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Chapter 53

Want to Understand You

After Terron and Novus had reached their agreement, the group decided that they would depart on their journey at noon the next day. Until then, they were free to do as they pleased. They only agreed to stay within the confines of Aurora Town, the closest they had to a safe haven amidst the terrible dangers of the world. The last thing they wanted was to become lost and separated, not to mention running the risk of getting spotted by the Primogenitor's generals. They couldn't afford to have that happen at all costs.

But even so, none of this concerned Terron. He had absolutely no intentions of leaving and was content with simply wandering about the desolate streets. At least, he would have been content and happy, if it weren't for the fact that the cobblestone roads spurred up a torrent of memories and emotions he sometimes wished he could forget.

Soon, he found himself sitting beside Zekra at the front of the old Aurora Town Fellowship, gazing at the impressive network of trees in the late morning sun. Two months of abandonment had done nothing to the place, leaving it as a monument of what was once a great organization. It was almost as if the buildings were still functional. Yet strangely enough, there were no signs of wild Pokémon occupying the place. Despite being so empty, it seemed not a single feral one had wandered into the massive plants.

"It's been a long time since we've been here," Zekra suddenly said.

Terron turned to the Zorua to find that she stared forlornly at the mark on the bottom of her paw, the one which identified her as a dismissed Fellowship member. Her eyes sparkled dimly with her illusion light as she wore a saddened frown.

"Well actually, it hasn't been that long," he said. "It's only been about two months. And it's been a little over three months since we first came here."

"Lots of stuff has changed since then, I guess," Zekra replied vacantly. "Kind of hard to believe sometimes that it was just three months since we first came here."

"Yeah. I kind of forget that it's only been that long too. I sometimes think it's been at least twice that much, or a year. Maybe even three years."

Zekra nodded silently as she put her paw down and rested her chin on the cold ground.

"These three months have been really weird honestly with time and all," she remarked. "Back before I met you and all of this Fellowship stuff happened, three months seemed like a long time. I remember just a whole week being so long to me and wishing that time would fly by so much faster. Time was just so much slower when I could do whatever I wanted and I didn't have to worry about anything. But then, I joined the Fellowship, and all of that changed. Everything started going by faster. The days ended faster since we always had something to do with our missions. We always had this routine we followed. And then… after we stopped doing missions, time started slowing down again. What felt like a week was actually only a day. We kept doing something every day to work toward our goals, and time never sped up again like it did when we worked for the Fellowship. It just kept moving slowly. These three months really have been weird."

Zekra released a sigh as she stared up at the Fellowship base.

"And in that time, so much happened. So many things I never thought could happen. And yet, they all did. Sometimes, I really do wonder if I just keep dying and then I come back to start a new life again and again like some endless cycle. Like, I sometimes wonder if I died when everyone in my old town got taken away by the Plagued Ones and I came back as some random wild who suddenly became intelligent and was just hanging out where you were. Or if I died in Erebus Woods and then I somehow came back as some random Fellowship member. Or if the Plagued Ones killed me during that invasion and then I came back as some wimp who lost two of her friends that day. Because… it really does feel like I've lived through a bunch of lifetimes sometimes. A bunch of really depressing ones, that is."

Terron didn't know what to think of the comment, except that he knew where she was coming from. Terron had seen everything she spoke of, save for the destruction of her old home. Though Novus had been with her for much of that time, he had never been able to witness all that she had been through. He never experienced her fledgling days as Fellowship members, the days she first met Impetus and Syn, or traversed through the horrifying dungeon known as Erebus Woods. No one truly knew what she had gone through those three months.

No one except Terron. And he knew just how taxing their lives had been for those past few months. He could easily see how she had those thoughts about her reality.

"A lot of things have happened," Terron empathized. "A lot of things I wish never did happen. I sometimes don't even think it's real since it's all so surreal, like I'm going to wake up sometime and realize this is all a bad dream. So, I try not to think about it too much because we can't really change anything. But I guess we can't ignore it really."

"Yeah, I think the same thing," Zekra confessed. "But you know, even if being here really does bring back a lot of those awful memories, I guess it's kind of a good thing that we're here in some ways. It's nice to just… reminisce a little. And talk."

"Yeah, it is. It is."

The Zorua scooted closer to the Cubone and rested her head against the side of his lap. Terron smiled softly as he tenderly ran his claw tips through the fur on her head. Then, the two of them continued looking upon the great tree, thinking back to their earlier days. They viewed it with neither depression nor anger; only a vacant sort of acknowledgement that it had happened and that there was no point in denying it. It wasn't necessarily a complete acceptance, but it was something that helped bring peace to their hearts.

"Do you really think that we'll really end everything this time?" Zekra then asked. "You know, stop the Plagued Ones."

"I'm really hoping it does," Terron started to say. "We're running out of time. I mean, I know there's no way to tell how much time we have left before the Plagued Ones take over Shiron, but with Nyx on our side now, we probably don't have much left. The Primogenitor is probably finding a way to make up for her loss and speed up whatever it's doing. It probably realizes that we can ruin its plans since we saved Nyx and got rid of all of the dungeons that were dragging everyone off to wherever that abomination is so it could plague them."

"Wonder why the Primogenitor is taking so long to turn everyone into Plagued Ones. If I were it, I would have done it all at once, but that thing's been doing this for fifty years. Why wait so long?"

