity if you wanted to become an explorer… and that's something that made a lot of pokémon unhappy. You know Mick and Milly, right?"

How could he not? They'd talked with them many times over the course of the last few years, and were dear friends of Eric and Elly's. Mick had evolved in a Persian not too long ago, and Milly into a Monferno… but that still hadn't fixed their most prominent issue: her infertility, a revelation that had shaken Jake's icy heart to its very core, drawing even tears from him. "Well, you know how she can't have kids… turns out that they investigated about it, and found out that she went through a terrible depression as well because of it. And given she hadn't completely recovered after that…"

Jake closed his eyes, a deep silence enveloping the room as her tale finished itself. "And I guess he resigned to his badge too?"

"I remember that day like it was yesterday, and what he said: If I'm not doing this with her, then what's the point?" She paraphrased the normal type's words exactly, words that chilled her to the bone, because of how close they were to their own situation. Had she been found out too, those may have been Eric's words too, and none of this, none of what they had, would be there.

"And their story is just one of thousands. The Purge was a huge blow to a lot of high profile teams, who over the years had gone through terrible psychological conditions, those that had made some shady moves in the name of a well deserved justice, or whatever wasn't considered to be a sparkling record were laid off. Teams that had been there since the very beginning of the organization were thrown out with an apology letter and money. But no amount of money could help them recover what had been stripped away from them. Some took it better than others, saw it as a way to start fresh and move to other, less dangerous careers… others not so much."

"And our sudden return didn't make things better. Suddenly, a team with a very troubled history, with members that violated both laws just returned out of nowhere and got through those tests again, and went back into action... No wonder our popularity plummeted…"

"But we were necessary. Ferrus and a lot of pokémon still see in us a reliable source of comfort and security. A group of pokémon that still fight not for themselves, but for the good of others and the rest of the world. Hadn't we returned, who knows what could've happened to whatever search party was sent to Akil, or if the groups we took down in Hoenn would still be around." Jake's explanations were sound… all around, it seemed that no matter what they did, they still lost somehow, and that wasn't a great feeling for them.

"Either way, what happened, happened. The attack in Flumerc Ars was just the last straw, and the public withdrew their support and turned to something more extreme, that would guarantee that those responsible would be punished publicly and swiftly." He didn't have to finish that, as it was plainly obvious to what group he was referring to.

"The Judges of Arceus…" It all clicked into place now. The negative outlook on exploration teams, their descent in popularity all over the world, Ferrus' stress and passivity and the power of the Judges over the public sphere.

"So that is a summary of what happened to the pokémon we know during our leave?" Jake inquired, and was met with a nod. "...Curse our luck, had we been here we could've done something…"

"Or have gotten caught up in the collateral damage. Who knows if Ferrus would've sent you on those secret missions that only a select few in the ETF are privy to, including high profile teams that stayed close to the direction even through the Purge, so…" Slew finished his cup of tea, humming to himself. "Fantastic tea. What was it again?"

Elly couldn't help but smile at his oddities. "Pecha Leaf."

"Aaaah, the subtle sweet tones should've given it away. But regardless, returning to the topic at hand. Whatever these secret missions are, they are clearly something of great importance. There may be more at play here than meets the eye. Which is why I am here today: to ask a favour of you. I do not want to bother Ferrus more than he already is, but… I require some "muscle" as they say."

Just then, the door to the bathroom swung open and Serge came out running, dripping water from his feathers as a towel whipped at his tail and rear, making him squawk again in pain. "Oh shit oh shit oh shit!" He ran up the stairs as Eric came out behind him, brandishing the towel, followed by Zed, the two of them with smiles on their faces as they readied them. As Eric ran out, he slid on the floor and hit the side of the sofa where Slew was sitting.

"My world!"

"Get back here Serge!" Eric got back up and chased after him upstairs, towel at the ready whilst Zed reverted from his red furred Riolu form and looked at everyone sitting on the couch, going from that smile of glee to pure embarrassment, bowing.

"S-sorry! Serge wa-" The sound of a high pitched scream, followed by two males shouting in pain and then two loud thuds upstairs narrated the whole sequence of events that happened upstairs. Elly sighed and Jake facepalmed while Slew let out a long hearty laugh, their sudden interruption bringing much needed comical relief to the psychic type. After that, they stopped the conversation briefly to let them all dry off properly and place the semi-unconscious Serge and Eric in their respective spots: Eric right next to Elly, and Serge in his favorite armchair. The only pokémon missing was, again, Lucy, whose current disposition had distressed Zed… but that was for later.

"Right, sorry about that… Now, proceed with what you were about to say before we were so rudely interrupted." Elly's shout only got a groan out of both males, who'd refused to say what it was Serge had done, asides from very few vague descriptions of teasing and about dropping the soap.

"Oh, it's quite alright! I need a laugh to let out all of the stress, so if anything that was just what I needed!" He was still laughing, something about the scene incredibly funny to him. "But yes, allow me to make my request: As I said, I require some "muscle" or protection. As you probably all know, I've been part of an excavation these past few months in the human ruins underneath Crimsand Desert. We have found a great deal of information and machines that, if we reverse engineer, could help us advance leaps and bounds ahead of our current technological level and improve our way of life. But as you know, there is a large chasm in the middle of the city itself." Elly nodded, she could scarcely remember what it looked like. She hadn't been down there for at least four years, after all.

"Well, we'd been planning to make a party to descend to the very bottom and see what's there, but… It seems that there were others that had the same plans. And they are not part of our expedition."

"Raiders?"

"Most likely. Good guess, Jake! It is such a shame I have been gone for such a long time and we haven't had the time to discourse. Next time, we should meet at my home and discuss more light hearted topics, wouldn't you agree?" Jake smiled, accepting Slew's offer with a nod before the other returned to his explanation. "What was I… Oh yes, the raiders. We believe them to be raiders, but they could very well be something else. We do not know for sure. What we do know, however, is that they have been on the prowl for at least two weeks, observing us from behind dunes up in the desert and from the rim of the entrance."

"Do you have any description of what they look like? Because if you tell me they're shaped like cactuses then…" Everyone looked at the Riolu, beyond confused. He'd never really told anyone about that strange voyage he'd made through the desert, though his words did ring familiar in Elly's ears… still, it had been too long ago and the memories of her travels with Heric and Grovyle were hazy, to say the least.

