Book II: Impending Twilight

Chapter 116: Elegy

"K-Kiera?" Was all Mandus could manage. The riolu gave Mandus a warm smile, before wrapping her arms around his neck. Mandus's eyes went wide. For a moment he ignored the weakness in his broken body, and wrapped his arms tightly around the riolu. The two both found their eyes closed as they savored the moment that lasted near a minute. When Mandus's eyes opened again he found that he was no longer lost in the vast streets of Snowbelle.

It was a beautiful day outside. Birds were singing, flowers blooming under the light of the sun. The blooming plants gave off a sweet fragrance. The air was ridden of that awful city smell. Everything here was paradise. Mandus released the young riolu from the hug, but kept one hand over her shoulder. With no pain, the lucario stood up. His eyes looked off over the cliff and towards the vast forest below. From here Mandus could see the sanctum he once called home. A place where he felt at peace from humans, even after the tragedies of his childhood. The mountainous area went out for as far as the eye could see, forming a wall around their paradise.

The riolu freed her shoulder from Mandus's grip, but grabbed onto his hand with both her tiny paws. A warm smile grew on Mandus, and he just gave the riolu a nod as he followed her. The two went away from the cliff side, and into the cover of the forest. Inside Mandus felt the cool shade protecting him. Twigs snapped, yips called out, and scampering paws could be heard from all directions. The air within was pure, free of any sign of city life.

"Where are you taking me?"

"Mum has been looking all over for you. She was getting worried, so I came out to find you," Kiera answered with a small giggle at the end of her sentence.

"Bryn…" Mandus said to himself, feeling a wave of emotions flooding his mind. But he didn't allow them to overwhelm him just yet. So he followed the riolu until they reached a stream of water. The two followed the stream uphill. Neither stopped until the sound of rushing water coming down met his ears. A waterfall fed the river of water below. Following along the river was a bed of rocks. The sun gleamed over the waterfall, warming his skin. Mandus felt his grip tighten around the riolu.

"Daddy?" Kiera cocked her head to the side as she looked up at him. Her two innocent eyes pierced into Mandus, melting his heart for the first time in years.

"Mandus, there you are!" a strong females voice boomed from atop the waterfall. Mandus tore his eyes from the riolu and looked up at the top of the waterfall with astonishment. The sun shone around a figure and her shadow was cast over Mandus. An accusing glare dug into Mandus as the lucario crossed her arms. The female lucario shook her head at him, before launching off the cliffside. Her body spun as she fell. With a final flip, she landed down on the ground in a crouched position.

"Bryn…" Mandus whispered to himself. She was the same as last time, a slender lucario that was just a bit shorter than himself.

"You know it was your turn to get everyone breakfast this morning, right?" Bryn started at Mandus, catching him off guard. "So I had to hurry up and get breakfast for Kiera and myself under short notice. Care to explain mister?"

Mandus's heart skipped a beat. Something about the wrath of his mate was much fiercer than the volcanic flames of Entei combined with the lightning of Raikou. "I… I umm, I forgot," was all Mandus could think of defending himself with. Sadly, Mandus didn't have any of his Crimson Dawn colleagues to back him up against Bryn, he was all on his own.

Bryn let out a bitter puff of air as she placed her hand on her hip. "What're you even doing this early in the morning? Don't tell me you're training again."

Mandus paused to think of his next answer. While he hadn't been sure of why, he didn't do the task he was asked either. he thought it'd be best to go with the most likely answer since it was a habit long ago. "I was."

"Bryn's arm crossed as she gave Mandus a murderous glare. "Mandus, I've told you time and time again, you can let the past go. It's over, out here it's just us pokemon, there's no need to learn how to fight like that."

Mandus bit down on his lip, knowing full well of the truth. She was ignorant and trapped in the idea that she truly was safe here. While Mandus may have seen through that, she didn't, and that held him back at times.

