Book II:Impending Twilight

Chapter 126: Found you at last

Point of View Zylen

At first I was sure I was dead. It would have made perfect sense seeing as the whole entire world was suddenly out to kill me. I was alright with dying at this point, after such a long life, I really just wanted to be with Annie on the other side. Maybe there, the two of us could finally get a breath of fresh air.

Of course, I knew I wasn't dead. The bitter cold of Snowbelle made sure I never forgot how brutal it's winter was. Yet, I could also feel the warmth of a hand over my shoulder. It felt like Annie, so maybe I was dead?

My eyes slowly cracked open to see the blur of a braixen leaning over me, looking down with its red eyes.

"A-Annie?" I said.

"Zylen," The voice responded back, but the masculine voice was no doubt someone else. The voice continued to speak to me, but I hadn't the slightest clue of what he was going on about. As the male braixen went on his shape became more defined as my vision became less blurred. To my surprise, the braixen looked very identical to Annie.

"W-who are you?" I struggled to speak, my voice had no air to it.

"It's me-" my hearing went down, before one word stuck out "Flare."

"S… Say that again," I asked as I looked at the braixen, realizing he looked way too identical to Annie.

"It's me, Flare," he responded with a smile. "You haven't forgotten me, have you?"

"Flare…" I mumbled, "It's really you?"

The braixen gave a nod as he smirked. Despite being covered in a bloody mess I could suddenly see the little fennekin as clear as day, except he wasn't a fennekin anymore.

"What are you-" A sharp pain ignited all over as I tried to move.

"Don't move, you're gravely injured!" Flare held me down to the ground, preventing me from moving. "Just take it easy." The braixen's hands trembled as he held onto me. I looked up to his eyes to see their glassy look before one tear escaped.

"I've been looking for you and Annie for so long, I… I wasn't sure if either of you were alive. I'm sorry to ask, I know you're hurt really bad and just woke up, but…"

"Flare," I forced a smirk, "You're all grown up," I said. In truth my statement was just to buy me time, I couldn't tell him what happened to his sister, not like this.

"Yeah," he nodded at my statement. "I actually just recently evolved to be honest." The braixen stood up from the ground. "I came a long way to find you, someone gave me word that you were spotted around Snowbelle… I honestly didn't think I would find you."

"Well, here I am," I forced another smile, unable to say anything that wasn't stupid… I was overwhelmed with joy to see him… but why did it have to be now?! Why did it have to be after his sister was put into a coma?! I couldn't tell him that, I could hardly even accept the news myself. Not only that, I couldn't even guarantee she was alive since I had to leave her somewhere to ensure she wouldn't be killed in the WPA's hunt to kill me.

"Zylen?" Flare started, "I hate to ask so suddenly, but where's Annie… something happened and I know she's in trouble right now. If she's in danger I need to help her before it's too late."

"Your sister…" I whispered as I clenched my eyes shut. "Flare, there's something that happened and…" I stopped as I found myself unable to speak the truth.

"Wait, what happened?!" Flare panicked.

My teeth gnashed together as I tried to figure out how to even deliver such grave news. I took in a deep breath and looked the braixen in the eyes. I knew I couldn't keep this from him, even if it wasn't what he wanted to hear, he deserved a chance to help his sister if possible.

"I… I had to leave your sister behind," I started. "I don't know what happened to her, but she's really hurt and I can't guarantee she's alright," the claws on my good hand dug into the ground as my words became more frantic and terrified, "I tried to save her, I really did, but I couldn't keep fighting with her unconscious on my back, so I left her behind and lured the WPA away from her. It was all I could do. I'm sorry, but I did what I could and I don't know if your sister is dead or alive at this point."

Flare's eyes widened, "Where is she!?" he demanded.

"I… I left her in an ally and covered her with a temporary illusion. By now it's probably gone… so she's just sitting there unconscious if she's alive."

"Where's the ally, I need to go!"