"Don't know. Maybe we can ask Nyx about that."

"Maybe."

Silence once again came over the two. Terron closed his eyes as he sighed deeply, trying to imagine the Primogenitor, wherever it was, and what it could possibly be doing to hunt him and his team down.

"Are you going to try to go back home when we're all done, though?" Zekra abruptly asked.

Terron opened his eyes and looked over at her. He found that she was staring right at him, casting him a faraway look.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"When we put a stop to the Primogenitor, are you going to try and find a way to get back to the human world?"

Hearing this come from Zekra's mouth stunned Terron. He honestly hadn't expected her to say those words. Throughout the entire time he had known her, she had asked him about his former human days only about five times. And even then, they were always questions about his culture, such as how humans managed to survive for so long without any elemental abilities, or to ask if he had recovered any of his memories. Never once had she asked anything about if Terron ever wanted to go back to Kuron.

For just a moment, Terron couldn't reply. But eventually, the shock left him, and he found his voice.

"Well, I'm not really sure to be honest," he admitted quietly. "I mean, I kind of like it here on Shiron. Even if it's a little weird having everything being a whole lot bigger than me, everything about this Cubone body is a lot better. I'm so much stronger and durable, even if I don't have that many elemental powers like you do. I can take down an entire herd of Tauros as a Cubone if I plan it right. As a human, not so much. I'd probably die if I even tried to take out one of them. And not only that, but I feel a lot happier here. I'll admit that I don't remember too much of my old life, but I just feel a lot more content here on Shiron. I've met so many awesome Pokémon here and have got even more awesome friends. So, I really don't know."

Zekra smiled at the remark, but it was only for a fleeting moment, for it melted back into a frown.

"But what about your family?" she asked. "I mean, I know you probably can't remember them and all, but they're probably really worried about you."

"Yeah, but still. As much as I don't want them to worry about me, it still doesn't make me want to leave here."

"You should still try to find them and tell them that you're okay, though. They're important, after all. They're your family."

"You're starting to sound like you want me to leave you."

"No, I don't!" Zekra suddenly snapped, her eyes filling with an aqua light. "Don't twist my words around!"

Terron abruptly backed away from the Zorua, fearing he had struck a nerve in her and that she would attack him at a moment's notice. When Zekra saw this, she sighed and shook her head, the radiance of her illusion power fading.

"Look, I don't want you to go back to your old world," she started to say. "I really don't. I'd miss you if you left. A lot. Probably more than I could bear actually. It's just that… even though I said I'd help you figure out what's wrong with you and why you have amnesia, I haven't done any of that. I just dragged you into my own mess with the Plagued Ones and didn't even think about what you wanted anymore. I was selfish to put it bluntly. I literally realized that right now, now that we're about to finally achieve my goals. I've done absolutely nothing to help you with your own.

"So because of that, I'm starting to think that the only reason why you want to stay here is because of me. I made you forget about your goal and just made your new goal mine. Because before, you really did want to go home. You really did, and I was so caught up in my own problems that I didn't even consider what you wanted. I just shoved all of my problems on you. So I'm trying to make you go back because that's what you wanted. I'm trying to get you to want to go back before I put all of that revenge stuff in your head. And, I guess what I'm poorly trying to say is that I'll help you find a way back too. That's all it is. I just want to make up for the fact that you've been helping me with all of my stuff and I've done nothing in return."

Terron stared at Zekra, his eyes glazed over from behind his mask. He could see how much this thought of hers was tormenting her, mostly because he saw exactly how she thought that. She had dedicated her entire life to eliminating the Plagued Ones since the day they took everything away from her, making absolutely sure that she would reach her goal. She would tear down anything that dared to stand in opposition. She had been so consumed by this resolve that for quite some time, that Terron really did think she was self-centered and unconcerned with others back when he first met her. She certainly gave off that vibe with her carefree attitude.

However, Terron understood something that Zekra didn't seem to.

"You're wrong; you've done things for me in return," he spoke up. "You stayed with me even though I was pretty useless back then. You never left me."

Zekra cast him a bewildered stare, but Terron didn't let that stop him. He carefully took off his persona and set it in his lap before looking back at his friend.

"I understand that you think you were using me and that you got rid of my hopes of going back to Kuron," Terron went on. "But, you didn't. No matter how much you could have tried, I never would have lost my desire to go back or figure out what happened to me. With something like amnesia constantly reminding me of that, I'd dare say it's impossible. I just didn't pursue after the goal as much anymore because I wanted to help you instead. You were kind enough not to ditch me, even if it might have been for a selfish reason in the first place, and I wanted to repay for that. So, I put aside what I wanted to do and helped you instead. You didn't make me forget about going back to Kuron; I made myself not worry about it anymore.

"So please; don't think I want to stay here just because you made me forget. It was my choice, not yours. You don't have to blame yourself."

Zekra sat there, her mouth hanging slightly ajar at the words Terron spoke. She seemed at a complete loss. However, after a few seconds, a small smile made its way onto her face.

"Thanks, Tear. That means a lot to me."

"You're welcome, Zekra," Terron beamed.

The two gave each other a happy glance, glad that the tension had been resolved between them. However, it was short lived, for Terron suddenly realized something he had not before. Something that he had only thought of thanks to Zekra bringing up the topic.

His once bright smile slowly turned into a pensive frown as the pleasant feeling in his heart disappeared.

