"What's the plan? Where are we going?" Rue says as she gets off my back, stepping into the thick snow. She had nudged me and told me to make Father land, just so we could formulate a better plan. Though I was still intent on getting revenge, this time it couldn't possibly be stalling for an ulterior motive, so I agreed. "Does Nova even remember the way to the palace?"

"If this is what you made us stop for, I must question your intelligence," Blight ridicules, tail swishing impatiently. "I know the way, since I've lived there. Or are you still worrying about that Charizard? Should we send you back?"

If those words were said to Rue by another person or at another time, she would have responded in indignation. "Oh, um... Sorry." She scratches her tusk as she ponders her next words. "But still, what are we going to do when we encounter them? Surely there'll be some before we reach the palace. Should we ignore them, question them, or-"

"Kill them. They are all complicit in this plan." Father bares his teeth as he lets out a huff of smoke.

"Wait, but aren't those creatures under the Salamence's employment? What if we meet any Salamence who-"

"I will order them to leave under authority of Salamence royalty," Father says. "If they prove to be an obstacle, dispose of them as well."

"O-oh." Rue begins fidgeting with her tusk, as she looks more and more uncertain. "Are you sure?"

Father frowns. "Are you feeling sorry for them? I don't need any allies who hesitate."

"No, I understand," Rue says hastily, and glances at me. "I'm just not sure Nova can handle it?"

"Huh?" I frown at her words. "You think I won't be able to… to kill them?"

"I mean, you haven't hunted, so-"

"He saw his brother cut in half in front of his own eyes," Blight interrupts and slams his tail on the ground. "He's been through far more than you."

Rue is silent for a moment, before sighing. "All right," she says as she climbs back onto me. "Let's go."

I sense an unusual coldness in her voice. If Father notices it, he does not comment on it, and instead turns to me. "Nova, use your psychic powers to check for suspicious minds. Outposts would be situated in high places, and their minds would be occupied with matters other than food and reproduction. They should be easy to spot."

"Okay, got it," I answer. "I can't keep it up the whole time, but I'll check it once in a while."

Father gives me a nod and flies on ahead. As I begin to follow, I expand my consciousness into the surrounding snowy hills, only to find very few creatures scuttling about, worried about warmth and food. Since there are no suspicious creatures, I redirect my attention to Rue, and initiate a telepathic conversation with her.

You still seem hesitant. Are you sure you don't want to return? Father and I can handle this.

And risk losing you two? I wouldn't ever have that on my conscience.

Her tone sounds less sardonic than usual, so I ask further. But you don't really want to be here?

No, I do! I've hunted these creatures all my life, this is nothing. I'm just worried… that your father might get too extreme.

Too extreme? His child was killed!

I know, it's natural to want others dead for that… But the way he's saying it, it's as if he wants to massacre everyone. That's insane.

We'll eventually find those directly responsible, and kill them. Then it will be over.

I don't feel like your father would agree to that. But discussing with you is pointless - we will see how he acts. Now, focus on your surroundings before you get ambushed.

Okay.

Rue's words remind me that comparatively, I have gotten by in battles with my psychic talent. Both Father and Rue are watching the surroundings closely, even though I am supposed to be the one scouting out minds of other creatures. Not only are they more experienced in hostile situations, but they are also familiar with using their limited senses as much as possible. In a way, it is admirable. I wonder how Sylvia would fare in such a situation.

I shake my head at the distracting thoughts. This mission is to avenge my brother, and I should keep my mind focused on that, lest I lose my bloodlust. It seems to have dissipated quite a bit already. I take a deep breath, and reopen my consciousness, only to find four suspicious minds within a hollow hill.

Stop! I send out telepathically, and Father instantly swerves around and lands at the foot of this hill. I dive down after him.

"The second hill ahead is a hollow one, with three occupants," I begin to explain in a hushed tone. "One is alert and on the lookout for any appearances of non-Salamence dragons, Flygon in particular. The other two are relaxing and thinking about their false allegiance to the Salamence and… other irrelevant things." One of them was thinking about their children, but I didn't feel like mentioning it.

