Chapter 21

A New Task

Shortly after making Syn a member of Team Vendetta, he was brought to Emdox to be registered and explained what happened with Syn. When Emdox figured out Syn wanted to be a member, the Xatu was rather hesitant to the idea. He tried to convince Syn to reconsider his options, but Syn remained firm in the idea of being part of the Fellowship. So, knowing he couldn't change the Snivy's mind, Emdox registered Syn and made him an official member of Team Vendetta. The Snivy was baffled at how the marking process worked and was a little scared, but he didn't resist getting the mark unlike Impetus. He was mostly cooperative despite thinking the process would hurt, and even had his mark become multi-colored to make it unique.

After doing that, the team told their experience about the Plagued Ones to the Xatu and how Lavender Town had been taken over by such creatures. While the report of the encounter was indeed troubling to the old bird, the shock came when he learned that the Plagued Ones could speak. He said that he had once encountered them and never did he hear any sort of thoughts coming from them. He had always figured they were mindless beings.

What the team didn't reveal, however, was that Terron was the only one who could hear the Plagued Ones talking. Terron had made it sound like everyone on the team could hear them talking. Every time Syn tried to disagree with that statement, Terron would quickly cut him off and get his mind on something else. The Cubone knew it was probably a good idea not to let Emdox know about his "talent". Thankfully for Terron, Emdox never figured out his secret.

Shortly after that, the team was informed that they had failed their mission since they technically never escorted Syn and left him there. The team asked if they could get an exception due to the circumstances with Syn's parents, yet Emdox said that there wasn't a way to change it. Afterwards, he dismissed the team and let them get their rest.

Continuing their duties as Fellowship members was tough after their traumatizing day, but they learned to endure. They continued to complete other missions, mostly ones at the "C" hazard level to prepare for another "B" level assignment.

Yet, even as they kept moving forward with their lives, and had success with their various missions, none of Team Vendetta's members felt the happiness they once knew. None of them saw the world as they used to again.

Three weeks later, it was still the same for the team. Everyone had managed to find a way to put up a façade of happiness, but none of them were truly feeling the same way on the inside.

Terron now stood in the gym's ground-type chamber, tensely watching as a spinning Tunra prepared to bulldoze the Cubone. He held a dragon bone in each hand, trying to decide what would be the best way to stop this attack. He had so many options available, but he couldn't figure out which one of those ideas was best.

Just as the Donphan was about to flatten him, Terron quickly held up both his clubs and blocked the oncoming attack. Just like last time, Tunra remained spinning in place, only being held back by Terron's bones. The Cubone dug his feet into the ground as he felt Tunra's power increase. He was slowly being driven backwards.

"You'd better think of something before I roll over you," Tunra warned. "You can't keep me like this forever, as I'm sure you've learned from your other experiences."

Terron cringed at the memories of being run over. No matter how much it happened, it was always just as painful as the first time. Fueled by the desire not to be crushed, Terron worked to accomplish what he had been trying to do for a long time.

The Cubone clutched his weapons tighter as he pushed the Donphan to the side with all his might. He anticipated getting run over anyway, as he failed at his goal many times, but Terron still tried to fling his teacher into the wall.

Terron saw his teacher get flung a couple feet away, but it wasn't good enough. The Donphan was coming right back for him. Terron was about to block the attack, but he came up with a different idea. He didn't know if it would actually work, but it was better than trying the same thing over and over again.

The Cubone put one of his bones in his mouth as he gripped onto the other bone with both hands. As the Donphan closed in on him, the Cubone swung his bone forward. Dragon bone met rolling Donphan, and for just a moment, neither went anywhere. The two remained in place as dust kicked up all around them.

But then, Tunra was suddenly sent flying backwards through the air.

CRASH!

The Donphan slammed into the wall on the other side of the room. He fell to the ground ungracefully, groaning at the sudden impact. Terron remained where he was, keeping his stance in case his teacher should try to attack again.

"Congratulations, Terron," Tunra said with a weak smile. "You've finally managed to meet my expectations. You've proven your strength. Now, I can teach you how to use my ground techniques."

"Really?" Terron asked with wide eyes.

"Yes," Tunra said as he got back to his feet. "I believe you're ready. Now, let's begin your new training."

The Donphan approached Terron before stopping a few feet away from in. He looked upon the Cubone, wearing a proud expression.