"Bryn…" Mandus started as his breath grew hoarse. "I don't know how I'm here, or if any of this is real… but we aren't safe. I saw-

Suddenly, Mandus's eyes shot open. The burn in his muscles returned as he found himself still on his hands and knees. Snow fell from the sky, and Mandus realised that he was back in Snowbelle.

"W-Was that a dream?" Mandus had to ask himself. He gave a strong shake of his head, before crawling forward on all fours. All the pain had returned to his worn body, he was no longer lost in the mirage of his past. HIs muscles began to quiver and soon gave out. With a hard thud, the lucario landed on his front side, groaning in his misery.

"Come on, get up!" a voice yelled into his ear with the sound of gunshots crackling in the background. Mandus felt a set of teeth dig into his shoulder and yank him up. When Mandus turned to see who it was, he was taken by surprise to see it was Dawn.

"Dawn, what's going on? Where are-…" Mandus stopped himself when he noticed that he felt different. He didn't feel like a lucario anymore, he felt more fragile and small. His eyes glanced down at his hands and with a surprised gasp he realized he was right. His blue paws shook as he took in his younger form as a riolu.

"Did you hit your head?!" Dawn rose her voice. "Move!" A sharp pain stabbed into his side as Dawn shoved me with her horn. The two of us ran through a dark forest together. Flashes of white blinded me, keeping my eyes from adjusting to the dark. whistling followed by deafening explosions shattered my eardrums as the ground shook. Crackling gunshots sent tremors coursing through my unresponsive body.

It didn't take more than a second for Mandus to remember that he was back in the Hell of his childhood. This was all before Bryn, before Genesis, before he was deprived of who he was. The two ran in the cover of darkness. It wasn't until the two slipped through a narrow passage in the ground that they stopped. Mandus's heart pounded, the muscles in his legs throbbed as he fell to his rear.

"Come on," Dawn urged him with a push of her paw. Mandus stood on legs made of jello as he took one small step at a time.

As they inched forward, the cave expanded out into a large corridor. and Mandus found that other pokemon were taking shelter here as well. A faint light illuminated from the tail of a weeping charmander. His charmeleon mother clung onto him tightly, burying his face into her stomach. Their two tails brought a faint light that casted shadows in all directions. The light revealed many of the other scared pokemon, few of which were alike. Many cried, some wallowed in silence, and even fewer whispered amongst each other.

"There's too many to counter against," Dawn spat out.

"I see," an absol stepped out from the shadows. "Did they follow you back?" he asked.

"No… I don't think they had a chance to follow us. Both human sides are at it again up there," Dawn said.

"Good, hopefully they spill every ounce of each other's blood," the absol said out of spite. A tense expression on his face loosened, and a faint smile formed. "And Dawn, I'm glad you're safe."

"You too, Papa," Dawn forced a smile. An explosion shook the cave, sending pebbles from the ceiling. many pokemon cried, but were quickly muffled out by the following explosion. The crackle of gunfire grew louder.

Mandus held onto himself and dug his claws into his flesh out of fear. Whatever this was, it was very vivid, like no other dream he had ever had. If Mandus did not know any better, he would have thought he somehow ended up back in time.

"Why am I here again?" Mandus said to no one in particular.

"Mandus, Dawn, are you two alright?" a shallow voice asked from across the dark cavern. Mandus and Dawn both directed their attention towards a smaller fox known as a zorua. While smaller in size, he had actually been older than both Mandus and Dawn, but not by much. Mandus remembered that face too well.

"We're fine," Dawn confirmed. "What about you, Rhys?"

"I'm not the one risking my life repeatedly for this resistance. You two should step down already. Last thing we need is more of our own dead."

"I refuse," Dawn snapped. "I may not have planned to stay here much longer, but I won't let this happen to everyone I love!"

"Such determination," Rhys mused, but not in a positive tone.

"Rhys, what about you, don't you care?" Dawn questioned the fox.

