Book II: Impending Twilight

Chapter 115: The forked road

Point of View Black

I felt as if I had gotten no sleep the previous night. I couldn't bring myself to fall asleep with all the discomfort I was feeling. Being trapped in a small house full of people you resent will usually do that. Of course, that list excluded Naomi, but I still didn't feel satisfied with her choices. Though the feelings were mutual towards my own choices over the recent events. It didn't matter, anyway. Now we were going our own ways and we wouldn't be meeting until our journey was near its end.

The scent of a salty burnt meat met my nostrils. It smelled like bacon. Never before have I actually had it, but whenever Alex made it for himself I thought it smelled very interesting. I stood from the blankets I had bundled up into a bed and headed towards the smell that aroused a grumble from my stomach. I couldn't really remember the last time I had ate, but it wasn't after I departed on that mission with Lilly and Raiden. I stumbled across the house, still half asleep, until I made my way into what would have been a dining room in any normal house, which was also connected to the kitchen.

A curious scene played out in front of me. To my surprise, Lily and Raiden had snuck into the safe house we were in and the two were preparing a breakfast along with Rhys, who was in the form of a greninja. The three didn't even take notice of me, cooking with skills that would rival any chef. Lily would toss eggs across the kitchen and Rhys would catch them in his hands without looking. He would then crack them open with quick precision, before flashing to the trash to throw them away and then moved in a blurring speed to collect all sorts of different ingredients. Raiden manned the bacon and sausage. This was actually quite amusing. The three were completely in sync and made cooking seem badass. Even with my hate towards the three, I still had to respect the skill they were putting into this.

Without looking, Rhys began talking to me as he grabbed a pile of sausage from Raiden and began slicing it up with a water star. "Ahh, Ryder, would you mind waking up Naomi and Stark. Breakfast will be done very shortly."

I remained too puzzled to acknowledge his request.

"What? Never seen an elite team of pokemon make breakfast before? It's an essential skill when surviving on your own. Now, chop-chop, everyone needs to be up so we can get through this morning as quickly as possible."

"Umm, right," I gave an uneasy nod as I turned in the direction of Naomi and Stark. I navigated through the house until I found the two umbreons curled up together. For a few seconds I watched the two. They looked so peaceful, and for a moment it was easy to forget that Stark was a murdering scumbag that Naomi loved. The thought still repulsed me. How could she choose him over me? It was terrible that Rhys asked me to wake them up. I wasn't quite over how I hurt Naomi and it was a bit hard to face her after I snapped on everybody.

I ignored my emotions for a moment and cleared my throat before raising my voice at the two. "Hey, wake up, Rhys has breakfast made." No response. I walked up to the two and began nudging Naomi with my paw, "Hey, come on, we've got things to do." Naomi let out a grunt, before her eyes peered open, revealing two confused crimson orbs.

"Morning," I quietly spoke, trying to keep the awkwardness out of my voice off.

"Oh, hey," Naomi replied, sounding a bit startled to see me.

"Umm, Rhys is making breakfast. He wants everyone up. So…"

"Yeah, I'll get Stark up," Naomi nodded as she stood up and stretched out her body with a tired yawn. I slowly walked away, but I watched Naomi out of the corner of my eye. There really had to be a way to win her over; I wasn't ready to accept failure.

I strategized different plans in my head until I was in the kitchen with Rhys, which he was now mixing a giant pan of scrambled eggs with all sorts of meats, veggies and cheeses together.

"Hey, Rhys," I sternly spoke up.

"Hmm?"

"I want to change the teams up, put Naomi on mine."

"Oh?" Rhys said as his brow rose, and despite the tongue scarf, I could see that sneer he was wearing. "And Naomi wants this?"

"Ummm, no-"

"Then I'm not doing it," Rhys stated.

"What? Why!"

"Many reasons. One, you nearly killed her; two, Stark and her are together so they'll be more in sync with each other; three, the WPA probably won't like seeing her; four, I know what this is about, and believe me you're not in the position to win her over."