"Are you able to tell their species?" Father asks.

"Not just from their thoughts… but I think one of them is a Swampert, I think." It's the one that thought about their Mudkip children.

"And the structure, is there an obvious entrance? Where is the alert one looking out from?"

If I hadn't seen his rage, I wouldn't have guessed my Father was at all emotional about anything from his tactical questions. "I'm not sure about either. I would guess that he would have to see the sky to observe for any appearance of a Flygon."

"He hasn't noticed you, right?"

"No."

"The angle he is observing must not be able to see above where we are now. But he will likely spot us as soon as we fly close. But alarms will not be raised if they only see a Salamence. So I will fly over first, and try to find the opening. If it proves vulnerable to physical assault, I will engage the alert person. In that case, I will give out a roar and Nova is to teleport both of you next to the hill, and follow up. However, if I am not able to find an opening, I will fly back here. They should not be alarmed at a Salamence, so we will have time. Understood?"

"Uh, I guess," I stammer upon hearing Father's complex plan. "Sorry, I mean, I understand," I clarify. "And how shall we engage them?"

"Fight to kill," Father responds curtly. "For every drop of blood Spirit spilled, we'll make them pay a life."

His words are followed by a period of silence. Rue hasn't gotten off my back, and simply hugs me a little bit tighter.

"Rue, you won't hesitate, right? Because if you-"

"Yes, Blight, you've told me three times," Rue answers in a deadpan voice. "I know."

Father lets out the slightest smile. "Good to hear. If you hear me roar, then go wild." He then turns tail and leaps into the air.

Despite him leaving, Rue's hug has not gotten any looser. She actually leans her head on my neck, her blade flats pressing against my shoulders. "Nova, I'm sorry," she says, her voice sending vibrations through my back.

"What do you-"

A loud roar deafens us, and our conversation dissipates. Rue sits upright attentively, and I scramble to teleport myself before teleporting myself. I steady myself above the hill and spot a rugged hole on the peak and inside it. Father is thrashing about as he duels with a bipedal blue-gray creature. I focus my energy again and materialize with Rue in the middle of the observatory room.

The Machoke stumbles side to side, avoiding Father's lunges again and again, timing his retreat… not a retreat, I realize from his eye movements, but a feint! He uppercuts Father in the jaw, and Rue barely jumps off me as I lash the Machoke against the wall with psychic force. He provides surprisingly little resistance, and I hesitate at snapping his spine before a something wraps around my leg and trips me over. I nearly faceplant into the ground but I manage to levitate myself, but before I can process what is going on something latches onto my neck. My vision grows dark and bleary, but Rue severs the vines easily with a swing of her axe. Behind me, Father continues lunging at the Machoke.

Rue can deal with such a slow creature. I turn back to the Machoke just as he prepares another punch, twisting his arm as strong as possible. There is some resistance before his arm snaps and flops downward, and Father uses this distraction to send his claws into the Machoke's throat. I turn around to glance at the other fight, only to find Rue kneeling and twitching erratically on the ground with a yellow powder dissipating into the air. The Venusaur sends two leaves flying toward me, but I teleport aside and flamethrower it. The flower catches fire, and I ready my telekinesis before a huge blast of cold hits my back. My body becomes unresponsive as I fall to the ground, unable to even levitate myself. A numbness courses through me, and the world remains intact for only a moment longer before it goes black.

The next thing I am aware of is something disgustingly bitter in my mouth. I instinctively try to spit it, but a forceful paw shoves it in. "Eat it, you'll be healed," Father says. I obey and swallow hard, suppressing my instincts to spit it out. In a span of a few seconds, I became more aware of my surroundings and I wake to find myself on an unfamiliar bed, Father and Rue both standing before me. The walls are of the same dark-grey granite as the room I battled in, meaning that we should be in the same cavern. Rue's tusks are rather bloodied, and in paw are some strange herbs.