"Of course I do!" Rhys shouted back. "However, regardless of what happens we won't win! You may not see that, but I do! My top priority is survival, and if sitting back is what I have to do then I will."

"You slakoth!" Dawn quipped.

"Say what you want. I am just one pokemon, and my contribution won't change anything."

"Yeah, but think of all the others who say that, if you all helped-"

"It doesn't matter what others think, Dawn. I am still just one pokemon, and whether I choose to fight or not, those pokemon will still be sitting out. In the end, what I do doesn't make a difference, everyone has already made up their minds."

Dawn was about to continue arguing with Rhys, but a luxray stepped out from deeper within the cave. A gnarly smirk formed on the luxray's maw as he walked with his head held high. Through all the chaos he was one of the few to keep his pride. He was an intimidating pokemon due to his species, but at one time he hadn't been how he was now.

"Alright, anyone who is still in good shape come with me! Tonight we're taking our territory back from the human scum bags!" The luxray's voice boomed through the air. A few pokemon roared with spirit, but the majority were dead silent.

Mandus remembered this luxray like any other day. A wise pokemon that had been a close friend with his father. In a way, he was like an adopted uncle in Mandus's family. He would always be around to teach the lucario, scold him when he made the wrong choices. But, through the conflict that rose in Mandus's homeland the luxray changed. The once kind pokemon was no longer as understanding, or as patient, but instead now he lusted for human blood. War had brought out his darker colors, showing everyone his violent nature. But despite that, everyone still looked to him as a leader. Him and a few others led us through these battles, our last attempt to take back our land.

"Not so fast," Dawn's father intervened as he stood in the way of the luxray.

"What do you want, Woods?"

"Many of these pokemon have been to Hell and back. To send them back out would be insane. Look at these pokemon, they aren't ready to die like you."

The luxray snorted at him "Then let the cowards wallow in their snot and tears. The fight isn't about us. It's about our future generations that will thrive and carry on our memories!" the luxray yelled. "Now anyone who wants a tomorrow for our future generations, follow me!" The luxray pushed his way past.

Mandus found himself propping himself against the wall of the alley. His head leaned back against the cold brick wall as he watched snow fall towards him. All he had the strength left to do was think about what his mind had conjured up for him. It was surreal, and perhaps it was his life playing out for his final hours.

His thoughts reflected back to that hard year. For unknown reasons, two human sides broke out into a war. Caught in the middle of the battle were the pokemon of Mandus's home. Day after day Mandus watched as all his friends died. Each morning he would awake to more lifeless corpses. First his mother, then his two younger sisters, and the last he had to cling to was his elder brother. Within a month Mandus had lost his family, leaving him as the sole survivor of his bloodline. Only two friends had remained to help him through this, Rhys and Dawn. But even with all their support, it was futile. In the end the humans were too strong, even with Mandus and Dawn helping the resistance.

"So, are you going to talk, or will I take another from you?" a chilling voice echoed in Mandus's head. The scene around Mandus melted away and into a dark steel room where the light of day was non existant. When Mandus tried to move his arms he found himself buckled down against a chair. Mandus found his two frail paws strapped to the armrests of his chair. He soon realized that he was back in his unevolved form.

Suddenly, Mandus's body began to scream in agonizing pain as he felt a nail forced from its place. The flesh was slow to tear, and when it did drops of blood fell from the tip of his finger. Burns left Mandus's skin seared as the exposed flesh became infected. Some of the bones in his fingers couldn't be felt, and wouldn't respond. Half of the nails adorned to his paws had been ripped out, leaving blood trickling down his paws. The lingering flavor of metallic was in Mandus's mouth. He felt around with his tongue only to feel a sharp sting in the empty sockets where he once had teeth. One... two... three... Mandus continued to feel around, counting the missing teeth until he reached six. Feeling all these affliction at once made Mandus cry out in pain. He began to hyperventilate as he remembered where he was, what dreadful nightmare he was reliving.

