Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: The Dreamstone

by Slink34884

A Fennekin's family is killed, leaving him as the only survivor. The last thing his father said to him, "find the Dreamstone". Now with the help of an Espeon with a troubled past and a young Vulpix, he must find the mythical artifact, dodging the Evil Team Hatred at every step. But can he afford to look when finding the stone might cost him everything?

20. The Dreamstone

And here we are. Not the end of the journey of course, but the end of the quest.

Time for Slink to get answers, even if none of them were what he wanted.

So yeah, evil cliff hanger followed by two months of waiting. But here we are, and finally Slink's quest is about to be fulfilled. Are you ~~or him~~ ready for what is coming next?

Let's see.

Edit 2: Small edits have been made to previous chapters due to recent events and decisions. Sorry for any confusion these edits have caused.

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I was numb.

That was the only word for it. Numb. I didn't know what I felt; I didn't know what I should feel. Part of me was angry and upset, but an equal part of me was wracked with guilt. Fire and Psychic were both gone, leaving that horrid, hollow feeling.

So much of me wanted to press my badge. To follow her and… And what? What could I possibly say to her? The situation still wouldn't have changed. I'd promised I would find the Dreamstone and bring my family back, and she couldn't leave her family either. All that would do is hurt both of us and force me to redo two days of travel to get back here. I just wish there was something I could say, something I could do. Some way to properly say goodbye.

I pulled out the badge token and held it it my paw. I hadn't wanted to show her it, but that also meant I hadn't been able to return it. The theft hadn't seemed so bad since I planned to give it back to her. Now I just felt guilty that I still had it. She'd probably need it now more than ever. I squeezed it in my paw, and the sharp edges bit into me. I stopped just before I would have broken my skin, and simply stared at the thing before shoving it back into my bag. Even if I never saw her again, I would get the stone back to her. I promised myself that.

Perhaps I should have been wary of making yet another promise.

There was only one thing left to do. I turned in place to find the doors still looming over me. They somehow looked less glorious than they had only a minute ago. The setting sun cast deep shadows over the face, mostly obscuring the intricate carvings in the door. I didn't care anymore about the carvings, and I hardly cared that I was at the door. All I cared about now was just getting to the other side and finally finishing this quest.

I rummaged through my bag, pulling out the first crystal that came to my paw. Phoenix had told me that I only needed a single key to open this gate, but I couldn't see how. The only indentation in the door was the large Dreamstone Symbol, but that was larger than all four of the keys combined. There were no other keyholes from what I could see.

As soon as I revealed the key I felt a pulse of Psychic power. The crystal within my paw started to glow with a faint inner light, and the door before me shimmered like tiny diamonds had been embedded in the stone. The shard lifted off of my paw, seemingly suspended by its own power. The large symbol on the door flared with a warm orange light, as if the stone had faded away and left a hole for the setting sun to shine through.

The key let off a sudden pulse of Psychic energy before it fell back into my paw. A single rune flared to life at my eye-level in fiery red strokes. This was a rune that I recognized: Open. Silently the two doors swung outwards, revealing the cliff-side beyond. I squinted in the sudden light. I was staring right at the setting sun as it sat just on top of the horizon, its golden color bleeding down into the water. There was a slight disturbance between me and the other side of the door. A thin membrane stretched across the opening, like heat shimmering over a stove. The end of the Dungeon.

I hastily stuffed the crystal back into my bag before hurrying forward. The sun was sinking fast and the last thing I wanted was to be booted from the Dungeon this close to the finish. As I passed between the doors, I felt the characteristic layer of air pass over me, but the strangest thing was that once I was through it felt like little had changed. The oppressive Dungeon atmosphere still weighed on me, significantly lessened yes, but it was still there. The sensation was horrifyingly familiar.

It was just like the Hatred base. Past the door was another Dungeon. My shoulders started shaking, and they wouldn't stop. I wanted to curl into a ball and stay that way. My Fire hadn't faded in weeks, but all of a sudden I felt colder than I had since the day we faced Enzo. "You're not there," I whispered to myself. My legs were locked in place, frozen, even as my claws churned the soil beneath me . I was sick to my stomach, and the worst part came when I trying to calm myself down. I kept expecting a warm presence, Vix or Eve, mentally or physically, but they never came.

Deep breaths, I kept thinking, but my skin was still crawling as I forced myself to move even my leg. The only thing I could do was try and focus on the fact that the Dreamstone was close. It was just enough to keep myself moving. Still, I couldn't help but feel nervous. How was this place a Dungeon? And what was keeping it from shifting?

The door slowly shut behind me, sealing the way back into the Dungeon. With all four keys in my bag though, I felt at least a little more secure. With the door closed, this was probably the only location on the planet where the Hatred couldn't touch me.

The wind carried a chill that the other side of the door hadn't. The air was thick and soupy, even more so than before. Each breath carried tangible weight and tasted strongly of salt. Great crashes shook the earth beneath my feet: boom, boom, boom, each rhythmic blast splashing a fine mist over everything.

The cliffs stretched north, following the coastline as it curved just out of sight into what appeared to be a natural cove. There was no road or path, or at least not one I could find. Anywhere I moved I was forced to trudge through sharp wild grasses that scraped my underbelly. It was strangely supple and green despite the season. In several places there were strange angular protrusions of rock that sank and resurfaced within the sea of grass.

As I rounded the corner, the thin shelf of rock I stood on became wide plane, easily eighty yards across, nestled at the base of a sheer, chalky cliff. The space was wild, teeming with vegetation. But among the long grass and the brush-like trees there were things that felt...off. There were several geometrical patches among the flora, but I couldn't tell exactly what they were.

There was one thing, though, that was clearly out of place. In the center of the plane, sitting on a crooked plinth was a gorgeous marble statue of a Delphox. Grass and moss were doing their best to reclaim the stark white stone, but the subject still stood tall, head held high and wand extended toward the sky. It seemed that at one point there had probably been something at the tip of their wand, but the stone had been worn smooth with time and pitted from the seawater. Those finer details had long since been erased.