"No, I believe not. In fact, the most common of these raiders would have to be one clad in a strange black cloak. Bipedal, about two feet high, which is… quite intimidating for one such as I mind you, and with no distinguishable features, which is odd considering that they were standing underneath the burning sun of Crimsand and nobody could tell what was under the bloody hood!" All color drained of their faces when he spoke about this raider, as suddenly the interest of everyone in the room peaked. "But that is not all, they say they've also seen a Sandslash."

"A… sandslash?" Eric asked.

"Yes, a Sandslash. You know, hedgehog looking bipeds with yellow bodies, rocks on their backs…"

"No no, I know what a Sandslash is."

"Oh, what a relief. I mean, I just had to make sure, since you didn't know what a Slowpoke was when we first met." Slew's sincere answer elicited laughter from the others, as Eric's initial ignorance of pokémon species and typing was exposed. He rose a paw to try and defend himself… but simply dropped it once he saw Elly was giggling too.

"Hey, I had amnesia. Anyways, I know who that pokémon is… though not really. I don't think I ever knew his name, but he's known around Crimsand as the son of the desert. Some Sandslash that knows his way through the place like the back of his claw. He was my guide when taking me to the heart of the desert, which… seems to be a really important and weird place."

"Oh! Oh oh oh oh!" The Slowking clapped his hands together excitedly, confusing everyone. "Sorry, I just could not hold back my excitement when hearing that, I am a sucker for mysteries, but yes I agree! There is this… strange atmosphere in the air, almost as if you're dreaming, that hits you whenever you get close to that area. And funniest thing is, it's apparently unique to it. The Time Gears had nothing to do with it." This last bit of data surprised Eric and Elly, while confusing the others… since most of them had never seen a time gear with their own two eyes.

"Wow, is anyone else beyond lost right now?" Nox's question was answered with nods from essentially everyone else in the team.

"Well, you all know of the time gears and how they were necessary to restore the flow of time in the world, correct? Well, the areas around them had a certain special… "feel" to them." Slew's explanation didn't cover much else, and everyone turned to Elly for answers.

She sighed. "Well, I don't know more than he does but… I guess it felt like when you're submerged in water. There's this strange light pressure coming from everywhere around you, you feel light headed…"

"And at least with the time gears, it was easy to lose track of how much time was passing." Eric finished, remembering everything he could about the time gears off of the top of his head… only to realize that they weren't the only things that emitted that sort of atmosphere. But that was something he and Elly would have to solve later that night, as they'd promised.

"Yes yes and yes! Well, the city ruins have that air to them. Periodically pokémon leave the ruins and spend a few days outside before going back in. We found out that if one stayed there for too long strange things would happen."

"Strange? In what sense strange?" Eric and Elly had never stuck around long enough to find out, and at this point the others remained silent and listening to the conversation to try and get a grasp of what they were talking about.

"Well, allow me to speak from personal experience, and please do not think I'm lying or that I am insane, but…" He scooted closer to all of them, nearing his face. "It started with lucid dreams, where I could see those cities full of creatures I can't even begin to describe, but that must've irreparably been humans, and pokémon. Those vehicles were moving, the buildings weren't broken and the sky above us was blue and sometimes clear, unlike the sand that covered the whole place. Then, there were hallucinations, where I could see those same bipedal shapes, standing still and tall, looking at you from the shadows, their white beady eyes staring at your back. And whenever you tried to look at them they'd remain in your periphery, just out of view to fully tell what they were but still visible enough to distress you. We've decided to call this the Miasma, for obvious reasons, and it's the reason why our progress is so slow: it seems to affect you randomly, sometimes not very much and you can spend a whole week holed up in there, other cases you can have those hallucinations just after three or four hours."

"Uuuuh… ok? So then… why is it called Miasma?" Nox asked the only thing he understood out all of that."

"Miasma was considered to be a dangerous damaging gaseous substance that emanated from ancient, rotting or otherwise decaying corpses or matter. It was said to induce illnesses, and has become a staple in literature to describe poisons and rancid smells that linger in the air."

"I am going to have to surrender the title of 'bookworm' at this rate, Jake!" Slew laughed once the ice type finished this explanation. " But yes, that is the reason we called it that. It is not related to the air however, as breathing had nothing to do with the increase of the hallucinations, and no toxins were found in our immune systems after a check-up. It seems to be a sort of… aura. Like a field that keeps one from venturing any further."

They all tried to imagine what those effects felt like and what those creatures might look like, and the general consensus was that it wasn't a pleasant thought. However, Serge, for the first time in the conversation, spoke up. "Hold on a minute. You said that this Miasma induces hallucinations, right? So how do you know that these raiders you guys keep seeing aren't just something your minds have been making up? Sounds like that watcher of yours and those ghosts are one and the same."

"Yes, yes, quite… well, we used to think like that as well, but this Watcher, if we are going to call him that…" The use of that title was foreboding to them, if anything. "Yes, this Watcher, acts much more different than they do. For once, not a single time have these things happened once one steps up to the surface. On the desert one can still feel the lesser effects, but the hallucinations and any further effects only happen in the deeper layer. Not only that, but there's the obvious fact that this creature simply remains immobile unless approached, whereas the ghosts… Ok think of it like this. Imagine there's something you can see from the corner of your eye, right? Well, you'd normally try to look at it straight and see what it is, but it moves along with your eye, so it's always in that tiny spot… always. Some have even spoken of strange whispers, so you can imagine what that feels like!"

"Must feel like a million poké… alright legit do we have to do this one? Because I'd rather take a large pass on it." Nox came out clean once the basics of the mission were laid out in front of them. "Specially if it involves that fucker."

Immediately, his words sparked anger amongst everyone. "Nox!" Elly's scream made him aware of his mistake, prompting him to cover up his maw. But it was too late for that it seemed… in fact, Slew seemed to be unsurprised.

"I was about to ask. When I mentioned this creature and used the term "Watcher", most of you seemed to react with surprise or shock, almost as if you knew who it is I'm referring to." Not only was his knowledge comparable to Jake's, but his observation skills as well, much to their dismay. "Well, out with it. I will not have you hiding any secrets from me, especially ones that involve the safety of my fellow colleagues and archeologists."

