x

Chapter 56

Unravel

"So Novus, I've got a question for you."

"Yes?"

"How long do you think it will take us to find Reshiram and Zekrom?"

"Hmm, an interesting question. It's difficult to say, but I had to give a guess, I'd say that it might take a couple of months. Given how many locations we need to search out, and the distance between them, it could take quite a long time. Then not only that, but it also depends upon if we want to find both of the dragons. I realize that finding only one of them could be adequate enough, but perhaps having both of them on our side would be better. If that's the case, it could take quite a long time. Perhaps six months if that were the case. Even with our illusionists being able to take on rather swift forms, I know it would still take quite a while."

"All the way to winter? Novus, how many locations are there anyway?"

The Quilava turned his gaze away from the baffled Cubone as he reached into the bag resting beside him and dug around through its contents. Seconds later, he pulled out a map and laid it out along the grass, carefully placing nearby rocks down on the corners. Terron, Zekra, and Zeverous gathered around the map and were quick to find that there were a large number of black dots scattered across the paper region. Some marks were on places that were labeled, such as Senkiru Graveyard, while others were in a seemingly insignificant part of Shiron with no cities or landmarks of any sort in sight.

"Fifteen places," Zeverous counted. "You have fifteen places you want us to search through."

"There used to be more at one point in time, but thankfully I was able to eliminate a number of them. But yes, fifteen," Novus sighed.

"How do you even know that Reshiram and Zekrom are in these locations anyway?" Terron then asked.

"Because long ago, I was there with those dragons before they fell into a deep slumber," Novus explained. "And though nobody ever did figure out specifically where they went to rest, I was able to deduce where they most likely are based on information I knew about those two. After all, I knew them for a time. I might not have known them personally, but I have had conversations with the both of them. So because of that, I think I know where they might be resting."

"But you're not one hundred percent sure that they're actually at these locations," Terron said again.

"I am actually," Novus said, a bit more firmly this time. "I know that they're at two of these locations. The one thing I don't know for certain is which one. But they're at two of those marks. Trust me when I say that I know that. We will find them if we search out these locations."

Terron looked at his Quilava companion, finding that he was shooting the Cubone an intimidating stare. It wasn't necessarily a hostile stare, but Terron couldn't help but feel tense about it. Novus really did seem bent on finding Reshiram and Zekrom, even more so than he had in the past. He seemed absolutely unwilling to let the opportunity slip out of his grasp. However, Terron knew it wasn't out of malicious intent. He knew that it was probably because Novus had been growing impatient with the team and how they never really did give his plan a chance when he announced it a time ago. Novus really did want to stop the Primogenitor just as much as anyone in the group, and his plan was his way of going about to achieve that seemingly impossible goal.

It was the only concrete plan that anyone had if they wanted to put a permanent end to the Plagued Ones.

"Alright, just wondering," Terron said with a short sigh. "Just kind of intimidated by how many places we have to go visit."

"I'll say," Zeverous spoke up. "But, I do recognize some of these places. Like Diamond Crossing. That place is notorious for having this Froslass that loves to follow you around the place and tries to keep you with her forever. She'll freeze you and then keep you in her little ice house in this mountain near the place."

"So what, she's like a Pokémon collector or something?" Zekra asked.

"Yeah, pretty much," Zeverous replied. "Not that I've met her of course, but that's what I've heard."

"Wow… so she like keeps you as a trophy or something," Zekra considered. "Creepy."

"Hah. I think a Froslass isn't nearly as bad as everything we've seen and done, though," Zeverous taunted. "She can't summon up monsters or whatever. All she can do is shoot ice at us. She could be kind of a problem with her whole Destiny Power ability that a lot of Froslass have, but I wouldn't worry about it."

"Yeah I know that," Zekra assured. "I'm not worried about that hoarder Froslass. Would be kind of cool to get a Froslass form anyway. Never did get to see what they could do besides than hover."

"And then this dot is right on this secret place where all of the newly evolved Greninja go to train to become competent Greninja," Zeverous went on, pointing to a dot in the middle of a barren area of the map.

"Really?" Novus wondered. "Last I remember, that location was nothing but miles of uncharted jungle."

"Yeah, well that's just what they make everyone think," Zeverous clarified with a nod. "Really, it's where all of the Greninja learn how to use their power. I don't know why they'd only have one place to train and not a bunch all over the place, but it's just something they do. And they're really good about hiding that place from Pokémon that aren't Greninja. Like, if they spot you hanging around nearby the place and you're not a Greninja, they'll knock you out and dump you on the other side of the jungle. They've got spies everywhere."

"And I presume you know this much about the village because a client asked you to find something in that village?" Novus asked.