"Besides… I did end up finding out what happened to me," Terron uttered, his voice low and quiet. "I know what happened so that I'm here on Shiron as a Cubone."

"You did?" Zekra asked, now baffled. "When was this?"

Terron stared off into the distance behind her as he thought of a certain team member of theirs. And then, a powerful, consuming conviction swelled up within him at the thought. It told him to do only one thing. One simple yet crucial thing that he best not delay.

The Cubone got to his feet as he stuffed his persona back onto his head. He looked back at his trusted friend with a determined glare.

"I want you to come with me," he told her. "There's something you deserve to know about me and someone else."

Yimtri entered the main square of Aurora Town, his walk unflinching and his face fixed in his seemingly permanent, unfazed scowl. There was not a single soul in sight. While the other five had been speaking amongst themselves as some sort of afterthought, Yimtri had phased through the wall and wandered away from the group. He was never particularly fond of remaining in groups as large as that for very long; small talk and idle chatter were not things he desired. He much preferred the silence of isolation where the only sounds running through his ears were his thoughts.

None of them had noticed that he left, for as he always said, he was a ghost-type. Ghosts like him were undetectable to others on most occasions, and that occasion had been no different. Even Nyx, the one who seemed to be so aware of him, hadn't noticed him. Though, Yimtri had entertained the thought that perhaps she turned a blind eye. It was the only reason she would have let him go if she saw him, knowing how overly concerned she was about him. Such unnecessary concern it was.

But whatever the case, he was now alone just like he wanted. The Sableye almost smiled to himself at his accomplishment, but in the end decided against it. Instead, he wandered over to a nearby bench that sat along the edges of the square and climbed up onto it. The moment he did, Yimtri finally grimaced and let himself collapse along the bench's stone surface. He wrapped himself up in his cape the best he could, shivering as he groaned miserably.

The toll of his coma still affected him, putting a massive strain on his body so that it brought an agonizing sting every time he tried to walk. He knew that if he had simply rested as the others did back in the house than stand like he did, he would have recovered for the most part. If he had even eaten a single Oran berry he would not be in so much pain now. But, Yimtri hadn't done any of these things, for he couldn't afford to appear so weak in front of the others. He didn't care what Nyx said; he couldn't falter, even for a moment. He couldn't be weak anymore.

Not after everything that had happened for the whole twenty five years of his life as a Sableye. Not when he had so many Pokémon depending on him. Not when he had lost so many he cared about because he lacked the strength.

He couldn't regress back into that frail, pathetic creature he once called himself long ago.

"Never again," he muttered under his breath.

The Sableye lay there on that bench, doing nothing but letting the pain pass. He kept the occasional eye out to make sure that no one spotted him in his lowly state, but otherwise, let his thoughts wander aimlessly.

At first, his thoughts held no significant meaning. With his pin blocking out his plagued self, he could only hear his own thoughts. He found they offered him nothing substantial, his mind strangely empty for once. He heavily suspected that it was due to the fact that he was fatigued and thought nothing of it, only choosing to enjoy the silence. However, after a time, the dark thoughts he was well accustomed to made their way back into his mind, and he found himself pondering over something that had irked him since Nyx spoke of the supposed truth behind the plagued selves.

Yimtri reached under the collar of his cape and carefully pulled out his pin before bringing it close to his face. He stared at it, fixating his gemstones on the strange object. He kept his focus on the item for a long while, his thoughts slowly going through everything Nyx told him and the others until he received a prompting. He thought to resist the prompting at first, as it was utterly pointless, but then changed his mind when he saw it had potential.

And so, with a reluctant frown, he dropped the pin on the ground beside him.

What occurred next was something Yimtri had anticipated, but had ultimately hoped would have been averted. A searing pain shot through his brain, making him flinch as it stung bitterly. A powerful burning burst its way out of his mind and rushed into the rest of his body. His thoughts were abruptly wiped clean from his mind as his plagued self came rushing back into his head full force. Yimtri gripped his head as the migraine came over him, but it was not his mind that hurt him the most; it was his closed-off heart.

It was the return of his repressed emotions that brought him so much pain. He could feel all of them churning up a tempest inside of him, threatening to tear him apart. Now that they were free once more, they were out of control, running rampant through him and obscuring all of his thoughts.

"Ngggh, no. No… she's wrong," Yimtri grimaced. "These plagued selves. They're… not helpful. They're not. She's wrong."

The Sableye weakly reached for this pin to put an end to his torment, but just before his claw tips could touch it, he heard a familiar voice in his mind. A voice so similar to his, yet alien at the same time.

It's only because you keep blocking me out. You've been ignoring my voice for as long as you've known I've existed and now drown it out completely with that pin.

Yimtri scowled as the voice spoke in his mind. It had been a while since he last heard his plagued self speak to him. He could still remember the first time he heard it so many years ago when he abandoned his Fellowship, thinking it had been Erebus speaking to him somehow. Even if he understood what it truly was now, it wasn't any different than it was back then. Its voice had grown louder and clearer in his mind, but otherwise, its words were exactly the same.

"You've caused me nothing but trouble," Yimtri spat. "Always have and always will. You've made me do so many terrible things. You did them when Nyx told you to. You did them when you weren't under her control. You've caused me so much unnecessary grief. You won't let me think. I can't thinkwith all of these things here."