"What?" My heart skipped a beat. "I just don't feel that she's safe with St-"

"And because you think you can still convince her to be with you," Rhys cut me off. "Believe me, love is a tricky road, but now is not the time for that. Let Naomi and Stark be. When we complete our mission and our lives stabilize then you'll have a good chance to talk to her. Or maybe you'll find someone entirely different, there are lots of pokemon out there."

I took a step back as I scowled at the fake greninja. "Ummm… I wasn't asking for advice, and it's just weird coming from you."

Rhys laughed to himself. "Heh, probably. But here, I'll let you have the first plate." Rhys moved in a flash for a split second and returned with a plate. In a quick speed he scooped up the scrambled eggs and placed it on the plate for me. "Enjoy."

"Umm, thanks, I guess." If I had hands, I would be scratching my head in confusion right now. Instead, I grabbed the plate in my maw and took it into the other room. As I went to find a spot to sit down, Naomi and Stark were just now entering in this area.

"Wow, that almost smells good enough to eat," Naomi commented with a smirk.

"Thank you," Rhys said as he flashed in front of Naomi and Stark with breakfast, nearly giving the two a heart attack.

I watched Naomi and Stark for a second as they found a spot away from me to eat, but I just decided it was best to focus on eating, besides, I was starved. When I did take my first bite I froze for a second as I let the juices of the meal spread out onto my taste buds. 'D-Damn, this is actually really good. Why the hell does he know how to cook so good?' Needless to say, I scarfed down the whole dish, and while I was full, I still wanted more due to it being so delicious.

"Anyways," Rhys rose his voice as he shifted back into a zorua. "Today we part ways. I've packed bags for everyone containing everything you'll need. A map, a tablet device for communication or for any purposes necessary, which also can't be traced in any way, even by Genesis. Also, Naomi and Stark, I have supplied you two with a sufficient amount of nanite meds to keep you two going for the month we will be separated. When we meet again I will resupply the two of you. Directions for the nanite meds are on the containers, and don't mix them up.

"As stated, the members of team one is Ryder, Lilly and myself. Team two is Stark, Naomi and Raiden. Very detailed directions have been placed in your bags, which will lead you to your destination from here. While I can't promise Jack Jaegar is at that location, it will most certainly be a good starting point for finding him. Also, this last detail is crucial, even if you fail your mission. On your map I have your mission marked, and a meeting spot. It is crucial we meet there by December twentieth, before the new year. That will leave us around ten days to commence our battle against Genesis before their plan launches. It is pivotal that we all meet there with forces to combat Genesis, if not it won't be possible to stop Ghost. Questions?"

"Yeah," Naomi spoke up, "This tablet device, how're we going to use it? I mean will it be able to pick up Raiden's fingers? They're usually just for human fingers."

"Yes," Rhys simply answered. "This tablet is more pokemon friendly than the usual ones you find humans using. Instead of it recognizing certain surfaces like the soft skin of a human's digits, it's pressure sensitive. So that means any of you can use it, even if it might be difficult for a quadruped. But that also means you'll have to be sure it's off when it's not in use, since anything can tamper with its screen. So, just be sure it's off when not in use and it should work like a super computer."

"Really, a super computer?" Naomi's eyes gleamed with a bit of passion. "What're the specs?"

"Heh, it's all the high end technology, Genesis doesn't go cheap on their technology. One terabyte Solid State drives, thirty-two gigs of ram and everything you would need to do just about anything. It's pretty expensive so don't break it, but if you do I can always just borrow more from Genesis."

I cocked my head to the side at the mention of these 'specs'… 'Ummm, I'm just going to pretend I understood what half of that stuff was.'

"Anyways, now that that's all said and done, we're all clear to head out. Ryder, Lilly, come along."