"I believe I'll start by teaching you a favorite ability of all ground-types," Tunra said. "It's quite destructive in power if you have the proper amount of strength, which you have plenty of. Allow me to teach you the technique commonly known as Earthquake."

The Donphan proceed to jump up a foot into the air. When landed a second later, the entire room shook violently. Terron attempted to remain standing, but the tremors were quick to topple him over. His head hurt as the quake continued for several more seconds, filling his ears with the loud rumbling sound.

When the shaking stopped, Terron weakly got to his feet, still feeling shook-up by the earthquake. He held his head in his hands as he tried to see straight again.

"Ugh, it gives me such a headache," Terron moaned.

"Yes, that is their intended purpose," Tunra stated. "And also, to knock down opponents. It's a very useful technique, but it has its drawbacks of course. For one, you might actually hurt yourself if you don't learn to properly use it. If you were to use it in a cave full of stalactites, the stalactites might fall and impale you, should you stand directly below one. And then finally, you'll hurt everyone around you if you use this power. Your enemies and your allies will all be hurt. That is, unless they can fly or levitate."

Terron rubbed his head as his headache went away. Once the pain was gone, he looked at Tunra curiously.

"There's no way I can prevent my friends from getting hurt?" Terron asked. "Besides learning to fly?"

"Afraid so," the Donphan said with a sigh. "It's the cost of such a powerful technique. Every powerful technique has a drawback, whether it be the need to rest after using it, or becoming injured by using it. There are a couple of exceptions, but they are rare."

"I see," Terron said. "Well, I would like to learn how to make earthquakes since I may need to use them, so please teach me how to make them."

"Very well then," Tunra said with a smile.

An hour later, Terron exited the chamber with the ability to make tremors in his possession. The Cubone had learned it in the span of about ten minutes, which apparently was the average time it took for a ground Pokémon to learn the move. What took up the other fifty minutes, however, was Tunra attempting to teach Terron another power. This power apparently made fissures form in the ground and shoot up strange energy from the cracks. Much unlike learning Earthquake, Terron wasn't able to succeed in mastering this ability. In fact, he wasn't able to use any part of the ability.

He couldn't make the fissures appear in the ground, let alone summon the strange energy from the dirt. After having no success with managing this, Tunra suggested Terron stop for today and come back the next day to try again. While Terron was reluctant to stop, he saw it was the best thing to do.

Terron wandered into Novus's chamber, where he found the Quilava staring up at his Reshiram statue. Impetus was sitting next to him, also gazing up at the statue with curiosity.

"Reshiram," Impetus said.

"Yes, that's his name," Novus replied. "You're doing well to memorize the names of all the great beings. Every being I have in this room is important to Pokémon. They are the ones who offer Pokémon hope and gave them salvation in the ancient past. Though none see the gods or legendaries except for the rare few, Pokémon continue to believe in their existence. They worship these deities and aspire to be just like them."

"You say… no one believes Reshiram," Impetus said, talking slowly to find the right words. "Why not him?"

Novus frowned hard.

"That is because no one seems to remember his importance," Novus said bitterly. "He and another dragon, Zekrom, used to watch over the land. They guarded it and protected it from harm. They cared for the creatures of the land. But one day, the two disappeared and were never to be seen again. Everyone slowly forgot of their existence, and very soon, the deeds the dragons had done were thought to have been accomplished by the other great beings. Their guardian status were given to the three Ho-Oh created. The knowledge of their immense power were given to the three birds that Lugia watches over. Every deed they accomplished… was no longer done by them according to Pokémon now. There are some Pokémon who can still remember the truth, such as myself, but the rest of the world forgets. They forget Reshiram… and they forget Zekrom…"

Novus cast his eyes down as he let out a sigh to calm down. It looked like he wanted to say more, but he was stopping himself from doing so.

"I believe," Impetus said.

"Yes, believe in them," Novus muttered. "That's all that can really be done for now."

The two continued to sit there, staying before the large statue. Terron went up to the two, where they were quick to notice him.

"Welcome back, Terron," Novus said. "How did your training go?"

"Fine, fine," Terron said nonchalantly. "Learned how to make earthquakes. I'm trying to learn how to use this odd technique called Earth Power, but it's not going too well. Hopefully I'll learn it soon. But anyway, thanks for keeping Impetus here while I was training. I'd just take her with me to training, but I'm still worried about the feral prejudice."