The ground beneath my feet was jagged. More of those oddly angular rocks-bricks, I realized-poked through the grass. The remnants of what had once been a town square. I looked around the space, realization slowly coming to me. This was it. This was the village my grandfather had built.

I made my way around the square trying to make sense of what I was seeing. There were dozens of mounds. On closer inspection, I found that they were all burned-down buildings that were quite quickly being swallowed by nature. From the size of the wreckage, whatever buildings they had been were large. Like the house Phoenix had given us (the team, I reminded myself; I wasn't a part of it anymore), it was large enough for several generations of a growing family.

I wondered what this place had looked like in its prime. I could almost see it: stone buildings made from gleaming white rock, Fennekin and Braixen chasing each other through the square while their parents watched, laughing. This was supposed to be a happy place, but all that was left was a memory of what might have been.

As much as I wanted to continue looking around, that wasn't my goal. I wasn't about to get distracted by anything. The crumbling bricks formed a path that continued along the grassy clifftop. Further down the path another building was thankfully still standing.

There it was. I recognized it in a heartbeat. It was a temple. It was the temple. Much like the rest of the village, the building wasn't in the best repair. Half of the walls and pillars had crumbled, the remaining red stone overgrown with grass and ivy. The grand archway still stood strong, a dark mouth yawning wide. Above it, clearly etched into the stone, was the Dreamstone symbol. I brought my foreleg up, and bit into it. It hurt, but it proved to me that it wasn't a dream or an illusion. A soft breeze washed out of the doorway. It was warm, friendly. It was a feeling I normally associated with Eve and Vix, with my parents and sister. It felt like home.

I'd made this same journey so many times in my dreams. The short, dark tunnel that I knew by heart led me back into the central chamber. The perfectly round stone room, the circular skylight above sending a single shaft of waning sunlight onto the sloped floor. Every surface was covered in odd etchings, and while they all seemed merely decorative I could swear that the patterns changed every time I looked away.

My stomach churned as I entered the chamber. Being there for real exposed me to an oppressive atmosphere which brought back the worst kind of memories. For the briefest moment, the central courtyard of the Hatred's base overshadowed the chamber. My stomach lurched at how similar the two places were. Was there a reason? Was it intentional? The feeling only lasted a second before the warmth of the chamber returned. I was being ridiculous, right?

Slowly, I followed the slope of the floor to the center of the room. There, directly beneath the shaft in the roof was the same oily, black pool I had seen in my dreams. It was smaller than I had thought, being just over a foot in diameter. What the dreams couldn't have prepared me for however was the sheer amount of power that the pool gave off. The air around it sizzled with energy, a tell-tale shimmer coating it like a second skin. I was all but certain that this was the source of the Dungeon.

I didn't dare touch it, and I was also careful not to look at it too closely. I remembered what I had seen reflected in the shimmering colors last time. I just needed to activate the Dreamstone and revive my family. I didn't need those visions tempting me.

There. On the floor, amidst the numerous intricate carvings, was a far simpler one. Four indentations, all together describing the Dreamstone shape. I fished in my bag again, and pulled out the first key to come to paw. It was the tip of the left "wing" of the symbol. I pressed the crystal into place with a soft click. It fit perfectly, and the moment it was placed it started to glow with an inner golden light. It was faint but gave off immense warmth.

I fumbled with my bag, practically dumping the contents onto the floor of the temple. The other three shards were glowing as well with the same light. I swiped them up quickly, pressing them into their proper places. The glow grew brighter and brighter with each key.

Finally it was time to place the final key. My heart leapt as I maneuvered it into the groove. This was it. Mission accomplished.

It clicked into place.

The keys began to tremble, flaring even brighter than before. The sun had set by this point, but despite this sunlight poured down from the skylight, spotlighting the pool directly beneath it. The floor beneath me seemed to shift, rolling like creatures were crawling beneath it. Then a rune flickered to life by my foot. Then another. Then another. On nearly every square inch in the room, red embers of light appeared. There had to have been at least a million runes, and I could feel their power washing over me in waves, all of it flowing toward the pool in the center.

My paws were growing numb from how violently the floor was shaking. The glare from the thousands of glowing and flickering objects was starting to give me a headache. I closed my eyes for a moment, willing it to stop, and then it did. I opened my eyes, and there it was.

The Dreamstone.

It floated a few feet above the floor, suspended within a shaft of golden light. It was a flat disc, perfectly round, and slowly rotating on end. I'd seen opals before, and that was the closest thing I could compare it to. It was a silver white color, but with a prismatic sheen. Light glinted off of it, flashing rainbows across the surface. The four keys were no longer on the floor. They had fused into the full symbol and framed the stone. I could just hear a soft hum emanating from it.

This was it. The moment I had been waiting for since my father had closed the lid on that box. I opened my mouth, but I had no idea what to do, what to say. I was so tired, and now at the finish line there was yet another obstacle. "I...I just want my family back." All I had left in me was that simple plea. I had no hope that it would work, that it would be answered. But somehow it was enough. As soon as the words passed my lips, the Dreamstone stilled. Then it started to spin. Slowly at first, but then it turned faster. Then faster. Faster. Faster until each rotation was completely indistinguishable. It simply became a ball of light that seemed to fill the entire room.

It stopped. All at once. Returning in an instant back to its slow rotation. I looked around desperately. Where were they? They had to be here right? "Mom! Dad! Blaze!" There was nobody else in the room. Just me and the Dreamstone.

Then I heard a voice by the entrance. "Slink, my brave, brave boy. You did it." I turned slowly, my heart pounding harder until finally I was face to face with my father.

"Dad!" I couldn't help myself. I started running towards him. All I wanted was to feel his embrace. I wanted to feel his warmth. The smell of his fur. Tears were freely streaming down my cheeks, but I didn't care.

"Slink, wait-" he tried to warn, but it was too late. I leapt at him, planning on leaping into his arms like I'd done a thousand times as a child. My aim was perfect as I landed on his chest paws first...