Rhys started heading towards the front door and both teams followed him outside. We were all greeted with the morning sun, and while the morning was a bit nippy, it still felt great to get some fresh air. This part of Lumiose was quiet, almost vacant of others, and a bit run down from old age. The only other sound of life that we did hear was the noise of bird pokemon chirping off in the distance.

"Our paths split from here," Raiden commented out loud. "So this is it."

I looked around to notice that the street outside forked off into two different directions, and at that realization I knew this was it. Despite that, I still wasn't ready, I had one last thing to do.

"Wait," I spoke up.

"Yes, Ryder?"

I turned towards Naomi as took a shallow step towards her. "I just wanted to say… I'm sorry about what happened earlier. I honestly don't understand what happened to me, I was just so infuriated and confused, then the next thing I knew my thoughts weren't even my own. Or, it felt like that at least. I'm really sorry, I never wanted to bring any harm to you," I told Naomi with all the remorse in my heart. And while she may not have truly forgiven me, I didn't care, I had to do this for me.

"Black," Naomi began, her voice not holding any edginess to it. "I'm just honestly happy we're all okay. You had a meltdown, and while you went way overboard, I can understand how it got that bad. I know you've had it rough for a long time, and it all had to come out and manifest at some point I guess."

"Yeah, but… I still tried hurting you."

Naomi gave out a sigh, "Really, don't worry too hard about it. I've met a lot of messed up people in my life, and even though what happened was messed up, you're not a bad person. I just think you just reached your breaking point back there."

"So you don't hate me?"

"No. You're still my friend, and we'll just consider it a big bump along the road. All in all, we got over the bump, and now we just got to keep going."

All of a sudden my eyes began to feel weighed down, but at the same time I felt a bit of weight lifted from over my shoulders. Just hearing that from Naomi made everything so much better, even if she was with Stark. Just the fact that we could at least still be friends meant so much to me, because I still had something to cling to, and I wasn't going to let go. My claws dug into the ground as I felt a tear leave my eye. "Thanks."

"You okay, Black?" Naomi looked at me funny.

I just emptily stared down, but wore a smile. "You just have no idea how much it means for me to hear that I still have a friend. Even after all that I've done."

Naomi just gave a warm smile at me. "It's alright, Black. Just take care while you're travelling."

"You too," I spoke, and to my surprise Naomi came in for a hug. I returned the feelings as I held her tightly. I didn't want this moment to end, I wanted to stay with her for just one more day, but I knew it was going to be short. So instead, I cherished the last few seconds of our embrace, before Naomi was the first to let go, and I followed right after.

"Stay safe," I said as I looked at Naomi one last time, before joining my group. With that, we set out on our own paths. Perhaps this really would be the last time I would see Naomi, but I had faith that I would meet her again, and I wasn't letting go of the small string of hope.

Three hours later

Our group mostly kept up our pace in silence, which we were quick to make it outside of Lumiose and onto route four. It felt weird travelling around this area again, since the last time I came through here I had recently been adopted/forcibly kidnapped by Alex. Heh, it actually felt nostalgic, but in a painful way, despite the whole 'I hated everybody phase' I was in. Even though this place brought back memories, it looked different due to the season we were in. For instance, the ground was lightly dusted with snow now, and the trees were no longer blooming with leaves. Instead, everything was barren, silent, and just lonely out here. But since I was out here with Rhys and Lilly, I suppose now wouldn't be a bad time to get familiar with the mission I'm being forced on.

"So, I should have asked before, but where exactly do you have us rushing to?"

"Anistar city," Rhys answered with a ring in his voice. "Ever been there before? It's quite an interesting city."

"No, I haven't. But I know it's near where I used to live."

"Ahh, Snowbelle. we'll be passing over there at some point."

"Passing over?" I repeated.

"Well yeah, I mean we're not walking the whole way there. I'm just putting some distance between us and Lumiose before I transform into something to fly there with."

"Why wait?" I asked.

