The sun rose above the adventurers as they marched their way up a rough stony path, which twisted and turned its way across the mountains. Snow glistened around them, shimmering in the sunlight. A cold wind whipped past them, causing them to shiver.
Victor wrapped his cloak tightly around him. Whitehair had loaned them supplies for the long journey, including proper winter clothes, but it was still quite cold. Plus, Victor's mind couldn't help but drift to his various friends' conditions.
Seth's leg was not healing very fast, Rex had fallen quiet and distant, Cain was reclusive as always, and Zoey was beginning to lag behind. She was not letting anyone see her bite wound, but Victor could easily guess that it was not looking good. But Zoey did not seem to want them to know about that.
Victor was not sure why...
As they turned around a bend, Victor began to hear the sounds of two people sparring. It was coming from farther up the mountain, and he was rather curious to see what was going on.
A few Swablus flew overhead, cheerfully singing. Victor wished he could be quite as happy, but it was hard with everything else going on. He hoped desperately that his Pokemon were alright, that they wouldn't arrive at the fortress in the ice and discover that they were too late. But it was growing harder and harder to believe that that would be the case.
Up ahead, Victor noticed a flat plateau. It appeared to have been freshly cleared off, most likely by a Fire-type attack, and upon it a young man and a Lucario were jabbing at each other with fists and moving around. The young man had slightly curly black hair, bright blue eyes, and a rugged, yet pretty face. The man seemed to be well-built, and was currently shirtless, revealing an old scar across his chest.
Seth called out, "Hello there!"
The young man turned to look at them, right as his Lucario struck forwards. The man was sent skidding near the edge of the cliff, but quickly stood back up.
"Well, hello. I wasn't expecting anyone to show up here.", the man said.
Turning to his Lucario, he declared, "I think that's enough for today, Alpha. These strangers look like they could use some help."
"Who are you?", asked Rex, who looked somewhat jealous for some reason.
"My name's Kai. I came here from Johto to try out this 'Path of the Chosen' thing.", the man replied, "How about all of you?"
"My name is Rex.", Rex answered, "The boy with the fancy ring is Victor, the guy with the scarf and walking stick is Seth, Mr. Quiet is named Cain, the Ursaluna is Selene, and the girl is Zoey."
"A pleasure to meet you all.", Kai replied. With a wink at Zoey, he added, "Especially you, young lady."
"Save it.", Zoey grumbled.
Kai chuckled. "No worries."
He sat down on a nearby rock, his Lucario standing protectively beside him. "So, what brings you all the way out here? Especially since two of you seem to have had some unpleasant encounters?"
"That is both a secret and none of your business.", Rex answered.
Kai nodded, then started absent-mindedly flipping an odd coin.
"What is that?", asked Zoey, glancing at it curiously.
Mirroring Rex, Kai answered, "That is both a secret and none of your business."
Alpha said, "Master, I sense that these five have very strong auras...similar to yours after the bird appeared."
Kai froze, the coin in his hand. "Wait, what?"
Seth asked, "What kind of bird?"
Alpha answered, "I am not sure...but after it flew overhead, my master's aura increased considerably. Your auras are of a similar brightness. Do you believe there is a connection?"
Victor nodded. "Obviously, it means Kai is a Legendborn. So are we."
"Legendborn? You mean that old story the locals keep telling me about?", asked Kai, "I guess that's believable..."
"You are in great danger if you are.", Seth said, "There's this evil creature or something hunting us, trying to kill all the Legendborn before they can stop it. It will come for you too if you aren't careful. Perhaps you should come with us."
Kai frowned. "I can take care of myself."
At that moment, there was a loud crack, and a tree fell in front of the Legendborn. As they watched, it withered away into ash, an evil smoke rising up from it.
"Hello again, Legendborn.", the voice of the Darkness boomed, "Did you miss me?"
Kai looked alarmed. "What the - where the heck are you!?"
"I am everywhere - and nowhere. My essence is within every shadow, my will in every dark thought. And I am ready to consume you.", the Darkness answered.