And passed right through him.

I barely managed to catch myself. Once I did, though, I stood frozen in place. No, this wasn't possible. It couldn't be. I forced myself to turn around and walk right up to my father. I stretched out a paw, and swiped at his leg. It was like he wasn't even there.

"I...I...I don't… I don't understand." My voice broke, true defeat washing over me, draining me. My body felt like it weighed a thousand pounds. I was being crushed under my own weight. My mind was spinning, trying to rationalize, trying to figure out some way to prove that this wasn't real.

"I'm so, so, sorry Slink," my father said. He fell to his knees in front of me. "I'm not really here, or at least not all of me is." He reached out with a paw, and put it onto my shoulder. If I closed my eyes, I imagined I could feel a slight warmth emanating from that point. "The Dreamstone is powerful, Slink, but there are certain lines that even Arceus can't cross. This small fragment of our souls is as close as we can come."

"We?" My voice cracked as I latched onto the only shred of hope I had left.

My father gave a half-smile. "You didn't think I'd come alone? We all wanted to see you, just as much as you wanted to see us again. It just takes time to cross that veil."

"You're here," a new voice said. There were no footsteps, no physical evidence of another Pokemon, but I could feel a presence approach us. Before I could turn to find out, a blur of deep red fur filled my vision. I felt the sensation of constriction, but nothing was actually holding me in place. That phantom warmth surrounded me.

"M-mom?" I stammered, feeling the frozen pit in my chest open up once again. Not being able to touch my father had been heartbreaking enough, but to be unable to feel my own mother's embrace was its own torture.

"I am so proud of you, my little kindle," my mother said. "I know it isn't what you wanted, but you found your way back to us." She backed up, settling to my father's left on her knees. She stared at me, her eyes glistening. They both just looked at me. I remembered the same look on Eve's face when the Hatred had taken me. They were memorizing my face, like they'd never see it again.

"Come on you two, I think you owe the kid an explanation. He's been through enough," a third voice butted in. "Just tell him. This is torture to me, and I know everything." I didn't even look up as my sister walked up to us, sitting on the other side of my father. "Hey kid. Congratulations, you found us. It's good to see you." She smiled at me before leaning forward to kiss my cheek. In life, I'd always hated it. Now I would have given anything to feel her kiss.

"Tell me what? Please, I just wanted to see you guys again. I just wanted you back."

"But Slink," my father began, saying the one thing I had dreaded hearing since I started this fruitless search, "that isn't what the Dreamstone is for."

My legs turned to liquid. I sat down so that I wouldn't fall down. I could only stare forward blankly, my brain comprehending his words a thousand times, but rejecting the conclusion each and every time. This couldn't be. It simply couldn't. Slowly the defeat and disappointment I was feeling turned to anger and frustration. "Then what are you doing here? If that isn't what the Dreamstone is for, why did you even come back? Why the hell did you have me do all of this for nothing?!"

"If you're going to blame anyone, blame me," my father said bowing his head. He wore an expression I'd never seen on his face before. Shame. "As for why I had you find the Dreamstone… I wanted you to use it to stop the Hatred."

The three Delphox before me paused, gauging my reaction. Honestly I didn't know what to say. In less than five minutes everything had been turned completely upside down. I had reached my goal, but now another had been placed before me, this one even further away. "Tell me." It was all I could say.

My father bowed his head, his paws balling into fists. "There is so much we have to tell you, Slink. So much that we should have told you so long ago.

"My father told me once about the Hatred he knew. They started working for the Expedition Society around the same time as one another. They were a small team, Team Ambition if I remember correctly. They were just another Team then, and a good one at that. There was one more thing about them though. All three founding members were shiny."

"They worked for the Expedition Society?" I couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculous that notion was. "Oh Arceus, Eve would love this. I can't wait...to…" I trailed off, unable to even finish the thought. "You were saying?" I prompted.

My father raised an eyebrow, and I knew he would question me about that later. "They worked for years, lending vital support during the Dark Matter disaster. But they came across a problem. I'm sure you've seen it too. They were shinies, in a world where shinies are treated horribly. Team Ambition always tried to fight for them They recruited those in bad situations. Some of them didn't do much work for the Society, but they were in a safer place, even if it was just for a while.

"Eventually the Society couldn't let them continue. The Team technically had thirty members, but only the core five or six were actually active Explorers. They required that the team disband, but Ampharos gave them funding to create something that was supposed to work better.

"They called their new organization the 'Ambitious Dream'. It was a shelter, a home, where those who needed a safe place could go. It was open to anyone who needed them, but as you can expect, the majority of Pokémon they helped were shiny."

"Shane always told me that helping shiny Pokémon was what the Hatred was for." I shook my head. "That may be how they started but now...what happened to them?"

My father reached over and silently joined hands with my mother and sister. For a moment I felt a thrill of envy that they could touch, that is until I noticed that their hands were passing through each other as well. "That's when he joined, the one who killed us. Smoke."

A burst of rage flowed through my system, the fur on my shoulders catching fire. "Smoke," I echoed. "I can understand that he was the one to turn things around."

"But you don't know the why or the how," my father said. "My father told me about him years ago, but I didn't put it all together until I saw him myself. Did Phoenix tell you about what happened to the Dark Matter?"

I paused. "He didn't. I thought it had been destroyed.

Dad shook his head. "No, I mean what came immediately after. What happened to Dark Matter. My father and Phoenix told me about it when I came of age. They told me about how after they dealt the finishing blow, the monster exploded. Phoenix was weak and exhausted, and John was hurt and on the brink of consciousness, but they both remembered Dark Matter practically vaporizing on the spot after Phoenix hit it that final time. Neither of them thought about what had happened to those bits of Dark Matter. They had survived, they had saved the world. Why should they have to worry about Dark Matter ever again? And by all rights they shouldn't have had to worry about it.

