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Chapter 48
Never Leaving You
"BECAUSE YOU'RE ONE OF THE COPIES OF EREBUS."
Terron, Zekra, and Novus staggered at the accusation. The pieces of the puzzle slowly clicked together as Zeverous's last words rang through their minds repeatedly. If Yimtri truly was one of the copies that Erebus could supposedly make, so many things suddenly made sense. The way Yimtri talked so much like Erebus from the few times they heard him speak. The way his voice would sound so much like Erebus's voice whenever he was seemingly having his plagued self overcome him. The fact that every single strategy Yimtri used in battles was disturbingly like the ones Erebus used in the dungeons, such as using emotions to blind others into doing careless things…
The more and more they thought, the more and more Team Vendetta found themselves at a complete loss. Soon, each of them was numb and became limp in Zeverous's mane.
Yimtri, on the other hand, was absolutely livid. His scowl grew fierce and his eyes illuminated ever the brighter. The Turtwig beside him looked away with an uncomfortable grimace.
"Zeverous… that's a very bold accusation to make," he stated in a low, icy tone.
"But it's true, isn't it?" Zeverous shot back. "You're one of Erebus's copies in the form of a Sableye."
Yimtri's body shook. He seemed to strain in keeping himself motionless.
"You dare accuse me of being one of Erebus's clones?" the Sableye asked, his words brimming with malice. "You dare to call me one of Erebus's willing servants when I have spent twenty years fighting against it? After all that I have just described to you through our journey in this wretched dungeon? Zeverous… there are no words to describe the thoughts I have about your completely delusional belief about me. There are no words to describe just how injudicious and atrocious your accusation is."
"You're Erebus's clone. You can't trick me anymore. You dragged us down here so that you can kill us because we knew too much about you… well not anymore. I'm leaving with Zekra, Terron, and Novus and we're going to tell the world the truth."
"You are horribly deluded, Zeverous. Your words reek of complete absurdity. I am not Erebus's clone. I know what I am, and I tell you right now that I am not willingly serving that abomination. Take back your words right now and see the truth. Stay here with me and help me kill Erebus. Don't become deceived by your nonsensical accusation."
Zeverous snarled as the orb began to glow with a soft light.
"Escape Orb, ac-"
A black blur smacked the sphere out of Zeverous's claws, sending it careening into the far distance. Zeverous snapped his attention to the Sableye to find a single tendril ooze back into Yimtri's shadow.
"I'm not a clone of Erebus," Yimtri hissed. "Stop thinking that. This is what the true Erebus does; it confuses you. It wants to twist everything around. It wants you to think that I am the enemy when I'm not. It wants to use your grudge against you."
Zeverous abruptly ripped out the Pokémon embedded in his mane and flung them to the ground. He sprang at the Sableye, but as to be expected, Yimtri phased into the ground. The Zoroark snarled as a light washed over him and soon, he became a Mismagius, eyes illuminating brightly as he dove after the Sableye.
There was a loud scream, and then Yimtri was tossed up out of the ground. Zeverous came flying out not far behind him and changed back into a Zoroark as he grabbed the bag strapped to the Sableye's body.
"Don't you dare take my Escape Orbs!" Yimtri cried. "You're not leaving this dungeon! You're going to help me!"
The Sableye shot a blob of black energy at the Zoroark from his palm. Zeverous flinched as it crashed into his face, but he refused to release his hold on the bag. He took his other claw and swiped at the bag's front. The bag flew out of Yimtri's grasp, spilling all of its contents. Everything plummeted below, most of the supplies being various berries, seeds, gemstones, and most importantly, orbs. Though no one could tell which orbs were which, Zeverous smiled at the sight of the free-falling items.
All of the supplies slammed into the ground a few seconds later, lightly bouncing along the grass before becoming motionless. Not a single scratch was upon anything.
The moment the two Pokémon hit the ground, Yimtri separated his shadow from himself, sending it after the fallen items. Then, without a second's delay, he leapt at the Zoroark and latched onto his mane with his claws. Zeverous screamed as a light fell over him, but Yimtri was quick to puncture the Zoroark's back with his sharp claws, instantly stopping the illusion.
Terron, Zekra, Novus, and Chloe could only watch in reluctant silence as the two continuously struggled. No one attempted to move.
"Erebus…" Chloe muttered.
She immediately shot her glance back to the ones behind her, a steely resolve shining in her eyes.
"You don't believe the Zoroark's words, do you?" she snapped, her monotone voice now filled with venom. "Do you actually believe that the liege is a copy of Erebus?"
"Well… it would explain why he can do a lot of weird things that other Sableye aren't supposed to be able to do…" Zekra answered quietly.
"You're letting Erebus delude you too," Chloe spat. "You do not see the many problems with the Zoroark's accusation? You do not see the many holes in his theory? If he was truly a copy of Erebus, why would he actively be fighting against it?"
"I don't know, as some kind of cover-up!" Zekra cried. "I mean, if he wasn't Erebus's copy, why else would he want us to go here so badly without a plan? How do you explain that? Nobody is that stupid!"