"She's on Clarence avenue in an alley right by a bakery , that's where she is…" It really pained me to admit that to him. He trusted me, and I just possibly betrayed that.

"Alright," Flare spoke up. "I need to go and find her asap, you stay here and hold on until I can get back." The braixen took off.

"Flare, Wait!" I shouted and the braixen slid to a stop at the door of the shop.

"The WPA… they can't be trusted, if they find you, they'll kill you."

Flare looked back outside, "I know that, they tried killing me when I found you." Without another word the braixen dashed out the door, leaving me on my own.

Point of View Stark

I dragged the duffle bag to the location Rhys had instructed. Just outside of Snowbelle in an area that was thick with trees for cover. When I arrived I released the bag and flexed my jaw. The zorua had a wicked smirk going on as he eyed the bag up.

"So it's done?" the zorua eagerly asked.

"Yeah," I nodded, "Now we're done, that's the last thing I will ever do for anyone that has to do with this war. We clear?" I sternly stated. If he had dared try to go back on his word then I'd be very tempted to kill him right here.

"Of course," Rhys nodded as he approached the bag and unzipped it. Upon opening the scent of blood leaked out, coming from the corpse of the WPA leader. "Good job, I assume no one saw this?"

"No one was around," I replied.

"Good, very good."

"Now, I'm leaving to find Naomi, and after that we're leaving. I'll come looking for you once this whole ordeal is over, and I expect you to hold your end of the bargain."

"I am a zorua of my word," the fox nodded. "Just one thing, Stark." The zorua looked me directly in the eyes with a serious glare, "Once you find Naomi I expect you to leave this city and never to return until the war is over, and no matter what you aren't to speak even a whisper of this, even to Naomi. If you do, our deal is voided and I will consider you as a traitor. Do you understand?"

"I do," I nodded. "I won't say a word to anyone, so long as you honor your word."

"Then it is decided," Rhys smirked. "Now then, run along and find Naomi, pretty soon things will start getting interesting again, and I don't think you want to be around for the finale of this war."

"I didn't plan to," I responded as I began to walk away from the zorua. "Just one thing, why did you have me kill him?"

The zorua shook his head, "Naomi's waiting for you, Stark, I'm sure she's worried about you after what happened."

Point of View Flare

Outside the snow had picked up again. Flurries blinded me as I was pelted by the barrage of whiteness. I tried my best not to slow down as I sprinted down the snowy street, at times losing my balance and falling, but only for a mere second before I picked myself back up and continued.

As I continued to run through the streets all I could think about is what I might find. Zylen didn't give up a lot on my sister's condition, it was obvious he didn't want to tell me something. Regardless, I was going to find out soon, I was the only one who could help my sister at this point, and nothing was going to stop me from finding her after all these years. Even if I had to fight my way through an army of the WPA.

Soon I had run across the area I found Zylen originally. Fortunately the snow was doing its job and covering up any traces of our tracks. Just three streets down and I found Clarence avenuet, meaning she was just a few buildings down in the alley.

My pace quickened as I dashed forward, taking a left down an ally. My eyes darted left and right, for a moment I found nothing, until my eyes pinpointed a mass of yellow fur leaning against the wall next to a stack of boxes.

"Annie!" I excitedly shouted as I ran to the braixen and crouched down in front of her. At that instant time seemed to stop, the snow even let up for a moment. After all these years, I finally found her, my sister was alive!

"Annie?" I asked as I placed a hand on her shoulder and tried to shake her awake. No response came from her. I placed my hand on her neck and searched for her artery. It took a minute, but I did manage to find her pulse, and when I did I was able to breathe a sigh of relief after so long.

"Thank Arceus," I whispered as I continued to take my sister in.

So many years had passed, yet my sister still appeared as the same braixen. Now that I was evolved I could see a similarity between us.

As happy as I was to see my sister, I found myself still anxious. A bloodied bandage leaked blood from her wrist, and as much as I tried to shake my sister she wouldn't wake up. It was now dawning on me that Zylen was worried for a good reason.