The present members of Team Star exchanged looks of worry and defeat, Serge raising a wing and offering himself to explain what was happening. "That guy… First time we saw him was in the Distortion World, Giratina mentioned him with his dying breath, and Eric saw him right before he and Blake fought it out. After that, he seemed to be gone from our lives for two whole years, until…"

He and Zed showed him their wounds: the Zorua moved his fur to show him the scarred flesh underneath, whilst Serge simply brushed his feathers in the opposite direction to show him his own wound. "A year ago, he surprised us in Mount Horn, after the which we were taken to another world by Palkia. Once there, he got the best of us again and almost killed me and Zed, and wounded the others heavily. By the end, he ended up killing one of the legendary pokémon there, a Suicune, and heavily wounding three more, and I'm pretty sure he didn't take as much as a scratch." Zed didn't stutter as he narrated the horrifying experience, and his words seemed to trigger a reaction in Slew, who looked down at the ground in a mixture of shock and confusion.

"They were there… no that doesn't…" He shook his head. "Ah, that does not matter now. Are you sure that this is the same individual?" He was met with shrugs and shakes of the head. "But you assume it could very well be them?"

"Indeed. In fact, it would make sense for it to be them."

"Just a few days ago, while we were out in Akil, I managed to catch part of a psychic conversation between that Abomasnow and their leader… the voice, the mannerisms… they were the exact same. And they even recognized us."

"So they're still around." Slew hadn't taken this revelation well, clearly distressed. "Then there is no doubt about it, I must ask you to please, please come with me and defend us from this… this monster. The pokémon in the expedition are mostly trained in self defence, but nowhere near skilled enough to stand a chance against someone like that. I don't know what it is they want with us or those ruins, but we must make sure that they don't get their hands on it. The technology down there, while rusted and abandoned, is powerful, and who knows what kind of machination they could awaken."

They all listened to his plight and considered it. Zed and Serge weren't exactly happy to hear that they were going to go head to head again with that monster, Jake seemed to be ready to take his revenge on that Pursuer and Nox had already expressed his opinion on the matter, and wasn't afraid to shake his head and outright state he didn't want to go. "It's suicide. We're better off just grabbing everyone and getting out of there."

"It is a possibility. Sometimes, retreating is the only option to ensure victory." Jake added, agreeing with Nox once again, And even Slew nodded, but was still very much worried.

"Yes, but there must be a reason why they want to go there. If they had some of their men infiltrate the expedition and they found something of value to their goals… Guys." He leaned forward. "I don't want some sort of ancient weapon to be used to kill innocents like in Flumerc Ars. I don't want to weight down on my consciousness. I'm not a youngster anymore, and for all I know I may kick the bucket tomorrow, and I don't want to go and have that weighing me down if there's another world after this one."

Only silence followed this final statement, all of them considering what he was saying, and eventually it was painfully obvious that the final decision rested solely on Eric and Elly, who had been quiet, probably in the middle of a private psychic conversation during this whole exchange. Not long after, Eric spoke up. "Everyone… Slew is right. It's too dangerous to let him run around doing what he wants. We need to intervene and stop him on his tracks. We know what he's capable of, and we are all back to our full strength. If we run into him again, we can probably fight and win, or at the very least drive him away."

Nox looked at Eric in absolute disagreement, his scowl making his opinions palpable to the Riolu. Not only was he being a fool in the Houndour's eyes, but also a hypocrite, since the words and lecture he'd given to him earlier while training were still fresh in his mind. "But this is a decision we should sleep over. It's far too important to decide on this so quickly and suddenly, and… there are some of us who aren't too keen on the idea." Elly quickly followed up, then turned to face Slew. "Slew, is it ok if we give you our answer tomorrow? We have had a very… rough day, and some of us came back just earlier from a mission."

"Sure, I can wait. I did not expect you folks to jump to the occasion so early either. I just came back to town, and there are some things that I'd like to check before I'm forced to leave again." He got up, smiling. "Glad to hear that I'll most likely count on with your help, and thanks for the tea, lovely mix." Eric Accompanied Slew to the door, exchanging a few words of assurance and calm before he opened the door and lead him outside. "Well, I will see you tomorrow then?"

"Yep. Bye, Slew." From inside the house, the others repeated the same message and he smiled and nodded as the door was closed on him. The moment he couldn't be seen by the group he turned around and took off for his own house with a hurried step, a look of bother on his face.

"But… that's not possible, for him to have been in that world and… I have to tell him about this. Fast." He reached for his bag and pulled out a long rectangular crystal, which started glowing with the same blue hue his eyes emitted, contacting someone… until they finally answered.

"Ferrus, we have to talk. There's been a development."

---

Lucy's screams could be heard well into the night now, having a vicious argument with Zed who, from the sound of his own shouting, wasn't having any of her bad mood. Then again, the morale amongst the entire team had been heavily affected by Eric and Elly's rather controversial decision to tackle such a dangerous mission without apparently giving it much thought, and the Riolu had received some very harsh critiques and counter-arguments from the others.

"You sure this is a good idea, Eric? I mean, last time we went up against him I…" Zed had said this whilst looking at his own paws. While the physical wounds had healed, the psychological ones were still there. Serge was in a very similar spot too.

"Look, I trust you and your judgement, you've gotten us into places where I would say we'd been royally and utterly fucked and gotten out without a scratch but… I think this one is a tad too much for us to handle. Personally, I almost got sliced in half by the fucker. You? Not really sure what you went through with him, but definitely wasn't your chest being sliced open." Serge was right, really. His only fighting experience with that Pursuer was the ambush from the forest, and that was it. And out of that fight he'd mostly gotten out of it with a few scratches and slices, whilst the others took heavy damage, something that still haunted him to that day.

"There is a very small probability we will completely win this encounter if the creature in the cloak is involved. I knew this day would come however, and I have been perfecting a strategy to counter it, but… If I am perfectly honest, I have my doubts as to whether or not it will be as useful. My fears come from our second encounter with them, as their fighting style and approach were radically different from the first encounter." Even Jake was at a loss for what to do at that point, unsure if his strategies would work. Not only that, but he'd taken some heavy attacks from him during that last encounter in the laboratory, and while he was more than willing to go up against him again, his flesh said otherwise, his body and his primal of emotions betraying him as he clenched his elbows and attempted to hold back the shaking.

Nox had remained quiet ever since he'd shouted at Eric in the middle of the conversation, and Lucy… well, Lucy was just absolutely livid for many reasons, one of them being this surprise mission that may very well end badly, but also the events of that morning and Zed's constant inquiries. Most of it comprised of incoherent screaming and rambling, sobbing could be heard as well, and things seemed to quiet down for a bit before the roaring started up again. Hours passed, the afternoon blew by and the sun had set. By now, their bickering had stopped, but Zed outright refused to cook anything, saying he wasn't in the mood, and the others didn't have much appetite. Eric and Elly had remained in their room for the entire afternoon, claiming they were going to bed early… which was only half true.