I don't cause you grief. You are only causing yourself grief by the fact that you view my methods of helping you as being harmful and outright hazardous. The second you drowned me out with that pin, you set yourself up for pain. You have gone so long not feeling anything from me thanks to that pin. You've grown weaker because of it and now whenever I get a chance to help you again, you fall apart. This is what happens when you stop feeling after a long time; you don't know how to deal with emotions when they come back again.

"I don't need you drowning me with these… useless emotions. I hated having you with me. You clouded my mind with those thoughts. Those thoughts I didn't need. Those thoughts and feelings about Draven and Zar. And mother and father. And… a home I'll never… gauugh…"

Unable to take it anymore, Yimtri thrust his arm forward and closed his claws around the pin. He had put too much force into his action, though, for he stumbled forward onto the ground and fell. Even still, he had succeeded in grabbing the pendant. He could already feel it snuffing out the plagued presence inside him, as well as his vehement emotions. It was seeping back into his heart, where it would soon be closed off for as long as Yimtri kept his pin on him.

Fine. Silence me again. It's your choice. Just remember that you can't keep living like this. You're on a path to destruction. Turn back while you can. Know that, Sableye Dimitri.

And with that, the voice was gone, as were all of the erratic emotions and thoughts within the Sableye. Yimtri released a long sigh as he pressed his forehead into the cobblestone, mentally and physically exhausted by the encounter.

"I think I heard his voice over here."

The Sableye snapped his gaze from off the ground and hastily looked in the direction of the voice. He was quick to spot a Cubone and Zorua wandering in his direction, both of them glancing around from side to side. Yimtri, not wanting the two to see him in his pathetic state, swiftly picked himself up and climbed back onto the bench. He winced at the pain this sudden action brought, but he ignored it the best he could as he attached his pin back to the inside of his cape. Once he had done that, he dug his claw into the surface of his seat, scribbling out nonsense in an attempt to make it look as though he was occupied.

After he had sketched out a few words, he looked back at the approaching Pokémon. He found that they had their eyes set upon him, having finally spotted him. The Sableye frowned thoughtfully as they came near, observing that the Cubone had an almost fierce glare while the Zorua held a more puzzled one.

"There you are," Terron stated as he and Zekra came to a halt before the Sableye. "I've been looking for you, Yimtri. You weren't at the house and nobody knew where you went."

"Looking for me, were you?" Yimtri asked indifferently. "I suppose I should have expected someone to do so. Though, maybe I should have suspected that it would be you of all Pokémon to find me here. After all, this is the very place you and I had our little talk some time ago. I think I might have even seen dried droplets of your blood on the cobblestone."

Terron didn't say anything to the remark, only keeping his solemn gave on the Sableye. Yimtri stared at him for a moment, trying to decipher the reason behind the powerful aura he felt slinking out of the Cubone. It had been quite a while since he had seen Terron like this. It was admittedly intimidating to the Sableye, but Yimtri didn't dare show it and kept it hidden under his own mask of pensiveness.

"Uh Tear, what did you want to tell me?" Zekra asked awkwardly. "You said after we found Yimtri that you'd tell me, and well, here he is. So, you know, what's going on?"

"I wanted to tell you something about me," Terron answered as he looked over at her. "I think you deserve to know since you're my closest friend and deserve to know the truth about what really happened to me when I got turned into a Cubone. And the reason why we needed to find Yimtri is because we're going to get him to talk about it too."

Yimtri tensed at the Cubone's words. Though the Sableye had never heard their conversation, he had a vague understanding of what Terron was trying to say. He knew what was on Terron's mind and how he intended to carry out the conversation.

"Terron, I am not in agreement with this," Yimtri interjected. "We are not including Zekra in this."

The Cubone looked back at the Sableye and scowled.

"Zekra is my friend, Yimtri," Terron stated firmly. "She's my partner who I share all of my secrets with. She knows everything about me and I'm not about to let this be the one thing I keep from her. Just because you don't want to talk about it doesn't mean she can't know what's going on."

"You and I have no reason to share this information with anybody except Nyx and ourselves. Zekra doesn't need to know anything; she has no reason to. It's not going to help her in the slightest and quite frankly, I suspect she will tell Zeverous and Novus about us if she hears it. "

"Hey! I don't tell Zev and Novus everything!" Zekra cried. "I can keep secrets you know! Don't make me sound like I'm some sort of tattletale!"

"Whatever," Yimtri scoffed at the Zorua. "I don't need anyone else knowing what your friend hints away at; it's trivial and overall something I don't want to talk about much in the first place."

"It's not trivial, Yimtri," Terron snapped. "You know it isn't. Stop being so stubborn and just let me tell Zekra the truth about you and me."

"You know, I'm surprised with you," Yimtri said bitterly to Terron. "You seem so bent on trying to explain what's going on to her, yet you beg for me to give you permission. Why did you not tell Zekra in private and simply hide that you did so from me? That would have been the smart thing to do."

"I considered that. I really did, knowing that you get really stubborn when you don't want to talk about something, but then I changed my mind."

"And why would you do a foolish thing such as that?"

"Because I'm not going to go talking behind your back about something as important as this when you're a part of it."

Hearing this sent an icy thorn into the Sableye's chest, nearly making him flinch. He almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. Terron had willingly withheld crucial information from Zekra just so he could get Yimtri's approval. It would have been so easy to just tell Zekra what he wanted her to know. And yet he didn't, because he had wanted Yimtri's permission to speak his mind about the subject that involved the Sableye. Or, in other words, he cared.