"Because," Rhys began. "I'm sure Genesis has some scouts out looking for everyone that has gone missing on that mission, and not only that we risk getting spotted by the Omega squad, who have master hunting skills. It's best if we play it safe, if we get caught everything is compromised. When we're just a bit further we can travel by air."

"So the Omega squad is still after us?"

"I believe originally their target was Stark, but, since we're all defecting to our own side, they'll be after us if tasked with that job. Knowing Ghost though, he's itching to test out their newest creation, so you can expect him to use this as a stress test for them."

"So, how much do you know of this Omega squad?" I asked, since the whole topic actually did seem pretty interesting, despite the fact that they may be murdering me at some point.

"Well, I pretty much know everything about them. They're made up of Four members. None of which you actually want to fight one on one."

"So, who exactly are they, and what's so different about them? I mean they seemed pretty fluent when we encountered them on the train earlier."

"Heh, well they are very advanced in what they do. But the most noticeable trait they have is their albino like appearance, just like Stark. But that's nowhere near important compared to what they're capable of. Remember what I told you about Stark and you being two different halves?"

"Yeah, I got all the elements, while he has mastery over his own natural affinity and power and stuff."

"Correct, but unlike you two, these pokemon are the fourth kind. Before them there was another kind of pokemon, but only two were made. Before that this third kind of pokemon could change into their eon and Aevon forms, but to achieve that they first had to mega-evolve, and then evolve once again into the next final state. But now this fourth kind of pokemon are permanently in their deity form. But, they also possess the power of both the eon side and the aevon's. But they're limited to how much they can access of the eon side, usually only limited to a few affinities, give or take.

"There is something you need to know about the Omega squad though. They may look like normal pokemon, but in the event we do fight them, run, and if you have a chance to kill one, take it. They won't show you any mercy, so it would be wise to be the same towards them. These pokemon have been stripped of their personas by the sciences Ghost has developed. They're nothing but empty husks doing his work. While at one point they were pokemon just like us, they aren't anymore."

"Were these pokemon, like the other pokemon being held hostage I saw at that one Genesis facility? In that case they need to be saved."

"They most likely were normal pokemon at one point in time. Very few survive the transformation, which is why they're so limited in numbers. And even if we could reverse the effect of the nanites, their wouldn't be much of a point."

"Wha-Why? They're just victims in all of this, we can't just abandon them!"

Rhys let out a hard sigh. "Due to the stress of the changes put on their bodies, they have a life expectancy of six to eight months after their transformation. The changes tear their body apart from the inside out, it's potent and there is no way to slow it or fix it. If it wasn't for the nanites suppressing their emotions and feelings, they'd be in constant agonizing pain. That's why the third kind of pokemon were the best in my opinion, it didn't give them two sides which overwhelmed them, and the change was only temporary. It still causes incredible damage to the body, but it's more of something that can be used as a last resort in combat, instead of a curse they have to suffer through day by day."

All of this Omega squad stuff sounded pretty dark. I knew Genesis were made up of sick twisted humans and pokemon, but to strip someone completely of their personality?! The thought was harrowing, it just sent ice cold shivers through my body. If Ghost really was the type of person to cause all this pain, then he has to be stopped. He may even be a shadow darker than Crimson Dawn.

"So what about Ghost? I'm curious on what type of person would do all of this."

"Ghost," Rhys's voice went cold. "Where would I start… Terrible person, and has some warped view of bringing peace to the world."

"And you haven't exactly explained how he plans to do that, or at least not on a detailed level."

"The same way he manipulates the Omega squad; he uses nanites to alter their personalities. Instead though, he plans to use these nanites to assimilate the world. In his new world order, everyone will share the same ideals, be raised with the same culture and have the same views, while still holding onto parts of who they are. It's hard to explain and there is no guarantee it will work. But in theory if everyone is united through a certain culture, there won't be a need for everyone to fight or hate each other. So to sum it up, he wants to regulate how everyone views things."