As the moon was slowly reaching its apex, Elly rose up from the bed and poked her mate's side, thinking that at least he would've been able to get some shuteye before the night's activities… She was dead wrong, as he was just as lucid as she'd been all this time. "Couldn't catch a wink, eh?" He didn't answer, a long frown on his face as his eyes couldn't lift themselves up from the ground. "Eric, I…"

"Am I making the right decisions Elly?" He simply asked, waiting for his mate to answer. "Is accepting this mission a wise choice after everything that happened a week ago? Am I asking too much out of everyone, to risk their lives again and again like this? We'd all thought it was over after Blake but now… it's starting to feel like back then again." He got up, grasping his chest. "That feeling of someone gripping your heart, strangling you, that makes your mouth dry, the pounding of your heart echo in your ears… that same tension." He looked at her. "It's just like back then."

"Eric, they… we all knew what being an explorer meant back then, and it still means the same thing now. We've gotten it easy for a while now, since we haven't had to deal with anything too risky but… Now is when we are needed the most, we can't back down now." She walked closer to him and kissed his cheek. "Now, get your stuff and grab the fragment… we have something to do tonight."

He nodded, her words giving him a tiny boost to his morale as she left the room to check if everyone was asleep, so that they wouldn't suspect anything. When he was alone however, the Riolu looked at his palm and sighed. "Didn't answer my question though." He shook his head. "Now's not the time." He turned around and opened their dresser, grabbing their satchels and his scarf. He tied it around his neck as best he could and then crouched, pulling the lid from the bottom chest up and reaching in. There were many gadgets and things there that they found some value in, but the tiny box hidden within was what interested him. Just to check, as he pulled it out and closed everything again, he opened the lid.

And there it was. The golden fragment they'd retrieved from that ice monstrosity a week ago. They'd refrained from doing anything with it up until that moment as they hadn't found the time, but… With what they had to do the following morning, they needed some type of insurance, something that would give them an edge over an enemy that had experienced the extent of their capabilities. And they hoped that whatever power this fragment would unlock for them would be the key.

Elly returned to the room, looking somewhat worried. "Eric, Zed's downstairs. He's… sitting in front of the fire, and I don't know if he's sleeping or not." She said this in very soft whispers, and Eric closed the lid to the box slowly. Going out the window off of the first floor was a no go if they wanted to do this quietly, and he doubted they'd be able to sneak past Zed.

"I'll go talk with him then, we've got some time." He rose up, undid his scarf so the Zorua didn't suspect anything and quietly tiptoed to the stairs whilst Elly grabbed everything with her powers, but the chest in her bag and locked the door behind her, following Eric. The Riolu was already halfway down the stairs and looking at the dying fireplace and the languid looking Zorua sitting on the couch opposite of it. Sighing, he walked down the rest of the steps, the soft thumps on the wood loud enough to catch Zed's attention as he walked over to the kitchen. "Oi, what're you doing here, up this late?"

"Can't sleep, and… Lucy kicked me out. You?" The Zorua answered back with a whisper, and the Riolu made a motion of him drinking a glass of water and then pointed at the bathroom door. Zed answered with a nod and returned to watching the fireplace. Once Eric was done doing both of those things, he walked over to Zed and sat next to him, looking at the fire. They both sat there for a good five minutes without saying anything before Eric spoke up again. "What is it?"

"Isn't that what I should ask you?"

"You already know what's wrong."

"Tomorrow's mission?"

"If only it was that… I believe you, really, I do. We faced that thing when we were unprepared, but now we know what it can do and how it'll act… Doesn't make it any less scary to be honest, and every time I think back to it my legs hurt right where he hit them." He rose his paws, showing his how they were shaking like leaves, the fear in his body palpable. "It's like my body remembers. But that's not really it."

"Then… Lucy?" Zed nodded. "Her mother?"

"And her nightmares. I know that most people can't tell but… I know her well, Eric, and I can tell she's scared. Really scared."

"I mean… To be honest tomorrow's mission is a very daunting one, I don't blame her for it."

"No, she's not scared of that… Well, actually a bit. She's scared that what happened to her in Akil will happen again, with her neck getting pierced and the blood…" He breathed in deeply, shaking his head. "She's been having nightmares about it since then. They weren't that bad the first few days, since we had so much on our heads back then. But now they're getting to her. Each night she's either waking up covered in a cold sweat of breathing for dear life, and it's getting to me. On the outside she looks like she's feeling alright, but when we're alone…"

Eric remembered that night they'd been staying at Akil waiting for Jake to recover from his mortal wounds. She was dead quiet the entire time, not even taking a bite, and looked like her mind was somewhere else. He guessed that she was behaving like that when nobody, asides from Zed, was looking. "But that's not all. There's also that Luxray that came by today, her mother…"

"Amalra. She… was a real piece of work, I'll give her that. Whatever their story is it's definitely not pretty… but what's got her so bothered about it? It's so unlike her for something like this to get to her."

"Exactly! That's what's gotten me worried, it's just… Unlike her. She outright refuses to give me any details about their backstory, even if I've caught a few details from what Nox and Elly told me, but it's something that's bothering her a lot, and can't even look at me in the eye anymore. It feels like… like she's scared of me."

"Of you?" There was genuine confusion in Eric's voice.

"Yeah I… know it sounds weird Eric, but… it feels like she's really scared of me now, or at the very least afraid for me. Like if Amarla could do something to me, and I could do something to Amarla or to Lucy…" He grabbed the sides of his head, groaning loudly. "I just don't know how to make sense of this situation! I met her back when we were first in her village, and she seemed like a somewhat decent person but… Was that all a façade? She even told me she was happy to be my mother-in-law!"

"From what Lucy said and from what we heard… it's possible that she might've been faking it all along. I don't know what she's got against Lucy or you, but…"

"Did…" It was then when Eric noticed that his friend was sobbing softly, tears of frustration about to run down his cheeks. "Did I do something wrong? Have… I been a bad mate to her? It's what why Amarla doesn't approve of me anymore? Is it because I'm weak, and I can't defend her? Or is it because I'm a shiny?"