"What happened?" I ask. "Did you two… win?"

"You wouldn't be waking up now if we didn't," Rue says as she sits down onto the bed. "Your Father finished the Venusaur and Swampert off as I was paralyzed."

"You two need to be far more careful in battles," Father chides. "These creatures may be weaker in raw power, but they have means of incapacitating you. Especially you, Nova. There was a corridor down that way. You should never have turned your back on it."

I meet Father's solemn gaze, and see droplets of blood all over his face. I focus my telepathy and try to sense the minds, but there is nothing. "They are all dead, then?"

"Yes, and if not for me it would have been you." Father grits his teeth and frowns. "Take these battles more seriously. It was harder for Rue to avoid the stun spore, but you can easily dodge everything with teleportation."

"Right. Sorry." I don't have the will to argue against him so I just lower my head and avert my gaze. "How are there beds here?" I change the topic.

"This is likely their living quarters. Blight rummaged through their supplies and found a cure for my paralysis and also one to restore your energy."

There is nothing wrong with Rue's tone or words, but the huge bloodstain on her tusk is starting to bother me. "Shouldn't you clean that?" I ask as I point at her face.

"You can't even stand that? All things considered, this fight is a clean one." Father puts his snout on my paw. "We still have a long way to go to finish avenging him. Be strong."

"Um, Blight…" Rue says as she scratches her tusk, looking uncertain. "We already had problems facing only three. Maybe we should reconsider."

I expect Father to get angry, but he barely reacts. "You can leave. After all, you're the weak link."

His tone is so dismissive that Rue actually looks hurt. "Even if I am leave, I still don't think this is a good idea! I just… don't want you to risk your lives! Nova, you promised to go back alive to Phendrene, right? And see, you were incapacitated easily. What if-"

"Enough!" Father stomps on the ground. "It wasn't your son that died. You will never understand." He stares at the Haxorus, who has never been more meek than now. Rue's eyes fart between Father and me repeatedly as Father turns to face me. "Nova, I'll be waiting for you at the summit when you're ready to continue."

I find myself silent as he storms out of the room. Rue remains seated beside me, as she puts a paw to her forehead. "Nova, please. You have to stop him. …Go outside and look at those corpses. That's what we'll end up as if… if he doesn't stop…"

Despite being fully refreshed from the herb, I feel more tired than ever. The word corpse only reminds me of how my brother ended up. Is he still lying on that stone in a pile of blood? The thought sends shivers down my spy and I clutch onto Rue's arm and hold it close.

No, I don't want to see those corpses that we left there. I still remember that thought of their children that surfaced when reading their minds. I can't go along with Father anymore; the anger and hatred simply dissolves into sorrow and regret. This won't bring Spirit back…

"You're feeling sick, aren't you?" Rue asks as I hold her paw, concern written all over her face. "You read their minds. Of course you'd sympathize with them."

I don't answer her and just give her a small nod. "I'll just him that I don't want to continue, either. He won't go alone."

"He will," Rue answers without second thought. "It's his way of coping. He's views himself as an alpha male, so he won't let himself cry. Bloodshed is his way of mourning."

"But he'll die!" I exclaim. "Surely he knows that!"

"I don't think he cares. He'd rather die in a blaze of glory than face the fact that he wasn't there to protect his son."

The words hit me hard, as I feel a pang in my chest. The one that wasn't strong enough to protect Spirit was me.

But I can still save Father.

"I'll do whatever it takes to stop him. Lie, threaten, bargain… or even attack him," I tell Rue.

The Haxorus lets out a small smile. "Good to hear. Let's go, then," she says and rises.

"Wait. I don't want to walk through there. Let's just teleport out," I offer.

She gives an understanding nod. "Alright."

I stand and grab onto her as I prepare my ability, and effortlessly materialize at the top of this mountain. The summit is rather barren with dirt, as the snow has mostly melted. At the edge of a cliff, the Salamence faces away from us, surveying the landscape before him.

I take a few steps toward him before he begins. "So that is what you think of me, then. I am not so old that my ears don't work, you know."