"Heheh, well not really," Zeverous chuckled darkly. "It's more like… heheh, that I had to end up pretending to be one of the trainee Greninja there for a little while. Because you see, I kind of killed the original guy on accident."

Everyone slowly turned toward the Zoroark with unnerved stares. Zeverous continued to wear his awkward smile, shaking his head softly.

"It was like a couple of months after I got plagued," he explained. "I was in that jungle area you've got marked on the map and I had only woken up an hour ago or something. And well, you know what happens to me the second I wake up. Except back then, I wasn't too good at stopping when I went on killing sprees. I pretty much killed everything in sight for a couple of hours and only really stopped when I got tired. My inner Plagued One really liked killing things. So I was just going around killing all of these wild Pokémon just to satisfy my inner Plagued One, and then just after I kill maybe my fifth Pokémon, I see this Greninja. And then the next thing I knew, he starts attacking me since he didn't want me finding the village. I knew he was a civil and I really didn't want to kill him, but I really didn't get a choice. Because let me tell you, if there's one thing that makes your inner Plagued One even more violent, it's having someone attack you. That really gets them all crazy and into a killing mood.

"So long story short, I eventually got ahold of myself, but with a dead Greninja at my feet. I was just going to run and pretend that none of this happened, but then I heard the guy's friends coming for him since I think they heard all of our fighting. So because I didn't want to get murdered by five other Greninja, I got rid of the body and pretended to be him. So I told all of them I was fine and that I had been fighting some intruder, but he was gone. And so, they believed me, and they took me inside the village to get me all healed up. Was a cool place really. I learned a lot of interesting battle tactics from the teachers there and what not. Shame I had to sneak out after a few days so that nobody would figure out who I was. Would have liked to stay and learn some more."

"Wow, that's pretty cool," Zekra said, her troublesome frown now replaced with an impressed grin. "They didn't come looking for you, though?"

"Not really," Zeverous shrugged. "I think the Greninja I was masquerading as was actually supposed to leave the village soon anyway. The teachers always did seem to give me pretty advanced lessons from how I saw it. They probably thought it was just his time to go and do whatever graduated Greninja do."

"Oh, okay," Zekra nodded thoughtfully. "Still, cool! I didn't know you actually got to train as a Greninja. I thought you stole all of those abilities like you do with all of your other forms when you first see abilities get used."

"I stole a lot of them," Zeverous confessed. "Like, from the second I took on his form, I knew how to use those water stars and everything. He was pretty much using everything he had against me when he was fighting me. I just got better at using those powers from the teachers. Figured that if I was going to be in that village for a while, I might as well get something out of it. Like, one of the things they taught me was how to kill things with those stars and swim at the same time. Never knew how to do that before."

"Hmm so you are very well informed of this Greninja village and the surrounding area then," Novus then said. "That'll be useful for our journey. It might make finding one of the dragons much easier than I anticipated."

"Yeah, if there's something there, you can bet I'll find it," Zeverous grinned. "Been doing stuff like that for years."

Novus smiled, but only for a moment, for it soon melted back into a blank frown. He then dug into the bag and pulled out a small pad of ink. After dipping the tip of his paw into it, he gently scribbled something onto the map where the Greninja village was.

"Sorry that I kept each of you waiting. I had something to take care of."

The voice surprised the four Pokémon, provoking a jump out of each of them. They hastily turned to find Nyx hovering not far from where all of them sat. Though she seemed fine, Terron couldn't help but think that her gaze was slightly downcast for some reason.

"Oh hey, you're back," Terron greeted. "Everything okay?"

"Yes. Everything is fine. Sorry to have taken so long."

The Darkrai swooped closer to the group and settled herself in an empty space between Terron and Novus. Terron noted that Zekra seemed to take a subtle step closer to her brother. He considered asking her why this was, but then realized it was best not to ask in front of all of his friends. With that in mind, he pushed the thought away and brought his focus back to more important matters.

"You didn't miss much, Nyx," Terron said. "Novus was just showing us some of the locations he wanted to go to. He hasn't really gone over any sort of plan yet."

The Darkrai glanced down at the map.

"You have a somewhat large number of destinations, Quilava."

"Yes, I realize that," Novus responded. "But I doubt that reaching any of them should pose a real problem."

"You do realize that to search out all of them, it could very well take quite a time to do so, do you not?"

"I know. I'm very well aware of that fact and informed the others of it. They weren't too fazed by it and are still willing to search out the locations."

"Very well. But there is something you should know before you leave. Something that you should consider carefully."

"And exactly what would that be?" Novus asked earnestly.