"Alright, alright calm down." He placed a paw on his shoulder. "You may have a few bumps in the road, but you and Lucy have been together for almost as long as Elly and I have. Don't let someone who doesn't know you at all step all over that. I don't get why you're so obsessed about being weak and all of that… you're much stronger than any old pokémon with no fighting experience, for starters, but also when you put your mind to it you can be a very reliable and strong individual. And besides, I'll never get this obsession about the male being the dominant one in a relationship. Look at me and Elly: sometimes I'm the one who she leans on for support, and others I lean on her. That's how a healthy relationship works, Zed, and I'm sure that Lucy does that from time to time, like right now. I'm pretty sure she's venting all of her frustrations and trying to lean on you… even if it's coming out as her being pissy and upset about everything. Give her some time to recover and support her, and you'll see what I'm right. And please, drop the whole shiny bullshit. I doubt anyone cares about whether or not you're shiny on not nowadays, and if they do, screw them. Your appearance or the color of your fur and skin doesn't determine who you are."

Eric's words rang true with Zed, whose mood improved little by little. He was still sobbing lightly, feeling down, but at the very least Eric was comforting him with his kind words. "I… yeah, you're right, Eric. It's just that I have problems trying to find… like… You know I hate being in the spotlight."

"Yeah I know, you're a shy little guy, but that doesn't make you less of a pokémon. If anything, I think it's an endearing trait." Those words coming from Eric made Zed blush slightly, but he quickly managed to fight it back.

"T-thanks…" He laid his head against his best friend's shoulder, he smiled and rubbed his head.

"Always there for ya pal." He rose his paw and clenched it into a fist, and in turn Zed did the same and bumped with Eric's. They both laid together and rested for a bit, watching as the fire died out finally. Luckily for Eric and Elly, the exhaustion from the long day of discussions with his mate, plus the mission they'd finished that very morning took its toll on the dark type, and once his worries were lifted, he drifted off to sleep soon, gently snoring on his friend's shoulder.

Eric waited for a few minutes to make sure Zed was sound asleep before slowly moving away from him and gently laying his head on the comfy couch, which would feel much better than his shoulder. Once he was sure he was asleep, he called Elly down through their telepathy and the two walked over to the main door, opening and exiting as quietly as possible, locking behind them.

"What was on his mind?"

"Lots of things, mostly stuff to do with Lucy and their relationship."

"Aaaah, gotcha…" Elly quickly walked around the house and contacted the other pokémon that would join them in this little expedition.

"Serge, come on get down here. We're heading out." It took the flying type about fifteen minutes to poke his head out of his own little private window. Since he lived in what was basically the attic of the house, he'd demanded he has his own little balcony where he could lay around and write during the day, but also with his own window that he could close and open to climb in and out of the house at his own discretion, claiming that 'He was old enough to have his own.' which wasn't entirely false.

"Coming." He whispered as he took off, having closed everything prior to that and swooping down to them as silently as he could. "Can't believe you're doing this in the dead of night."

"We can't let anyone else see or follow after us, unless we want them to find it. And you aren't going to drop us off right at the entrance. You'll leave us somewhat close and we'll walk the rest of the way." Eric jumped up onto his back and then leaned down to grab Elly's paw and help her up.

"Wait, what? Really? You guys don't trust me to keep a secret? Wow, what a bunch of assholes."

"It's for your own good, Serge. If you knew of where it was, who knows what could happen if someone caught wind of it."

"Yeah yeah yeah… Alright, I'll take ya there then. I don't get paid enough for this shit I swear…" He kept mumbling under his breath as he took off, trying to take an alternative route around town avoid any night guards that might be looking at the skies for any weird activity. The voyage took about an hour, as the Pidgeot went at top speed, and because of the strong wind the three of them were forced to talk through telepathy.

"So, some kind of ancient temple where you get your powers? That's what you guys told me a long time ago, right?"

"Pretty much. It changes each time we go there. Last time we went was with Eric, and it was this weird island in the sky surrounded by clouds, kinda like what you hear in legends."

"Islands in the sky? Pffft, as if. This hunch of handsomeness can only fly thanks to these massive wings, and you're telling me a bunch of dumb rocks can do the same job or better?"

"They're legends, Serge." Elly couldn't help but chuckle at this comment.

"And the place you're visiting is just as much of a legend… whatever, as long as you aren't fucking on an altar to disperse a curse I'm sure it'll be ok."

"Wait… what? What about lifting a curse by fucking on an altar?"

"Just a story that I read not too long ago. Features a female Riolu and a male Marowak fucking on an altar during an expedition in some ruins. Hilarious shit."

"Sounds like something I definitely don't want to read in my life. Is that what you waste your money on, Serge?"

"Hey, come on, let a man enjoy himself. Not like I'm ever gonna get the chance, unlike you lot."

"Alright, we're not having this discussion right now." Eric finished that conversation swiftly, sighing as the weight of the day's interactions prevented him from being incredibly amused by this conversation. The rest of the flight comprised of mainly small talk regarding the other team members and guild members from town. After a few more minutes of flying around Elly tapped Serge's head.

"Here is good. Can you go down?" The Pidgeot looked back at the Eevee, stopping in midair and descending in circles to avoid going too far off their mark. Mt. Horn was visible in the distance, but there was still a good ten kilometers to walk before they arrived at their destination. "Yeah, this is ok. Alright, Serge we need you to head back home now, and not mention any of this to anyone."

"Not mention… Wow, you guys are being really secretive about this, aren't you?"

"We don't want to run any risks. We'll call you by morning… or we may not. We don't know how it works exactly, so we may appear there next morning."

"And if you don't appear and don't call me?"

Neither Eric or Elly answered immediately, instead weighing their responses, which only answered Serge's question. "Alright, I'm coming, whether you like it or n-"

"Hold on, let us answer. It's been a long time since we last came here, and this place has tried to test and kill us every time we've come here… but we've grown, and we are probably ready for anything it throws our way. Besides, this time around we're taking our time to explore everything if possible. We need to learn as much as we can about this place if it's really so important and mystical."

"Right… Well, I'll let ya do whatcha want, but you better call me. After that, I'll take you both for a drink and show you what I really waste my money on." He forced a smile and waved goodbye, then took off into the air. The two leaders waited for the moment he was away from their sight… and waited some more.

"Serge, I can still feel you, you know…"

"..."

"Serge." She repeated.

"Fine fine… You can't blame for behind worried though, can you?" They could both feel that there was genuine concern in his words, but even then they couldn't risk him as well. After talking and convincing him further, the Pidgeot gave up. "Ok, fine, I can take a hint… but seriously, please, just… Come back in one piece." And with that, Elly and Eric felt him fly away further and further away… until he was too far away for Elly to sense his mind.