"Most reports from the small percentage of Pokemon who hadn't been turned to stone recalled a 'black rain' that fell that day. Those tiny motes of Dark Matter fizzled out as soon as they hit the ground. There were some larger chunks that fell as well, but they were pretty much harmless. Pokemon researchers did find that these larger chunks of Dark Matter grafted themselves to objects, giving them...unique properties. Organic matter, trees and flowers, were turned to stone as you might expect. There were reports of stones that absorbed the Dark Matter, taking on some strange properties and often a darker color. Honestly I have no idea how you managed to find one. They are insanely rare, and most are in researcher's collections." I had no idea what he was talking about, so I just waved for him to continue.

"John and Phoenix didn't worry about it. They had enough on their plates between John finding Mew, and Phoenix trying to rebuild both the Expedition Society and the Luminous Spring. It was only years later when they first arrived at the Fire continent when they came across it again, Dark Matter."

"Wait a minute," I interrupted. "Phoenix told me that Dark Matter was gone. That it couldn't have formed a consciousness again. Why didn't he tell me that it was still alive?"

"That's the thing," my mother said shaking her head, "Phoenix didn't know. John never told him. It was during one of John's early visits to the Fire Continent. He had gone ahead to ready accommodations for the both of them to move there. While he was there, he bumped into one of the Ambitious Dream's founders. The two had met previously when Team Ambition still worked over on the Water Continent. The Nuzleaf invited him over to visit their new Headquarters. It was there that John felt a presence he never thought he would again. Dark Matter.

"I don't think he knew what to expect. What or who Dark Matter would be. I do know that John didn't expect to find a small Shiny Froakie, only a few years younger than him at that point. The child was trotting along behind a shiny Simipour, chatting happily with some of the other children who were wandering the halls. John didn't knew what to do. This child was Dark Matter, or maybe Dark Matter was the child. If even a tiny spark of sentient Dark Matter existed, it would eventually grow to once again threaten the world.

"At the same time though, it was a child. John couldn't just kill him. So he did the only thing he could. He used his Psychic on the Froakie. Having only recently become a Braixen, and thus only having slight control over Psychic, John had a bit of trouble. But the child, being young and at the time without any Dark Type power, was susceptible. John searched the child's mind, looking for any sign of the Dark Matter. His biggest fear was that the Dark Matter had, or would, overshadow the Froakie. But he found no trace of it in the Froakie's mind. Dark Matter was truly dead, its residual power was left to Smoke to do whatever he wanted with it. Phoenix never knew. "

"And, Smoke used that power to create the Hatred!" I growled, my anger getting the better of me for a moment. "He used it to ruin so many lives. Smoke used that power to hurt and threaten and kill so many Pokemon. The people from Eve's village, Vix's mother… you guys. John and Phoenix should have stopped him then. Would've been so much better."

My dad cocked his head at me. "You would have had John kill a child just because of what he could have become? Your grandfather seemed to think differently. He thought that Smoke had just as much potential to do good. To help the Ambitious Dream. Instead he made a choice, to use it in a different way.

"It was nearly twenty years after his visit that the Ambitious Dream finally crossed the point of no return. Up to then they were becoming more and more dangerous; pushing the boundaries of what the Expedition Society allowed them to do. I remember a few times they were cited for taking Pokemon from their homes and families without the consent of the parents. A precursor to the kidnappings they became known for. A certain Frogadier kept appearing, and he was always the one arguing for more. More room, more funding, more power, and eventually more violent tactics.

"My father never told me about the night when the Ambitious Dream went too far. I was almost of age when it happened, and all I know was that a full team of Expedition Society Pokemon were killed. I remember dad getting called away that night, the Society trying to round up the killers. By the time he got there they were all gone. Most of the Ambitious Dream had fled. The only Pokemon left behind were asleep, very confused, and unfortunately most of them got arrested by the Expedition Society despite their innocence. That is truly when the Hatred was created, and I know that is when your grandfather's mission started. He threw himself into it, committing right up to the moment he died."

I rubbed my forehead. I was exhausted, and this wasn't helping. "What does any of this have to do with me? Why am I the one to fight the Hatred?"

My father opened his mouth to answer, but my sister cut across him quickly. "Oh Arceus, enough with the history lesson. Look Slink, nobody, even John, knew who the Fennekin would be that would fight the Hatred. He set things up so that there are several things that you need to access the Dreamstone. First, you need the four crystal keys. He hoped-fruitlessly I might add-that they would limit those with access to the Dreamstone to Pokémon he trusted." Blaze rolled her eyes before continuing. "That, as you can see, will unlock this much of the Dreamstone. So that you can talk to us. I think John left that so that he could explain things to whatever Fennekin eventually showed up. The last thing, is that only a Fennekin can unlock the true power of the Dreamstone. Slink, nobody knew it was going to be you. You were just in the right place at the right time. It could have been anyone."

"But it wasn't just anyone. The Hatred were after me before you sent me to find the Dreamstone." My frustration was just about to boil over. "Why me?"

The three of them exchanged looks, none of them wanting to answer. Eventually my father spoke. "Like I said. If you are going to blame anyone, blame me. I chose you for this."

I was speechless. Once again my mind refused to believe what he was saying. "What do you mean?"

"You were only a year-and-a-half old when John collapsed on our doorstep, delirious. It was awful, Slink, and if there is one thing I am grateful for regarding our deaths, it is that they were quick. You didn't have to see your father waste away like I did mine. He would have terrible coughing fits and fainting spells. Some days he knew exactly who and where he was, and other days he didn't even know my name. Eventually…" his voice trembled, "...he faded away. After so much suffering he finally passed on." He hung his head, his paws pressing against the ground so hard I was impressed the stone hadn't cracked. "One of the last lucid things that he told me...was to beware of Smoke. I still don't know what exactly killed my father, but I am certain that the Hatred had something to do with it.

"That was when I also realized something important. The Hatred knew who we were. They certainly didn't know where we were, at least not yet. Otherwise they would have broken down our door long before John died. Either way, I knew that eventually they would come for us. We could move, I supposed, but if they knew about any of us they certainly knew about you. You were John's grandson, his direct heir, the only one who could still be considered a threat to them. You probably won't remember; you were only seven at the time, but the Hatred attacked us once before. Back then we still lived in a house just south of Festive Town. It was all your mother and I could do to hold them off until members of the Society came. That is when I moved us to Lake Ogon. I thought isolation and anonymity would be enough to keep you safe.