"Hang on, I'm going to get you out of here," I grunted as I lifted my sister and cradled her in my arms like a child. While she may have been older, I noticed that I was a bit bigger than her, which made carrying her just a bit easier.

Slowly, I trudged my way through the thick snow. Snow continued to pelt down on me, and the path ahead was lost in the flurries of white. My tracks had long disappeared and I was left guessing which way was back to Zylen.

Regardless of where I was in the city, I didn't really care anymore. I knew Zylen was going to be alright without me for a bit, and as long as I was with my sister I was happy.

As I continued to walk down the street I looked down at my sister, taking in her face. To me it looked as if she was sleeping and at peace. Still, I couldn't smile at her tranquil expression… Something was wrong with my sister. Her blood poured onto the snowy street as her arm fell from her chest and limply hung from her side.

"Just hang on a bit longer," I whispered into her ear. "I promise, I'll get you the help you need. I'll keep you safe, I promise." And I meant what I said. After all the years my sister looked out for me, it was my turn to help her.

I could still remember many of the times she looked after me, from fighting off bullies, to educating me, being a good sibling and doing her best to make sure I didn't turn out a complete mess. I still remembered all of the kindnesses she did for me as my sister. I wasn't about to let her die so she couldn't see the small little fennekin she raised.

Point of View Black

As I roamed the refugee district I caught many whispers of strange things. Some of the ones that stuck out the most were the talk of Yveltal coming back to bring the apocalypse, others about suicune terrorizing survivors. The strange rumors would have roused some laughter from me, but I was in no mood for jokes. Sure, I did witness what I believed to be Yveltal, and hearing sudden rumors of suicune wasn't out of reason either. At this point, I'd believe almost anything. After all, I was a walking legend.

With everything that was going on, it sure did feel like the world was ending, like every glimpse of light was being snuffed out. Plus with the constant downfall of snow things were starting to look even worse. The path ahead became very hard to follow.

Many eyes watched me as I padded down a street, even through the heavy snowfall their eyes were more than visible to me. The eyes of the humans seemed much more paranoid than usual. Before most would only cast me an odd glare for a moment, most wouldn't even notice my abnormally colored eyes, but with everything that was going on they must have saw my colors more clearly. I couldn't blame them for being skeptical about anything that wasn't usual.

Truthfully, it was still easy to cast aside the glares I was receiving. I had been used to this kind of treatment my whole life, nothing new. What I was more concerned about was where my Father was. No matter how much I looked around I couldn't find anyone who knew anything about him, and the WPA members seemed very sparse in numbers.

After searching for so long I started to tire out. Yawning, I found a spot between two buildings where the snow accumulation wasn't too high. Halfway down the alley I found a spot on the ground and curled up into a ball, trying to get a little rest until the snow died down.

So much had happened in less than a day. My paws ached from all the walking and running, my head throbbed from the overload of information it was trying to process, and my will to press on felt the most broken. I had put my faith into the WPA to fix things once and for all, but in the end they were just going to replace Genesis if they won. And at the top of all of this was my Dad… The one pokemon I should have been able to trust. Now I had nothing left, I didn't even feel like I could trust Rhys. I also had no friends left, maybe the closest thing was Naomi, but I couldn't really tell if I felt comfortable around her.

So, what now? That was my top question at the moment. Even if I did push my Father for answers, it probably wouldn't change the fact that I was done with him. Any faith I had in his organization was killed when I learned the truth. I knew now what kind of pokemon my Father really was, and I didn't want anything to do with it.

Just thinking of how much my Father lied to me made my head ache. As much as I tried to rest, I couldn't, I kept tossing and turning as his stupid face kept appearing in my head. In the end I gave up on my nap and decided it was best to keep moving, at least fighting against the harsh weather gave me something to distract myself with.

