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Chapter 52

Arise and Fight

The first thing Terron noticed was that he was no longer surrounded by comforting darkness.

Granted, he was still in a very comfortable place, but it was no longer filled with black. Instead, it was filled with a hazy red color with only faint traces of the dark in the corners of his sight. Then not only that, but everything felt warm and he actually felt like he was laying on something solid. Before, it had been completely empty and he had drifted endlessly in what he felt was thin air. He didn't understand what had happened so that he was no longer in the void that Nyx had left him to slumber in.

"They have been slumbering long, Darkrai. I worry that they will not awaken because it has been so long."

Terron ceased his pondering once he heard the voice. It sounded so far away, and yet at the same time, so near.

That's Novus. Terron realized. Where is he?

Terron glanced around, but was quick to find that the Quilava was nowhere in sight. He was still alone in his strange world. He couldn't even sense anyone else's presence with him. All he could do was keep staring into the strange fuzzy lights surrounding him, his words reaching no one.

"They will wake up soon. One of them has just awoken from his sleep and only needs to open his eyes."

"Which one?"

"My little Cubone child."

There was silence for a brief second, followed shortly by the sound of something hastily scurrying across the ground. The next thing Terron knew, his eyes shot open as he inhaled a sharp breath. The surreal world that had only been the back of his eyes gave way to a blurry white ceiling. Terron blinked a few times until his vision focused, allowing him to see that what he saw was the ceiling of a vacant little room with barely any furniture within it, the only exception being the massive quilt he lay upon. He looked over to his right to find Novus there, roughly nudging his arm with his paws, presumably having been trying to rouse Terron out of his world of sleep.

When Novus saw Terron lock gazes with him, he let out a relieved sigh as he removed his paws from the Cubone. He seemed unable to contain his joy as a smile slowly crept across his face.

"Terron, you're awake," he said, his smile only growing wider. "You're finally awake. I was starting to think you never would. It's been so long."

Terron looked over himself. He found that his body had been completely healed and that he had no injuries present upon him. There wasn't even a scar upon him, as if his battles in Erebus Woods had never occurred and were nothing more than a bad dream. However, he knew better than to think that, for his green coat was torn in several places, exposing his scaly flesh in certain spots while his Reunion Cape that was once tied to his arm was now gone. He frowned thoughtfully as he then reached up and grasped both of his paws around his head, only to find that his helmet still rested upon him. With a gentle pull, he took the mask off himself and brought it close to his face. He was quick to find that just like his coat, it held several remnants of his brawls, being cracked in numerous places as well as having smears of faded blood scattered across the ivory surface.

But hardly any of this mattered to Terron. He was still alive and had recovered from all of his injuries. He had not only survived his clash with the plagued Darkrai, but also the horrific betrayal of the Fellowship leaders. Despite how grim the situation had been, Nyx had kept her word and kept him alive and safe. He would have to somehow repair his coat and clean up his helmet, but he would worry about that later. Those possessions of his were fine at the moment. They were still functional.

The Cubone placed his persona back upon his head and looked back at Novus. He opened his mouth to say something, but was quick to find that all that came out of was a dry croak. He let out a cough as he tried to sit himself up, but was quick to find that his body wouldn't let him do so. He pushed his hands against the ground to force himself up, and found that doing so took a tremendous effort. His arms almost collapsed at the simple task, but he willed himself to do so and soon found himself sitting upright, panting.

Something wrapped around Terron's back, prompting him to flinch. He turned his head, anticipating a hostile presence, only to find a rather familiar Darkrai hovering beside him. She had an arm wrapped around his shoulders, casting him a pitiful gaze. Much unlike the last time he saw her, she was not a mangled mess. Her body still streamed of wisps that were very similar to the Plagued One haze, but Terron realized that these wisps were probably a normal part of her anatomy. They most likely meant nothing in regards to her physical well-being.

"You are still very weak. Do not move too much or you will collapse again. Relax. I will not let you fall."

Terron gave a slow nod as he let himself slump back. Just as Nyx had promised, she kept him in his sitting position, keeping her grip securely around him. Terron let out a quiet sigh as he looked over at Novus. He once again opened his mouth, and this time, managed to find his voice.

"How long have I been asleep?" Terron asked, his voice dry and hoarse.

"Three weeks," Novus answered.

"Three weeks? What do you mean I've been asleep for that long? I-"

Terron's words were cut short, for a sudden ache shot up his spine, forcing him to let out a pained yelp. He cringed as he curled inward, shivering as the pain passed through him in waves. Novus released a dismayed sigh, all of his joy leaving him as he unceremoniously wandered away from the Cubone and disappeared out of the single door in the room. Terron feebly reached for the Quilava, but Nyx pulled him back before he could fall forward. Terron was about to protest, but before he could, Novus reappeared by his side with a bag in tow. The Quilava set it by the Cubone's side before digging into its contents and pulled out a single Oran berry with his a paw.

"Here, eat this," Novus instructed. "It will help with the pain and restore your muscles to their normal strength much more quickly."

Terron didn't hesitate and weakly grasped one of his claws around the berry. Then, he ripped off a large chunk of the fruit with his teeth and carefully chewed it down. The second the juice trickled down his throat, he immediately felt the stinging pain leave him.

"How have I been asleep for three weeks?" Terron asked again. "It couldn't have been that long. It didn't feel that long."

"Sleep tends to alter your perception of time, Terron," Novus said simply. "It will delude you into thinking you have only slept for a few minutes when in reality, you've been asleep for years. Trust me on that. But to answer your question, yes, you have been asleep for three weeks. After Darkrai sucked out everyone's energy, she became a shadow and fled from the Fellowship leaders and brought us to safety. However, because of her actions, all of you remained in a comatose state and could not be woken up. So these past three weeks, she and I have been keeping watch over all of you, making sure that no one would snatch you away and doing all we could to help speed up the recovering process."