Chloe pressed her mouth into a hard line.
"Because he wants to end this endless reign of terror that Erebus has brought upon Shiron," Chloe stated. "He wants to end the suffering. You accuse him of not having a plan, but let me tell you right now that Erebus will fall when we reach it. There is a plan. Why do you think Erebus is toying with us so much right now? Simply because it wants to? No, it knows what we are doing and what we are capable of."
She glared directly at the Zorua.
"When you last came here to Erebus Woods, was it doing all of this to you?" she asked. "What did it do to you when you came here before? Was it disrupting the dungeon's layout so that you completely skipped the second, third, and fourth environments entirely? Was it extending the final environment's sector length so that it could unnerve you and suck out all your hope? Was it showing you memories of your companion so that you would distrust him and turn against him?"
"Well no but… wait, memories?" Zekra realized. "Those things we saw in the fog... were memories?"
"They were. I'm surprised you didn't figure that out sooner, especially due to the fact that the liege actually told you what we were seeing were his memories."
"Yimtri didn't say that," Terron countered. "In fact, he refused to explain anything to us whenever we asked."
"I think you are mistaken," Chloe replied calmly.
Terron shook his head as he glanced over at the ones beside him.
"But he did, right you guys?" Terron asked his companions.
"Yeah, he just said not to worry about whatever's going on," Zekra said. "He wouldn't say anything because he was saying it was better if we didn't know or something like that."
"Yes, the very same thoughts are my own," Novus added.
"See!" Terron cried to the Turtwig.
Chloe cast them a long stare, her expression becoming blank. A grim frown formed on her face seconds later. She subtly pawed at the ground, her grimace deepening, as though she were wrestling with an unseen pain.
"That can't be right," she said, seemingly to herself. "That's not what he said…"
There was a loud cry, and everyone looked back to find Zeverous holding his arm. There were three long streaks stretching across his flesh, bleeding profusely. Yimtri was at a distance, picking himself up off the ground with a fatigued scowl.
"Zev!" Zekra screamed.
She bolted after the hurt Zoroark. She only managed to bound about a foot in distance before Chloe tackled her down. The Turtwig stamped her foot right into the side of the Zorua's ribcage, making Zekra let out a sharp whine.
"You're going to fight my liege, aren't you?" Chloe asked.
"He's attacking Zev!" Zekra cried.
"Only because your brother is attacking him," Chloe shot back. "I will not allow more meaningless conflict ensue. I'm not letting you get back up unless you help me calm them down."
She brought her glance to Terron and Novus.
"In fact, I need all of you to help me. This is especially because the Zoroark is the one who is mostly rampaging. Perhaps the Zorua and I could do it ourselves, but I think that having all of you assist me is better. The more Pokémon who can convince him to quell his wrath, the better our chances will be of him calming down."
"I don't know… I'm still kind of confused about what to think," Terron admitted. "I mean, you bring up good points about why Yimtri can't really be Erebus's copy, but that still doesn't explain why he refused to explain anything to us…"
"But he did, Cubone," Chloe stated. "He did warn you of why you shouldn't wander into the fog. He told you everything. I don't know why you say otherwise, but we can't dwell in that right now. We have to stop those two before they do something too reckless."
"I really don't know what you're talking about when you say he explained everything," Terron stated. "Yimtri didn't do that."
"Yes he did. I heard him explain it very clearly," Chloe snapped. "But like I just said, we'll discuss this later. Right now, we have more pressing issues to deal with."
"How are we going to calm them down, though?" Zekra asked. "Are we going to have to attack Zev?"
"If it comes to that, yes."
Zekra's confused frown quickly twisted into a fierce scowl. Her irises filled with an aqua light.
"Then no way!"
"I don't think we have a choice in the matter, Zorua. I don't want to attack my liege either, but if I have to in order to end this meaningless conflict, I will. Though, I do not think we will have to do that. I think your words alone should stifle your brother's actions long enough for his reason to come back to him."
"But you still-"
A dense fog suddenly rolled in and obscured the four's view of the conflicting Pokémon. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the haze about them. Chloe's gaze darkened as she removed her foot from Zekra's side and took a few steps toward the fog. Zekra sluggishly got to her feet and rubbed her tender, throbbing spot.
"Of course this has happened," Chloe hissed.
"What's with all this fog?" Zekra asked irritably. "It keeps getting in our way! What, is it alive or something?"
"Not quite, Zorua," Chloe answered. "This fog is simply a tool of Erebus, just as the denizens are. As you've seen before, it's normally used to bring you to see memories of those wandering in this particular area. It somehow separates you from the normal part of the dungeon and places you in a more surreal area where memories can take form and play out before you. Erebus uses the fog as a means of distortion and confusion. And sometimes, if the memories are painful enough, it becomes a reliable way to break you down so you will become easy prey."
"So what, if we go through the fog again, we'll see more memories?" Zekra asked.