When back out on the streets I found that the weather did ease up a bit, but not by much. As I made my way down a street, I noticed a pokemon waiting at the end, standing with his arms crossed and a nonchalant look. When I reached the end of the road I stopped and faced the pokemon. The grovyle responded with a glare back.

"Isaac," I muttered.

"I've been looking for you," he bluntly stated.

My nose wrinkled up a bit as I stared the bastard down, "Listen, I don't care what you have planned, I've decided I'm done."

"And what do you mean by that?" The grovyle crossed his arms, giving me a nasty look.

"I mean I'm done fighting, I'm done opposing Genesis, I'm done trusting WPA, I'm done trying to fix this messed up region, I've had enough of trying to face my problems, I'm done. All that awaits me at the end of this road is just more pain, and I just want out."

"I see," Isaac's arms dropped as his two lead blades hardened into a weapon. "Unfortunately, there is only one way out after you've come this far."

I gave a growl as I faced Isaac, "I had a feeling you wouldn't just let me go."

"Of course not, you're a criminal after all. And after a bit of thought, I have decided to find you guilty for terrorism and being affiliated with Genesis back in the Lumiose metro incident."

"So that's how it's going to be…" I grumbled as I locked eyes with the grovyle.

"Come with us and make it easy on yourself or fight back and make it easier for me." The grovyle raised up his two bladed appendages.

I lowered down a bit to the ground as I showed my fangs and began to snarl at the grovyle. Dark energy started to form around me as Isaac's got into a defensive position.

Isaac scoffed, "so be it."

Point of View Flare

By the time I had made it back to Zylen I was chilled to the bone. My fur was covered in snow. When I entered back in the convenience store. I carried Annie to the back where I found Zylen propped up against the wall, an unlit cigarette in his mouth.

The zoroark's cigarette fell from his maw as he watched me gently lay Annie on the ground. I continued to look down at my sister.

"W-what's wrong with her? She won't wake up," I asked.

Zylen forced himself from the wall and crawled towards me on his three good limbs. "I don't know… Her and I got separated when Yveltal attacked, and after that I found her in a hospital," Zylen's voice sounded hollow, "When I arrived it was a trap, one of the higher ups at the WPA was using her to get to me and kill me, but before he did try to he mentioned that Annie was in a coma from too much blood loss." When the zoroark finished he remained motionless, just looking down at Annie in disbelief just as I was.

"A coma," I repeated, the words terrifying me. "W-when will she be awake?"

"I don't know," Zylen admitted as he pressed his good hand against his face. His claws dug into his scalp as he trembled. "I don't even know if she's really in a coma, or if they did something to her just to trick me."

I stood from the ground, "Well, we have to do something! She's my sister, I can't just leave her hanging like this!"

"I know… but, if she really is in a coma she's beyond our help. Thankfully she's able to stay stable on her own, which means she isn't braindead or anything, I think… So, we need to get out bearings and get as far away from here as possible. Then, we need to get her the best help we can."

"But where?"

"I don't know, but I have lots of connections, and the money to get her the help she needs." Zylen gave a grunt as he struggled up onto his feet.

"You shouldn't be-"

"The Hell I shouldn't! Annie's the one who is hurt, and it's my fault because I wasn't there to help her!"

"Zylen, it's not your fau-"

"It is though!" The zoroark rubbed his eyes as he clenched them shut. "We did get separated, but the truth is that she wanted to go back into the city to help others. At the time I just wanted to run, I was honestly terrified and after everything I saw that day I wanted to leave once and for all. For whatever reason, I didn't fight to go with her, and in the end she left me and now she's like this!" A tear dropped to the ground, splashing and leaving a wet mark. The zoroark bit down as he looked up towards the ceiling, still covering his eyes.

"Can you really not blame me, I let your sister get hurt when I should have stopped her. If I at least went with here I could have kept her safe… I failed both of you."

This had to be the first time I've truly seen Zylen in such a somber state. I knew back then that Annie meant so much to him, he was willing to do anything for her, even for me just because it would make her happy. Now, that one person he wanted to cherish the most was possibly gone.