"All of us?" Terron wondered aloud.

It was then that Terron remembered that Novus and Nyx were not his only companions. He had a few others beside Novus who had fought alongside him when he had been fighting a brainwashed Nyx in the very depths of Erebus Woods. With his heart beating frantically, he swiveled his head around from side to side, scanning the little room. He only had to look to his left to find the ones he sought.

There, sprawled out on the same quilt as Terron, were Zekra, Zeverous, and Yimtri. They each lay motionless, all of them except Yimtri wrapped up snuggly in the warm fabric, their Reunion Scarves no longer tied to their necks. They were presumably stored away in Novus's bag, just like his. Yimtri still wore his tattered cape that never seemed to leave him, however, and Zeverous did appear to have a purple scarf on to hold his special anti-plaguing pin. However, Terron knew it wasn't the Reunion Cape. It somehow looked different.

Not a sign of life present in each of the Pokémon's forms, but they did not appear to be dead oddly enough. Instead, they appeared to be slumbering peacefully, as if their comas were nothing more than an afternoon nap. There was not a single grimace upon any of their faces as they slept.

Even still, this sight didn't soothe Terron's unease.

"They haven't woken up yet?" Terron asked.

"No, they have not. Despite the Quilava giving each of you the juice of the healing berry every so often and me slowly restoring energy to the blight within you so it could help wake you, you are the only one that has awoken. The others still sleep. They are still tired."

Terron frowned pitifully as he bit off another chunk of his Oran berry. He could feel some of the strength in his limbs return to him, but he didn't dare get up just yet. He knew he was still quite fatigued and his full strength wouldn't return to him for quite a while.

"Where are we anyway?" Terron asked.

"An abandoned building Darkrai and I found after we escaped the Fellowship leaders," Novus answered. "We felt it was the safest place we could keep all of you until you woke up. It's rather far away from where Erebus Woods once stood and I had a very strong feeling that no one would consider the idea that we are in this location."

"And just exactly where is here? What makes this place somewhere no one would look?"

Novus grimaced uncomfortably and turned away from the Cubone. Terron slowly started to scowl as he shot his companion a dark glare.

"Novus, where are we?" he asked again.

The Quilava refused to speak. Terron clenched his paws as he felt the spark of malice ignite within him.

"Your Quilava friend refuses to speak his mind because he and Nyx brought us to Aurora Town, Terron. Or rather, what's left of it after the place was gutted by the Plagued Ones quite a time ago. We appear to be inside one of the homes that used to be occupied by the civilians."

Terron and Novus flinched at the sound of the familiar voice. They quickly snapped their heads toward the sole window in the room to find a certain Sableye standing in front of it, gazing out into the presumably empty streets with his back turned to them. He didn't seem the least bit fatigued, standing steadily as his cape billowed softly from a draft.

Yimtri looked back at the group, allowing the group to see that the light in his gemstones was dimmer than usual.

"Wait, when did you wake up?" Terron asked. "You were passed out just a minute ago. And how did you even get there without anyone noticing?"

"You sound as though you don't realize that I'm a ghost-type and have the capability to accomplish such feats with ease," Yimtri stated dryly.

"Okay, that's true, but how are you even standing? Aren't you tired?" Terron then asked.

"I'm fine, Terron. Don't worry about me."

Terron cast Yimtri a disbelieving stare, only to have it returned with a disapproving scowl from the Sableye. As soon as Terron saw that expression, he knew not to bother voicing his thoughts. He could tell that Yimtri didn't want to draw attention to his current condition. So instead, the Cubone channeled his thoughts elsewhere.

"So, we're back at Aurora Town," he stated simply.

"Yes, we are," Novus replied reluctantly. "I thought that no one would bother to come back here because it has been empty for so long. I would have chosen any other ghost town if I had a choice, but this one was the only one I knew. Sorry that it took me some coercion to explain where we are; I thought this place would bring back memories you didn't wish to remember. I didn't want to burden you with that when you've barely woken up."

Terron released a small sigh. He could already feel a small hole in his heart beginning to open up at the thought that he was in the place he once called his home. He could remember his days as a Fellowship so well and the many days he had spent with his team, going out on such simple errands. They were such happy times. They were stressful at times, but overall happy, meaningful, and most of all, simple.

That was, until that fateful day Terron and his friends were plagued. And though they had attempted to pretend that their life could be so simple again, it had all been in vain. The Aurora Town Fellowship was invaded by Plagued Ones not much later, and after being among the few survivors, they were promptly dismissed from their home with two of their friends ripped from their lives. Life after that had never been the same. They never found a place they could truly call home ever again. They never had the opportunity to find one through their arduous life as dismissed Fellowship members, whether it was when they were trying to join the Nestati Fellowship or traversing through the literal nightmare known as Erebus Woods with Yimtri. They had no other place they could ever call home other than the first Fellowship they ever joined. Not even the home provided by the Sylveon and Glaceon was able to fill that void.

Novus had been right in wanting to hide the city's name from him; he had just wanted to spare Terron pain, if only temporarily. However, Terron realized that though he felt his heart break at the thought, he couldn't dwell in the depressing subject. He had to be strong. With a deep breath, he pushed his persona into his face, feeling the familiar sensation of it slowly drowning out his consuming emotions.

"It's fine," Terron said quietly. "You had a good reason."

"Are you okay?" Novus asked tenderly, drawing closer to Terron.

"Yeah, I'm alright. A little sad, but I'll be fine."

Novus continued to stare at Terron, watching him carefully.

"I'm fine, Novus. Don't worry about me," Terron said with a firmer voice.