"Possibly," Chloe stated. "Though, I should warn you that there are no guarantees that the memories you'll see will only be the liege's. It might just be your memories you see if you wander into the fog."
The Zorua shirked at the remark. She folded her ears back and frowned uncomfortably.
"Even still, we'll have to go through this fog if we want to reunite with the Zoroark and the liege," Chloe then said. "We don't have much of a choice. We cannot simply remain here in this false haven."
Everyone except Chloe exchanged an uneasy glance. Though the idea of ending the conflict seemed rather nice, they weren't quite sure what to think at the moment. There were far too many confusing things floating in their minds for them to have any sort of steady conviction. Zeverous's accusation about Yimtri being Erebus's clone made sense, and yet, so did Chloe's absolute denial of the statement. There simply was no reason Erebus would be tormenting them so greatly in his home if Yimtri was truly working for him. And yet, if Yimtri was Erebus's copy, then it would explain how so many things about his behavior…
The three couldn't decide what they wanted to believe and found themselves at an impasse.
Chloe suddenly seemed to perk up. She let out a low hiss as she crouched low to the ground. Terron and his friends cast her an odd glance.
"What's wrong?" Novus asked her.
"The denizens are here," she warned.
The Turtwig snorted as her eyes darted in every direction with an almost unnatural speed.
"Erebus, you really do want to end us, don't you?" she asked, ignoring the Cubone's question. "You really don't want us to put an end to you."
As if in reply to her remark, ten blurs shot out of the thick haze and sprang at the group. One of them collided into Chloe, instantly knocking her back into the fog and far out of the visibility of the group. Terron ran after her, but was quickly met by a set of sharp claws raking his torso. He let out a hiss as he reflexively tore out a club from his coat and swung it at whatever had attacked him. There was a shrill scream as the bone slammed into something and sent it flying into the fog as well. Terron didn't even get to see what it was.
He looked to his side to find Zekra and Novus still among him, both standing close to one another. The assailants that had surrounded them were no longer in sight. Even still, this brought little comfort to Terron. He drew close to his friends and together, they formed a tight circle.
"Why isn't Chloe teleporting back to us?" he wondered. "She was still wearing the Reunion Cape. She should have been here by now."
"That same question could be applied to Zeverous and the plagued Sableye," Novus replied. "They too wore the capes, yet they are not among us. Perhaps Erebus has tampered with our items, like you had suggested to us earlier."
"Which means that Erebus is trying to separate all of us," Zekra realized. "And that means our capes are useless now. So does that mean all of our items don't work anymore? Can we even escape from this place? Are we trapped here forever?"
"Let's not think like that right now," Terron urged. "I mean, our capes were working before. It's just that when we got to this place they weren't working."
"That doesn't make things any better, Tear. Because if we really are going to battle Erebus here… we need those capes to work."
"Just don't panic, okay? We can't do that right now. We have to focus. We've got to keep an eye out for those things that were attacking us. Then after they're gone, we'll go look for Chloe and figure out what's wrong with these capes. We can't afford to go look for her right now when we've got a bunch of vicious Pokémon stalking us. Did you guys see what they were, though?"
"No, they were moving too fast for me," Zekra said with a shake of her head.
"I'm afraid the same applies for me," Novus stated. "One simply managed to strike me with its claws, then it disappeared into the fog before I could even catch a glimpse of it. All that I saw was that it was a black blur of sorts. Though, it was not Erebus, let me assure you that."
"Tch, of course no one saw what they really were," Terron muttered distastefully.
Terron heard the snow crunch near him. He and his friends tensed and brought their gazes to the source of the sound. Not even a second later, five blurry figures shot out of the fog and fell upon the group. Novus shot a stream of flames at the incoming creatures. Two of the figures deftly moved out of the way, but the other three were not so fortunate. They immediately caught fire and collapsed onto the ground, the flames eating away at their dark flesh. Terron recognized the Pokémon to all be Weavile.
The remaining two Weavile knocked Terron and Zekra onto their backs and sent a sharp claw down upon each of them. Terron rolled out of the way just in the nick of time before kicking the Weavile's ankle and tripping it. The moment it hit the ground, he rammed the dull end of his bone into its head. It screeched and flailed for a brief second before shooting the Cubone a malicious glare. It let out a menacing hiss as it sprayed a small gust of ice shards at the Cubone. Terron leapt out of the way, but a few pieces of the ice still cut into his jacket's sleeve and flesh. He let out a sharp cry of his own as the stinging sensation filled his arm.
Yet, Terron didn't let his pain falter him too much and sent another blow to the Weavile's head. This time, the creature fell silent and slumped back into the snow without a sound. Terron couldn't help but grin to himself.
He looked over to find Zekra was still faring against her own Weavile. She had transformed into a Mienfoo and was currently dodging a flurry of slashes. Despite the creature moving so quickly, each strike being nothing but a blur of movement, she somehow avoided each and every attack with grace.