"You know that there is a good chance that you will die before you can find Reshiram and Zekrom, do you not?"

Everyone became stunned at the remark, not expecting Nyx to bring up the grim topic without hesitation. Though deep down they already knew she was speaking the truth, no one had discussed it with as much gravity as Nyx was. No one said anything as Nyx continued speaking.

"You cannot evade the Primogenitor for too long. It may not have found us for the past few weeks, but it will find us in time. It always finds what it wants. It is an undeniable truth. So, do you think you can find the dragons before the Primogenitor finds you with so many locations to investigate? Can you win this race against time?"

Nyx kept her stare fixed on Novus, unwavering and intent on standing by her words. However, Novus proved just as steadfast, for his confidence was soon to return, breaking him out of his astonished state. He only released a short sigh and frowned.

"Yes," he stated vehemently. "Do not think that I do not know what we are up against. I know that we cannot afford to wait around. But I never did say that we had to search out each of these locations as one unit."

It didn't take long for everyone in the group to understand what Novus was trying to say. In hindsight, it should have been obvious, given that they all knew that they were short on time, but nobody had actually considered that it would actually be implemented into Novus's plan.

"Wait, are you trying to say that you want us to split up and go after the dragons on our own?" Terron cut in, asking in a subdued voice.

"Not necessarily alone," Novus corrected. "That's simply suicidal. My idea was more that we split the team into two groups and divide the number of places to visit among those two groups. So, seven places to search for one group, and eight places for the other."

"Still, that's kind of risky," Terron argued. "I mean, wouldn't we become easier targets for the Primogenitor if we're all split up? It'd mean that it could eliminate all of us more quickly. Even if we're still in groups, we wouldn't have a whole lot of support from each other. Having four Pokémon compared to one Pokémon be on your side is a pretty big difference."

"But it would buy us more time to search out the dragons," Novus insisted. "If we are spit up, then the Primogenitor would have a more difficult time finding all of us. Even if one group was eliminated, the other still has a chance to finish the mission. Consider our options. We can either sacrifice our time and play it safe with a high risk of all of us being eliminated, or we can sacrifice our numbers and finish our mission much more quickly with the risk of less support. We have to choose one, and frankly, the latter is the one with the highest success rate. Even Nyx agrees with me on that."

"That is not necessarily true, Quilava. I only agree with it more than traveling as one group. But I do not agree with it completely."

"Yes, but you still agree nonetheless," Novus stated, a hint of irritation entering his voice. "You know it's the best option we have right now."

Nyx didn't say anything to the comment, choosing only to avert her vaguely resentful gaze away from the Quilava.

Terron thought for a moment. He knew that Novus's plan did have good reasoning for existing and that it would be the best choice for their current situation from a logical standpoint, but a part of him couldn't quite agree with it. For as long as he had been on Shiron, he had always had his full team by his side. Everywhere he went, all of his teammates followed. He always felt most secure with all of his friends and allies surrounding him, knowing that not just him, but his friends were safe. The only time he didn't have his entire team with him was in his first journey into Erebus Woods, when Nyx had flung them into separate depths of the dungeon. He could still remember how unnerving that was, always worrying if Zekra, Impetus, and Vantis were still alive. It had nearly broken all of his focus on keeping himself alive in the dungeon.

Now, Novus wanted Terron to go through that again. Granted, he and Zekra were much stronger now, and they had even stronger companions, but the fear was still there. He didn't want to lose any more of his friends. He had already lost Syn and Impetus. And though the loss of those two no longer haunted his mind at all times, there were still two holes in his heart. He wasn't sure if he could bear to have his heart broken further if someone else he cared for ended up dying or suffered an even worse fate.

I don't want to lose anyone. Terron thought. I want everybody to be together so we can all be safe…

But you can't do that. Everybody will die if you go with that plan.

Terron frowned as he felt a certain entity make itself known in his mind.

So it's better that I let everybody split up and become easier prey for the Primogenitor?

You will only become easier prey if you stay together in a pack. The Primogenitor is hunting you down, Cubone Dimitri. It wants to find you through whatever means it can, and then it's going to kill you. If you split the group in two, you can at least get to the dragons faster. I can't promise that everybody will be alright if you do that, but I can say this: if you keep everybody together, all of you are going to die. That monster is going to find you. You got away from it for a little while because the Primogenitor wasn't actively looking for you, but now it's bent on finding you. You and your friends are its main targets.

It's going to find you. Maybe not today, maybe not even tomorrow. But it will find you sometime soon. You can't hide from it.

But, you already knew this, didn't you?

Terron's frown deepened as the truth of his plagued self's words sank in.

Make the right choice, Cubone Dimitri. You can't let your attachments get in the way.