I ran the info Rhys just told me through my head. Culture? How exactly would that fix anything, while it wouldn't be a terrible thing, I couldn't wrap my head completely around it. "How would culture fix anything, and would it really be a bad thing?"

"Maybe I would see the good in it if it wasn't from Ghost. I've known him for a long time. He's a genius, so smart it's terrifying. But he's also cruel, he'll annihilate anything that stands in his path. And do you know what will happen before his plan is implemented?"

"No, I really don't."

"War, lots and lots of bloody war on a global scale. With these nanites that can alter humans and pokemons heads, Ghost will be able to amass an army willing to do anything for him. And for the rest of the world? They'll resist, but it'll be futile due to Ghost's trump cards. I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing if I truly didn't think Ghost is a threat to our world. I don't believe this is the answer for peace this world needs. It's a false deluded peace that isn't real, only one that will be forced upon the inhabitants of this world." Rhys finally ended his long elaboration, and he was nearly out of breath from all the explaining.

While Rhys caught his breath, I just tried to make sense of all this information. From what Rhys was telling me, Ghost was a monster, and maybe all this suffering I was enduring was for a greater cause? If aiding Rhys really did put a stop to Ghost's plan, then maybe the world would be a better place? Perhaps this was the motivation I never had from the start. Hearing all of this really did fill me with some kind of purpose.

"I'm glad we talked about this," I spoke up.

Rhys turned towards me with a bit of surprise. "Was it that interesting to you?"

"No, not that. It's all sickening actually. I've seen many of the horrors Genesis has done. I've witnessed those who were experimented on, I've seen the ashes of what they'll do to cover their tracks, and now I know what sick twisted game they're playing. It's all repulsing, they're nothing but scum that need to be stopped. So, I thank you because this kind of inspires me, oddly enough."

Rhys suddenly busted out with laughter. This quickly caused me to become filled with anger, so I lashed out at him verbally, "What's so funny! I basically open up to you and you laugh!"

"The conclusion of this conversation is just amusing to me. I spent all this time trying to get you to willingly be on my side, when really, all I needed to do was give you the truth and a reason to follow alongside me. I guess I'm not as good with people as I like to think. I thought simply bargaining with you would be as good as it gets."

"Oh," I mused as I thought about it myself.

"Anyways, I think we've covered enough ground for it to be safe for flying." Rhys's form grew in size with a bright magenta flash, and wings sprouted out from his back. Suddenly, I felt much smaller in comparison to the mighty dragon that stood before me, even if it was a fake.

"Dragonite, huh?" Lilly acknowledged with a smirk.

"Heh, we'll be in Anistar in no time, you two. Lilly, you take my back. Ryder, looks like I'll be carrying you." Rhys took one large step towards me, but I was quick to recreate the large gap between us.

"What're you doing?!" I yelled at the false dragon.

"Well, for your safety I am going to carry you. Unlike Lilly who has her ribbons, you have no way of fastening yourself to me while I fly. And with the speeds a dragonite can reach, I fear you will fall. Did you know a dragonite at the peak of its physical condition can travel around the world in less than a day?"

"That's not helping and I'm not flying!" I proclaimed as I lowered towards the ground. I was ready to dodge at any moment, but then something slithery coiled around my waist. I glanced back to see Lilly's ribbons around me, but they were quick to constrict against me.

"H-Hey, let me go, I don't like flying, we already established this!"

Lilly stepped in front of me, and with one firm kick she forced me on my back. The ribbons around my body repositioned themselves and got ahold of my arms and rendered me defenseless.

"Yeah, I Know you won't, you're a pansy. But, I know just the trick to make you more docile." Lilly's face closed in on mine, and forcefully locked lips with me in a kiss. Our eyes met, but in hers were a blank expression that showed no sign of enjoyment out of this. As she continued to kiss me, my body began to feel weak. My muscles relaxed, my head fell back against the snowy ground and I felt ready to sleep on the spot. When Lily saw this she released me from the kiss and began to spit the saliva out of her mouth.