Then, when an opening came, she filled her paw with white energy and firmly pressed it into the Weavile's chest. There was a brilliant explosion, and then the Weavile flew back into the distance, flying away into the haze all around them. Zekra smirked at the sight.
"Hah! That'll teach you to mess with me!" Zekra proclaimed.
"Don't get too cocky yet," Terron reminded her. "We've only gotten rid of five of those Weavile. There's still five more left, I think."
"Yeah yeah, I know," Zekra waved dismissively. "I know better. You don't have to remind me."
Terron looked away from her as she crouched onto all fours, ready to strike.
A flurry of icicles suddenly shot out of the fog from all angles and sliced into the three Pokémon. Terron hissed as he tolerated the burning cold that cut deep into his body. He only had to wait; the Weavile would surely leap out of the fog and attack him soon. He would be able to end all of this fighting soon.
But much to his surprise, the storm never ceased. An entire minute went by and none of the Weavile had shown their faces. He glanced over at Zekra and Novus with grit teeth, finding they too were enduring the attack the best they could. Novus's fire burned bright, but unfortunately, that did little in stopping the shards from slicing into his flesh. His flames couldn't seem to melt the ice. Meanwhile Zekra couldn't even change into another form without it being interrupted by the endless barrage of attacks.
"I don't think they're going to come!" Zekra cried. "I think they know they we can't beat them if they don't show themselves!"
"Ugh, why do they have to be able to learn?" Terron grumbled.
"Let's just get out of here!" Zekra insisted.
"But they'll attack us if we turn our backs on them! You know how smart these things are!"
"Well it's better than getting cut up or dying of all this cold! And we don't even know if it's the Weavile attacking us anymore! It could just be the stupid dungeon now!"
"It's the Weavile! All of this ice is just like the stuff they were firing earlier!"
Zekra shot Terron a glare as her eyes flared. Terron took a step back.
"We're leaving right now, whether you like it or not!" she stated firmly. "We are not going to put up with this anymore!"
She pounced at the Cubone before he could react, knocking him down. She then grabbed him by the sleeve of his coat with her teeth and swiftly dragged him through the snow.
"We're going Novus! Come on!" she shouted.
Terron saw Novus give them an odd glance for just a moment, but hurried after them nonetheless. The amount of icicles firing all around them increased the closer she got to the fog, but Zekra seemed to ignore this as she tightened her grip on the Cubone and leapt through the dense haze.
When the three emerged from the fog, they found themselves at the very entrance to Erebus Woods once again, standing among its tentacle-like roots and peering into its entrance. Despite the night sky being void of its moon, the four were still able to see thanks to the fire still burning upon Novus's head.
Zekra released Terron and glanced over herself. He did the same and pulled up his sleeves. Now that he was no longer being distracted with attacks, he could see that his arms were covered in lacerations, all of them still bleeding. He grimaced as he reached into his bag, which had miraculously managed to stay in one piece, even if it was shredded to a certain degree. He pulled out a wad of bandages and carefully wrapped them around his arms.
When he had finished tightening the bands, he looked over at his friends to find that they too were coated in deep cuts.
"We're such a mess," Terron cringed. "You guys think we should have some Oran berries?"
"I don't feel that bad," Zekra replied. "Just a little woozy. Maybe we should just split one or something. You know, since we're trying to save them."
"What about you, Novus?" Terron then asked his other friend.
"I am mostly fine, so you do not need to give me any of your berries," he replied. "You and Zekra can simply share that berry amongst the two of you. However, I would like to ask if you can give me some of your bandages; I would like to cover these bleeding spots."
Terron nodded as he handed the Quilava the bandage roll. As Novus tightened the fabric around him, Terron dug through his supplies until he pulled out a single Oran berry. Then, carefully tore it in half and handed Zekra one of the pieces. Zekra hastily stuffed the entire fruit in her mouth.
She looked back at the woods that stood before them. The light in her eyes started to dull at the very sight of the dungeon.
"So, we're back at the entrance of Erebus Woods again," Zekra stated quietly after she swallowed the berry down.
"Well, a memory of it, but yeah," Terron replied. "Don't know of what though since there's no one here."
Zekra stared into the forest for a moment longer before she grimaced and turned away.
"Tear, what do you think we should do?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"You know, once we get back to Zev. What do we do? Because really, I don't know who to believe right now…"
Terron sighed. He glanced at the fruit in his paw and then took a bite out of it. He could already feel his fatigue fading away.
"I'm not too sure either," he confessed. "I mean, I really do want to think that Yimtri isn't working for Erebus. I trusted the guy, after all, and I don't want to think that all of that went to waste. And Chloe makes a good point about why he isn't Erebus's clone. When I was here last time, when we were still in the Aurora Town Fellowship, Erebus didn't toy with us that much. Sure, it had these… flesh-stealing tentacles in the place Yimtri called Yomi and then our emotions started drowning out our reason in another place… but those things only happened in a very systematic way. It wasn't random like here. It wasn't like Erebus was purposely toying with us. More like it wanted to make things worse the further we got, very slowly. It didn't throw anything too bad at us right away. Even the flesh-stealing tentacles were pretty easy to avoid after a while.