Terron sighed as the voice left his mind, giving him the peace he craved. However, it was short-lived, for he knew what he had to say next to his teammates who were oblivious to the conversation he just had. All of them were staring at him, waiting for their leader's decision.

"Alright fine," Terron finally said. "Everyone, we're splitting up. It's the only way we're going to get this mission done fast enough."

"You sure, Tear?" Zekra asked.

"Yeah… I am," Terron answered, trying his best to sound confident with his decision, but ultimately sounding unenthusiastic. "It's the best choice right now."

Zekra slowly nodded, though with a glum frown across her muzzle. Terron wanted to say something to her, but realized that he didn't have any encouraging words for her. He couldn't say anything when even he didn't actually agree with his own plan.

"Well then, it's settled," Novus spoke up, breaking the awkward tension between Terron and Zekra. "Now that we have a plan, it's time to create the teams. So, based on everyone's abilities and skills, I think it's best if we create one team with Terron, myself, and Zekra and have the other team have Nyx and Zeverous. That way, we have an illusionist on each team that can quickly get us to our destinations. Then also, it allows each team to have one member who has a talent for locating the items. Are there any objections?"

"I would rather be on my Cubone child's team instead."

Novus frowned unsurely at the request.

"I understand you want to be with him because you care so deeply about him for some unfathomable reason," Novus started to say, "but that would mean that if you were to be on Terron's team, Zeverous would be alone. I'd rather not have anyone on the teams be alone, no matter how competent they may be."

"What if he instead were to join the Zoroark and I? No one would be alone if that were the case."

"Well I could, but I would rather have Terron be with me," Novus stated. "I made a promise to a friend a time ago that I would protect him, and I have no intentions of breaking that promise. I cannot keep that promise if he is not with me."

Nyx shot the Quilava a dark glare, her eye glimmering maliciously. Terron backed away from her as the air grew colder, chilling him to the bone.

Terron was about to speak up before anything could escalate, but just as he was about to, something else happened.

"You can take my place, Nyx. You and me can swap places."

Everyone turned away from the spectacle to find Zekra standing in front of her brother, wearing the same reluctant frown as she had earlier. Nyx's hostile aura vanished as she stared suspiciously at the Zorua.

"You want to leave the company of your dear partner on what could very well be your last journey?"

"You're really not making the decision any easier but… yeah," Zekra sighed in defeat. "You can go with him instead and I'll just hang out with Zev."

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah. Yeah… I am."

The Darkrai kept her gaze on the Zorua a moment longer.

"Fine. If you insist. I will not argue with your choice."

"Wait, what?" Terron babbled, almost unable to comprehend what had just happened. "Zekra, you don't have to do this! We could work out something else."

"It's fine, Tear," Zekra said quietly. "Really, I'm fine with this whole thing."

"But how are we supposed to get anywhere if you're not with us?" Terron then asked. "We really need your illusions to fly us everywhere."

"You do not need to worry about that. I can carry you and the Quilava. You two are small enough for it not to affect my flying."

Terron shot the Darkrai an exasperated glare.

"Nyx, that's not the poi-"

"Tear, it's fine!" Zekra cut in, snapping Terron's gaze away from the Darkrai. "Don't argue with her."

The rage in Terron's heart abruptly died, leaving him with an unbearable emptiness within him. All he could do was stare at his friend in horror, still not believing his ears. Zekra couldn't want to actually be separated from him. The two of them had been at each other's side since the day they met. No matter what, they were always there for each other. Through loss and endless hardships, they refused to leave each other.

Something had to be wrong. There had to be a reason for why Zekra would suddenly want to separate with no warning whatsoever.

"Well, if we are all satisfied with teams," Novus started to say, "then it's time to-"

"Can you give Zekra and I like five minutes to talk?" Terron interjected.

Terron saw Zekra shoot him a bewildered stare in the corner of his eye, but he didn't let that move him. Instead, he patiently waited for Novus's reply.

"Hmm, go ahead," Novus said after a moment of consideration. "I don't see why you two cannot have one last conversation. Though, don't try to drag it out for too long."

"We won't. Thanks."

The Cubone got to his feet and brought his full attention to his partner.

"Let's go, Zekra."

He took a few steps away from the group, then stopped and waited for her to follow. It took a few seconds, but eventually, Zekra made her way toward him. Once he saw that, he led her back into the empty city.

Terron brought Zekra to one of the many trees that were scattered all throughout the town. It wasn't exactly the best place to have a private conversation, but he knew it would have to do. After checking to make sure that nobody had followed them, he released a sigh and looked back at Zekra. She was grimacing uncomfortably, as if being in Terron's presence was physically painful to her. Terron felt a stinging pain in his heart at the sight.