"Bleh. Stop making me do that!" Lily raged as she walked towards Rhys's back and climbed on. Her ribbons extended out and wrapped around Rhys's bulky body.

"Why… why do you keep doing that?" I murmured as Rhys scooped me up in his arms. While I wanted to fight this, I didn't. Whatever power Lily's make-out sessions contained, they were more tiresome than fighting a gym battle.

"I told you before, it's draining kiss! I wouldn't be doing it if it wasn't effective! And don't you dare get the wrong idea, I don't like you!"

With the last of my strength, I made one last witty comment before fading into unconsciousness. "S… Sure you don't." Everything slowly became a blur as Rhys lifted off the ground, and the sound of his flapping wings brought us into the air. A strong breeze pressed against me, but it wasn't long before I was in my own dreams.

Third person point of View

The sound of footsteps echoed down the darkest part of the Genesis facility. Ghost led a group of his heavily armored bodyguards down the halls where all the specimens were kept. The lights were dim, and visible through a very thick glass window where the victims of Genesis's science experiments. None of the pokemon took notice of the humans due to the glass being one way. While in their cells, most rested while others panicked and made their futile attempts to escape. In one particular cell a weavile had been clawing so much at the walls that his bladed fingers had snapped, but that didn't stop the pokemon from adding to the bloody streaks on the walls. Ghost and his men paid no attention to the victims, for they were more than used to the harrowing sights by now. Instead, they nonchalantly made their way to the end of the long hall where a large steel door stood. Before Ghost even reached the door, one of his men hastily made his way to the steel door and had it unlocked by the time he reached it.

"You two, wait for my return. Do not let anyone in or out of here," Ghost ordered as he walked into the room, and the door slammed behind him. When inside, Ghost was greeted by the sound of a raspy breath fighting to keep up with its exhaustion. Ghost showed no reaction to this, and just removed his jacket and placed it on the door handle. This left Ghost in his black vest that had a white button up shirt underneath. Ghost looked towards the center of the room towards the ragged breaths as he rolled up his sleeves and moved in a slow saunter while putting on a pair of black leather gloves stowed away in his pockets.

Ghost stopped and watched the suffering quilava on the bloodied table. The creature was forcefully tied down to his back in a way that any quadruped pokemon would find painful, and his mouth was muzzled. A large fresh V shaped scar was left on the quilava's stomach, which was poorly stitched up and oozing with infections and blood.

"Merrick, Merrick, Merrick," Ghost sang as he rubbed his fingers along the dried up blood on the table. Merrick didn't react and seemed to still be unconscious. Ghost was fast to realize this and he slowly dragged his finger across the table. His fingers smudged the blood on the table until it traveled up the quilava's side and went towards his stomach. Ghost gently rubbed his fingers against the lips of the poorly stitched incision. This aroused a grunt out of the quilava, before Ghost's finger slipped deep into his wound. Merrick's eyes shot open wide with a scream that was ear shattering. He thrashed about in an attempt to escape, but the belts holding him down kept him in place. Ghost slowly withdrew his finger from the open wound as merrick was left gasping for air. A few seconds went on as Ghost watched the quilava get ahold of himself without any expression on his face.

"Good news, little quilava," Ghost began as he walked to the front of the table, where Merrick was able to see Ghost with his head pinned to the table. "It seems your friends were able to elude us, for now that is. You probably thank your God, Arceus for that. That's a foolish mistake though, for you're ill prepared for what that means for you.

"You see; through you I was able to learn everything I needed. You're nearly done with your role, but I have one last use for you."

"Mandus… Mandus will kill every last one of you," Merrick spoke in a faint voice that was near inaudible.