"Watching Impetus isn't a problem for me," Novus replied. "Even when I train with others, she waits patiently for the other Pokémon to leave. And now that she can speak her thoughts more clearly, she and I can have conversations. I can tell she's still part feral, but she still makes better company than some non-feral Pokémon I know. Though, I'm afraid I might not be able to keep watching her soon."

"Why's that?" Terron asked.

"The ones who run this gymnasium are considering the option of replacing me with someone else," Novus said sadly. "They say they've found a better mentor to the fire-types of this city. I have yet to meet the one who may replace me, but I've been told it will be a Charizard, a rather popular figure among fire-types. Which, when thinking about it, gives a reason for why they'd want a Charizard instead of a Quilava. They're considered more powerful than Quilava, but I still believe it's partially because everyone loves Charizard. More members will flock here if there's such a Pokémon."

Impetus and Terron became glum at the news.

"That's too bad," Terron said. "What are you going to do if you get replaced?"

"I'm not sure," Novus admitted. "I know I have many places I could go to, but I'm not sure which I would go to. Besides, I don't want to worry over it now. There's no guarantee I'll be leaving, and when there's no guarantee, I shouldn't have my thoughts be consumed about a departure."

"I guess," Terron shrugged. "If you say so."

The Cubone then looked over at Impetus.

"So I heard you were learning about legendary Pokémon," he said. "How was that going?"

"Good," Impetus replied. "I like all of them. I want to see the great beings."

"Maybe that'll happen one day," Terron said hopefully.

Having Impetus talk made Terron feel a sense of pride from within him. He felt he had accomplished a great task in having Impetus go from a feral to what she was now. She was truly growing. In fact, she no longer had to wear the Reunion Cape thanks to how much she came to understand the world.

Yet, despite all of the growth, there were things about Impetus that weren't changing. For one, she never seemed happy. Terron thought it was because she didn't know what emotions were, but that theory was eliminated quickly. Throughout the adventures the team had, Impetus would show many different emotions such as amusement when something funny seemed to happen or pity whenever her friends were hurt. Yet, she never showed any signs of being genuinely content in life.

Another thing that bothered Terron was that she didn't follow society's rules. Even after trying to teach the rules to her, she still wouldn't follow them. There were several times where the team would go to the market, and rather than pay for the items, Impetus would try to walk out the door with the items. Whether it was because she truly didn't understand the rules or just didn't want to follow the rules, Terron didn't know. He'd ask her why, but she'd always give him vague answers.

He hoped that one day, she'd outgrow these problems, so that she could fit into the civilian world. Until then, he'd stay with her and make sure she was safe from the negative impressions of her kind.

"Well, let's go get Syn and Zekra then," Terron said. "And afterwards, we can go get tomorrow's mission."

"Okay," Impetus said as she got to her feet.

"You two are Fellowship members?" Novus then asked, suddenly sounding interested.

"Yeah, all of us are," Terron explained. "We have the marks to prove it."

Terron and Impetus then showed their paws to the Quilava. He looked upon them curiously before nodding to himself.

"So you are," Novus stated. "That's interesting. I suppose it makes sense for why such young Pokémon would want to train here. Yes, interesting…"

"Well we're not that young," Terron said. "But yes, we work there. You know the Fellowship?"

"Yes, I do," Novus replied. "I've never been a member, but I know what their purpose is. As in, their true purpose they try to hide from the public; Plagued One elimination."

Novus became very grim upon mentioning the creatures. Yet, before Terron could say anything, the expression disappeared. Novus smiled.

"Do not fret; the Fellowship's secret is safe with me," the Quilava assured. "I understand the importance of why it must be kept away from most Pokémon."

"Kay," Terron said awkwardly. "Well, guess I'll see you later then. Thanks for watching Impetus."

Novus gave a small wave as the two left his chamber.

The two then entered the grass chamber. This chamber was, as to be expected, covered in plants. Every part of the ground had blades of grass growing in it. Small trees and flowers were planted throughout the place, and sunlight shined down from an open hole in the ceiling. A shrub stood towards the front of the room, being in the shape of Celebi in mid-flight.

Syn was standing in the middle of the room, facing his mentor, a large Venusaur.

"Hey, I have a question," Syn said.

"What is your question?" the Venusaur asked.

"You know how every grass Pokémon has a plant inside their bodies?" Syn began to say. "Well, does that plant really have a mind of its own, or is it just us controlling it without knowing it? I thought the plant could do whatever it wanted for a while, but I'm really starting to wonder if that's true."