"That's when I made my decision. You had to be the one to find the Dreamstone. It was the only way you would be safe from them. I didn't think the Hatred would kill us that night, that is, until Smoke entered the room. Do you know what the last thing he said to us was? The line ends tonight. It confirmed for me that I had made the right choice. It wasn't just about you or me or Xen. It was about anyone who could have stopped the Hatred, could have stopped Smoke. Anyone who could have passed John's mission on. Whatever else, I thought that sending you after the Dreamstone was the best chance of keeping you alive. Be mad if you need to, but I did it to save you."

"But how did you know I would stay a Fennekin?" I asked.

My father didn't look at me. Instead he raised his hand, ghostly wand clutched within, until it was pointed at my chest. A tiny pulse of Psychic flared from his wand, striking me. No, striking my grey pendant. A single, fire-red rune appeared for the briefest moment before fizzling out. Unnoticed. Everything suddenly came together. Everstone. I'd seen the rock before in books, but I had never made the connection. Then I realized, of course, I wasn't meant to.

"It was my idea," my mother admitted. "The stone and the enchantment. You never questioned it. We knew that you would never notice long enough to take it off, and neither would your enemies." She grimaced. "Part of me wishes it hadn't worked so well."

I stared at the triangular grey stone I'd carried my whole life, only half hearing what my mother had to say. I clutched it tight, squeezing it so hard that my toes went numb. So many thoughts raced through my mind. I wanted to tear it off, get the thing as far from my body as possible. But an equal part begged for me to keep it. To let it fall back to my chest and forget about it once again.

My mother was in tears, staring down at the floor. My father, though, firmly met my gaze. The shame was still etched into his face, but I respected the fact that he could still face me. "Like I said, my only goal was keeping you alive. If I could do it all again, I'd still give you the Everstone."

I was silent for the longest time, trying to process the emotions that were running rampant in my head. Fire and Psychic fought for dominance, making me feel as though I was simultaneously in the middle of a freezing rain and in a scorching desert. I bowed my head, closing my eyes. Honestly, I didn't know how to feel. Anger and pain mixing perfectly with disappointment and understanding.

"Slink, say something at least. Talk to me." My father was almost begging for a reaction. I just didn't have one. Everything was so tangled, so screwed up, that all I could come up with was a stony silence. There would be time later to figure out my feelings, but for now there were still two big things left unanswered.

"Phoenix said that the Dreamstone could do anything. So what am I supposed to do with it? Do I just wish the Hatred away? I'm still just a Fennekin. What could I possibly do, even with its power?"

My father flinched at the sudden change of subject. He looked like he wanted to press me on it, to continue talking, but the look on my face convinced him to stay focused. "The thing is that John created the Dreamstone so that only a Fennekin can use it, yes, but a Fennekin is also the only Pokemon who can make use of the Dreamstone."

"What do you mean?"

"Slink, have you ever felt odd, especially when you were under stress? I told you years ago that our species can't use Fire and Psychic at the same time. And that is true, at least for Briaxen and Delphox. Fennekin, however, can, although they normally evolve before they have any Psychic power. It was your grandfather who discovered it. Because of...certain circumstances he didn't evolve until he was fifteen. He called it his dreamstate. According to him, strange things happen when Fire and Psychic meet. He even claimed it would let him use Psychic on Dark Types. I don't think even he knew exactly what he was capable of.

"He also said that it was difficult to activate the dreamstate. Normally it needs Psychic and Fire to be in perfect balance. John said that he always spent more time trying to achieve it than he actually spent in it. The Dreamstone is supposed to make it easier. To expand the range where you can control both."

"That's it? Phoenix said that the Dreamstone could do anything, and that is all it does?" I couldn't keep the frustration out of my voice.

"Phoenix has always been a bit...exuberant. Perhaps you noticed it. I respect the man, but he tends to be a bit overly-optimistic about things. The Dreamstone can do amazing things, but not 'anything'. I'm sure it could be used for most anything, but John designed it to do this. It's changing your fundamental elemental biology. That takes a lot of power." My mother glanced at the Dreamstone. "Although, like most things that Mew creates, the Dreamstone developed its own life. Sometimes it uses its power for what it wants in unexpected ways." I would have scoffed at the very idea until I remembered how the Dreamstone had seemingly answered my plea to see my family again.

"So that is what John left behind." I grumbled. "The damn dreamstate against the whole of the Hatred. I don't care what Fire and Psychic can do together; that is still a suicide mission."

"You don't have to fight the whole Hatred, at least not alone. That was never John's intent. Smoke is the one who turned the Ambitious Dream into a nightmare. He's the one you need to defeat. This won't stop the Hatred, but it will weaken it for sure. Smoke is dangerous with or without the organization. He must be stopped." My father grimaced. "And you are running out of time."

The way he said that, I felt like my body had been suddenly plunged into an icy bath. "What are you talking about?"

"He's planning something. At what I can only guess." He sighed, shaking his head. "I studied Pokemon energy, and of course I was also keeping an eye on the Hatred. I noticed things that others didn't. Things that didn't make sense. Every time the Hatred was spotted, they were always reported to have moves they shouldn't."

"Dark Void," I muttered. "Shane and Smoke have both used it on me. How do they have that kind of power?"

"Isn't it obvious? Dark Matter. Smoke is sharing it with the other Hatred members. I don't know if they are even aware of it, but there is no doubt they have some of its power."

"I've met Smoke," I argued. "He's not the kind to share anything, especially power. What would the point of sharing the Dark Matter even be?"

"To make more, of course," my mother said. "Phoenix told you what Dark Matter is made of, right? Negative emotions. Envy, sadness…"

"...Hate," I finished.