"If you say so. Well, I suppose all that's left to do then is to wait for Zekra and Zeverous to awaken. I wanted to talk to you five about something."

"You simply can't say it now and then repeat yourself when our illusionists arise?" Yimtri asked.

"No, I'd rather explain what's on my mind to all of you at the same time," Novus answered. "I don't want to repeat it more than once."

"Hmm. Very well then. I suppose I can't argue with that. Though admittedly, there is something that has been on my mind for a very long time. I want to address it now while we wait because I do not enjoy tolerating this feeling, especially when I can alleviate it for good right now. You don't mind if I get that out of the way before you, do you Quilava?"

"It's Novus. And, it's fine. You may speak first. Besides, I need you to have a clear mind when you listen to what I have to say. If whatever is on your mind is truly tormenting you as much as you claim it is, then it's best to address it first."

"Fine then, Novus. Now… Nyx. There's something I want to ask you."

The Sableye brought his gaze to the Darkrai still at Terron's side, who had been silent the entire time. As soon as he fixed his eyes upon her, she gently released Terron from her grip. The Cubone staggered for a moment, almost losing his balance and falling back, but was able to right himself up just before that could happen. He now sat on his own, finding he had the strength to remain in this position with no assistance. When Nyx saw this, she left the Cubone's side and drifted over to the Sableye's.

"Yes?"

"You seem very knowledgeable about the plague and its effects on Pokémon," Yimtri merely stated. "Am I correct to assume that?"

"You are. There are many things about the blight that I am aware of that not even the Primogenitor knew for a time."

"So I see. Well then, I was wondering if you would tell us everything you know about the plague, or 'blight' as you call it. Everything. The way it works, where it comes from, how it truly influences Pokémon, who this Primogenitor is and what you know about it, and anything else you know. I want to know it all. I've been plagued for two decades and I haven't received a single concrete answer about what has happened to me. I only have my theories that I developed after observation, and I don't even know if they are one hundred percent accurate. I need to change that."

The Darkrai gave the Sableye an odd gaze, as if unable to understand his request. However, that confusion didn't remain long, for it was soon replaced with a strange kind of sympathy.

But before she could speak her thoughts, something flickered in her eyes and she turned back to the remaining Pokémon that still slumbered.

"It seems that the others are awake now. Looks like I will not have to repeat my knowledge to them as I was starting to suspect."

Not long after she said this, Zekra and Zeverous shifted in their sleep, sluggishly opening their eyes and blinking them wearily.

"Urgggh, I feel terrible," Zekra whined. "I feel so hungry and weak. It's awful. I wanna go back to that dream. It was better there…"

She groaned as blinked a few more times. Then, with a tired gaze, she looked around the room until her eyes stopped on Terron. The second she saw him, a wide grin spread across her face as the cloudy expression in her eyes immediately disappeared.

"Tear!" she cried joyfully. "You're still alive! And so am I! We really did escape those crazy leaders in one piece!"

"Yeah, we did," Terron said with a small smile. "We're alright now."

"Awesome!" Zekra said with glee, unable to contain her joy.

She swatted the quilt off her and made her way toward Terron, but was quick to find that she couldn't even crawl forward a few inches without instantly collapsing on the ground. She let out a frustrated growl as she tried again, but was met with the exact same result.

"You've gotta rest a bit, Zekra," Terron said cautiously. "You just woke up."

"But why? I've only been asleep for like thirty minutes or whatever," Zekra stated with a scowl, remaining motionless and gasping on the quilt. "Why do all of my legs feel really stiff and useless?"

Terron was about to answer her question, but then he noticed Zeverous finally escaping the deep sleep he was in. He watched in silence as the older Zoroark forced himself up into a sitting position, panting from the effort to do so.

"Never again," he muttered under his breath. "That's the last time I let a Darkrai put me to sleep… ugh."

"Welcome back to the realm of the living, Zeverous," Yimtri greeted.

The Zoroark brought his sight over to the Sableye and frowned. However, unlike the other times he shot the Sableye that expression, this frown was not a malevolent one. Instead, it held more innocent annoyance with the Sableye's choice of words as opposed to spite. With his grudge for the Sableye non-existent thanks to the understanding the two had reached in Erebus Woods, he no longer held a reason to appear so hostile.

"Thanks," Zeverous stated simply.

"Well, now everyone is awake. So, now there is no reason to delay asking any longer," Yimtri then announced as he turned back to Nyx. "Would you tell us everything you know about the plague?"

Zekra and Zeverous looked over at Yimtri with a stumped stare, baffled by the question he had asked the Darkrai when they had barely even woken up, let alone recuperate from the massive strain Nyx's energy sapping had put on them. Terron knew the two probably didn't even know where they were or what was even going on.

"I think we should tell Zekra and Zev where they are and things like that," Terron suggested. "I mean, they just woke up and it's not a good idea to just bombard them with stuff like this so suddenly. So we should just-"

"You two have been asleep for three weeks after Nyx, the new name I have decided to give Erebus, put you into a coma after sucking out all of the energy your plagued selves restored so she could save us from the Primogenitor's generals," Yimtri cut in, talking as quickly as his voice would allow him without making it sound like gibberish. "You're very weak because of that, so don't bother trying to move that much. It's going to take some time for you to be able to move around at full strength again. You're safe if that's what you're wondering, though you probably figured that out by now due to the fact that you're basically healed of a majority of your injuries and because we're hidden in this little house that's in Aurora Town. Yes, you heard me right, Aurora Town; the place where your old Fellowship used to be before it was reduced to a hollow corpse of its former self thanks to the Plagued Ones. We're here because this is the one place your Quilava friend figured that you would be safe since he thinks no one will bother looking for us here. I'd beg to differ, but I didn't have much of a choice in the matter since I was in a coma just like both of you.