"The plant within you is a separate being, and yet it is not," the Venusaur answered.

"What?" Syn asked oddly.

The Venusaur slowly took out his vines and showed them to the Snivy.

"You and I both share the ability to summon a fraction of the plant within us and bring it into the outside world," the master explained. "Not every grass-type can. Yet, they still have the plant within them that serves them in different ways. To them, the plant is simply a different part of their body. For you and I, the plant can interact with the world in a more physical manner. So when we think of the plant, it is separate from us due to doing things without us commanding it to. The true answer, however, is that it is a combination of both answers. The plant lives inside your body. It is connected to every part of you. Your nerves give it orders, and in return for helping you, you provide nourishment for the plant. You and the plant depend on one another to survive. So based off this knowledge, you'd think that whenever the plant doesn't follow your orders, it's simply because you can't send the proper messages to it."

"Yeah… I guess," Syn said unsurely.

"But, this is wrong," the Venusaur continued. "In actuality, the plant is a separate entity. Though you two are connected, that doesn't automatically mean you'll always want the same thing. Sometimes, the plant doesn't want to follow your orders because it believes there is a better way. This happens to every grass-type, but it's only those like you and I who notice it the most. So, despite it being connected to you, it won't always listen to the commands you give it. In order to fix that problem, you have to understand the plant. Figure out what it wants and help it understand why you need its help. Listen to its unspoken words and it will listen to you."

"Listen to my plant talking?" Syn repeated. "Well, I've never heard it actually talk, but I think I get what you're saying."

Terron and Impetus stopped besides the two. Syn smiled when he saw his teammates.

"Hello," he said pleasantly. "I learned some cool stuff from Master Sage. Like how to use this thing called Leaf Blade."

"Huh, I didn't think Venusaur could learn that ability," Terron commented as he looked at Sage. "How'd you teach Syn that, if that's the case?"

"I have seen such an ability used many times," the Venusaur said. "I've seen it so many times, in fact, that the very process of how to use it has been etched into my mind. And so, I pass it on to all students who are capable of learning it, even if I cannot."

"Oh, okay," Terron said in understanding.

"Yep," Syn said. "So, since I guess Master Sage and I are done, then I guess we can get going."

The Snivy then turned to the Venusaur and gave a short bow.

"Thank you," Syn said. "I'll see you next time I come."

The three then left the chamber. As they walked, Terron glanced at the sigil etched into Syn's leaf hand. While its color scheme looked awesome to Syn, Terron thought it looked ridiculous.

Yet right now, the way the mark looked wasn't something Terron was focusing on. Instead, he was thinking about how Syn was a member now. When Syn first joined the team, he had been very dedicated to helping out. He gave his all in everything, whether it was in battle or helping with the shopping. He was very accepting of all the Fellowship's and team's ways, and didn't mind that Impetus was a feral once he was told the truth. He did all of that with a smile and was very useful to the team.

But, after a few days, his cheery complexion died down. He still tried to look happy, but Terron could see through the façade and saw the child's heavy heart. Whenever the team had to take care of a mission involving parents, Syn seemed to become depressed for the rest of the day. Other strange reactions occurred whenever anything reminded him of his past. One time, the team decided to visit a candy store. They had enough money, and they had a long day, so they figured they'd reward themselves. As soon as the group started picking out treats, Syn began to ramble about how his parents used to take him to candy stores once a week and how he always got the same treat every time. As soon as he mentioned this, Syn gave the team this stare that Terron could never forget: the stare a happy child gave to their loving parents.

Even now, after weeks had passed, Syn still gave Terron and Zekra that same look sometimes. His depression became less noticeable, but Terron could still see it at times. Terron even heard the child talking his sleep, muttering things about his old parents. Sometimes, the Snivy would be crying.

And so, after seeing all of this happen to their newest member, Terron wondered if letting Syn on the team was such a good idea. The kid was talented at his work, but that meant nothing if he was in so much pain. There were so many things that reminded the Snivy of his past when working at the Fellowship, and the stress this job made one deal with wasn't helping either.

But, Terron had made his decision, and trying to get rid of Syn would only do more harm than good at this point. The Cubone would have to live with this choice.