I let out a sigh before jabbing the zoroark with my fist into his gut. "Stop," I sternly said. "I don't blame you, Annie for surely wouldn't want you to be like this, and you know what? The two of us are going to get her back to normal, I know it." For the first time, I gave a smile that wasn't a lie.

"What makes you so sure?" Zylen dropped his arm to his side, revealing his teary eyes.

"Well," I continued to smile, "Somehow I managed to find you two in all this chaos, you and I both somehow lived up to this point to meet again, and we are here with my sister. Something tells me that this wasn't how it was meant to end. So, until the curtains are closed, I'm far from giving up."

Zylen began to laugh hysterically, "Ain't that true, you'd be surprised how many times I almost died the past few months, so maybe this is a sign that this isn't the end," Zylen smirked towards me.

"Right, we just need a plan."

"I'll make some phone calls, but before that I do want to ask something." Zylen leaned up against a wall and slowly slid down it to a sitting position.

"And what's that?"

"Annie and I have been worried about you recently, I was actually going to come check up on you secretly, but shit hit the fan and became a mess. So, what exactly has happened since we were separated?" Zylen reached around blindly on the ground, until his hand found the cigarette he dropped earlier. He placed the stick in his mouth. "Also, could I trouble you for a light?"

I reached my hand out towards him and lit the cigarette with a flame, but as I do the zoroark recoiled back from the burn of my flame. "Easy kid! You almost burned my face off!"

"Sorry…" I meekly replied, "I just recently evolved, and I'm not used to the way my abilities have changed and stuff, it's the same, but very different at the same time."

"I see," Zylen chuckled as he inhaled his burnt cigarette. "Annie was the same way, she always kept almost killing me when we sparred just after she evolved. You'll get better at it with a bit of practice, I promise. Now, back to what I originally asked, if you don't mind."

"Oh right." I grabbed a box of bandages and sat next to Annie. I began to change her wrist bandage. "Well, it's a long story, but I'm sure you have yours as well."

"Yeah, we could probably booth make them into books. Maybe get rich too."

I laughed at the thought, "True, but anyways. A lot of stuff happened actually, lots, but I'll start from the beginning from when I first met my best friend Kana and a trainer who was kind of like a big brother or a dad to me."

Point of View Black

I panted heavily as my head dropped to the ground. A splash of red poured to the snowy ground. With the little strength I had I glared up towards the grovyle. He stared down at me with that same nonchalant look he always wore. I gritted my teeth and growled towards the grovyle, but it did little to phase him.

"I'll admit," Isaac started, "You've definitely got stronger from our last meeting in Shalour, but your best isn't enough to top a veteran of many wars."

"Just shut it," I snapped as I lunged at the grovyle in an attempt to rake him with my claws, but a solid kick put me down to the ground. I groaned as I lifted my head out of the snow to see Isaac closing in on me.

"Tell me this," I began, before I spit out a bit of blood. "How long has my Father been lying to me?"

Isaac crossed his arms as he glared down, "That man? He's just another pawn in my game. He thinks he leads the WPA, but I manipulate things from behind the scenes. So, if it will help you die with some peace of mind, your father doesn't have a hand in the secret side of the WPA."

I looked at the grovyle with a bit of surprise. His words had brought a bit of relief, but not a lot since I was about to be cut down for good.

"And don't you think my Dad will question what happened to me?"

"I can come up with a thousand stories of how that don't involve me. You see, your father has a lot of faith in me, I would be one of the last pokemon he expects to do such a thing."

"I see." I rolled onto my front side and began to push myself back up onto my feet.

"Going to stand back up? Aren't you a dogged umbreon, you would have made a fine agent of the WPA."

"Like hell I'd ever consider slaving away my life to assholes like you!"

"On second thought though, perhaps killing you now would be a waste. I know you have a friend in town who'd probably be easily baited by you."

My ears perked up, "Wait, you said I have a friend nearby?"