"Hmmf. You think your friends are coming now to save you? You're a traitor to them, when they discover that you broke, they'll resent you. But that won't stop you from clinging to hope, the belief that your knight in shining armor will come to end the nightmare. This hope you cling so desperately to, it's nothing but a lie you've been convinced to accept as a reality. You always hear the stories of miracles, it's everywhere, in the movies, books, fairy tales, but that won't come to be in this story. In the end, you're just the protagonist of a story that is a tragedy.

"For you, there is no hope, there is nothing left for you but my final game. Through you, Mandus will die, and that will mark the end of The Crimson Dawn. But don't be sad, you should really be excited, even happy for everyone you ever loved, for Crimson Dawn's downfall will be another step into a brave new world."

"You… you talk a lot, but that's all you'll ever be, just big talk." Merrick let out a pained laugh, before breaking out into a cough fit. Ghost just sighed, before slamming his fist down onto the quilava's stomach. All the air left Merrick's body as his eyes widened. His entire stomach was engulfed in a sharp pain that convulsed throughout his entire front side. When Merrick managed clenched his eyes shut it squeezed out a tear from each eye.

"Before I part with you for today though, there is something I wish to enlighten you on, quilava. For as long as you've been following Mandus, I was quite surprised to find that you knew so little about the lucario. You just blindly followed him, because what, you felt you owed him your life for saving you? You wouldn't be where you are now if you had just ran far away and never looked back." Ghost backed away from the quilava and walked towards the door as he pulled his leather gloves off and threw them to the ground.

"Next time you meet Mandus, it will be the last. Little quilava, send my farewells to my old friend. Let the end of the show be marvelous." Ghost put his jacket back on and exited the room. The steel door slammed shut, and once again Merrick was left alone.

Snow gently fell from the sky, down onto the streets of Snowbelle. The city today was mostly silent, and only a few humans roamed about the streets. Alone in an alley laid Mandus, who was without his usual cloak and left in old bloodied bandages that were more than tattered from days of abuse. The lucario barely clung to consciousness as he shivered from the cold and the sickness that lingered in his body. In his head, he was beginning to think that this might be the end for him, that he had finally reached the limit of his body.

The lucario flimsily placed his good hand below him and spent the next minute getting back onto his feet. When halfway up, his legs gave out, but he forced himself to thrash into the alley wall and used it for support. His legs trembled, his infected wounds screamed and he began to feel light headed. One step at a time Mandus used the wall to aid him in moving, but after three steps he plummeted to the ground in defeat. His entire body ached down to his frozen bones, and this time he didn't feel he had the strength to rise back up.

"Is this the end?" Mandus asked to himself, but soon remembered that it was best to preserve his strength in every way possible. Mandus felt himself drifting off, but just as everything started to fade away, a set of young black feet walked past him. Mandus's head rose up, but found that nothing had ever walked past him from the start.

'I can't stop,' Mandus reminded himself as he managed to get to his knees, but had to stop for rest after that. The lucario remained on his hands and knees for three minutes before he saw a blue blur walk past him again. This time he was able to make out the shape of the riolu, but he was quick to lose it. Mandus slowly turned his head left and right, but found that this brought a headache to his head. For now, he needed to just focus on moving forward.

Mandus clenched his jaw as he used the wall to assist him up. When standing he managed to make it just four steps before losing his grip on the wall and sliding forward. He managed to catch himself on all fours, but at the cost of excruciating pain. His head lowered to the ground once again, but his eyes found those same black paws, this time standing in front of him. His head traveled up to meet eyes with the riolu who was cheerfully smiling. Mandus gasped at the sight.

"K-Kiera?" Was all Mandus could manage.

Chapter End

Author Note: And I'm a day ahead of schedule this time around. Special thanks to genericgamer207 for editing! I would also like to thank everyone who has commented on my last question from the previous chapter. I read everyone and I'll be working to see what I can do to meet what everyone is saying. Luckily, I do have a plan. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me so long, it's been a long journey and it's been fun having all of you along for the ride.