"For whatever reason, Smoke wanted more Dark Matter. What better way to make more than feeding it a steady diet of resentment from a group of shinies he cultivated."

My legs wobbled, so I laid down before I fell down. I pressed my forehead to the floor, the cool stone felt good, helped me keep myself steady. "So every passing day, every Pokémon who joins his ranks, he gets just a little bit stronger." I snorted, little tongues of flame flickering in my nostrils. "And they all think he is there to help them."

Strangely, when I opened my mouth, all I could do was laugh. Tears streamed down my cheeks, from mirth or anger or sadness I had no idea. It was all I could do in that moment. Faced with all of this, I could only laugh how absurd my life had become. And the worst part was the dreadful irony of the situation. Even yesterday, if someone had offered me a way to stop the Hatred, to destroy Smoke, I would have jumped at the chance. I would have eliminated my family's killer without a second's thought. Now though, faced with the offer, I didn't want it. Not like this.

My father held up his hand. "There is one last thing I will tell you. You have a choice to make Slink, and it has to be yours. I can't force you into doing this. There is one last thing the Dreamstone will do." He paused, weighing the words he was about to say.

"As soon as you touch it, you will never evolve."

I rolled my eyes, not quite recognizing what he meant. "Yeah, I know, only a Fennekin can use it. You told me that already."

"No. I mean you will never be able to evolve. The Dreamstone will leave its mark on you. If you are to use its power, it has to ensure that you cannot evolve while you are using it. Unfortunately, the effect will be permanent." He grimaced. "The Everstone delayed your evolution, but if you spend a few days away from it you will eventually become a Briaxen. This, will be a life-altering change. I would never force you into this kind of thing. It has to be your choice."

And there it was. The catch. Since I was ten, I had always dreamed of becoming a Delphox. I had learned everything I could from my father, my mother, my sister, always wanting to be able to use the same power as them. Now I was being told that the justice I wanted would cost me something that I had always wanted. The question was, which did I want more?

Maybe I was thinking about this the wrong way. Instead of thinking what it meant to accept the Dreamstone, maybe I should think about what it would mean if I didn't. I still didn't know how to feel about my parent's trick with the Everstone, but I at least could understand it. If I didn't do this, some other Fennekin some day would come to find the Dreamstone. And unless someone had pulled the same trick as my parents, they would be just a kid. The sudden image of Ash standing where I was, being told all of this by some other ghostly Delphox. She'd be terrified, even more so when she actually had to face the Hatred. What right did I have to force someone else to do this because of some childish desire? I was prepared for this, in a way that no other Fennekin would ever be. "Some choice," I muttered to myself. Out loud I said, "I'll do this. I have to." I sighed, "Maybe it will give me something to work towards. At least for a while."

"What is that supposed to mean?" My sister crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at me.

I laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You know, since the night you all died this was my goal. This moment when I had found the Dreamstone and I finally got to see you again. It was the farthest point I could imagine. So now I have no idea what comes next. I had wanted a calm life with you and my team, but now I know that can't happen… for several reasons. I have no idea what I'll do with myself, assuming I even survive all of this."

"Its okay," my mother interrupted extending a hand towards me. "You don't have to decide now. Whatever you decide, it can wait a while. You've earned a rest. Besides, we've waited so long to see you again. We want to know about you."

"Sure," I said still partially focused on the problem. "Where do I even start?"

"Well first, how long have we been...gone?" Upon seeing my confusion my sister continued quickly. "Time moves differently where we are."

"The festival of Xerneas was a few nights ago, the second one since you died. So a year and a half at least."

"That long." My father's shoulders slumped. "Slink, I'm sorry. I'm sorry I set you up for this. I'm sorry I gave you so little guidance in your mission. You have to believe that I didn't think we'd die that night. Worst case scenario, I thought Phoenix would reach out to you sooner. I'm sorry I wasted so much of your time."

I shrugged. "It wasn't exactly wasted time." I reached up and ran a paw over my badge.

"Right," my mother said cheerily, trying to change the subject, "you joined the Expedition Society. How is that? I always wondered about it, but I was happy as a writer."

"It wouldn't have been my first choice back then, but I do like it. There are some problems, and my team and I have nearly died a dozen times, but I enjoy it. Plus, if I hadn't I wouldn't have found three of the keys or found where the Dreamstone is. Really, I have my team to thank for that."

"Your Team?" Dad asked. "You mentioned Eve and Vix before. Is that them?"

"Yeah," I sighed. " Eve found me after everything fell apart. She saved my life, the first time we met, and even after that she gave me a home. She may be the only reason I ever found the Dreamstone. As for Vix, well,she made us a team. The girl was so lost and alone, just like I was. Just like Eve was. She brought us together. They were… there were times when they were the only ones keeping me together."

My father cracked a smile at that. "That's what a team is for. I spent enough time working with the Society to know that. I didn't expect you to join the Expedition Society, but at least I know you were safe there."

"It was Eve's idea," I admitted. She needed someone to make a Team with her. It was just luck that she ran into me. Same with Vix too."

"What happened? Why are you here alone?" My mother reached out, trying to put a hand on my shoulder. She ended with her paw half inside my shoulder but I appreciated the gesture.

"Do we really have to talk about this? I'm not sure I have the energy for this." The curious gazes from all around told me that wasn't an option. "Look, I messed up. We both messed up. Eve and I. We both decided that… that it was time to part ways."

"Slink, if you don't mind me asking...were you guys just a team, or was there something more?"

"Together we built a family. They were two of the most important Pokemon in my life. Vix is my daughter - adoptive daughter," I clarified after a wide-eyed glance from my mother, "and before we came to the Mist Continent, I was going to ask Eve to be my mate. Before things fell apart, that's what I wanted." I sighed, shifting uncomfortably. Once I did though I felt something shift in my bag. There was a soft ting as I heard something drop to the floor.

"What is that?" My mother asked, leaning down to inspect it. Looking over I saw it was the badge token.

"It's nothing. That was the token I got for Eve. I'm not sure what to do with it now."

"What's up with the stone?" My sister asked, poking at the badge with a ghostly finger.