"Father? You…" My prepared words don't come out as I stare at his figure. A gust of wind chills me as I collect myself. "If you've heard, then you should know what I am about to say."

"I'm not forcing you two to come with me!" he says, his voice quivering ever so slightly. "If you understand me so well, why not… let me go?"

"Let you go alone and die? What sort of son do you think I am!" I yell back. "Please, Father. Why do you have to fight them?"

"These filthy creatures don't deserve to live!" Father continues to shout at the mountains in the distance. "And maybe I… I'll even be able to see him again. And your mother, too."

His words stun me, and a brief period of silence ensues. "Mother and Brother are both gone," I finally murmur. "It's just the two of us now…"

"What can I do? There are people out there that need to die!" He shouts, and finally turns his head. A single tear trickles down his face as we lock eyes.

"You can't do that, Blight. You can't desert Nova. Not before he gets settled with a mate, right?" Rue tries to convince him.

"We'll figure something out, Dad. We can ask Sylvia and Jet and others. But for now, please… just come home."

"You're telling me to go back, just like this?" Father turns his head back to the scenery again. "This is nowhere near enough for your brother!"

For my brother. Father's words brings the image of that Dragonair back into my mind. And suddenly, I remember something we forgot to do for him. "Spirit, he… he's still lying in the cold. Let's go bury him and go home. Dad, please…"

Father flinches and lowers his head. "…Where is he now?"

"Southwest of here. We found those lakes and-"

"Look out!" Rue's shout pierces my ears as a blunt force knocks me over, and I find Rue slouched over me as a beam of ice flies over us. Immediately I realize we are in danger, and with a wave of my arm I shove up an earthen wall around us.

Just as we clamber upright in this safe zone, there is another tremble as something hits the wall. Rue clambers onto me quickly as I ask, "How many are there?"

"Three or four. We should get out, they're ice-"

Father's roar interrupts her, and in that moment I know that we must commit and fight. Darting up into the air, I look down to see several creatures in the snow - a Glaceon, a Mamoswine, and a Froslass. A shiver goes down my spine at the sight of these ice Pokémon, but the Salamence is fearless as he charges straight at the Glaceon. The fox fires a beam of ice at him in panic, but he doesn't budge even as it blasts him in the face.

The others notice their ally being threatened and start to move. Instantly, I teleport behind the Mamoswine and strike it, but my claws barely penetrate its thick hide. Rue jumps off me and yells, "Go deal with the other one!" before swinging her tusk. A small spurt of blood gushes out of the Mamoswine's hide and marks the snow.

I streak into the air again and find Father chasing the Glaceon down the hill. On the other side, Froslass is mustering up snow in a large area around her. I brace myself before diving down, claws at the ready, but she disappears and I land in an icy mist. She reappears far up and a ball of dark energy comes crashing into me, causing a dull pain. This mist is dangerous, I must get out! With that thought, I dart up into the air again and tear up a slab of dirt with me, then telekinetically crush the slab into small rocks and hurl them at the mist. None of them appear to hit the ghost, and in my frustration I charge up a flamethrower and unleash it at the vicinity. The mist dissipates after a few seconds of breathing, but it expands in other directions. I glance over to Rue and the Mamoswine, who currently have their tusks locked together.

The mist is gravitates towards them, surely the Froslass seeking to help her ally. She is too elusive for me to take down, so I rush toward the Mamoswine instead. But a shard of ice suddenly shoots from the mist and grazes my face. My paw clutches the numb area as another shard zips toward me, prompting me to teleport away a small distance.

I feel my mind fatigued as I perch at the hilltop, watching the mist advance on Rue. Desperate to stop it, I bend down and strike the earth, destabilizing the ground beneath us. With a small tremble, rock and snow alike begin tumbling down at them. Mamoswine is the first to react, stomping the ground and then disengaging the tusk-lock as he sprints down the hill. Rue claws at his backside and merely scratches it as the wave of rocks advances toward her. I spring toward her and erect a wide dirt shield before the avalanche arrives and consumes the mist. I hear a feminine yelp as Froslass appears above the mist, before flying off far off into the air and away.