"But that's basically it. You both woke up from a coma, you're both weak, and now I am asking Nyx if she will tell us the truth about the Plagued Ones and the plaguing process so that we can figure out if we have any hopes of overcoming our little problem of being plagued. Does everything make sense to you now?"

Everyone except Nyx gave Yimtri a long, stupefied stare, almost unable to believe what they had just heard. Everything he had said was spoken in less than a minute. No one knew how to react to his slew of rapid-fire explanations.

The Sableye went over to Novus and picked up the bag by the strap before carelessly tossing it at Zeverous and Zekra's feet.

"I'll take that as a yes," Yimtri said, clearly not oblivious to how stumped Zeverous and Zekra were, but seemingly not caring. "Now, eat some of the berries in that bag so you can recover faster while we go back to the more concerning matter at hand."

"You can't even wait five minutes for Zekra and Zev to get some rest and take everything in," Terron stated in a deadpan.

"They'll be fine. Besides, there was hardly anything in what I just said that is too important. What I want to know, on the other hand, is rather important and I'd rather not wait much longer when there's no reason to. Don't bother trying to delay me from receiving that information when that is so."

"You're still as much of a prick as ever, I see."

The Sableye ignored the Cubone's remark and brought his gaze back to the Darkrai. She only returned the stare with a more pensive one. Nothing but silence filled the air as everyone slowly got over their shock and patiently waited for the Darkrai to say something.

After a while, she finally spoke.

"If I tell you, will you stop pretending that you are well when you are clearly not?"

"What are you talking about?" Yimtri asked with an unsure scowl.

"You are very weak right now. You are only pretending that you are not by being the only blighted one who is standing other than myself. If you continue this any longer, you will surely collapse and enter the realm of sleep once again. You need to sit down at the very least."

Yimtri's scowl grew at the remark. His eyes flashed for just a moment.

"I'm not weak in the slightest. I'm perfectly fine."

"You do not need to pretend to be stronger than you actually are. It will only hurt you in the end."

"I fail to see how it does. It's been twenty-five years and nothing detrimental has transpired due to it."

"That is only because you refuse to admit it has brought you any harm. I was there with you for many of those years. I know how your ways really affect you."

"You're not my mother. Don't try to sound like her."

"Amusing how you should accuse me of that when you now call me by a name that means 'Mother Night'."

Yimtri, absolutely flustered with her unfazed remarks, immediately turned away and let out a disgusted scoff.

"Tch, you're so much like Chloe," he muttered seemingly more to himself than anyone else. "Always taking everything I say and turning it against me…"

The radiance in his eyes faded away, leaving his gemstones without a glimmer of light. For a second, it seemed that he would collapse as Nyx had warned and fall back into his comatose state. But thankfully, the light returned, and the Sableye glanced back at the Darkrai with a defeated frown.

"Fine, I'll do as you ask, if only so that you will answer my questions," he said.

With a deep breath, he backed up against the wall and slid down to the ground into a sitting position. He grimaced for a brief moment as he let his arms fall limply to his sides.

The Darkrai's expression seemed to brighten happily for a brief moment before it faded back into her blank expression.

"Now that you are no longer straining yourself, it is time for me to explain what you wish to know."

Nyx stared at each of the five as she seemed to articulate her thoughts in her mind. Though the other five Pokémon in the room did their best to remain patient, none of them couldn't help but to twitch slightly in anticipation. After so long of receiving nothing but fractions of answers and having to develop theories from those fragments, they were now going to receive the full and honest truth. They were finally going to understand how the plague within their bodies functioned and if there was any sort of way they could truly fight against it.

It was difficult to contain their excitement when this was so. Even Zekra and Zeverous, who had just barely woken up and were munching on Orans, seemed rather interested and eager to hear what Nyx had to say.

"What do you want to know first? I have many answers, but I have a feeling that what I consider most important is not the same as what you think."

"I suppose I can start with something simple," Yimtri said indifferently. "What exactly is this creature you call the Primogenitor? You've mentioned it several times and even provided a brief glimpse of it to Terron and I, but actual details on the creature have been rather vague."

"The Primogenitor… it is a creature that I do not understand as well as you would hope. But there are some things I know about it. I know that it is not a creature I have seen before, being neither human nor Pokémon. It is something that I do not think should exist, yet it does. I do not know where it came from or its intentions, yet I know that it could not possibly belong to this world or the human world. Yet, based on the contact I have had with that creature, I know that it could be considered... a deity."

"A deity?" Novus cut in. "You mean like the great creator? The ones the mortals speak of as Arceus?"

"Yes. The Primogenitor… it holds a very distinct aura. A very powerful one that I have never felt from any other creature in existence. Not even the godly beings I met on that fateful day I was trapped within Blight Forest gave off an aura that potent. And though I have never met our great creator or the three dragons he created, I can only assume creatures like them can hold powerful auras like that. Only creatures that have the power to tamper with the universe could possibly affect me the way the Primogenitor did."

"What does it look like?" Novus asked cautiously.

"I could never see it in great detail because it was always obscured in the shadows. But, I do know that it had a stature that could change whenever it wanted to. I remember when it captured me after I went into Blight Forest, it was only about three times my size. But then, when it captured Rayquaza when he foolishly came to save me and the other three who were trapped with me, the Primogenitor seemed to become as large as a mighty wave of storm clouds as it wrapped up Rayquaza in its grasp. I could not see the sky on that day.

"Then also, it had very peculiar… eyes. It had two eyes as many creatures do, but there was something not right with the Primogenitor's eyes. Its eyes… they are nothing but white circles. There are no irises or pupils; only an empty white that endlessly stares into your own eyes. They are eyes that show no soul. They only stare into you, hollowed out and empty, able to know everything about you only by gazing into your own eyes."