"You do, and he's on my list as well."

"Who?"

"Does it matter?" Isaac snorted, before his eyes widened a bit and he gazed up at something else. "I don't know who you are, but move along, this is official WPA business," the grovyle ordered.

Only silence followed as the grovyle kept his eyes on whoever it was.

"I will take you in as well if you don't leave!" Isaac snapped.

My head turned back to see who was there. An eeveelution stood halfway down the street. The wind blew against her, making her spiky fur wave as she took a step forward and proceeded. My eyes had to be lying to me, or this had to be a coincidence. There was no way this jolteon could be her… she was gone.

"Hold on…" Isaac started, "I know you, you're that jolteon that went missing after the Shalour incident. How interesting for you to show your face after all this time. Unfortunately, I'm afraid you're going to stay missing."

The jolteon gave the grovyle a cold stare, one that didn't fit here at all. The chilling eyes made me feel uneasy, like she was a psychopath or something.

The grovyle charged at the jolteon as electricity started to hiss and spark off her. In a bright flash of light the jolteon zigzagged away from Isaac's attack, each of her movement like a bolt of lightning. Isaac was left turning back and forth in his attempt to follow the jolteon as she circled him, her speed impossible to keep track of.

"Slippery one," Isaac muttered as he lunged forward, swinging his leaf blade at the jolteon. The jolteon slid to a stop, before a bolt of lightning struct the grovyle and she retreated. The grovyle crossed his arms to shield himself from the attack. Isaac's arms lowered a bit as he watched the jolteon as she walking a circle around him.

Seeing my chance, I clawed my way up onto my feet. "K-kana?" I asked, still unsure if my eyes were telling the truth or not. She gave a quick glance, but didn't say a single word. Getting this one good look at her, I had no doubt it was her, unless I truly had gone insane and was seeing things. That couldn't be though, Isaac even admitted he thought it was her.

"So, care to humor me on why you've suddenly decided to reappear?" Isaac snorted, but Kana kept her silence.

"Kana, it is you," I spoke up and approached her, but still kept my distance from Isaac. "Everyone thinks you're dead, where have you been this whole time?" I found my words becoming more anxious as I wanted to know why she left. The jolteon continued to hold her silence.

"Kana?" I asked once more.

The electric type looked at me from the corner of her eye, "A lot has happened," she broke her silence.

Her words sent a chill down my spine. It wasn't her voice, it sounded like it, but it didn't hold that gentle nature we all knew Kana for. Instead, it was ice cold and very distant.

"We'll talk later," Kana added.

"Right," I agreed.

"Seems the tables have turned," Isaac commented. "No matter, fighting children such as your selves still won't pose a challenge to-" Before Isaac could finish Kana darted forward and slammed into the grovyle. The grass type rolled along the snowy ground before carrying his momentum back up onto his feet.

I dashed forward towards the grovyle. He spun towards me and swung his blade at me. My paws locked up as I tried to slide to a stop, but before his attack could land Kana tackled into him. The grovyle lit up as he was charged with the electricity. Isaac fell to one knee as he held up his blade, his nerves trembling from the shock.

"Seems you've gotten much stronger, jolteon," Isaac commented. "I have to say it's been a good while since I've seen a pokemon move with such speed. Color me impressed," Isaac smirked as he got back up onto both of his feet. "Too bad you interfered, you would have lived much longer.

Isaac crouched down low for another attack. Electricity started to flow through Kana's fur at her pointy fur stood up as she showed her teeth.

"That's enough!" a voice snapped from behind.

Everyone stopped to turn towards the newcomer. Upon seeing who it was, I felt relieved, but appalled at the same time.

"Dad," I grumbled at the sight of the flareon.

"Isaac," my Father ignored me. "I've been looking for you, we have much to discuss."

The grovyle's stance eased up, he gave one last glare at the jolteon before staring at the flareon with annoyance.