"I think he's gone." Eric let out a sigh of relief. "Feel horrible worrying him like that, but with what we were told just today we needed to hurry up and get here as quickly as possible."

"Then let's not waste any more time." Elly nuzzled his side to comfort him slightly and began walking. The two stood side by side, with Eric guiding the two of them with his aura, using it to sense the grass underneath them and make out the terrain around them, using this to guide themselves in the dark. It wasn't completely dark either, as the growing moon smiled down on the earth to shine their way towards the large mountain on the horizon. Their goal wasn't the mountain however, but rather that large mount of rock and dirt protruding from the earth. At first glance, it wasn't anything that interesting, in fact, they'd once made camp with the rest of the guild members, and none of them had seen or felt anything strange… but that had changed.

For starters, they both felt the air around them become thicker, almost as if they were trudging through a light veil all around them, binding and making walking harder and feel slower. The light headedness wasn't too far off after that, looking around and finding that dreaded emblem. The emblem that Eric had found on the back of his right paw almost five years ago, the emblem Elly had found shortly after, and the emblem that Heric claimed was not a gift, but a curse. The Emblem of the star, of an importance and symbolism that transcended themselves and their limited understanding of the world they were in. And of course, as before, one of the slots near the bottom was open. It seemed that the emblem rotated to make their access easier, spotting the other four illuminated indentations: purple, red, blue and olive green, corresponding to shadows, fire, water and wind respectively. The image brought back strange memories, that was for sure… and now it was time to delve back in those ruins again.

Putting the emblem into the hole, the Riolu firmly thrust it inside and let the mechanisms click into motion, the emblem spinning again until it was straight, with the newest emblem lighting with a cyan color, not unlike the one from Elly's eyes, though much clearer and cold, reminiscent of the icebergs they'd seen in Akil. The door opened slowly, the emblems retreating to the sides of the door as the main slab of the rock broke apart into two parts, the left sliding upward and the right downward, a complex opening mechanism that Jake would've loved to explore, without a shadow of a doubt. The Miasma increased in intensity as the gates opened, though for as many times as they'd been there, they'd had few hallucinations.

Taking Slew's words of caution into account, they both walked inside. Unlike the last time, the steps led down into the earth, the layout has changed once more. And as last time, any other normal light source seemed to either burnt out quickly, like torches, or burst into pieces. "It's like they give a really intense glow and then burn out quicker than usual… why?" Eric knew as much as her mate about this matter, but when he tried to look through his aura sight… he let out a scream of pure surprise and some agony, opening his eyes again quickly and finding her right beside him, panicking. "What?! What happened?!"

"I used… aura sight. It's like… every inch of space around us is charged with as much energy as the sun. There's energy… pure aura, all around us, flowing through the walls like veins through our bodies, pulsing and travelling around like… like it's a living being."

"Don't say that, even if you're joking." Elly swallowed, looking at the stone steps and stepping on them tentatively. As they'd done many times before, the stone doors behind them shut as slowly as they opened, the duo not having any desire to leave and go back the way they came. Eric sighed and created a light staff to try and find their way through the darkness, Elly sticking right next to him as they traversed the shadows around them.

As they descended further and further down the steps, they noticed a couple of things, the first of which being the whispers and slight hallucinations that were fed by their wild imaginations and dimly lit uniform stone halls around them, giving them a sense of claustrophobia, paired with Elly's constant gasps and turns to try and catch those glances of two certain Eeveelutions, or Eric's eyes darting to look at the faces of a Haunter and a Skitty plastered on the walls, putting them on edge. And as for the second…

They only realized it when they came out to a wide room that the temperature dropped to minus zero, the air coming out of their nostrils and mouths manifesting in subtle clouds of that warm mist of freezing breath. The room in front of them was truly a sight to behold however, a large chapel, eerily reminiscent of where the trial for Elly's innocence had been done, minus the stands, instead replaced with long rows of mirrors all around, a beam of light bouncing between all of them, with the last being broken. And in the middle of the room, large glass panes, several rows of them in fact, circled around the central pedestal in different geometrical shapes. The duo circled the room and Elly managed to determine the shapes: from the outermost layer to the innermost, a triangle, a square and then a pentagon. And once they met up, on the opposite side to where the entrance was, was a ghastly looking statue.

It looked bipedal in nature, icicle looking spikes draping from its arms, legs, face… it was covered and completely encased in ice too, with no distinguishable features outside from the faint outline of the face itself. It was prostrated on its knees, holding out its hands and grasping what seemed to be a mirror like the ones around the room. They took this into account as they inspected the minor details of the room. At every notch of the barrier surrounding the altar was a tall crystal like mirror, differently shaped than the ones in the stands, but awfully similar.

"Maybe… we need to make the light touch every single mirror and that'll make the walls go down?" Elly theorized. It was true that these were the only things in the room, and this was highly probable the solution to the puzzle. Moreover, when Eric touched the pillars, he found them to be loose and capable of turning in all directions. "Right… well how do we get the light beam here is the question." She kept looking around whilst Eric turned the pillars. She inspected the stands with the mirrors and crystals, where the light bounced back and forth, following the beam and eventually ending in a stand where there was a missing mirror. Everything clicked into place after that, but… there was something awfully concerning about that statue holding the mirror that was screaming out to not touch it.

She told Eric of her findings and arrived at the same conclusion, albeit he was far more eager to get his over than she was. "I don't know about you but…. I'm starting to feel cold here. Like… really cold. It definitely wasn't this cold outside, and it was the dead of night on a November evening." Knowing that the Sanctuary wasn't a safe place to stick around in for a long time, the duo began to move quickly. Elly used her powers to tear the mirror out of the icy hands of the statue, turning around and placing it where the empty spot was. The beam bounced into one of the crystals on the pillars, which reflected to one of the far walls. Eric walked up to this pillar and made it turn on its axis and face another of the pillars, the beam traveling above the ice walls and bouncing off the other pillar to go to the third, and once there Eric turned the last one to make it return. The pillars and the walls shook violently and gave off an intense glow before shattering into pieces, the ice floating in the air briefly before compressing into four new pillars, though this time they weren't part of the inner walls.

"What? What's going on now?"

"I think we need to make a shape with the beams now… so they hit all of the crystals on the walls like before. Should be t- Eric behind you!" Her screech made the Riolu jump out of his skin, lunging forward as he slid on the icy floor and blinking… to see that same ice statue, now on its hands and feet, curving down and attempting to grasp at where the Riolu had just been standing. However, it didn't budge an inch as they both stared it in a mixture of shock and confusion… though it was looking at the two of them, or at the very least it would if it had any distinguishable features, but its face was lacking eyes, nose, or any other feature that could identify it as a face, which made the scene even creepier.