Nyx squeezed her eye shut as she trembled, the apparent image of the Primogenitor's eyes permanently seared into her mind. As Novus, Zeverous, and Zekra looked at her with an unsure gaze, Terron and Yimtri grimaced. Though it had only been a dream, the two of them had seen the Primogenitor's eyes themselves. They knew exactly what she was attempting to describe to Novus and knew how that very image could cause her such terror.

Because deep down, both of the Dimitri Pokémon were also afraid of the eyes. Those eyes had belonged to the creature that had nearly killed them, or worse when they were once the same human. Those eyes were all their fear could latch onto when everything else about the Primogenitor was shrouded in complete mystery.

"Well… thank you for that information," Novus then said.

The Darkrai slowly opened her eye as she nodded, stifling her shaking so that she could appear calm and collected once more. Yet, the faint shuddering of her dark wisps were still very visible to the group.

"Next question," Yimtri said. "How did you learn to resist your plagued self? Despite the fact that you appear to be severely plagued, even more so than Zeverous and I, you seem to be faring much better than either of us. I would dare say that you act as though you are not affected at all."

"That is because I do not do what you call 'resist my plagued self'. I do not fight it. I work with it."

As soon as Nyx said this, everyone in the group seemed to freeze on the spot. Surely they had misheard the words the Darkrai spoke. After all they had been through, Nyx somehow having a sort of alliance with her plagued self seemed impossible. However, it was Yimtri especially who seemed the most surprised by this response. He gave her a disbelieving stare as he slowly shook his head.

"That can't be right," he said in a hushed voice. "The plagued selves are always trying to consume you and turn you into the complete Plagued Ones that are flying all across the region. When you plagued us, you gave us this corrupted being that latched onto our souls that pretended to be us and threatened to take over us. And on some occasions, especially when your brainwashed self commanded them, they did for a temporary time. They're parasites. Everything they do is for their own benefit while they harm us in the process."

"You are right. The blight that merges with a Pokémon's soul is supposed to be a parasite. When the blight enters your body and becomes one with your spirit, it is supposed to take complete control of you right away and turn you into one of the Blight Demons that make up the Primogenitor's army. You are very right with saying that.

"But my blight is not like that."

"What?"

Nyx looked directly at the Sableye.

"There are no 'stages' of the blighting process like you have thought for the longest time. There is only one stage, and that is that as soon as the blight enters your body, you become a Blight Demon in an instant. The blight is supposed to consume your soul and take over your body, locking you away into some unknown place within you. There was never meant to be a process. The Primogenitor had only planned for a simple way to turn Pokémon into members of its army. Except, it did not realize what happened when it infected godly beings such as myself with the blight.

"When the creator made the godly beings, he made our bodies different than the rest of the Pokémon in the world. He made it so that we could never age, somehow tampering with our bodies so that we never seemed to change much in appearance. Even us mortal legendaries, who die after a couple of centuries, will never appear as ancient as we really are. We remain somewhat youthful throughout our entire life, somewhat similar to those of you with the spirit affinity. Then also, he made it so that our bodies could hold such divine power. Any mortal body could not handle having the raw power we each hold without it falling apart instantly. Thus, our bodies are very unique. So when the Primogenitor blighted the five of us godly beings after it captured all of us, it did not anticipate that the blight could not consume us like it could with mortals. Instead, we became Blight Demons with our minds and spirits intact, being ourselves with all the powers of the Blight Demons. We were not overpowered by the blight; it became us and we became it. We became the same creature, neither of us having dominance over the other. We did not even hold the appearance of Blight Demons.

"When the Primogenitor discovered this, it was very quick to eliminate this problem. It tore apart the union between us and the blighted self and then brainwashed the blight into taking over our bodies and doing as the Primogenitor pleased. However, I was spared this fate, for this had happened to the others first and I saw what had occurred. So, I went on to pretend that I was corrupted like my godly brethren were to avoid that horrible fate, which the Primogenitor believed in because I pulled the act so convincingly."

"So your plagued self essentially became a symbiote at that point," Yimtri realized. "It didn't try to take over you; it just worked with you to accomplish your goals. Well, until the Primogenitor found out the truth and then brainwashed your plagued self…"

"Precisely. Thanks to my unique symbiosis with the blight, I was able to tamper with it whenever I spread it to others, even in my brainwashed state. Instead of giving you the normal blight that most Pokémon receive from the Primogenitor, I gave each of you a special kind of blight. A docile blight. One without the desire to corrupt you yet still held the same power and potential as the regular blight. This special blight still had the potential to have you act like a Blight Demon, as I could not eliminate the primal instincts within it, but it would never try to turn you into a Blight Demon. The only possible way you could ever become a Blight Demon was if I fed your blight the desire to do so. But thankfully, despite being brainwashed, I was able to prevent myself from doing so. I only made it act on its primal instincts of violence, death, and spreading its influence into others."

"But every time I saw you, my plagued self seemed to grow more powerful," Yimtri tried to say. "You claim that there are no stages in the plaguing process, but how can that be if I could feel my plagued self growing stronger within me every time you had me succumb to its violent cravings?"

"There are no stages for my blight or the Primogenitor's. Every time my blight seemed to grow stronger in your mind, it was only growing more attached to you. It was never trying to take over you like you always thought. It was synchronizing and becoming one with you so that you could use its power more easily. Though, because it still held its primal tendencies, urges to act in particular ways or even vicious thoughts might have been amplified thanks to this. But it was never growing stronger so it could corrupt you."