"I suppose we do," Isaac replied. "And about all of this-"

"That's not important," Dad replied. "Come." The flareon turned the opposite way. The grovyle grumbled as he followed after the flareon.

"We'll pick this back up later, you two."

For a moment I was too shocked to even move… My Dad literally just stumbled upon all of this, and just walked off with him like nothing happened…

"H-hold on!" I shouted at my Dad as I chased after him. My Dad stopped and turned towards me. "We need to talk, now!" I demanded.

"Not now, Ryder, I have very important busi-"

"You don't get it!" I snapped at him. "Did you not just see he was trying to kill us?!"

My Dad just sighed in response, "We'll talk later tonight, there are much more pressing matters at hand right now," My Dad replied, before continuing forward.

"Hey!" I screamed at him, "Did you not hear me or something?! That fucker just tried murdering us!" I continued to shout. "You fucking dick, listen!"

My Dad scowled as he turned back, "I said later tonight."

I stared my Dad down as he did the same towards me, before it clicked and I sighed in annoyance. "I see," I spat. "Fine, go." The bastard turned away and walked away with that bastard.

Of course, he didn't care if someone tried killing me. He didn't even realize he was a pawn to Isaac. What I said before Yveltal's attack must have really made him cold towards me, because before that I could have sworn he'd at least say something or at least get a bit angry. No, not even a little angry, there is no way he wouldn't be furious, that ass just literally just tried to off me!

"That fucking ass," I scowled as I kicked at the snow. "Too busy being Isaac's bitch to do anything!"

I heard the crunching of snow to my left. I turned to face Kana. I had nearly forgot she was even here.

"Kana," I started as I walked towards her, now forgetting about my Father. I felt the urge to pounce on her and embrace her very strong, but the icy vibe she was giving off kept me from doing such a thing. "Where have you been, everyone has been worried sick about you, we thought you were dead after you disappeared during the Shalour incident!"

"As I said, a lot happened," she started.

"What do you mean a lot happened? You literally disappeared off the grid! Do you know how sick Alex and Flare must be over your disappearance?"

"I know," she said, blankly staring to the ground.

"Are you going to say something?" I pried, really needing some form of answer.

The jolteon shook her head. "Listen… a lot happened, I'm back now, but I have some things I need to take care of. As to what happened… I don't really want to talk about it."

I opened my mouth to speak, but stopped myself. It took everything I had not to try and force here to speak, but in the end I knew someone like me had no right to pry for answers. I knew what it was like to just want time, and the way she acted just made me sense that she was hurt in some way.

"Alright," I nodded. "Just promise me you're not going to disappear on me again."

"I won't," she spoke, "Not without saying anything at least."

"Are you alright?" I asked.

She gave a single nod, "I don't know," she said, her voice hollow.

I had so much I wanted to ask, so much I wanted to say. When I thought about it, she probably didn't even realize I too disappeared for a while. Plus, she was part of the reason I left, she was that final straw of someone getting hurt.

"Have you seen Alex or Flare yet?" I asked, not knowing what else to say. I already knew the answer, but I just had to hear what she'd say.

"No, and I don't plan to, ever."

"W-wait, what?!" I said in disbelief. "You can't be serious!"

Kana didn't give a response, she just wore that distant look, as if she wasn't even here. It made me wonder if that's how I was when Flare first found me.

"Will you at least tell me what these things are that you need to take care of?"

Kana nodded, "I don't want to see the others again, but I did actually come in search of you Black."

"Me?"

She nodded again, "I want your help with something very important Black, and if you care the slightest bit about me you'll help me."

I couldn't respond at first. I was a bit shocked and didn't know what to expect. By each second things kept getting weirder and weirder, I was almost scared to hear her out any further.

"W-what do you need?" I nervously asked.

Kana inhaled a deep breath, "A while back you left Genesis with a zorua named Rhys. I've come all this way because I need your help stopping him."

Chapter End

Author Note: Well I got a decent amounnt of chapter written up now, so I should be able to keep consistant updates going from now on.