"But now, it's like Erebus is just throwing its best tricks at us. Like it really does want to get rid of us. It's sending swarms after us that are constantly trying to separate us, it actually visits us, and then it messes up the dungeon so that we get to the very end right away."
"Yeah, true," Zekra said with a nod.
"But that still doesn't explain why Yimtri wanted to get here so badly without thinking out a proper plan," Terron then said. "Chloe said he had a plan… but what plan? She never exactly said what that plan was. I mean, if she really wanted to convince us, she would have told us what that plan was. I'm pretty sure she knows what it is. And yet, she didn't say anything. Not to mention that I don't get what she means when she says that Yimtri explained everything. He didn't say anything about any memories. He just said not to worry about it. And that's what really makes it hard for me to figure out what to believe."
Terron and Zekra contemplated in silence, neither having anything else to say.
"Perhaps we should confront the Turtwig about this," Novus then said, making his way over to the two. "I do think it's best to try to gain as much information as we can about this. We can make better judgments based on that."
"I thought you didn't trust Yimtri in general," Terron stated as he turned to the Quilava.
"To a degree, yes," Novus admitted. "You don't know how happy I would be to escape from this wretched Blight Forest and simply go about with my own plan. However, since I see that some part of you two do want to stay here and follow that Sableye for whatever unimaginable reason, I will try to help you with that. So, if you want to find out what you want to do, confront the Turtwig. Ask her to explain this plan and perhaps continue to bring up this miscommunication that is occurring between all of us and the Sableye. See how she reacts. That should provide you with enough information to make a decision."
"Yeah… that seems like a good idea," Terron nodded. "Alright, let's go do that. Let's get out of this memory and go find her."
The three headed toward the fog, but then, before he could enter, something caught his attention. He saw something slowly emerge from the woods before him. Its stature was small from what he could tell, yet he didn't dare underestimate the creature.
When the darkness of the woods left its body, Terron was surprised to find that the creature was not one of Erebus's denizens. It was not even Erebus itself; it was a Turtwig Terron knew too well. Tied around her neck by a cord was a glowing, violet gemstone. Terron glanced over at Zekra to find the very same necklace still strung around her own neck.
"That's Chloe," Terron realized. "And she's got the Deception Amulet. But… why?"
"Well that's a memory of her, remember?" Zekra stated. "She said that the stuff we see might not always be Yimtri's memories. Sooo I guess this is one of her memories."
"Yeah, but why would she have the amulet?" Terron wondered. "I mean, she has no use for one; she's not a Zorua or Zoroark or anything. And why is she even coming out Erebus Woods? I thought she never went inside a dungeon before."
The false Chloe stopped and looked down at the jewel strung around her neck. She lightly touched it with a paw and watched it flare up for just a brief second before returning to its dim glow. She continued to stare at it with a blank gaze, its light flickering in her eyes.
"Hey, are you alright?"
Everyone turned to find a Shuppet drifting out of the empty woods nearby the dungeon before it came to the fake Turtwig's side. She stared at it for a moment, her gaze remaining dull and lifeless.
"You are one of the Dusk Mines Fellowship members," she stated in a monotone. "You saw me while you were patrolling near here, didn't you?"
The Shuppet staggered back at the remark, but the false Chloe remained unfazed. She brought her attention back to the illuminating gemstone. Its light seemed to dim just a small bit.
"How do you know that?" the Shuppet asked, astonished.
"Your liege is still gone, correct?" she asked, completely ignoring the question altogether.
"Well yes, but how do-"
"That is all I need to know. Thank you."
She immediately wandered in the opposite direction of the baffled ghost, paying no mind to its questions. The Shuppet swooped in front of her in an attempt to block her path. Chloe frowned, but came to a stop.
"Wait, hold on for a second," the Shuppet started to say. "Who are you? I mean, from the looks of it, you just escaped from Erebus Woods even though it looks like you don't have a single thing on you except for that weird necklace. And I've never seen you around here before. I don't think you're a Fellowship member."
"I am not a Fellowship member," Chloe answered simply. "However, I cannot answer any more of your questions. I have to take care of something and you are only hindering my progress. It's something I want to take care of as soon as I can."
"Well sorry, but I can't do that since you're pretty suspicious with how-"
A barrage of leaves sailed out of Chloe's body and instantly sliced through the Shuppet. Its ghastly body exploded into a bundle of wisps that faded away seconds later. The Turtwig shook her head.
"I can't have you in my way," she remarked.
And with that, the Turtwig disappeared into the wilderness, leaving Terron and his companions at a loss.
"Uhhhh I don't get what I just saw," Zekra said.
"I do not believe any of us do," Novus replied. "It was a rather strange memory, if that is what it truly was."
"Yes, it is, isn't it?"