"What do you mean?" I rushed over to see for myself, and pretty quickly I noticed that something was off about it. The Dark stone was no longer dark, or at least not completely dark. Half of it had turned a light grey, like quartz. The other half had deepened in color from its typical dark gray to a deep black. The boundary between the two halves wavered and pulsed, flowing like ooze.

I wasn't sure what to even make of it. Carefully I lifted it with Psychic and floated it closer to me, being careful not to touch it. The new position had shifted the light and dark halves. The part facing me had turned white, and I assumed that the back had turned black. I shifted it this way and that, finding that the dark side was always the one closest to the center of the room. To the Dreamstone.

My father was scratching his neck. He did that whenever he was lost in thought. "That stone… I've seen similar before in my studies. Unless I am severely mistaken that stone has Dark Matter. A substantial amount too. I think this is one of the stones I mentioned, that absorbed Dark Matter when it was destroyed. Where did you find one?"

"Eve had it. It came from…" Why did Shane have a piece of Dark Matter? Coincidence? I had no idea. I shoved it roughly into my bag. "It doesn't matter. None of it matters anymore."

"Of course it does," my father argued. " I can't tell you what comes next. I've seen many possible futures for you. Whichever you fulfill is ultimately up to what you want."

"What I want, might not matter anymore!" I snapped. "Honestly I don't know what that is anymore. Eve told me not to come back, and honestly I'm not sure if it would be better for me to stay away." I looked away from all three of them, in the only direction where I wouldn't have to face any of the ghosts. "I don't even know what I want anymore."

A small voice in the back of my head whispered, "You know how to find out." I dreaded what it might show me, but I still made myself look at the Dreamstone. It was still just floating there, but as I watched it stopped turning so that it's flat side was facing me. Given the distance and the angle, there was no way I could have seen my reflection, yet there it was. I could see my own scared, haggard, face swimming within the silver-white gem. Just like in my dreams, the longer I looked the more my reflection changed.

The image rippled, and suddenly I was staring into the eyes of a very different Fennekin. This one was lacking the weight that I had suddenly been forced to carry. He was happy, curled up with Eve and Vix.

Just as the image was coming into focus however, the reflection shifted again. Now the Fennekin had an angry determination to him. Flames sizzled off of his fur, but the air around him also seemed charged with power. Fire and Psychic. Together. Reflected in the Fennekin's eyes I could see Smoke. And he was afraid.

The vision shifted one more time. The Fennekin was sitting there once again with Eve at his side. And at their feet... my heart started pounding in my chest when I saw the egg. Just before the image faded I saw the egg shiver, the shell just beginning to crack.

My father's voice snapped me back to reality. "Slink, the day I died I told you that you would have a family even when we were gone. You told me yourself that you found it. So you messed up. That is no reason to just give up. Do you want them back in your life?"

"Yes," I said it without hesitation, yet there was a small kernel of doubt still eating at me. "I just… it isn't that simple." I shook my head, blinking. My brain felt like mush. I could hardly focus, much less figure this out along with everything else.

I felt that phantom warmth again as my mother attempted to put her hand under my chin. "Slink, honey, you've been through a lot today. You look terrible. Dawn is only a few hours away. The Dreamstone will still be here in the morning, and we aren't going anywhere. Get some sleep."

Sleep was exactly what I needed, but I was wary to take my attention away from my family. I had no idea how the Dreamstone worked, especially how summoning these ghosts worked. What if they vanished while I was asleep? Whatever I was feeling towards them, I didn't want them to go, I didn't want to be alone. Especially not so soon. "You guys won't-"

"-We'll stay with you, I promise. We will stay until either you or the Dreamstone leaves this chamber. We will watch over you as you sleep." Her smile was honestly just what I needed in that moment. Despite the knot in my stomach, I relaxed.

As if it understood what was happening, the Dreamstone's glow dimmed. The shaft of light coming in from the ceiling now seeming like moonlight instead of sunlight. Most of the runes around the room put themselves out as well, the remaining ones twinkling like stars.

The chamber had no leaves or grasses I could have used for a bed, but I was so tired it wasn't going to matter. I curled up where I was, my stretch of cold, stone floor the same as any other. My bag made for a makeshift pillow, a luxury I didn't need. Now that I had given myself permission to give in to my exhaustion, the bone-deep weariness I'd been suppressing returned full force. I knew the moment I closed my eyes I would be asleep.

I felt more than saw the others shift closer, moving from kneeling to sitting. There was the faintest presence, a phantom feeling, of someone stroking my back before I was gone.

For the first time in a while, my sleep was dreamless. It was a blessing. I needed a pause, I needed time for my mind to actually process everything that had happened. As good as it was, it couldn't last. Eventually I had to face reality again. I didn't open my eyes initially. The stone ground felt so comfortable, and I childishly hoped that if they didn't know I was awake, my parents wouldn't make me get up. My return to consciousness also meant a return of the memories from yesterday. The questions and problems from yesterday worming their way back into my mind.

At least now I had a chance to try and figure them out in the privacy of my mind. There were a few hard truths that I needed to admit to myself before I could say them to anyone else. It hurt physically to know that my family was truly dead, but some part of me felt more than a little excitement. There was nothing preventing me from moving on now. I could let go of them and spend the rest of my life without feeling guilty that I wasn't doing whatever I could to find a way to bring them back. But what would I do now; that was a different question.

The immediate thing that came to mind was the Hatred, and my mission to destroy them. It wasn't that I didn't want to do it; they had caused enough pain and needed to be stopped. What I was worried about was the repercussions of it, both for me and the shinies. My father had made clear what kind of a threat Smoke posed. I understood why he had to be stopped, but what I couldn't quite figure out is why I was going to eliminate him. Was it to stop him, or was it revenge?