Everyone found themselves baffled by the information Nyx spoke. Up until that point, they had firmly believed that their plagued selves were a detriment to their lives. They had thought that the plague was purely evil and was corrupting them, whether it was taking over their bodies for short periods of time or filling their thoughts with its own insidious words. Therefore, it was only natural to believe that the only solution to their problem was to fight their plagued selves and ignore every little suggestion it gave them.

And yet, according to Nyx, this was not so. The "normal" plague still fit their impressions, but not the plague within their bodies. Their plague, this docile plague as Nyx called it, meant absolutely no harm. It only meant to help them. The only reason why they could hear the voices of their plagued selves so much more clearly in their minds… was because their plagued selves were giving more of their power to their hosts. Because they were slowly becoming the same creature.

Terron almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. It didn't make any sense. And yet, the more and more he let the information sink into his mind, the more and more he started to see that Nyx was speaking the truth. Despite his plagued self's somewhat hostile approach, he realized that it never once did anything to put him in peril. No, his plagued self had become his voice of reason and did everything it could to guide Terron. It had supported him the whole time he had known it, leading him to victory in every situation Terron found himself in. It, after all, had been the sole reason he had survived through the final nightmare Nyx flung him into during his battle with her. It had been guiding him and supplied him with a special power he knew was not his so he could live and be victorious.

When Terron realized this, he looked around at the ones surrounding him. He found all of them seemed to be in the same state of shock as he had been in earlier, almost unable to believe Nyx's words. He saw it all of their faces.

But it was in a certain Sableye's face that he saw it in the most.

Yimtri held up his claws as he stared at his palms, his mouth twisted into an unsure scowl.

"That doesn't make any sense, though," he said in a quiet voice. "You plagued us to turn us into Plagued Ones. You didn't want to, but that was your brainwashed self's intent. You wanted us to become monsters and do whatever terrible things your brainwashed self wanted us to do."

"I did not fill you or your entire organization with the blight so you would become Blight Demons. If I had wanted to do that, I would have trapped you within the woods and sent you off to the Primogenitor. I would have done what I had my copies do all throughout the region to the other dungeons. But no, I resisted my brainwashing the best I could and gave you the blight because I wanted someone to defeat me and break me out of my brainwashed state. I knew only someone filled with the blight could possibly defeat me. Only someone with the power the blight provided could possibly put an end to someone filled with the blight themselves. It was the only way for someone to gain the sufficient power needed in a short amount of time. I felt you could do it more than any other creature in the world. I knew you had the strength."

Yimtri said nothing more, only choosing to have his stare fixed on the one before him. All emotion had vanished from his face, only to be replaced with this vacant, unreadable stare. No one could tell what seemed to be on his mind. Nyx only kept her eye on him, watching him cautiously, as if anticipating him to suddenly snap at a moment's notice.

"But what about me?" Zeverous then asked. "Every time I woke up, I always had these powerful urges to kill something. There was no way that could have been anything but malice coming out of my inner Plagued One. And it could only be silenced if I killed anything I could find…"

"Like I said, once your blight is closely intertwined with you at a certain point, it will leak some of its primal desires into you. You are a mercenary and you are very used to killing. It is ingrained into your mind to kill so frequently. The blight sensed that and could not help but want to act on that more. It cannot help it when they were designed to cling to violence and negativity. It clung to that part of you and found it could not let go until you satisfied some of its needs. It did not do it out of malice; it did it because neither it nor you could fight off those instincts from how I see it. It is a consequence of me making your blight synchronize with you much more quickly than the others."

Zeverous frowned, setting a claw against his head as he seemed to deeply contemplate in what he had been told. He slumped against the wall, his eyes becoming glassy and void. He reached under his scarf and pulled out the silver, anti-plaguing pin Yimtri had found some time ago. It gleamed with an iridescent light from the sunlight pouring in through the window.

"So we were pretty much right," Zeverous uttered to himself. "These things just suppress the instincts our inner Plagued Ones have so that we don't go crazy. Hmm."

Zeverous frowned as he brought his stare back up to the Darkrai.

"What exactly are these things anyway? Who made them?"

"I do not know."

"What do you mean you don't know? They look like something that you of all Pokémon should know a lot about thanks to how they get rid of the violent thoughts in anyone you put the plague in."

"I do not know where those pins came from. I know where my Sableye child found them, but I do not understand why they were there. I know nothing about them. All I can assume is that an enemy of the Primogenitor created them, but I fail to understand how. Then also, I question why one of those pins you wear was once with a Weavile who I later found was nothing more than a Blight Demon disguised as a regular Pokémon thanks to the use of that pin. Everything behind those pins is shrouded heavily in mystery."

Zeverous sighed as he attached his pin back to the inside of scarf, saying no more. Everyone else around him chose to remain silent as well, finding they had nothing to say to the information. That was, except for one of them in the group.

"So, now what?" Yimtri asked. "What happens now that you are free? What do we do about this supposedly benevolent plague you put inside of us? Are you going to remove it from us now that your purpose with us is finished?"

Everyone brought their stare over to the Sableye to find that he still wore a blank expression. His eyes had their radiance restored to their former state and seemed to shimmer with a dark light. The four Pokémon sitting close to him slowly scooted away from him, unnerved by the look upon his face. They realized that he probably meant no harm, as it was a typical expression of Sableye, but still seeing him like that was enough to make them want to be a safe distance away from him just in case. Nyx, however, returned the stare with a more collected one and didn't seem frightened in the slightest.

"I cannot remove the blight from you as much as you probably wish I could. Yet, there is a way to remove it even though you do not need to rid it from yourself."

"And that way is?" he asked tersely.

"By slaying the Primogenitor, the origin of the blight."

Yimtri slowly scowled, but only out of thoughtfulness.