"Is she retreating?" I ask Rue as I land next to her on the now barren hillside.

"No idea, but don't bother chasing her, she's faster than you," Rue answers. "But watch your back."

We turn to look downhill. The Mamoswine has outran the avalanche and is resting at the foot of the other hill. The Salamence and the Glaceon are nowhere to be seen.

"Let's go get him," Rue says as she storms downward. I fly from above and watch the Mamoswine's movements carefully as the Haxorus approaches the debris filled gorge. The Mamoswine seems ready to charge at any moment, which makes Rue hesitate in crossing to his hill. Seeing the stalemate, I swoop down and let loose a flamethrower at the Mamoswine. He is too slow to dodge it entirely as it singes his tail, which only makes him charge faster. Rue barely dives out of the way as the Mamoswine plummets straight into the loose rocks, his tusk embedding in them as he snorts in surprise. I take this chance to fire one more flamethrower on his exposed underside and stabilize the debris that his tusks are stuck in, as Rue clambers up and embeds her own tusk deep in his side. The Mamoswine's stubby legs flutter as he grunts in pain as Rue hacks away while I look out for the Froslass. After several slices, the Mamoswine finally falls still and silent, a crimson pool forming below him. Rue steps back, panting, her tusks completely drenched in blood.

"Are you injured?" I ask.

"No, but that was tough," she says. "His tusks are twice the size of mine. Anyways, where's Blight? Did you keep an eye on him?"

"I don't know, he went chasing after the Glaceon. He should be fine, though, but-" I pause, but spot something back on top of the hill. "Behind you!" I yell and point over at the Froslass is rushing over, quickly approaching a distance where she could fire more ice shards.

"I'll take her!" Rue declares confidently before hopping over the rocks and rushing uphill. I frown, failing to understand how she can take down an airborne creature, before I realize it is a decoy. As Froslass prepares an ice shard, I ready myself to teleport right behind her, ignoring the dull pain growing in my mind. The instant she fires it at Rue is the instant I appear behind her and smack her down to the ground. Rue's face gets coated in ice as she leaps, ready to deal the killing blow to the pesky ghost.

But in the corner of my eye I see a familiar dark figure approach, faster than even the Froslass. Before I can even yell a warning, the Weavile swipes at the base of Rue's face. A sickening cracking sound enters my ear as the two land in a tumbled heap.

The Froslass lets out a shrill chill and quickly floats upward, and I decide enough is enough. Ripping up another block of earth, I launch it straight into her. I am fairly certain she is dead from the impact of a tonne of rock, but decide to be cautious and crumple it before slamming it straight into the ground, burying her completely. I turn my attention to the other two and notice the Weavile's claws embedded deep at the base of Rue's left tusk. Rue's expression is that of utter shock before Weavile flicks his arm and the Haxorus tusk launches into the air.

Rue screams.

I waste no time grabbing another rock and aim it carefully at the Weavile's head. As he raises his claw, I send the rock flying at the Weavile's skull with deadly precision. Another sickening cracking is heard as the rock bounces off, and the Weavile goes limp.

"Rue! Rue!" I dive down toward her, finding her clutching the left side of her face. Blood pours out of the tusk stump and paints her entire face crimson as she stares blankly into the distance. "I'll find it, we'll put it back on, we'll-"

A breath interrupts myself as I begin hyperventilating once more. No, there's no way to reattach something severed so cleanly. And with the blood flowing down her body and down the hill… Will she be able to survive? No, don't think about that…

A movement below me startles me. I am relieved to find that it is not the Weavile, but Rue moving her paw in front of her eyes. Her eyes glance downwards, at the stream of blood flowing down her body, down the hill. Her eyes are dull as she looks to me. "I'm going to die," she says, her jaws barely moving.