"This can end any moment now. All I need from you is the hideout where all your little pokemon friends are hiding out. Tell me that, and the suffering ends," the raspy voice of a man spoke.

The man was tall, twice Mandus's adult height. A dark raincoat went down his torso, stained in reds from many victims. The red even stained the long beard that stretched down to his center chest. His eyes were a dull green, almost grey in color, and his face had many hideous scars. Mandus recognized this man as the reaper, or so he remembered. Accompanying the human was an espeon. Her fur was greying, her bones visible through her flesh. Like her master she wasn't bothered by the scene in front of her. She was nonchalant and only spoke when she needed too. Very rarely did she ever speak with her real voice.

Tears dropped down from Mandus's eyes as the dark nightmare played out. Never again did Mandus want to ever think about this night, nor the events that followed. All he wanted now was to wake up or die in the real world. Or perhaps... he was dead, and this was his Hell.

"You've held out quite well for a little runt. But, I've had some time to learn a bit about you. What's the absol's name, Dawn was it? Ahh yes, that cocky pokemon is your beloved friend." The human turned towards the door. "Bring her in!"

The dual set of doors opened and two pokemon dragged in a bloody absol. A faint light flickered in Dawn's eyes as she clung to consciousness. Both the monferno and the sawk threw Dawn in front of Mandus, giving him a good view of the suffering she endured. None of it was pleasant on Mandus's eyes, it hurt just to see. It was more than clear that they started with her before Mandus. Many deep gashes ran over her body, marks that would never fade away over the years.

"This absol, she's at her limit. She won't last another night of interrogation. So, I thought we would put her life in your hands." The human sneered as he withdrew a pistol from his pocket and pointed it at Dawn.

Mandus's heart stopped. It was at this moment that he had to make one of the hardest decisions in his life again. Sacrifice the lives of hundreds of pokemon for a chance at survival, or allow Dawn to be killed. Mandus let out a yell as he tried to pull the chains binding him to the chair apart, but he found himself too weak.

"This absol endured a lot for you. This whole time she begged that we left you alone and questioned her instead. Three days we agreed to this in hopes that she would cooperate, but it was three days we listened to her lies. Heh, what a loyal pokemon, keeping her lips sealed of the truth to protect you and her friends. But those lips of hers are why you must make this decision. You two are close friends from what I gathered, but now is the time to choose. Tell me where the resistance is, or I take your friend's life and I move onto you next."

The human pulled the hammer of the gun back. Mandus's heart raced as he was forced to make this painful decision again. For ten seconds the riolu watched as the human grew impatient.

"Times up," the human muttered.

"Wait!" Mandus screamed. "I'll tell you everything!"

The human sneered at this reaction. "Go on."

"Mandus... don't..." Dawn said, her voice broken. Before anything could happen the sawk kicked at the absol's head. Mandus cried out, but no one listened, and Dawn was unconscious after the third blow.

"Enough," the human snapped his fingers. "Be sure she lives, I am a man of my word after all." Both pokemon nodded, before dragging the absol out by her legs. Mandus watched the unconscious expression on her face before the doors separated them.

To this day, Mandus still questioned his decision. Was saving Dawn truly the right answer? The lucario would never know, and he accepted this burden. Mandus sat in his lingering thoughts as the snow accumulated over his soon to be corpse. His hands rested on the cold ground, too weak to move them any further. Mandus's head fell forward as his eyes closed.

A voice spoke to Mandus "Is this really how you want to go. After all that, you're just going to fade away in the middle of an alley?"

Mandus's eyes struggled to open, but he was able to see two legs covered in black fur before him. Mandus recognized the voice right away and feebly smiled to himself.

"You always talked big about making sure that all the suffering of the pokemon in this world would not be in vain. But, in this state, you'll be lucky to save a caterpie from getting stomped on."