"What th-" Eric was cut off again when he blinked from the sheer cold, and once he opened he and Elly found that the creature was three steps closer to them. Of course, three steps from that massive leg span meant that it was right on top of them again, icy claws reaching at their necks to do Arceus knew what to them. They both jumped back and made more space between them and the monster. "It moved again! It moved when I blinked!"

"Y-you too? I had to blink just now as well, it's gett c- Don't turn away from it!" They found themselves looking at eachother's eyes, and once they turned to face the creature again, since it had been so brief and it hadn't completely left Elly's line of sight it had only had time to turn to face them again. But now they knew how it worked, and it made the situation even more nerve racking. "Ok so we can't stop looking at this thing or else it makes its way to us… Should we try to destroy it?"

"What if we enrage it if we do that?" Elly's observation convinced the Riolu to not push their luck. "You keep turning the pillars, I'll keep an eye on it, and tell you when I have to blink, ok? I have to blink… now!" Eric kept his eyes open until Elly told him he could blink himself, the two getting into a rhythm as he moved away from his mate. He turned the pillars slowly, falling into that slow pace of looking back at the monster when the Eevee told him, then turning his attention to the pillars when otherwise. Their psychic bond made it incredibly easy to communicate the times with precision, and they managed to keep it relatively in the same spot it had been in before. Each time they messed up, it lunged forward two or three steps at a time, scaring Elly or Eric as they carefully proceeded with the mechanism.

Since the pillars and the walls of the square where unaligned, the pillars opposite of the faces of the square instead of the corners, the thought about making a rhombus shape to hit the corners and keep the beam moving. It worked, and once he finished, it looked like there was an eight pointed star in the center of the room, all pillars and walls glowing as they shattered once more, this time leaving just the final barrier, one with the shape of a pentagon, and five pillars arranged in the same manner as the previous ones: opposite of the walls.

"It's making out a-" Before Eric could say what it was, the beam of light in the room suddenly died out, leaving them in complete darkness for a full second before the light returned. And when it did, the creature had it's icy claws on Elly's head, feeling the cold pressing against her head and fur. She screamed loudly and Eric turned to her quickly, keeping his eyes on it and preparing an aura sphere, launching it at the creature without hesitation. This whole sequence of events let Elly get enough distance between her and the creature, but once the sphere hit it, the ice absorbed it and then returned it to Eric with just as much strength, making him duck underneath as it hit the walls behind him and exploded, the noise echoing around them and making the whole place shake.

"Don't do that!" Elly screamed again, though their eyes only crossed momentarily, and the light did out again… This time it was Eric's turn to shout as he felt something cold stab his ankles, making him fall down to the ground. Once the light returned, he found two icicles stabbed in his feet and the monster turned to face him. The pain was excruciating, and he let out constant shouts as he attempted to get away from it, leaving a faint trail of hot blood behind him. "Eric!"

"Finish it for me! You need to make a star with the light and make it align with all of the corners of the pentagon! I'll keep it on me, just finish it!" Eric made another sphere as the light died down and threw it at the monster. The light from the sphere made it possible to see the monster, stopping halfway due to the illumination, the light returning to the room right afterwards. Elly was still frozen in her spot, fear coursing through her veins whilst Eric prepared another sphere. "Go!" His shout snapped her out of her stupor and started turning the pillars, the light beam moving all around the room above their heads whilst Eric was forced to blink. Since Elly was focused on the pillars, the ice creature moved towards him, almost on top of him now.

The light died, making it impossible to tell where the beam would be aiming once the light returned, but Eric felt a sharp pain in his right paw, and once the light returned the monster was on top of him, one of it's claws pinning his claw to the wall whilst the other had wrapped itself around his neck, sharp fingers drawing blood from his tender flesh. If she didn't finish it in the next few seconds, it'd be over. Elly however, had kept moving the pillars, and once she thought she had it all, turned the last one… and the star was completed. She had turned two pillars while it was dark, having memorized the angle, and that had most likely saved Eric's life.

The entire room shook violently as the ice statue remained still, its non-existent eyes staring deep into Eric's own before it crumbled down to pieces, and along for it the rest of the ice covering the room did as well, sinking back into absolute darkness like before, a thin veil of icy mist remaining in the air, lingering around them for a few minutes before seemingly vanishing into the darkness. They both checked their wounds and Eric found himself unable to stand. He wasn't worried however… from previous experiences, they knew that the sanctuary healed their wounds… somehow.

"Alright… let's check this whole place out." With the Riolu sitting on the Eevee's back, trying to keep her from feeling a mild amount of discomfort by shifting around his weight, she carried him around as they inspected the room as best they could. Using Eric's light staff to light up the walls, they carefully observed the runes written all over them, finding absolutely no match or parallel with any other runic language in that world, even the Unown one. It was almost as if it had been completely made up from scratch…. but they knew better than that. Elly wrote down some of the repeating characters in a notebook she'd taken with them in their bags whilst Eric followed the rows and rows of mysterious characters to the very roof of the room, where those strange murals that showed them images of their past, present and future had shown themselves before… he wondered just what they were going to be shown now.

Either way, they didn't stop there, inspecting the ten pillars in each corner of that room one by one, noticing slight differences in the symbols used, but otherwise spotting the exact same patterns. "Is it just me or do these look like oaths and mantras? Like some sort of prayer being constantly repeated, but with certain elements changed to match… something."

"Yeah, I can see what you mean… Wish I knew what they meant." He placed a paw on them, humming to himself. "There's a large amount of energy flowing through these pillars, and the letters seem to be… controlling it?" He didn't know how to put it himself, and he was afraid of using his aura vision, lest it left his blind, or worse. "It's like these phrases are like veins through the which the energy travels, all the way to the top and around…" The use of the word 'veins' didn't help make the comparison between a living, breathing being and that sanctuary any less disturbing.

Once they'd inspected every inch of the room, and only then, did they turn to the central pedestal. It was still around, with that dreaded five pointed star in the middle. Last time they'd been there, Heric had accompanied them and regained one of his powers, while they gained a new one… so the scene brought back some memories of the human, which brought about conflicting feelings that they'd rather discuss at another moment. For now, Eric climbed off of her back and onto the pedestal, and then Elly got on after him. He'd left an alarming amount of blood on the floor and on her back, and seemed kinda pale. The fear that the pedestal wouldn't heal their wounds seeped into the Eevee's body, but he calmed her down with a caress from his paw.