With Syn now in their company, the team went to go get the final member of their party. They entered the dark-type chamber and made their way into the room. Dim torches circled the room, offering an insufficient level of light. Nothing in this room was distinguishable to Terron. Even the statue of a Pokémon in the background couldn't be identified due to being cloaked in darkness. He had heard the room was shadowy so that dark-types could practice their ability to see in the dark, but he still found it bothersome.

Yet, despite the lack of sight, Terron could still hear two Pokémon scurrying around the room as they fought.

"Oh hey, Terron!" Zekra's voice called. "You're here! I'll be there in a second! Just let me finish up this battle!"

The sounds of clashing filled the air. Terron occasionally saw a quick blur of a figure dash by one of the lights, but he was never able to see who it was. In fact, he didn't even know what the teacher looked like. Despite all the weeks of Zekra training here, never once did Terron see the teacher. Of course, this was probably because Terron hardly went inside the room since he felt so vulnerable with the lack of light.

Just then, Terron saw Zekra land in front of the nearest torch to him. She looked over at the Cubone and the rest of the team.

"Hello," she said with a smile. "How's it going? Been a while since you guys came here. I'm usually waiting for you guys instead of the other way around."

"Yes, usually you are," Terron said.

"How'd your training go?" Syn then asked.

"Fine, fine," Zekra replied. "Master Cres was helping me with my illusion stuff. We're working on turning into Pokémon that aren't in front of me, yet I've seen before. I think it's going pretty well."

"Where is your teacher anyway?" Syn asked curiously.

Before Zekra could answer, another Pokémon came into the light where the Zorua was; an Absol. She glanced in the team's direction.

"I'm her teacher," Cres spoke. "You must be Terron, Impetus, and Syn. I've seen all of you a couple of times, but you haven't seen me. But I can't blame you; the shadows that fill this room cloud the vision of all except dark-types."

"Oh, I see," Syn said unsurely before thinking about something. "Hey, how are you teaching Zekra how to use her illusions when you're not a Zoroark or anything?"

"The ability to use illusions, despite being a power only known to the Zorua and Zoroark kind," Cres explained, "is in actuality, a power very similar to dark energy normally used by regular dark-types. Though the power is used in a different way, the ability still has the same principles behind it as any other dark power. That's why I can teach her how to improve her illusion abilities. But, I will admit, it would be preferable for a Zoroark to teach the ways of illusions. There are some things I cannot teach about the ability, such as how to manipulate the environment with the illusions. But, since I don't know of any Zoroark, my teaching methods will have to do for now if Zekra wishes to improve her abilities."

Syn nodded slowly. As he did, Zekra smiled at her mentor.

"Well thanks for helping me today," Zekra said. "I'll come back next time I can."

"Very well then," Cres replied.

Zekra then made her way over to the group and all of them exited out of the gym. With the four members now reunited, they went to go eat dinner. Once they managed to get ahold of their meals, they all sat down at a table and talked amongst each other.

"So, what kind of mission did you guys want to do tomorrow?" Zekra asked.

"I think it's better if we talk about that when we see the actual assignments," Terron stated.

"Well, what hazard level do you wanna do?" Zekra then asked.

"… Probably 'C' level as usual," Terron replied. "Think we need to wait just a little longer for another 'B' level mission."

"I think we're ready for a 'B' level mission, though," Zekra said. "I mean, we've had weeks to train since our last attempt at that. We've all gotten more powerful and learned more techniques."

"I guess," Terron shrugged. "We'll just see whatever's there. Let's just not talk about missions right now."

"Okay," Zekra said oddly. "Well… how'd all of your training times go? I don't think I got to ask you guys that."

"Mine was fine," Syn replied. "I learned how to use Leaf Blade. It's pretty cool, but I can tell why my kind have a hard time using it compared to Treecko and their evolutions. It's really hard to hit somebody with it if you don't move around the right way. But, I think I've figure out a way to be accurate with the attack. And now I'm trying to think of a way to make this attack part of a team attack."

"That's good to hear. Tell me when you come up with that idea," Zekra said pleasantly. "What about you, Impetus?"

"Talked with Novus," she replied. "He taught me the names of the great beings. They're all interesting, but I often wonder why some are considered great beings when they don't do anything very important. Like Latios and Latias. They don't do anything except fly around the world. But, great beings like Reshiram and Zekrom, who had an important role, are forgotten and become myths. I don't understand why this happens."

"I'm pretty sure Novus would know," Zekra said. "He seems pretty knowledgeable, so I bet he knows why. Soooo, Terron. How did things go for you?"