"Bryn," Mandus uttered as he struggled to look up, taking in the unaged lucario with his one good eye. Bryn gave Mandus a warm smile as she knelt down and placed her left hand against Mandus's cheek. Mandus could feel the warmth of her hand against his numb cheek. With his good hand he reached up and held his hand over hers. Mandus remained quiet as he thought on how much he missed Bryn. Just by seeing this mirage he felt so lost and alone. It reminded him of his greatest losses and how all the strength and power of the Legendaries would never fix it.

"Do you remember the day we met?" Bryn's voice asked as her eyes went blank in a pensive state. "It was on the first day of spring. Neither of us really saw that day coming, but it had to be the second happiest day in my life." Bryn chuckled to herself. "The first would be when Kiera was born. She was the cutest thing I had ever seen, and she was our little angel." Bryn's hand slid down from Mandus's cheek and trailed down to his chest, just over his heart.

Mandus looked into Bryn's eye. A tear welled up from her left eye, before both closed and she attempted to compose herself. "I really hate what happened to our little girl," Bryn stammered as she broke out into sobs. "As her mother, I should have been able to protect her, and yet-" Bryn stopped herself from finishing. Her hand trembled over Mandus's chest.

"I'm responsible," Mandus quietly said. With his remaining strength, Mandus pulled himself up using the wall behind him. Bryn was caught by surprise from the statement, and she just stared. Even if this Bryn wasn't real, Mandus still found the truth as hard to admit as it was with the real Bryn. "I always told you what I had done to save my friend, Dawn… I even told you that I was their slave after. But when they held me captive... they did things to me," Mandus's voice became quieter as he spoke. "they tampered with my body, changing me. I don't even think I'm a pokemon anymore, I'm not even sure what I am."

"Mandus," Bryn strongly whispered as she wrapped her arms around Mandus. He hugged her back with his one good arm, but after a second Bryn's grip loosened as her body fell limp against him. Mandus caught her with both his arms. Something wet dripped against Mandus, soaking into his stomach area. Mandus's eyes widened as he pulled himself away from Bryn to find her injured.

"No…" Mandus fearfully said as he looked down to her stomach to find a clean stab wound in her gut. Blood flooded at an alarming rate, covering the snowy ground in its crimson color. "Bryn, no… Stay with me, don't die!" Mandus cried out as he watched the lucario's fainting eyes as he held her in his arms.

With one last breath, Bryn feebly gave off her last words, "Mandus… s-save kier..." Bryn's words stopped as her last breath pushed out from her body and her eyes closed.

Mandus gave a few shakes at the dead lucario, but no response came from her. "Bryn? Bryn?! Wake up! Bryn? Don't do this to me again, I'm not prepared to lose you again!" Only silence followed as Mandus tightly clenched the body of his dead mate. The moonlight reflected off the crimson in the alley. Mandus felt a block form in his throat as his emotions welled up in his hollow chest. A few jagged breaths escaped the lucario before he yelled out at the top of his lungs, "Noooooooo!" Mandus's cries echoed through the empty city streets as Bryn's body faded to ash. The dust escaped between his fingers in the cold wind, and her remains scattered throughout the night. In fury, Mandus slammed his good fist in the brick wall, blowing a hole in it. Mandus ignored the fatigue in his body. His breath became heavy as he forced himself to walk.

"Bryn… Kiera," Mandus said aloud, his voice brimming with fury. "I refuse to die here. I won't let Genesis get away with what they've done. They will pay," Mandus growled as he forced himself to run. "My vendetta still thrives within, and I swore I would do this for all the victims in this world!"

Mandus continued to run through the empty streets of Snowbelle until he found a closed store. The lucario didn't hesitate on smashing the window open with a weak aura sphere. An alarm sounded through the night air. Instead of running, Mandus went inside the store and grabbed a paper bag. With quick feet he made his way to the back, where the medical supplies waited. Without even looking, he began putting anything in the bag that would be of use. When the bag was full Mandus bolted from the store. His body burned in pain, but he refused to stop until he was outside of Snowbelle in the forest.