He cared about Yimtri despite the fact that the Sableye had caused him so much grief and torment for some time.

For a moment, Yimtri couldn't think of anything to say. He could only give Terron a blank stare as the Cubone kept his firmer, stoic one.

A minute of silence passed, and then Yimtri gave a long sigh.

"Fine," he spoke. "You're free to tell Zekra the truth. I won't stop you."

"Thank you," Terron said with a nod.

Yimtri watched as the Cubone glanced over at this Zorua friend, who appeared very lost with the whole situation. Terron chuckled quietly under his breath as he pressed his skull mask into his face.

"Alright, Zekra. This is going to sound really, really weird, but I want you to stay with me, alright?" he said to her.

"With all of the stuff I've seen, I really doubt it's going to be that weird," Zekra shrugged dismissively. "So yeah, bring it on. What's up?"

"Well first of all, I haven't really been on Shiron for about three months," he began, speaking slowly and cautiously. "I've been here a lot longer. Twenty-five years, to be accurate."

"Okay… I don't know how that's possible when you're like my age or maybe a little older, but alright."

"I don't get it either, but let me keep going. I was brought here twenty five years ago and well… I'm not really the human I thought I was. I'm just of half of the human that got sent here. And the other half… is the one sitting right in front of you."

Yimtri watched the Zorua with a cautious eye, waiting to see her reaction. At first, there was no reaction. Her eyes had completely glazed over, leaving her almost as a shell of herself that stared vacantly at the Sableye. If Yimtri couldn't sense her spirit or note that she was still standing, he would have thought she died of shock. But then, the light in her eyes returned and her pupils dilated. She slowly shook her head as her jaw dropped open.

"You mean Yimtri, the guy who's been giving us so much trouble," Zekra started to say, "he's you? This whole time… he's just been some weird part of you?"

"I wouldn't exactly say that we are the same person, now that I ponder in it more," Yimtri stated. "It's more that we are two separate halves of a human once called Dimitri. Yes, we are the same human, but we're technically not a part of each other. We're more pieces of a fractured whole."

"That still sounds a lot like you're the same guy," Zekra insisted.

"Well you can call it whatever you like then," Yimtri scoffed irritably. "Either way, your friend and I are nothing more than halves of a singular human being. Nyx had brought us over to Shiron so we could help aid her in her fight against the Primogenitor twenty-five years ago, but it ultimately backfired, as she ended up tearing Dimitri into us when she tried to prevent the Primogenitor from stealing Dimitri away from her. After that, Terron was taken away by the Primogenitor until Nyx broke him out of its clutches three months ago while I wandered Shiron and became the Fellowship leader I am now."

"But, we're not equal halves sadly," Terron then said. "Yimtri got all of the memories, which is why I ended up getting amnesia. But yeah, that's what ended up happening. Nyx told us when we fought her back in Erebus Woods when everyone else was passed out. That's why no one except us and Nyx know what happened."

"I didn't realize that tearing a human into two gave you a Sableye and Cubone," Zekra stated simply.

"I don't understand the logic of it either," Yimtri shrugged carelessly. "Perhaps it had to do with the fact that the Pokémon we became are humanoid. Or, perhaps it had to do with the fact I'm supposedly a majority of the spirit torn out and Sableye are ghostly creatures while Terron was supposedly the body and whatever was left of the spirit after I came to be. After all, Cubone are very human-like and even use weapons as humans do. It would make sense that the husk of a human would become a Cubone due to that."

"And Cubone use their helmets as personas, just like how humans do, except they don't have to use helmets," Terron added.

"Ugggh," Zekra whined, averting her gaze from the two Pokémon. "You were right Tear; this is just weird."

Yimtri and Terron turned to look at the little Zorua to find that she now had her eyes squeezed shut, as if trying to block everything out. Yimtri almost thought he pitied her for a brief moment.

"Yeah, I know," Terron sighed. "I know it's hard to take it in, but well, you deserved to know. You going to be okay, though?"

Zekra took in a deep breath as she opened her eyes and looked over at the Cubone. She smiled softly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she said. "Don't worry about me; just kind of getting used to the weirdness. I haven't exactly heard of something called having yourself split into two beings before. And having one of those guys being someone who kept giving you trouble. But it doesn't change anything between you and me. You're still my friend and nothing can change that. Doesn't matter if you're half of a human or a whole one; you're still Tear to me. You're still my best friend."

Yimtri watched from afar as the Zorua pressed her head against the Cubone's side and nuzzled him. Terron smiled at the gesture as he reached down and pulled her in for a close embrace. Upon seeing this happy moment, Yimtri suddenly felt the need to leave the two of them alone. He felt surprisingly uncomfortable at having the two being so affectionate around each other. He didn't understand why.

The Sableye got up from his seat and started to leave, but then stopped when he saw Zekra remove herself from Terron and look directly at Yimtri. She approached him, stopping in front of him before looking up into his gemstones of eyes. Yimtri looked back into her blue irises that gleamed with a strange light.

"Why are you staring at me like that?" he asked.