"They went fine," Terron said simply. "Learned a new move. That's it."

"Oh, I see," Zekra said awkwardly, not sure how to react to such a short answer. "Well that's… good."

"Yeah," Terron added quietly.

Terron had been like this to Zekra ever since the incident with the Plagued Ones. While he still talked with her, as he was doing now, he never wanted to talk for very long. Learning that Zekra might not even be his real friend broke something inside Terron. He didn't know for sure if this was true, but he found he couldn't talk to Zekra about it. He was scared to know the truth. If he knew for sure that Zekra really wasn't his friend…

Terron wasn't sure what would happen to him.

Zekra was about to ask something, but just then, she noticed a group of Pokémon coming into the cafeteria from the outside. No one seemed to notice them, but the rest of Team Vendetta brought their attention to the new Pokémon.

There were three Pokémon: a Flygon, a Rampardos, and a Grovyle. All of them seemed rather tired, but they managed to look happy despite this. This was especially true with the Flygon, whose grin seemed to be a permanent part of its face. The team watched as the new Pokémon got their meals from the Wigglytuff server and wandered around to find a seat. The Flygon flew high above the other two, zipping through the air despite its apparent weariness.

"Come on, you two!" the Flygon called. "I really want to find a spot to sit quickly! You guys are going even slower than usual!"

"That's because we just got back from a two month errand," the Rampardos moaned. "Of course we're going slow! We're exhausted!"

"Besides, you can fly," the Grovyle stated coolly. "Flying automatically makes you ten times faster than us."

"Whatever!" the Flygon said carelessly. "I'll just pick out a spot for us and wait for you guys then!"

As the dragon flew over various tables, he noticed Team Vendetta's table and how it still had quite a bit of room for others to sit in. Though, what he seemed to notice most was Terron. He stared at the Cubone curiously for a second before swooping down onto the table. He landed next to the open seats and looked upon the team.

"Don't think I've seen you four around here before," the Flygon said oddly. "You four new?"

"Yeah, we're Team Vendetta," Zekra said with a smile. "We joined last month."

"Ah, you joined while I was gone with Jade and Ragnor," the Flygon said thoughtfully. "Well then, that explains why I don't recognize you four. Well, if you don't mind, I'd like to sit here with my friends. What do you say?"

"Uh, sure," Zekra said awkwardly.

The Flygon's smile widened as he sat down and set his tray at the table. The four gave him odd looks as he ate, not quite sure what to think of the newcomer. His appearance was so random. As they tried to figure out what to think of the dragon, his other two companions came up to the table.

"Vantis, are you bothering our members again?" the Rampardos scowled. "You know not everyone can put up with your overly energized attitude."

"No, I asked them if we could eat here before I made myself home," the one named Vantis assured. "I didn't barge in. Geez, you make it sound like I have no manners or something."

"Because sometimes you really don't…" the Rampardos grumbled.

"Wait, you said your name is Vantis." Terron said to the Flygon before looking at the Grovyle and Rampardos. "And… you two are Jade and Ragnor according to Vantis. Wait… are you guys part of Team Valor?"

"Why yes, we are," the Grovyle said pleasantly. "I'm guessing Len told you about us while we were gone. Sorry we weren't here when you became a part of the Fellowship. We had to go visit all the Fellowships and see how they're doing compared to us. Vantis probably could have gone by himself, but no one's really allowed to go on missions alone here in Aurora Town's Fellowship. So, Ragnor and I went with him since we're decent at traveling a long ways. But anyway, it's nice to meet you now."

Jade and Ragnor sat down at the table next to Vantis. Having a few of the leaders sitting at their table heavily reminded Terron and Zekra of the time Bane and Rayne visited them.

"So what are your names?" the Rampardos asked. "I'm Ragnor, and the Grovyle is Jade. And then you've obviously met Vantis already."

"Well, I'm Zekra," Zekra said before pointing to her teammates. "That's Syn, that's Impetus, and that's Terron, our leader."

"Ah, nice to meet you all," Ragnor smiled.

"Yeah, you're all so adorable!" Vantis added.

The Flygon then ruffled Zekra and Syn's heads playfully. Every member of Team Vendetta except Impetus found the comment and gesture to be awkward while the members of Team Valor found it humorous. Impetus, on the other hand, had a much different reaction. As soon as Vantis brought his hand close to her head and Terron's, she scowled.