The lucario exhaled a tired breath as he dropped the bag, spilling all the supplies. Mandus dropped to his knees as he panted for air. With trembling hands Mandus searched everything he stole until he found disinfectant. Impatiently, Mandus broke the lid off and spilled a quarter of the liquid into the snow. The lucario didn't hesitate to begin pouring the liquid onto his arm and wounds. A loud cry filled the air as Mandus's arm and wounds burned like it was fire. When the bottle had only a few drops left, Mandus tossed it to the side. Next he moved to the antibiotics. He undid the lid and forced a couple pills down his throat without any water to help wash it down. After that, Mandus applied bandaged to his wounds, from his arms, to burns, to his eye. Nearly ten minutes had passed by the time Mandus finished, and when he did he allowed himself to fall against a tree.

Point of View Annie

Northern winds pushed against the walls of the cabin, shaking the weak structure. At many times I had to wonder if the structure was going to make it, but for now it would have to suffice. In silence, I sat on a wooden stool. Shivering from the cold. I rested against a rough wooden desk as I ground the tip of my wooden wand against it. Muffled out by the sound of the cold winds were Zylen's slowed breaths. Unlike him, I was fine. I managed to escape Genesis almost unscathed, while Zylen took many hard blows. First being the fall when we were knocked out of the sky, the other being the blow he took from the scyther. It was a miracle we made it this far, and another miracle we stumbled by this cabin equipped with medical supplies. Still, Zylen was far from being in good shape, and I was too terrified to take my eyes off him for a second. At many points in the nights I feared he'd stop breathing or give in to his injuries. My medical knowledge did little to help, meaning he was in Arceus's hands at this point.

I turned back from my desk to see him resting on his bed. He laid on his side, nestled up in multiple layers of blankets. My body was numb from the cold, but I wasn't going to take them from Zylen, instead I needed to focus on staying awake for him. Scarcely had I gotten sleep, and piling that on top of the fatigue from before all that happened. At some points I had actually broken into sobs from being so exhausted and terrified for Zylen. All of this was my fault. I sent Zylen out to do this job, and now he's possibly on his deathbed. I would have left for help, but I wasn't sure how far in the woods we were, or if I could leave Zylen alone. What if he was in need of me, or what if Genesis found him. That was what kept me here too, I feared Genesis would find me. Genesis was also what prevented me from starting a fire, I needed this place to appear vacant.

Staying here every minute was torture with Flare in my head too. If WPA found out about me getting caught, what would that mean for my little brother? My grip around my stick tightened from the thought, until I couldn't take it. I stood up on top of my stool and threw the stick at the wall.

"I can't take this!" I screamed as I jumped from the stool and kicked it. My foot throbbed as I realized how big of a mistake that was. I fell to my butt and clenched my swollen foot. As I sat, I looked at Zylen to see if he was still asleep, luckily my fit didn't awake him. I fell to my side against the cold wooden floor and hugged my tail. I let out a sob and tears soaked into my fur. My cries grew louder as I broke like a twig. Other than muffling myself through my tail, I didn't even try to contain myself anymore. It was all too much, I couldn't keep up with all of this anymore. I wanted to be somewhere warm with Zylen, I wanted him to be okay, I wanted Flare, I wanted just one hour of sleep!

Another wind rattled the cabin, blurring out my crying. It took around five minutes before my tear ducts ran out and my tears were frozen into my fur. I still laid on the ground as I listened to the harsh winter outside. Zylen repositioned himself in his sleep, before he let out a groan of pain. My head rose up from the ground as I checked to see if he woke himself up on accident.

"How late is it?" Zylen coughed as he remained on his side.

"I don't know… the sun went down a long time ago though, I'd say it's at least past twelve." Zylen remained quiet, it was unclear whether he fell right back asleep.

"Annie?" Zylen said in a whisper. I stood up to my feet as I walked to his bedside. The bed was small, only made for one person, and Zylen managed to take up most of it.

"Yes?"

"It's freezing, aren't you cold?" he asked.