"No, you aren't!" I bend down and gently clutch your arm. "No one is dying anymore. I'll find a way. I promise. Please-"

"What happened to her?" I turn to find Father behind me, crawling over. "How did this happen?"

"Where were you! Why weren't you with us! We could have teleported away!" I yell at him, shoving him to the side in anger.

He stumbles a bit, but does not retaliate. "I was chasing the Glaceon. She got away. But this is not time to be asking questions or assigning blame."

He takes a step toward Rue and lowers his head. "I don't know much about Haxorus biology, but I know that their tusks are attached to their skull. If she can still talk, that means the tusk root is still there. But this is too much blood," he says, and looks at the river of blood. "If all of this is hers, then-"

Rue's arms suddenly give way as they flop to the ground, her eyes no longer open. "No!" I yell and clutch her arm. "Wake up! Rue, please, you still have to live! You have to find your dad, your Grovyle, you can't, you can't! …"

"If you want the best chance of her survival," Blight says, "then teleport her to Fen. Now. I'll be okay."

Upon hearing there is a chance, my heart lifts and I bend down to clutch her as I focus my mind on that room. The room that the three of us have lived in together for so long. There is a substantial pain in my mind as we appear in the warm room.

"Fen!" I yell over to the door. "Come out, now! It's an emergency, I need you-"

The door swings open as the Charizard appears, looking annoyed. But that expression is wiped and replaced with one of surprise as soon as he sees us. He rushes over and crouches as he inspects the wound, and feels Rue's chest. In the few seconds we have been here, her wound has already oozed a moderate puddle of blood onto the floor.

"Please, tell me she can survive! Give her my blood! Please-"

I find myself unable to speak as Fen gives me a light shake of his head. "If someone falls unconscious from blood loss, they would need a blood transfusion."

"Then give her mine! Or yours, or anyone's, just-"

"You need to be of the same species and blood type. We don't have enough time to check for type, so we could take our chances if there was a Haxorus available, but… I don't even have the equipment to perform a blood transfusion."

"So you're asking me to sit here and watch her die?"

"I'm sorry, Nova. Her time is up," he says with solemn finality.

His words have such a sense of certainty that my heart sinks completely. This Haxorus, who has been my best friend ever since we arrived in that forest, is going to die. We've told each other secrets that we would never tell anyone else. And it looks like she has taken then to the grave.

No, I refuse to give up. There must be a way! Fen said we could save her with a blood transfusion? How do I get more time for her? What have I encountered in the past…

With a flash, my memory yields me the place where time stands still for all but me. Yes, I can keep her frozen in time! As long as she stays there, she may not be alive, but she will never die! I wrap my arms around her and place my head against her chest. Only now do I realize how piercing the pain is in my mind. I exerted so much psychic force that I can barely teleport. No, you have to do it, you are going to bring her there, right now-

The burst of pain almost overwhelms me, but the elation of making the teleport keeps me standing. I force my eyes open and look down, finding that though her body is still crimson, the wound has stopped bleeding. Looking around me, I spot the desert scene of bloodshed. Only after being through true fights to the death do I know what hell it is.

Panting heavily, I feel my eyes flutter shut. I almost give into the desire and lie down, but I shouldn't. If I faint here, will my psychic powers still be active and prevent me from being trapped into this stasis? Maybe I won't, but I don't want to test such a thing. I need to leave, now.

There is no way I am levitating myself any further. I spread my wings and prepare to fly, with my wings alone. Leaping into the air, I find that my wings still function fine, as I close my eyes and just fly in whatever direction my wings take me. The headache is severe enough to be disruptive to my physical motions, my muscles occasionally spasming involuntarily. But I must go on…

I let my eyes open a slit every now and then, to make sure I am not crashing. After what feels like an agonizingly long time, I finally manage to spot some mountains in the distance. A huge wave of relief washes over me as my wings give in and barely stay open as I glide down to the soft sand.

Ah, finally, I have reached familiar territory, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to make it…

But the mountains are in view, and time passes normally there…

It'll be okay if I just…

Take a nap…

…