"Don't touch me," she growled.

Vantis immediately withdrew his claw, startled by her hostility. He didn't even bother to mess with Terron due to by how distracted he was. Impetus got to her feet and went to go retrieve some more food. The three leaders stared at Impetus oddly.

"Sorry," Zekra said. "Impetus is a feral. She's getting better, but she still kinda acts like a feral at times. Like, she hates it when Pokémon besides us try to touch her. She still thinks they're trying to attack her."

"I thought there was something different about her compared to the rest of you," Jade replied. "But I see. I understand where she's coming from. I too, was once a feral. I acted just like that, but was a lot worse. I wouldn't even let my teammates look at me in the eye without giving them nasty looks. I always thought they were going to attack me whenever they made eye contact."

"Oh yeah, Emdox was mentioning you," Terron then said. "He was mentioning that you were a feral once, when we first got Impetus. How long did it take you to become a civilian, out of curiosity?"

"Hmm," Jade pondered. "Two months. Though, I've heard that sometimes, it can take up to six months. It all depends on the Pokémon and how you train them. I mean, I probably got out of my feral state so quickly because I had King and his… unique way of understanding me."

"Yeah, by basically forcing you to see your ways were wrong," Vantis said with a snicker. "He beat the daylights out of you to make you see that civilian tactics triumph feral tactics and that you'd die if you didn't change."

"I can still remember that day," Jade said. "I really thought I was going to die."

She shuddered at the thought.

"Anyway," Jade continued after the memory passed. "If you want to speed up the process, I suppose you can have her talk to me. I'm not exactly talented at convincing Pokémon, but since she and I are the same in a way, maybe she'll see some truth in my words. And if I can't do anything, well you can always ask King."

"We'll just stick with you," Terron said quickly. "But, not right away. You guys just got back, so I guess you can use a break for a while. I'll let you know when I can use your help."

Jade nodded pleasantly before she suddenly became very solemn.

"You're aware of how others view feral Pokémon, right?" she asked seriously.

"Yeah, we know Pokémon outside the Fellowship aren't exactly nice to feral Pokémon," Terron said sadly. "Impetus and I found out the hard way."

"There are some in the Fellowship who have a negative view of ferals, so don't trust everyone here with that information," Jade said. "But good. You know. That's important."

"Don't worry; we'll keep her safe," Syn assured. "We're good at hiding stuff."

After eating their dinner with the leaders and having various conversations, the team bid the adults farewell. The four now stood in front of the Bulletin Board, staring at all of the missions curiously. However, it was only Zekra and Syn that were reading the assignments. Impetus and Terron still couldn't understand footprint runes.

"You see any 'B' level missions?" Zekra asked curiously.

"Nope," Syn said. "Just a lot of 'A' and star stuff. And a few 'D' level ones."

"Hmmm keep trying," Zekra replied. "We've gotta try a 'B' level mission. We've been doing 'C' level for too long. We have to improve."

The two became silent and focused all their attention into finding the right mission. Terron and Impetus simply waited around, starting to feel tired. Just as their eyes started to close, Syn suddenly took out his vines and reached for a posting far above his reach. He ripped it off the board before bringing it down to the ground for everyone to see.

"Here's a weird mission that's 'B' level," the Snivy said. "It says we have to go get a bunch of evolution stones from this place. We just have to go there, pick them up, and bring them back here. And we get a reward of one thousand Poké! Awesome!"

"Wow, that really does sound like a cool mission," Zekra grinned. "What a lucky find."

"Yeah! Though, it says we're supposed to tell the leaders we got this assignment before we leave," Syn added. "They're supposed to give us some kind of special transportation since it's pretty far away. Weird."

"And where exactly are we supposed to get these stones from?" Terron asked. "The Drifblim Transportation is pretty fast, so where could it possibly be so that we have to go there another way?"

Syn scanned through the mission paper again before putting a vine on the word he was looking for.

"The Dusk Mines Fellowship," Syn replied.

Immediately, Terron's mind stopped working. The horrifying images of that place consumed his thoughts. In his mind, he could hear King's voice describing the place once more. Terron kept a straight face as dread filled him, but his reply expressed his thoughts very clearly.

"No, we're not going there," Terron said hastily.

"Aww, why not?" Syn whined. "It sounds like a cool place. Plus, it'd be nice to know what the other Fellowships look like."

"I just don't wanna go," Terron said.