Looking at each other and nodding, the Riolu rose his right paw, and Elly did the same with her left. Immediately, the pedestal began glowing intensely, cyan lines sprouting from it as they flowed all around, making circles, smaller shapes, and flooding those runes on the floor as they reached the pillars and the walls, the runes blinking on and off rapidly. The entire building hummed and trembled gently at first, then rumbled as a light started to shine down on top of them. To his surprise though, something was different this time around: there were no strange glyphs or markings on the walls that depicted different events in time… but he failed to tell Elly of this before the light enveloped them completely, their bodies searing and burning as they lost consciousness in that haze of white.

---

To the south of Sinnoh, a massive forest oftentimes referred to as the Forest of Giants had sprouted up overnight five years earlier. In the midst of the time freeze crisis, however, this event had been overlooked quickly in favour of the more impending threat that presented primal reversion and time itself ceasing to exist. After the dust had settled and society recovered from the heavy blow to its population, however, the fact that a forest with trees taller, bigger and thicker than normal brought major scientific attention, especially since, once again, it had sprouted overnight.

That very same night, five years ago, Eric had flown towards the opposite side of the region of Serge's back in hopes of finding and saving Elly before he was too late, leading to the fateful events of what was considered to be one of the ominous beginnings to a year in recent history. There was no logical explanation for the trunks' abnormal thickness, how the land and the soil hadn't been completely uprooted or destroyed, and the heavy scent of the pine trees that essentially bombarded the moist soil underneath, a place ideal for crop farming and the growth of life. The Forest of Giants, or Giant's Forest had been called so due to the fact that it seemed like those trees were more fit for creatures thirty times taller than a normal pokémon.

Certainly, they were extremely intimidating, and were unfit to even harvest. A tree had once toppled, though none knew it had been due to Eric's actions, and that had caused massive damage and an impressive earthquake. Due to the potential threat of further incidents if there wasn't any upkeep in the forest itself or its surroundings, it was decided that a group of pokémon would move to the heart of the forest and stay there. Permanently. The idea, received skeptically at first, evolved to that of a tree keeper village through negotiation, and soon enough, many across the regions, mostly those that hoped to have better prospects and lives than in their own cities, left for the mysterious forest and founded a thriving village called Evergreen.

That was the village Vincent was headed to. He needed to retrace his steps to track down Indomatia, and the last place they'd crossed paths was in that very forest, albeit before it had grown to such tremendous sizes. He'd been walking and following the barren dirt trails that snaked around the massive trunks and exposed roots, some of which were large enough to allow one to walk under, leeds and vines hanging down, like a curtain of green life itself. He appeared calm and collected, but within he was delighted. It was such a stark contrast with those dreary snow mountains he'd been stuck on with those… He shook his head, thinking on other things and other pokémon. It'd been nearly a week since then, and he still couldn't get over that whole sequence of events.

The words of that Abomasnow crossed his mind, pulling off the silk gloves that covered his hands, and looked at the emblem on the back of his right hand. "Elementals attract… other elementals…" He clenched his fist, bringing forth blue rose petals, which he looked at nostalgically, then shrugged. "That means I'm gonna meet up with them again, aren't I? Pche." He kicked a rock and fit his hands into the sides of his cloak. "What a pain in the ass." It was then when he noticed that he was rambling to himself, and decided to stop almost immediately. "Talking to myself like an idiot, of all things to be doing right n-"

The movement of some bushes beside him brought him back to his senses, his root blade bursting out from within his bouquet of blue roses, glancing at those bushes, mystified. It was then when noticed he'd strayed from the normal path, and had set course for what some considered the true heart of the forest. Originally, that's where the village was supposed to have been built, but a thick mist and the abundance of overgrown plants made traversing the area near impossible without severely harming the environment. Sure enough, the vegetation around him was much thicker, but one would be an idiot not to see the obvious signs of damage.

Broken branches, scratched trees, squashed bushes… the inner sanctum of that forest looked like something completely different from before, like some brutal battle had recently happened. The bush beside him shook once more, and the sound of something sliding around was heard, and without missing a beat he lunged into the bush, raising his estoc and thrusting it while pushing the bush out of the way. He only found grass, dirt and what seemed to be a long straight furrow across the dirt, trailing around the tree and out of sight. He visibly relaxed once he saw this: whatever it'd been had run away in fright, and he doubted a normal pokémon would dare walk around that area.

Letting out a sigh of belief he turned around… And then pain blinded him, something cutting into his body from behind and impaling him. He could only let out a weak groan before he was flung against a tree and his consciousness faded into black, a disturbing hiss from the depths of the forest…

Alright, if anyone is still reading this fic, which… to be honest, I'll be surprised if I have any readers after a surprise 3 month hiatus, I'd like to mention a few things. I won't go into specifics as to what happened, since it's my private life, and I doubt people actively care, so I'll talk in broad strokes so that many can at the very least, relate to the sentiment.

For the longest time, ever since I entered college, I'd been working really hard to achieve a certain goal, something that I'd been really excited about ever since I heard of it when I was little, and to fulfill one of my fantasies. However, like with any dream, it came with many string attached, mainly monetary. I am not the wealthiest person in the world, though not the poorest, otherwise I couldn't afford the computer I use to write, but it was certainly a very huge investment for myself and my family. Because of this, I had to get a job, and the preparations for this goal, as well as my new job, on top of the stress generated by school and life made it very hard to sit down and focus.

Still, it was all going to be worth it in the end… except that bureaucracygot in the way, and my chance to fulfill that dream is shot, or at the very least, postponed until a very uncertain future. I am prepared for disappointment as much as I am for success, that was the mindset I took when I start writing on fanfiction, and I am glad I made the decisions I made. Still, it was a terrible blow to my slowly deteriorating mood, and to be perfectly honest writing was the last thing that crossed my mind.

It may be selfish, but I simply could not help it. But alas, I am back, the situation has been resolved, and things are looking up once again. To those that thought I was dead or any of the sort, don't worry, because I'm not… officially at least. Haven't checked my pulse lately.

Tl;dr: life happened for the umpteenth time, but now I should have enough time to focus on this again, and I can hopefully deliver to you guys the story that you're hopefully waiting for.

Thank you for understanding, and I'll see you all later!