Zekra pounced at the Sableye without warning, flooring Yimtri in an instant. He had been filled with so much weakness that his body could no longer keep him intangible, as he was very quick to find out. He flinched at the action, afraid of what she would do to him in his vulnerable state, and nearly raked her face with his sharp claws. However, before he could raise his arms, he saw that she was nuzzling his chest. Unable to comprehend her actions, the Sableye found himself at a loss, unable to do anything. He wasn't used to situations of unexpected affection. He could only lay there motionlessly.

Eventually, Zekra stopped and got off the Sableye.

"Ah, so you two really are right," Zekra announced. "You guys really are the same guy. You both feel the same."

"Sableye and Cubone don't feel the same, Zekra," Terron stated awkwardly. "I'm all scaly and warm and he's… well, really cold."

"Oh Tear, not like that," Zekra laughed.

The Zorua smiled at the Sableye before she looked over at the Cubone.

"Both of your hearts feel the same."

And with that, Zekra wandered away from Yimtri and rejoined Terron. Then together, the two left and Yimtri found himself alone once again.

Yet, the Sableye made no effort to return to his feet. He only lay there on the cobblestone street, looking up at the pale blue sky, attempting to fathom what had just happened.

Novus sat on the porch of the house that he and Nyx had used to hold the four comatose Pokémon, staring out into the distance with a long gaze. Almost everyone who had been with him had left some time ago. They had all wandered off a little at a time, with Yimtri first sneaking out, then Terron and Zekra. Zeverous had left not much longer after Terron and Zekra did with the excuse that he wanted fresh air and that he would hunt down some supplies in the abandoned stores.

Now, the only one to accompany the Quilava was Nyx. She didn't say much to him, only choosing to remain hovering nearby. Not that Novus minded, of course. He liked the silence. His mind was filled with too many thoughts he couldn't articulate that clearly, all of which had something to do with his plan. Though he was quite happy that the group was finally listening to his idea and would assist him in finding the dragons he sought, he also felt a certain kind of uncertainty at the thought. Yet, he could not understand why. Surely, after all he had been through, he would have been ecstatic at the thought that they were to depart tomorrow. And yet, he felt none of that. Instead, there was a vague sense of foreboding deep in his heart.

Novus didn't know what to think of it as he watched the sun slowly begin its descent into the horizon.

"I am surprised that you do not talk to me more when I am one of those legendary creatures you seem so fond of."

Novus turned his head to find the Darkrai still staring into the distance, her gaze turned away from him. Novus frowned at the remark, but not out of hostility.

"Well, I already understand your kind for the most part," Novus replied. "I've met other Darkrai before. Therefore, I don't really need to hassle you with my questions."

"Yet you do not question why you or the others do not have nightmares when you sleep near me when my kin are so infamous for that."

Hearing this honestly surprised the Quilava, for it was something he had never noticed before. Despite having been around Nyx for three weeks, never once did he question why he was able to sleep so soundly. It had escaped his mind that Darkrai held the involuntary ability to fling any slumbering creature nearby into a nightmare. Darkrai did not have to act in order to do so; it was imbued into their aura and crawled its way into others' minds without the Darkrai even needing to think about it.

"I suppose I didn't," he confessed. "Well then, since you bring it up, why do we not get nightmares from you?"

"Because the blight gave me control over that. When it became me, I also received the power to control the nightmares that I gave without knowing it. I can stop them from coming out of me and infecting everyone."

"So it does. How interesting. And the blight is also what gives you access to the power of electricity, cold, and psychics, right?"

"Yes. They came from the Primogenitor, and my blight gave me a piece of its power."

"What sort of powers does the Primogenitor have anyway?"

"My knowledge is limited on the Primogenitor's abilities. But, I do know that it can use all eighteen of the elements Pokémon have and can even combine them to make powers that do not exist. I remember that just before it brainwashed me, it first struck me with a strange sphere made of fairy and electrical elements. It had the power of the fairy, but with the swiftness of lightning so it could send that horrible fairy element into all of my body so quickly."

"So… the Primogenitor is just like the creator then, in a sense. The creator can use all eighteen of the affinities too. It really is a deity-like creature."

Novus shuddered at the thought. While he knew that none of his teammates would be fighting against the Primogenitor if they really were able to find the two dragons, he still felt dread seep into his soul at the thought of the creature. He could clearly picture in his mind Reshiram and Zekrom attempting to fight this creature, this almost sinister doppelganger of the great creator, and having to fare against its slew of horrific attacks much unlike anything they had ever seen.

For a brief second, he wondered what would happen if they couldn't find the dragons and if the Primogenitor found them instead. But thankfully, the thought couldn't prosper, for Nyx spoke once again.

"That is all I know of the Primogenitor's abilities, other than its ability to change size. I am afraid that is all I can tell you to help you."

Novus closed his eyes and shook his head, ridding himself of the unease coursing through him. Once it was out of his mind, he opened his eyes and looked back at the Darkrai. She still had her gaze off of him.

"It's fine. Your words were informative regardless," he spoke. "But, back to one of my earlier statements, all of the powers you received from the Primogenitor were just the ice, psychic, and electricity ones, right?"

"Correct. It is only those three, for that was all my blight could provide me when it gave me a piece of that creature's powers. It is what makes me so different from others of my kin. Darkrai cannot have the powers I wield under any normal circumstances in this current time. I remember centuries ago that the humans crafted strange machines that harnessed the power of other elements and could give them to Pokémon who could never learn them any other way, but when the humans disappeared, so did their technology. No Pokémon knows about those machines in this time because it has been so long."