"Are you sure that it works like that?" he then asked. "Just because you kill a creator does not mean its creations will also perish. It'd be like killing Arceus; he may be gone, but the creatures of the world will still live without him because they can function without him. Why would killing the Primogenitor be any different?"

"Because the blight and the Primogenitor are special in that they cannot live without the other. The blight is nothing more than pieces of the Primogenitor put inside Pokémon. Even my own blight, though heavily tampered with and contains a bit of myself, is still a part of the Primogenitor. Once the true Primogenitor is dead however, all of the blight in the world will cease to exist, including your own. After all, how can the blight still exist when its true source, the Primogenitor, is no more?"

The Sableye became silent at the information, seemingly at a loss.

So that's what the plague is. It's just pieces of the Primogenitor. Terron thought. I'm surprised I didn't realize that earlier; it just makes so much sense. It's why the Plagued Ones always seem so coordinated whenever they do anything and are always in those swarms. They're always being controlled by their master, even if they can have their own thoughts. Well, unless those things I heard them saying were just the Primogenitor talking in about a million different voices. Probably not, though.

But huh. So that's how we finally defeat the Plagued Ones. It's just like I thought before, only instead of Erebus being the actual source, it's that Primogenitor thing. But…

"How are you supposed to defeat something like that?" Terron spoke up. "I mean, I know that we've done a lot of crazy things that no ordinary Pokémon should be able to do thanks to the fact that we're plagued and all that. We made it through Erebus Woods and defeated you, Nyx, of all things. Anyone else who wasn't plagued would have died. But the Primogenitor… well, it almost sounds like a god from how you're describing it. How are we supposed to kill something that powerful?"

The Darkrai looked over at Terron, appearing neither angered nor surprised by his statement. She only gave him a blank stare, as if she had no reaction to his words. Terron couldn't see anything in her blue eye that shined softly.

"By fighting the Primogenitor with another god-like creature. Or perhaps two."

Everyone turned to look at the Quilava who had spoken those words. They found that he was staring directly at Terron, wearing a firm glare of resolve. Terron only had to think for a moment to realize what Novus was referring to.

"You're talking about Reshiram and Zekrom again, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yes, I am. You said, after all, that we could search for them after we slayed Erebus," Novus replied. "And though we didn't exactly kill her, the end goal was still met. I find that searching those two out compliment your current plans at the moment."

"Well wait. We don't even know if we're going to go kill the Primogenitor right now. I mean, we just got done setting Nyx free, even if we didn't know that's what we were doing the whole time. Killing the Primogenitor after all that is a really drastic move. We need to spend some time recuperating for a bit before we even think about doing that."

"But you won't be killing this Primogenitor right now. You will be traveling the region in search of those two godly dragons. As you search, you can have time to think of what you will do in the end."

"You're not getting my point. We just woke up. I can barely walk, let alone go explore every little crevice in Shiron at the moment! And not only that, but I haven't even agreed to anything yet! No one has!"

Novus gave Terron a dark glare as small embers sparked off his quills. Terron only returned the glare of one of his own. The two held the stare, neither breaking it off as a tense atmosphere filled the air around them.

After what seemed like an eternity passed, Novus snapped his head away and looked upon the other four in the group, none of which had dared to interrupt the stand-off. Novus's eyes still glimmered with the light of his inner fire stirring within his soul.

"What plan do you four have in mind at this very moment?" he asked, his voice low. "What do you plan on doing now that you are awake? What are your current aspirations?"

"Well…" Zekra spoke up. "I guess defeat the Primogenitor. I mean, we can't do anything else really. We don't have anywhere to really go and we wanted to go defeat the Plagued Ones in the first place. And if killing the Primogenitor is the only way to do that, then yeah, I guess that's what we do next."

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that if you have nowhere to turn to?" Novus then asked. "Whose assistance will you ask for to defeat a deity-like creature when you can no longer return to your Fellowship?"

"I don't know… I guess just your idea since it seems pretty cool and seeing a legendary would be pretty awesome…"

"Very well then."

The Quilava turned his gaze to Yimtri, Zeverous, and Nyx, as if waiting to see if they had anything they wanted to say. Nyx only kept her vacant stare on the Quilava, a vague glimmer of amusement in her eyes. Yimtri seemed to stare straight through Novus, seemingly in deep thought over entirely different matters. His eyes were hazy, and he nearly seemed gone from the situation.

Zeverous, on the other hand, almost seemed pleased to hear Novus's words. He was beaming at the Quilava, his muzzle twisted into a somewhat cheerful smile.

"Well in all honesty, I kind of like your idea too," he stated. "I mean, if we just find Reshiram or Zekrom or both, then they can just fight the Primogenitor for us, right?"

"Potentially, yes," Novus admitted. "I have a high amount of faith in those two godly beings. I'm fairly certain that they could eliminate the Primogenitor for us."

"So that means that if we find them… we don't have to fight. And that means that none of us have to risk our lives fighting that monster. Which means Zekra won't be any danger, right?"

"If we find those two dragons, most likely."

Zeverous's smile only seemed to grow, and seemed almost unable to contain his apparent joy. He looked over at the little Zorua lying next to him and gently picked her up in his claws before holding her close. He laughed to himself as he stroked the top of her head, Zekra doing nothing but staring up at her brother with an unsure stare. The Quilava smirked victoriously before he glanced over at Nyx, his smug expression vanishing instantly.

"Why do you think your plan will succeed? Why do you have so much faith in it?"

"I do not mean offense to you, Darkrai, but those two godly beings are much more powerful than you and the other legendary beings that were trapped by the Primogenitor," he then said. "That even includes Rayquaza, who is often considered to be somewhat similar to Reshiram and Zekrom in regards to power."