I faked a smile. "Cold, pff, I'm a fire type, that word doesn't register in my vocabulary."

"Liar," Zylen gave out a faint laugh. "I can hear you shivering from across the room."

My frown loosened into a pitiful expression. "I am freezing."

Zylen let out a pained groan as he readjusted himself further back in the bed, creating a small spot.

"Listen, I know you're keeping yourself awake for me, but you don't have to. Just lie down with me for a bit."

I gave a firm shake of my head. "I'm fine. You're hurt, I don't wanna accidentally hurt you if I move in my sleep or something."

Zylen let out a hoarse laugh, before having a coughing fit. "I really don't care. I find it hard sleeping knowing you're pushing yourself like this anyways."

A frown formed on my face before I sighed. I couldn't resist the temptation anymore. "Alright, you win. I'll sleep."

In a slow motion, I got myself under the sheets next to him. I made sure to keep some space between us so I didn't hurt him on accident. Zylen was fast to fall asleep under the sheets, but I kept myself awake. I was going to try and push myself to watch him a little further. It took around a half hour before I was nodding off under the comfort of the blankets. Somehow Zylen had gotten closer to me, and we were touching. I could feel his body heat against my own, and when I pressed my head against his chest I could hear his heartbeat. Admittedly, I found Zylen very comforting to be next to. It wasn't the first time we slept like this, many times throughout my life we shared a bed, since we were both unevolved.

I shifted myself until my entire face was buried into the warmth of his chest. One of my paws grabbed onto the lengthy fur on his shoulder. Before I knew it I was asleep for the first time in days. Zylen never woke me, the cold felt very distant next to Zylen. I felt at ease for once.

Point of View Flare

Dawn felt like it had arrived early this morning. Perhaps it was more due to me forcing myself out of bed earlier lately. I figured if I wanted to start taking steps forward, I needed to actually do something with my day. Finding something to do was the hard part though. Life back in Lumiose was dull, and it did reminded me a lot of a missing piece in my life. I found myself mostly hanging around Alex, or I was when he wasn't away. Even though I was trying, I felt very out of place all the time. I was always silent and never partook in conversations, or when I did I never had much to say.

Like most mornings, I joined Alex in the dining room. It felt like any other morning, or so it did at first. Ring went the doorbell at the front of our home. My ears flickered at the noise as I laid on the dinner table next to Alex's laptop. Usually I would have gone with Alex to greet our guest, but I still wasn't feeling it. Probably a delivery guy anyways. I heard the door open, and for a moment the house was silent. After a moment, the faint sound of talking could be heard, from both Alex and a visitor. After a minute, Alex's footsteps could be heard coming back towards me, but he was accompanied with a group of pokemon.

By the time they reached the dining room I was up and standing. I looked towards the way Alex was coming from to spot him and the guests. I froze at the sight of four pokemon I recognized from the WPA.

"Long time no see, kid," a croagunk smirked at me.

Alex called upstairs, "Hesh, Ebony. Come down here, you won't believe who came to visit!"

I remained frozen on the tabletop. Gray gave me a nod, while Tyson leaned against the wall. A gardevoir bowed towards me while a pokemon lingering in the back shot me a cold glare with her red eyes. My eyes wouldn't move from her. Why was she here of all pokemon?

"Dawn…" was all I could whisper as I stared at the pokemon that took my sister from me.

Chapter End

Author Note: Well we get a chapter about Mandus after so long. Anyhoo, not a lot to say other than I hope you enjoyed it. One thing I will say is that I've been messing with my writing style a lot, and while I haven't been integrating these changes into how I write BD, I am experimenting, so it's be cool to hear some feedback on the next few chapters on the flow of writing or how it may even suck D: Most of these changes in writing style will be notciable in My Unraveled Soul story, which since I'm working on my writing in new ways it's kinda slowing down my update speed on that story. Well thanks for reading.

Special thanks to genericgamer207 for editing.