Alpha readied himself for combat. "I do not like this, master. I can sense all the surrounding aura is being drained out by this...thing."
"What!? How is that even possible?!", cried Kai.
Victor thought the same thing. But then he reached out, filling everyone around him with some of his strength.
"Wow, that's cool.", Kai commented, as the fiery power touched him.
A thick cloud of shadows whirled up in front of them, forming into the shape of a Mega Tyranitar. Appearing around it were several of the masked cultists, all holding swords.
"Okay...this isn't looking good.", commented Rex.
Seth's fists lit up with lightning. "We're going to have to fight. Come on!"
Selene roared, and barreled towards the shadow monster. The Tyranitar image roared back, then charged forwards and slammed into Selene, throwing her behind the Legendborn.
Cain cursed. "That thing's strong! And we don't have any Pokemon to fight it with!"
"We managed to defeat Whitehair.", Victor said encouragingly, "I think we can fight this thing."
The cultists ran, blades pointing towards the heroes, but Alpha leapt in and punched them all away in rapid succession. Victor summoned fire into his hands, hoping that it would burn away the shadowy Tyranitar.
Kai sent out another Pokemon to assist them; a Charizard with a long scar over one eye. It roared excitedly, and readied a Flamethrower.
Zoey braced herself for battle, keeping her injured arm under the protection of her cloak. Rex was setting up some more traps, and Seth had moved in front to guard him. Cain was focusing, perhaps trying to pull the move that had purified Selene again.
The Darkness chuckled. "My newest spell shall be more than your match. This image of a Pokemon has all the strength and none of the weaknesses. And it only seeks to destroy you. Perhaps running would be a good idea here."
"In your dreams.", spat Rex.
"As you wish.", the Darkness replied, "Darkranitar, annihilate them! Leave no trace behind!"
The shadow Pokemon bellowed, and stomped its foot, causing the earth to shake and crack. The heroes struggled to keep their balance, while darkness began to swirl around the Tyranitar.
Kai's Charizard unleashed his attack, but the shadow creature completely absorbed the attack without any visible harm. It retaliated with a strike of shadowy tentacles, which threw the Charizard into Selene.
Kai looked shocked, then furious. "I won't let you throw my Pokemon around like that! Hiya!"
He charged towards the Tyranitar, his hands lighting up with prismatic energy. Punching forward once, twice, fiery power flew from his hands and scorched the creature, forcing it to fall back.
At the same time, Cain's eyes lit up, and swirling green power rose up from the area around him. The air hummed with energy, and Victor felt as if he were on the edge of an unfathomable power.
The Darkness prepared to strike back, as a cold surge of power shook the area. Shadowy magic pooled beneath the Tyranitar, ready to consume everything it touched.
Cain's magic and the Darkness's raced towards each other, hissing and crackling as they touched. Neither could overwhelm the other, but they struggled to do so and achieve victory for their side.
Victor poured more energy into Cain, and the young man's power managed to win out. It wrapped around the Tyranitar, which made a ghastly wail as the shadows that formed it melted away into the ground. But as it shrank, a dark tendril wrapped around Kai's leg and attempted to drag him into the earth with it.
Alpha and the Charizard ran over to try and help him, but they were not as strong as the Darkness. Kai found himself sinking...until Zoey ran over and used her energy shield to sever the tentacle.
The Darkness screeched in rage, but his presence rapidly faded from the area. Cain's power cut off, and he fell to the ground exhausted. Everyone ran over to him, looking concerned.
Cain quickly got up, though, and said that he was fine, just fine. Everyone looked back at the melting puddle of shadow, not a word spoken.
Finally, Kai said, "You know, I think I might actually consider your offer now." (-o-)
AN: Whew, sorry this took so long to write! I just haven't been feeling like writing my fanfics lately, but I am working on them still.
So, it appears that our heroes have a new friend now! Perhaps their chances have increased, who knows?
The road to Glashear City will continue next chapter, and I will see you then!