"So you are suggesting that instead of the six of us having to fight the Primogenitor ourselves, we should find those two godly beings instead. Why would you think that those two godly beings could stand a chance more than a group of blighted Pokémon with the very power of the Primogenitor within them? Why more than the four of us mortal legendaries who fell victim to the Primogenitor centuries ago? Why more than Rayquaza, lord of the skies?"

"Because the five of us nearly failed when we tried to take you down in your corrupted state. Why would we fare any better against a creature that was able to subdue you so easily?"

Nyx said nothing to the remark.

"As for why I think Reshiram and Zekrom would fare better when the other great beings fell to the Primogenitor, it is for a particular reason. Those two great dragons are far more powerful than the mortal legendaries. They hold at least twenty times the amount of power you do, even if your powers are already horrific enough even to the godly beings. They are even more powerful than Rayquaza despite being on a similar divine scale of power because they are very special among the godly ones. They were given a very special task by the creator, and that was to protect the land and its denizens from all dangers. They were essentially guardians over the mortals. To accomplish such a grand and all-important task, they were given much more power than the other Great Beings. I would dare say that they were given more power than Yveltal and Xerneas, incarnations of life and death.

"I remember there was once a time that a Regice, Regirock, and Registeel had begun a massive rampage across the land for whatever reason, destroying everything in their paths with none of the mortals able to put a stop to the behemoths. They could only watch helplessly as those three ravaged cities and landscapes, reducing such places to nothing but rubble and debris. However, when Zekrom caught word of this, she instantly eradicated those three beings with hardly any effort. Her divine lightning and draconic energy lay waste to them within moments. If she could do such a thing to three mortal legendaries without any harm to herself, I see no reason as to why she couldn't do similar to the Primogenitor, even if it could be considered more powerful than a mortal legendary."

"So that is your reasoning."

"Yes. If we find Reshiram and Zekrom, or just one of them, this madness will end. Not only that, but none of us will have to risk our lives. None of us."

Nyx kept her gaze on Novus for a moment longer, staring into his solemn crimson eyes with her own blank sapphire one. Her eye momentarily shifted over to where Yimtri and Terron sat before bringing it back over to the Quilava.

"Your idea seems reasonable enough for me to accept."

Novus gave a slow nod in reply before he looked over at the Sableye, the only one in the group who hadn't shared his thoughts.

"And what do you think of my plan?" Novus asked. "Do you think that it's a suitable plan to follow with the situation you are currently in?"

Yimtri gave the Quilava a long stare, remaining motionless from where he sat as his gemstones flickered dimly. He still seemed very much detached from everything, as if he were suddenly on a faraway planet. Even still, Novus patiently waited for the Sableye to speak his mind.

The Sableye turned away.

"… Your plan is acceptable," he then said, his voice unnaturally quiet. "I see no reason to object to it."

"Thank you."

Yimtri said nothing in reply, still refusing to look at Novus in the eye. Upon seeing this, the Quilava at long last, turned back to Terron with the faint traces of a smug smile apparent on his muzzle. The Cubone only kept his glare fixed on Novus, still feeling the lingering irritation coursing through his veins. But then, before the feeling could prompt Terron to say something, all traces of pride were instantly wiped off the Quilava's face. Soon, Terron found himself looking at a Quilava with a much softer, more pitiful gaze. When the Cubone saw this, all agitation and malice was quick to disappear.

"The others have expressed their thoughts, Terron. They agree with my plan for their various reasons," Novus stated, not a single hint of condescension in his voice. "However, I think I understand why you are so reluctant to agree to my plan. You don't want to follow my plan because you still want time to recover after our last efforts and so you can prepare yourself for this long journey we have ahead of us, don't you?"

"Yeah, pretty much," Terron confessed.

"Well let me assure you that I have no intentions of making us leave so quickly. Though I am rather eager to set out to find those dragons after so long, I know that we cannot go just yet. You four still need to return to your full strength. It wouldn't be the best idea to have you searching Shiron in your current state."

The Quilava went up to the Cubone and stopped before him. He then held up a paw.

"I apologize if I gave off the impression I was being unnecessarily hasty and insensitive," Novus went on. "I didn't mean for it to appear that way. But, now that you better understand my thoughts and your teammates' thoughts, I ask again if you agree with my plan. I ask if you will help me find Reshiram and Zekrom so we may truly put an end to the Blight Demons. I truly think it is the best method of action to take."

Terron thought for a moment. Everyone in the room was all for helping Novus in finding Reshiram and Zekrom. Though he didn't quite understand why Yimtri was agreeing with Novus when he surely had a plan of his own, he understood everyone else's intentions. He knew that Zeverous agreed to Novus's idea only because he wanted to keep Zekra safe, just like how he had promised her he would since they were reunited. He knew that Nyx had agreed because she saw it was the best option and had the greatest potential of succeeding. Then finally, he knew that Zekra agreed because she didn't know what else to do. She was lost, just like Terron was, and only wanted to follow Novus's plan because she couldn't think of anything else to do. She couldn't after three of the Fellowship leaders had turned on them and revealed themselves to be working for the Primogenitor. For all they knew, the entire Fellowship was working for the Primogenitor. The Fellowship, their one place of refuge, was absolutely useless and an outright danger to them now.

We have nowhere else to go. Terron pondered. Even Nyx, the one who I thought could help us, is agreeing with Novus. We have nowhere else to go. And we're going to have to fight the Primogenitor anyway. Doesn't matter how long we delay it; we're going have to take down that thing one way or another. No one else is going to.

I guess that settles it then.

"Let's go find Reshiram and Zekrom," Terron declared.

He took Novus's paw in his own and grasped it tight, sealing their understanding. Novus only smiled in return.

"Tomorrow," Novus said. "Tomorrow we will search them out and end the Primogenitor."