And after that? The Dreamstone had showed me my heart of hearts. I wanted, more than anything, to return to the family I had built with Eve and Vix. But it wasn't that simple. I'd ruined a perfectly good thing. I don't think Eve would ever trust me again, or at least not in the same way as before. There would always be some part of her wondering if I would ever leave them again for my own reasons. And at the same time could I trust her like that? Could I trust her to watch my back whatever happens when she had proved that there were certain things she wasn't willing to follow me into? I could go back, certainly, but would that place be home anymore?

Eve wasn't even the only one I had to worry about either. If she left the Mist Continent last night, she would probably get home by tomorrow night. The others would certainly ask what had happened to me and I had no idea what she was going to tell them. I had no idea what Sierra and Abby would think, but Vix and Lucy would both be just devastated for different reasons. Vix especially. I'd promised her I'd come back. She made me promise I would. I'd even told her when...

My eyes shot open as the realization hit me, the words echoing in my head. We'll be back before sunset… It all suddenly came together. Vix's nervous, almost panicked behavior when we had left, the oath she had extracted from me when I left. I cursed myself as I struggled my way to my feet. How could I have been so careless? I'd been so focused on the Dreamstone not only did I hurt Eve, but I also hurt Vix too. I could only imagine how anxious she had to be, waiting around for Eve and I to return with her mother's words echoing in her head like that. I couldn't imagine what would happen when Eve told her I wasn't come back.

That settled that at least. I had to go back. If not for Eve, for Vix. Either way, there was no way I could try to repair any of this from a continent away. But before any of that I had to do the thing I'd been dreading the most.

The three of them were pretty much exactly where I had left them the night before. They still sat in a loose circle around me. My sister had leaned back against the wall her eyes closed, my mother was idly tracing the patterns etched in the ground, and my father had his wand held in front of him, idly staring into the flame at the tip. Once I moved though, all three of them sat up, eyes locked on me. "Slink, what's wrong?"

I looked around at the three of them, my heart sinking a little. "I have to go. I have to get back to my team." Part of me hoped they wouldn't press me on it. I couldn't explain, and I felt like I didn't have time to explain.

My father didn't even blink. "I guess there is just one thing left to do."

"Yeah," I said, my heart rising in my throat. "How do I…?"

"Just step up to it and say 'I accept this'. It will do the rest."

My paws felt like they weighed a thousand pounds as I walked towards the stone. It didn't look scary at all, but in that moment it seemed to loom over me. A weight that was about to drop onto my shoulders. As I walked, I reached up to my Everstone pendant. If I was going to do this, I wanted to spend just one moment without that restriction. As I made to lift it over my head my father took a step forward.

"Wait, I… I just wanted to remind you that you don't have to do this. Don't do this for me or because you think you have to. I want you to be sure before you take this step. Don't do it if you will ultimately regret it."

I nodded. "I have to do this. Who else will? I've come this far and I am going to see this through." I tossed the Everstone aside with all of my strength, watching it shatter as it struck the stone wall. The final few steps seemed to be miles instead of just a few feet but eventually I was standing right under the Dreamstone. My voice trembled as the words passed my lips, but I made sure that my voice was clear. "I accept this."

Like when it had summoned my family, the Dreamstone started to spin, faster and faster, growing brighter with each rotation. A hum resonated from the stone, a deep rumble I could feel deep within my chest. As the sound grew in volume the ground started to vibrate as well, echoing the stone's hum. I had closed my eyes against the light, so I felt rather than saw the Dreamstone move. It sank until it was level with my chest. It moved closer making every muscle in my body scream at me to move away. My claws dug into the delicate carvings beneath me as I clenched my paws, holding my ground. Warmth blossomed from the point where the Dreamstone touched me, the same invigorating feeling I got whenever the dream state was achieved. I could feel the deep hum buzzing through my bones. Slowly the feeling grew uncomfortable, then painful. Fire usually couldn't hurt me, so I figured that this is what burning felt like. It was a searing pain, in my heart, in my lungs, my skin.

And then it was over. All at once, the light, the pain, everything. The room had dimmed significantly now that the Dreamstone was gone; the only light entering from above was weak and gray instead of the warm golden light. I brought a paw up to my chest, investigating where I had felt the Dreamstone touch me. Nothing seemed wrong at first, except when I looked down I noticed that the white fur on my chest had gained a silvery sheen to it. It was still undeniably white, but now they had a prismatic sheen, like oil on water. There was more though. I felt an energy within me, from the tips of my ears to my toes. It tingled, like all of my cells were buzzing with power.

"It worked." I jumped at the voice. I shouldn't have been surprised, but I had thought that once I had claimed the Dreamstone my family would fade again. "Slink, I am so proud of you. I am proud of the kid I raised, and I am even more proud of the man you have become without me."

The moment had finally come. The goodbye. As much as I wanted, as I needed, to go, my mind kept coming up with desperate excuses for me to stay. "I… I don't know how to say goodbye. I already lost you once and I'm not sure I can do it again."

"This isn't goodbye," Blaze scoffed, "you'll have to bring the Dreamstone back eventually right? Once you are here again, just ask and we will come back. This is more of a see you later."

My mother grinned at me. "And when you come back, I hope you bring Eve and Vix with you. I'd love to meet your team… and my grandaughter."

I nodded, but then a thought occurred to me. The Dreamstone was gone, but the groove where the keys had been remained empty. "How will I get back into the village considering all of the keys…" I placed a paw on my chest, "are inside me, I guess."

"The door will open for you. Don't worry." My father walked in front of me, and then fell to his knees. "Goodbye, my son. I am so proud of you. Go and fulfill your grandfather's legacy. I know you can do it." He leaned forward, throwing his arms around my neck. If I closed my eyes, I could imagine what it felt like. My mother came forward as well, but instead of just hugging me, she kneeled down in the same space as my father, completely overlapping him. My sister joined a moment later. With the three of them together those phantom sensations became real. It was like the wind brushing against me or a Joltic crawling along my arm. But this simple sensation almost brought me to tears.

That was a better goodbye than I could have ever hoped for. Without another word, without even looking at them, I stepped towards the doorway ready to go home. Once I was in the corridor I did sneak a single peek back. They were gone. The chamber was empty once again.