Zekra stared at Terron for a moment before a sly grin appeared on her face.

"You're scared of that place, aren't you?" Zekra asked smugly.

"No!" Terron cried. "Of course not! Why would I be scared of another Fellowship?"

"I don't know," Zekra said, honest as can be. "But it's true, isn't it?"

Terron didn't say anything. He knew that Zekra didn't really understand his fear, since she had been occupied when King explained the Dusk Mines Fellowship. Yet, that didn't change the fact that Terron didn't want to go there. Zekra went up to the Cubone and stared at him.

"Don't be so scared," Zekra said softly. "It's just another Fellowship. Besides, you've got us in case anything goes wrong."

"Yeah!" Syn added.

"It's only somewhere different," Impetus said. "All Fellowships have the same purpose. They're not much different than us. They'd be exactly the same if it weren't for them being in different places with different creatures. Fear is unnecessary."

Terron let a sigh. There was no point in fighting his teammates. They all had points, and their peer pressure was proving too great to resist. It looked like Terron would have to deal with his dread.

"Fine, we'll go," Terron said quietly.

"Yes!" Zekra cried happily. "Well let's call it a night then, and we can tell Len about the mission in the morning."

She and Syn took off up the stairs, leaving behind Terron and Impetus. They showed no signs of waiting for the two of them. Terron let out another sigh as he slowly made his ways up the stairs.

"Why are you really scared of that place?" Impetus asked.

Terron turned his head to find the Mienfoo hadn't moved. She was staring up at the Cubone, her eyes reflecting the gravity behind her question. There was no pity or curiosity; there was only solemnness. Terron stopped walking.

"Because according to King, that place is terrifying," Terron answered. "The leader, the members, the location, their practices… just their name is ominous enough! I don't want to go there and see all of that."

"Why didn't you say that to the others?" Impetus asked just as seriously.

"Because… I just can't," Terron said as he hung his head. "It's too hard. Explaining my secrets has become really difficult for some reason. I could do it before… but not anymore."

"So you can't tell your companions what bothers you, despite working with them all the time," Impetus verified, more to herself than Terron. "Though you're in pain… and telling them the truth would get rid of the pain… you don't tell them. You don't let the others see your pain… except me."

"You're different, Impetus," Terron reasoned. "Talking to you is like talking to myself. It's been like that since Zekra and I found you."

Impetus stepped onto the staircase and passed by Terron. She continued walking until she was a few yards away from the Cubone. Once she was, she stopped walking and stared at whatever was in front of her. She was quiet for a moment.

"… You civil ones don't make sense sometimes," Impetus said. "All of you are in pain… but you don't do anything to get rid of the pain. If you hurt, get rid of the pain. Why do all of you not understand such a simple concept?"

"Because this pain isn't like a physical pain, Impetus," Terron replied. "It's not that simple."

"Maybe you just make it too complicated," Impetus returned. "Many things about you civil ones are made too complicated. I still don't know why you do so many strange things when there's such a simple answer. It confuses me. But, not as much as a different question I've asked since the day I came here. I still haven't found the answer."

"What was the question?" Terron asked curiously.

"Why does everyone work together when no one gets along?" Impetus explained. "You all do everything together such as battling, eating, and walking, but all of you fight with each other. And yet, all of you stay together. At my old home, there was never anything like that. We work separately. When we fight, it is our enemy that we fight. Yet here… it's so different… everyone is working together, yet not getting along…"

"Because we're happy when we're together and it helps for battles," Terron said. "At least, we're supposed to be happy. I don't know about lately."

"Exactly why happiness isn't the right answer," Impetus said simply.

The Mienfoo went forward, climbing up the stairs without Terron. Terron stayed there for a while, thinking over everything Impetus had just said.

Pokémon show their true personality to others. Terron thought. And if they can do that, then they probably share their problems too. So why can't I share what's going through my head? I could do it before as a Pokémon. I kept no secrets from my team. And now… I'm keeping so many things hidden from everyone. I can't tell Zekra about what the Plagued Ones told me, I can't tell Syn I'm human, I can't tell anyone except Syn and Impetus that I can talk to the Plagued Ones, I can't tell anyone about that voice in my head, and I can't even talk about how I feel to my own friends unless Impetus talks to me…

He slowly trekked up the stairs and went to his room as he felt the pangs of his heart.

Why can't I talk about what bothers me anymore? What's happening to me?