The three flinched at the voice. They snapped their heads off to the side to find Chloe standing among them once more. However, unlike Yimtri when he found them peering upon his memories, she remained composed. Almost detached, Terron noted. Like she didn't care that they had probably witnessed a part of her life she didn't wish to share with others.
"So… that was one of your memories," Terron said.
"Yes," she replied simply. "I told you that the memories you would see would not all belong to one Pokémon."
"But what were you even doing in that memory? I mean, you came out of Erebus Woods and you were wearing that amulet and it just didn't make any sense at all."
"I would attempt to explain that memory, but that would be rather time consuming. Besides, I do believe there are more important things to take care of, now that I have found you three again. So come along; we have a conflict to stop. When we end that conflict, I'll explain the memory to you."
The Turtwig turned away from the three and waited by the edge of the fog, waiting for them to join her. Terron was stumped by her avoidance of the question, but chose not to prod into it further, for he remembered he had a more important subject to discuss with her.
"Chloe, before we go with you, I have a question for you," Terron started to say.
"I think it can wait," she stated blandly. "There's a more pressing matter to deal with at the moment. Questions can wait until that is resolved."
"But it's about that. Chloe, what's Yimtri's plan you're talking about? How is he going to beat Erebus?" Terron asked.
The Turtwig blinked.
"What does that matter?" she asked.
"Well it'd make it easier to believe he isn't working for Erebus for one," Terron replied. "And you know, it would convince us to actually help you. And also, I still don't get what you mean when you say that Yimtri told us we were seeing memories. The three of us really didn't hear him say that. I don't know how you did and we didn't, but it's true."
The Turtwig cast the Cubone a long stare. Her expression became eerily blank as her eyes lowered to the ground.
"How could they not hear the words?" she asked seemingly no one. "It doesn't make any sense. I know what I heard. Unless…"
Her eyes suddenly widened.
"Tell me again the exact words you heard from my liege when he wasn't explaining that you were seeing his memories," she stated in a subdued voice.
"What?" Terron asked.
She brought her gaze back to him.
"Tell me what you heard. I want to know."
"I'm not going to tell you that until you answer my-"
"Tell me what you heard Yimtri say," Chloe hissed, her voice suddenly unnaturally cold and hostile.
The Turtwig remained stationary as she shot the Cubone a glare. The blades of grass around her seemed to shift on their own, if only for a brief moment.
"… he said a few things, but they were all mostly along the lines of 'you don't want to know' and 'that's not important right now'," Terron explained bitterly, resisting a retort. "Kind of like what you're doing right now, actually."
Chloe didn't seem offended by the remark. Her dark gaze faded away as she gave a slow nod.
"So that's how it is," she stated. "You heard those particular words come from him…"
She glanced at the ground and seemed to ponder in something.
"Soooo you going to tell us about that plan?" Zekra then asked. "Because you know, it'd be pretty cool to know what's going on."
The Turtwig didn't respond. She only kept her gaze fixed upon the grass, eyes glazed over. Zekra stepped closer to the Turtwig.
"Hello? Did you hear me?" she asked again.
"Of course."
The Turtwig raised her head, her eyes glimmering with a strange light.
"Of course what?" Zekra asked. "You going to finally tell us about this plan now? And the weird thing about Yimtri saying one thing when you claim it's something else?"
"Forget about the plan. I'll explain it later. Right now, I finally understand the true reason behind this pointless conflict and why you seem to not hear the liege's words correctly; Erebus is toying with you. You are being deceived. All of you are. It is creating delusions."
"Wait what?" Zekra asked, taken aback.
The Turtwig turned to the fog. She released a sigh and closed her eyes, shaking her head.
"We need to get back to the liege and the Zoroark," she stated. "I know what's going on. All of you need to be together so that this nonsense can stop and so that you can defeat Erebus. Come with me. We've already wasted enough time. The liege and the Zoroark have been conflicting long enough; the two might have killed each other by now. I can't afford to have either of them dead."
She turned to the team.
"Help me stop them," she said. "Stop the meaningless violence and I promise in return that I will tell you what you want to know. Make your choice right now. Otherwise, I will attempt to stop those two by myself."
Terron, Zekra, and Novus glanced at each other. They only had to look at one another for a brief moment before they nodded in unspoken agreement.
"Fine," Terron replied. "It can't hurt to help you."
"I'm glad you understand."
Chloe went into the fog, leaving behind the team without another word. They were only separated for a brief second before they were teleported outside of the memory and back to the snowy field thanks to the Reunion Capes. Yimtri and Zeverous were still clashing, having too wandered into the normal part of the dungeon, drops of crimson scattered along the white ground. All of the items that had previously lined the ground were nowhere in sight.
"Now!" Chloe screamed. "End this!"
The Turtwig dashed forward, the snow somehow not slowing her down as she closed in on the two. She leapt at the Zoroark, but rather than attacking him, she grabbed the back of Yimtri's cape in her mouth and tore him off Zeverous. The Sableye fell to the ground with a dull thud, spraying up snow everywhere. Zeverous prepared to bolt in the presumed direction where Yimtri's shadow had gone, but just as he was to dash away, Terron, Zekra, and Novus sprang at him from behind and tackled him into the snow.