"They were called Technical Machines, weren't they?"

Nyx finally brought her gaze over to the Quilava. Though her one exposed eye remained unfazed, Novus could tell that she was somewhat surprised to hear him say those words.

"Quilava, I have a question for you."

"Yes, what is it?" Novus asked curiously.

"Are you as old as me, or possibly older?"

"Yes… I am," Novus said with reluctance, unnerved that she had caught on so quickly. "I'm very old. And I am undoubtedly older than you. I've been around since the very beginning."

"You are implying that you have existed even before the humans and Pokémon were separated and still lived together."

"Yes. I am."

Nyx continued to stare at the Quilava. There was a brief gleam in her sapphire eye, something that Novus nearly missed.

"Is that why you know Reshiram and Zekrom exist when all the mortals think they are nothing but rumors? When all the mortals could truly remember of them is what those two dragons were when they were the same creature? That dragon who protected the world before it was torn into Kuron and Shiron? The now forgotten guardian known as Rem?"

Novus backpedaled at the mention of the name. His pupils dilated to the extremes as he took a few steps back, shaking his head in terror. Nyx only kept her eye on him, watching as he shuddered and hastily took in raspy breaths.

"You know that Reshiram and Zekrom were once the same dragon?" Novus whispered. "But… you weren't there! You were with the Primogenitor. No one knew… no one knew except for three Pokémon… we didn't tell anyone.

"So how? How did you know about Rem? How do you know what Rem did that long ago when you were trapped with the Primogenitor?"

"Because I could still observe the world from the Primogenitor's home before I was put on Shiron to make the dungeons. It is in a unique place that allows me to see Kuron and Shiron. I did not see everything, but I could see some things that caught my eye. Rem splitting itself in half, making Reshiram and Zekrom, was one of those things. Even still, I know that when you refer to Reshiram or Zekrom performing a feat, you are referring to Rem. There are exceptions I would imagine, but you mostly speak of Rem. You simply give credit to Reshiram and Zekrom to hide the fact that you know Rem no longer exists when hardly anyone else even knew it existed anymore."

Novus didn't know how to respond to her comment. He found himself at a complete loss, his throat dry and his heart thudding violently in his chest. She was clearly a perceptive Darkrai, able to deduce all of that just by making simple observations, and that greatly worried Novus. He worried that she would soon figure out what he desperately wished to keep hidden from the rest of the world. There would be a time he could tell the ones with him, and then the world what was on his mind, but not yet. It wasn't time yet. He wasn't sure if she had figured it out yet, given everything else she had said, but it troubled him deeply.

"When we find Reshiram and Zekrom, do you plan on having them recombine to become Rem?"

Novus internally sighed. It seemed that Nyx hadn't realized what he was so terrified of. Or at least, she had no intentions of asking about it at the moment. He felt his heart calm itself at the question he had no qualms in answering.

"No, I don't," he replied. "Rem split on its own choice, and much preferred to stay as two beings rather than one. It doesn't want to be whole again, and I respect Rem's wishes. Therefore, I will not force Reshiram and Zekrom to become one creature when their whole would never want that. I only want them to fight for us, combining their efforts to take down the Primogenitor."

"A creature that does not want to be whole again. How different than how I thought someone in that situation would be. I would imagine split beings would want to be whole again."

"Well, not Rem. Rem didn't want that."

Nyx said nothing to the remark, only keeping her gaze on him, as if studying him carefully. Novus tore his gaze away from her as the last rays of light disappeared over the horizon. The quills on the crown of his head became aflame, and then he wandered back into the house.

"I'm heading inside," he announced. "It's dark and the others should be coming back soon. I'll see you later."

He didn't even look back to see if Nyx had given any sort of acknowledgement to what he said. He only stepped inside the home and made his way into one of the unused rooms to meditate in peace.

He didn't need to peer outside to know that Nyx was still watching him from the porch, unmoving and pondering over everything he had said.

Terron and Zekra finally came back to their temporary home an hour after sunset. They were both somewhat exhausted from the walking they had done and were ready to call it a night. While they had not done much other than visit old sights of the town, walking nearly all day made their legs very strained and weak. They felt that if they did not sit soon, they would surely faint.

As the two came to the house, they were quick to spot Nyx hovering by the doorway, staring at both of them. When she seemed to realize that they had spotted her, she swooped over to them and looked down at their fatigued states.

"You did not rest very much, did you?"

"Well, we didn't really do anything that was that strenuous," Terron stated. "We just walked around and talked to Yimtri and that was really it."

"So you did not rest much despite how you said you needed to today."

Terron scoffed as he and Zekra stepped onto the porch and entered the house. Nyx followed after them as they entered the room where they had all been sleeping for the past three weeks before Terron and Zekra collapsed onto the quilt sprawled out before them. As Zekra lazily stretched out her limbs, Terron released a deep sigh, glad that he was finally able to relax.

"You are just like my Sableye child. You do not rest when you need it. You two really are so similar."

Terron scowled as he turned his head to find Nyx floating near his side, watching him with an almost disappointed gaze.

"I'm fine," he grumbled. "Zekra and I took breaks. Besides, we have to get used to walking again anyway. We're going to be doing a lot of that starting tomorrow, so it's better to get used to it."

"Even still. You and my Sableye child worry me sometimes."

"Eh, don't worry about it. I'm fine."

The Darkrai didn't seem swayed by this, but made no further remarks. But just as she was to slink away from the two, Zekra slowly sat up and gave her an odd stare.

"So uh, I have a question for you, Nyx. If that's what we're calling you now," Zekra started to say.

"I have no preference to names. They mean nothing to me. Regardless, what is it?"

"Why is Tear my age and Yimtri is like way older?" Zekra asked carelessly. "I mean, you're the one who brought them into this world and tore up that human they were, so what did you do so that Tear didn't age at all even though he's been here for like twenty-five years?"

Terron's jaw dropped at the bluntness of Zekra's question. He was about to shoot her a sharp glare, perhaps reprehend her for not even explaining how she knew about the truth behind him and Yimtri, but he stopped when he saw that Nyx was completely unfazed by the question. It didn't even strike a flinch out of her.

"I do not know. That was something that was beyond my control. The Primogenitor probably had something to do with it, though I do not know what."

"Oh, okay," Zekra said, her ears drooping slightly. "I thought you might have known. Never mind then."

The Darkrai narrowed her unconcealed eye a slight amount.

"Cubone Dimitri and Sableye Dimitri were the ones who told you the truth, were they not?"

"Yeah, they did. Tear wanted me to know, so he got Yimtri to talk to me about me. So yeah."

Nyx slowly nodded. Terron anticipated that she would glare at him, demanding to know why he had let Zekra in on such a massive secret, but it never came. Nyx remained calm and composed, accepting of Terron's decision. Terron almost didn't believe it.

However, he could not ponder much longer, for in the corner of his eye, he saw Zeverous enter the room with a sack lugged over his shoulder. Everyone in the room stopped as he came in and settled down on the quilt next to Terron and Zekra, a happy smile smeared across his face.

"Hi Zev!" Zekra cried cheerily.

She leapt at her brother, clinging to his front as she nuzzled the side of his face. Zeverous laughed as he gently pulled Zekra off himself and set her on the ground next to him. He then set his sack down in front of him and undid the string tying the bag up, allowing it to open up and reveal its contents. Inside was a large map of sorts, an assortment of berries, seeds, and meats.

"I found these when I was running around town today," he explained. "Apparently not everything here is empty, like this little store I found. So, I took what I thought we needed and brought it over. Pretty cool stuff huh?"

"Yeah! We could use all of this stuff!" Zekra said. "Especially after we lost everything back in Erebus Woods after we got attacked by those leaders. Awesome! Just look at all this stuff. So many cool things…"

"Ah, so you found supplies for our journey."

Everyone turned to find Novus standing in the doorway, smiling pleasantly at the sight as his fiery quills burned brightly. He went up to the four and then sat down beside them, looking into the pile of goods.

"I thought I heard all of you come in, but I didn't bother to come here until I heard Zeverous come," Novus said. "But hmm, interesting items you've gathered. What kind of seeds are these? I'm afraid I'm not too familiar with seeds in general, except that they're apparently useful in some cases. And while I'm normally not very interested in using items of any sort, I'm starting to see that perhaps they can be useful to us."

"Well, that's a Blast seed," Zeverous explained, pointing to a white seed. "If you eat it, this huge fire blast comes flying out of your mouth and you can hurt others with it."

"And what about this one?" Novus then asked as he prodded a seed with a greenish hue.

"That's a Totter seed, which makes you get confused if you eat it. Though, you're supposed to throw it at an enemy most of the time."

"And this one?"

"That's a Stun seed, which is basically the same thing as a Totter seed, only it paralyzes you instead."

As Novus continued to ask about the many items Zeverous had looted, Terron and Zekra reached into the pile and started eating the berries and meats. They were both hungry from the long day, and it was best not to sleep on an empty stomach. Especially when they needed their full energy as soon as possible. It was not long until Zeverous and Novus joined them and soon, it was only Nyx that wasn't eating. She only stared from afar, watching them contently.

As everyone just about finished their share of food, a familiar Sableye finally wandered into the room through a wall. Everyone turned around to look at him. He stared back with his typical scowl.

"Hi Yimtri!" Zekra greeted.

The Sableye cast her a stare, and then gave her a short wave with his claw before abruptly breaking off the glance.

"What took you so long?" Terron wondered. "We've all been here for like an hour. We were starting to wonder where you went."

"I lost track of time," Yimtri said dully. "The night does that to me."

"Whatever you say. There's still some food if you want some, though. We didn't eat it all."

"I'm fine. I had something before I came here. Besides, I don't eat much in the first place. Ghosts such as myself do not require that much food because we're so very different than you fleshy creatures."

Terron wasn't sure what to think of the comment, so he only shrugged and said nothing more. Yimtri, rather than join the group, came to Nyx's side and sat down near her as he watched the four from afar with her.

Zeverous packed up all of the scattered supplies and remaining rations into his sack before tying it back up. He then set the sack in a corner as he, Terron, Novus, and Zekra gathered close together on the quilt, their eyes dropping from the lull their meal had put them into.

"See you guys tomorrow," Terron said. "Tomorrow's… going to be a special day."

"Yes," the Quilava replied. "We will leave right at noon and head to the first destination. Remember that."

"Yeah. I will. I will."

"Me too," Zekra chimed in.

And with that, the four Pokémon fell asleep as they lay together in a bundle, ready for their journey to start.