Chloe released her hold on the Sableye and jumped onto the Zoroark's back before he could get up and clamped her jaw around his throat. The trio crawled off the Zoroark, each wearing a grim frown upon realizing what they had done. But, they wasted no more time in dwelling and looked over at the Sableye, who was sluggishly rising to his feet.
Zekra changed into a Drifblim and wrapped her streamer-like arms around the Sableye and shoved him back to the ground. Yimtri fought against the binds, but to no effect.
"Let go of me," he snarled. "Otherwise I will have my shadow come back and it will make you do so."
"Sorry, these are Chloe's orders, not ours," Terron said calmly as he pulled out a club from his coat. "And I will knock you out if I even see your shadow coming over. Don't even think about it."
Yimtri stopped struggling.
"Wait… Chloe told you to do this?" he wondered.
"Yes, I did," Chloe stated as she released her hold on the Zoroark.
"Why…?" he asked.
Chloe let out a small sigh and shook her head.
"You're free to release him; there won't be any more hostility among us," Chloe then said to Terron and his friends. "I will make sure of it."
Zekra, though puzzled by the change in directions, didn't hesitate in removing her arms from the Sableye as she became a Zorua. Yimtri scoffed as he got to his feet and dusted himself off. He made no effort to move from his spot as the Turtwig jumped off Zeverous, allowing him to also stand up. He let out a low growl and took a step forward, but after Chloe shot him an icy glare, he too remained where he was.
"No more violence," she stated. "No more meaningless conflict. I finally understand now. I finally understand what is causing this unnecessary conflict among the six of us."
"What are you talking about, Chloe?" Yimtri asked.
Terron watched the Turtwig take in a deep breath. She glanced at the five Pokémon surrounding her, seeing each of their gazes fixed upon her. Though varying slightly with each Pokémon, all wanted to know what she had to say. She shifted her solemn glance to the Sableye.
"My liege, can you say exactly why we are to not wander into the fog that fills this sector?" she asked.
"Why so?" Yimtri asked unsurely. "I've already said it at least three times."
"To prove something. Now, if you will."
"Alright," Yimtri said with a reluctant nod. "Very well. We shouldn't go to the fog-bound areas because there are many things in that fog that you should never see. Many things you don't want to know."
Chloe nodded to herself before looking over at Zeverous.
"Zoroark, what was the reason that we cannot enter the fog? I want you to repeat the liege's exact words."
Terron grew a confused scowl at the remark. He wasn't quite following Chloe's thought process, but he decided it was best to keep quiet and see what would occur.
"He said 'we shouldn't go to the fog-bound areas because there are many things in that fog that you should never see'," Zeverous answered. "That's exactly what I heard."
"That's not what I said, Zeverous," Yimtri cut in. "I didn't say any of that."
"Yes it was," Zeverous shot back. "Those were the exact words you said a second ago."
"But… they weren't. I didn't say any of those words nor did I even think them…"
Zeverous stopped when he saw that Yimtri's ever-present frown was no longer filled with bitterness and hostility. It was confused now. Anxious. Zeverous's own malicious stare became a puzzled one.
"Wait… you're not making that up. You're not lying right now…"
"And there is the true, underlying cause of the conflict," Chloe then said, stepping between the two Pokémon. "The liege did not say what you thought he said, Zoroark. What he actually said was 'because the fog is filled with memories that will distract you and quite possibly keep you trapped in them.' That is what he said, and yet you heard something completely different.
"You see, I've figured it out. Erebus has been obfuscating your words, my liege. It has been making it so that no one hears the words that you truly mean whenever you attempt to explain anything. It has been doing this to turn all of us against each other."
Everyone became stunned by the remark. Chloe kept her composure as she closed her eyes and shook her head.
"I should have seen it," she stated distastefully. "I should have seen all was not right and question it. But no, I did not and it almost led to you two killing each other. I truly should have realized what Erebus was doing this; we are in its home after all. But, I never thought it would try to tear everyone apart with paranoia. I thought it would use more surreal means, like it always does…"
No one said anything as they contemplated in silence. And then, after what seemed to be an eternity, someone finally spoke.
"So this whole time… you weren't trying to keep us in the dark," Zeverous said to Yimtri. "You weren't trying to lure us down here so we could all get plagued. Your words were just being changed."
The Sableye stood still for a moment, his gemstones illuminating dimly. His claws remained at his side, dripping fresh blood into the snow by his feet.
Then, he released a long sigh. A tired one.
"No, I never was," Yimtri replied. "I always have, and always will, be fighting against Erebus with every fiber of my being. Every waking moment of every day. I never want to see the day where I succumb to Erebus permanently. I would much rather die than watch myself become so corrupt. That's why I've worked so hard all of these years, never ceasing or wavering. That's why I've been so bent on defeating Erebus now that I've been given this chance to finally defeat it after so long. It was why I acted so rashly and foolishly rushed each of you here when we should have taken the time to prepare, among other things."
The Sableye brought his claws close to his face.
"And yet, you still accuse me of being a clone of that twisted creature… such an ironic thing it is. But I suppose that is my own fault. Such is the life of Erebus's resilient puppet. Everyone sees you as the evil doer, but in reality, you are doing all you can to stop what no one else can…"
He laughed bitterly as he curled his claws inward. Yimtri's shadow then emerged from the horizon and came to the team, holding several items in its grasp. It set each of the items upon the ground before reconnecting to the Sableye. He sighed as he lowered his claws and went to his bag that sat near the items.
"I was wrong. You're not Erebus's copy."
Yimtri stopped. He turned to find Zeverous staring at him. The malicious glint that always seemed present in his eyes when faced with the Sableye was no longer there; there was only solemnness.
"You're not Erebus's copy… because despite all of the messed up things you've done," Zeverous sighed, "you had a good reason. You did it for the better of everybody, even if nobody saw it that way. Even if I never saw it that way because I never let go of what your actions ended up doing to me…"
"Are you forgiving me?" Yimtri asked.
"Well I don't think I can ever get over what you've done… but I finally get that you're not totally evil. You're questionable and you're such a pain just about all the time with your bitter and callous attitude, but you have good intentions. You're trying to do the right thing. And that's why you can't be Erebus's copy; because you're clearly working against Erebus's goals. I get it now. I get it, now that Erebus isn't playing with us anymore. I'll stop fighting against you."
For the longest time, Yimtri said nothing. He only kept his blank stare on Zeverous as he remained motionless. Everyone surrounding the two of them kept the silence as well.
Then, he turned away.
"Thank you."
The Sableye picked up his bag and carefully stuffed all of the items into it. Zeverous sighed as he got to his feet and brushed himself off. Terron, Novus, and Zekra rejoined the group, feeling that the tension in the air had completely faded away.
I feel… actual synergy between everybody now. Terron thought. Like we're not just a bunch of random Pokémon working together anymore. It's more… unified now.
Maybe now… we can actually defeat Erebus, now that no one is working against each other. Maybe we really can win this.
Terron smiled to himself.
Now to ask Chloe about what's going on with that plan and that weird memory I saw.
He turned to her and began to phrase the question in his mind.
"And so you have finally seen through my traps and have decided to work together."
Terron's blood ran cold.
No… Oh god no…
A swarm of massive, black tentacles sprang out of the snow all around the six, waving wildly in the air. They coiled around the group's bodies and pinned them to the ground, burying them in the thick snow.
"You understand now. You understand what my intentions were. You are now unified because you understand my ways."
The six looked toward the barren center of their circle to find Erebus among them, a vaguely formless mass of darkness hovering a few inches above the ground. Wisps streamed from its head and shoulders. A single, blue eye emerged from the blackness of its body. It looked upon each of the struggling Pokémon, the eye glimmering eerily.
Terron's heart shattered in despair. He fought against the binds that held him, but it was to no avail. The tendrils held him fast, not even letting him move an inch. The same could be said for the ones surrounding him.
Novus ignited his body in a frenzy, consuming the tendrils holding him in its wake. Yet, they did not deteriorate as Novus had hoped. In fact, it seemed as though the tendrils weren't even being burned away. The flames continued to flicker and seemed to grow along their dark masses, but they were not reduced to ash. Somehow, the tendrils were able to stay aflame without being harmed.
"How fortunate that there is no longer quarrel among you. I wondered if you were able to do such. But I'm afraid that's not enough. You still don't understand everything."
Yimtri snarled as his form began sinking into the ground. However, he had only managed to submerge himself about halfway through, when the tendrils ripped him out of the grass and tightened their grip on him. He grimaced as he struggled to raise an arm and fired a Shadow Ball at the creature, but Erebus avoided it with a swift move to the side.
"I am sorry, but you cannot fight me. Not like this."
The tendrils holding the Sableye coiled around his arms, completely rendering it still. Everyone else's bindings were quick to do the same.
Zeverous's body rippled with a white light, and then the next thing everyone knew, there were twenty of him surrounding Erebus. The many copies hissed in unison as five sprang at the bound Pokémon while the remaining ones flew toward Erebus. They sliced apart the tendrils holding the five with their claws, freeing them and allowing them to scamper to their feet. The remaining Zeverous clones dug their claws into the corrupt creature.
Erebus did not scream. It didn't even flinch.
"That sadly will not work on me."
The shadowy creature vanished in an instant, the false copies of the Zoroark doing the same. The six Pokémon tensed as a swarm of about fifty Erebus suddenly surrounded them, all an exact copy of the other. The frightened ones backed up against one another, trembling at the sight.
Then, all at once, each of the copies leapt at the group. Darkness covered the six as the many Erebus completely obscured their vision.
"Come with me to my true home. There you will understand."
The last thing they saw were the many soulless eyes of Erebus before they went under.