"Are you okay?" he asked as gently as he could.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Zekra answered. "I already told you I was."

"I know, but… why are you trading places with Nyx? That doesn't really seem like you. You've never really wanted to leave me alone before."

"Because she really wanted to be there for you," Zekra answered, turning away from Terron. "And I'm not going to stand in her way. There wasn't anything else we could have done anyway. Not without making at least one of us be on our own."

"Just because Nyx wanted to do something doesn't mean that you have to agree with her, though. I could try reasoning with her. She'd listen to me. Really Zekra, you don't have to give up your place for her. You're not obligated to go along with what she says."

"It's fine, Tear. Really, it's better this way. Kind of wanted to hang out with Zev more anyway. I never did get a whole lot of time to catch up with him after I found out he wasn't dead. Not with all of that stupid Erebus Woods stuff we had to go through and the three week coma. I want to spend some time with the brother I thought I lost a long time ago."

Terron frowned in dismay, his heart dampening at the words she spoke. He could tell that she really was adamant about her decision. No matter what he'd say, Zekra would somehow think of a way to counteract it and insist on being away from him for the entirety of their journey. He knew he should have ended the conversation when he realized this. There was no reason to keep talking if her stubborn heart was set on that decision.

And yet, he couldn't help but ask the one question his own heart demanded him to speak.

"Do you not want to be friends or something?"

"What?" Zekra cried as she shot Terron a horrified glance. "What are you… no! I still want to be friends with you. I like talking to you and everything. I just want to spend some time with Zev for a little while. If you think I hate you or something for whatever reason, I don't, alright? I still like you. We're partners, remember?"

"Yeah I know but… still," Terron said shyly. "I guess I really wanted you to come with me and Novus. I mean, this is the last time you and I are going to see each other for who knows how long. I'm worried that something's going to happen to you and I won't be able to do anything about it. I won't even know you're gone until we all meet up again."

"I'll be alright. Really, I will. I've got Zev with me and he's never let us down before. He'll make sure nothing happens to me. You don't have to worry about me."

Terron could tell that Zekra was lying. She was trying to put up an indifferent façade, but he could clearly see the uneasiness lingering in her eyes. But, Terron decided not to press the issue. It wasn't his right to pry about Zekra's thoughts on her own safety. She obviously didn't want to talk about it.

"Fine," Terron sighed in defeat. "I really do want you with me, but it's your choice. So, I guess that means we won't be seeing each other for a while."

"Yeah," Zekra said in a monotone.

Another strange prompting came to Terron's mind. His insides churned uncomfortably at the thought, knowing how awkward of a question it was. He resisted speaking this time, telling himself to keep quiet and to not even think about voicing his thoughts, but his willpower only lasted for about five seconds.

"Is there… anything you uh… want to say to me before we go?" Terron asked, lowering his voice.

"Um… no," Zekra replied, taking a shy step back. "No, there's not. Why?"

"Just wondering."

An awkward silence filled the space between the two Pokémon. Terron wanted to say something to cut the unbearable tension, but nothing came to mind. His head was completely empty, offering him nothing that could make him feel better. All he could do was stand in front of Zekra with his hands in his coat pockets.

After what felt like an eternity passed, Zekra unceremoniously wandered away from Terron, making her way toward the outskirts of town again.

"Let's go back, Tear," she said in a hollow voice, not even bothering to look back at him.

"Yeah, you're right," he said equally as emptily. "We've made everyone wait long enough."

When Terron and Zekra met up with the rest of their team, they found Zeverous had taken out a map of his own and was etching a number of presumed destination marks on it. When he had created eight circles upon the parchment, he folded it back up and carefully stowed it away into his backpack.

"Oh hey, you guys are back," Zeverous noticed.

"Yeah, sorry about that," Terron replied. "But we're done now."

Zekra wordlessly left Terron's side and joined her brother. Terron felt yet another pang in his heart and almost made another attempt at convincing her to be on his team, but quickly stifled the impulse. Zekra had made her choice. Though he didn't agree with it, he knew that he couldn't make her do anything against her will. He'd have to accept it somehow.

"Well then, since we are all here," Novus then said, cutting the awkward tension. "I think it's time for all of us to get going."

"Yeah. I guess it is," Terron stated blandly.

"But before we leave… allow me to elaborate exactly what you're searching for," Novus then announced, facing each of his companions. "Reshiram and Zekrom are simply not resting underneath the ground in their draconic flesh. No, I'm afraid if it were that simple, someone would have found them already. When they fell into slumber, they became stones. Stones the size of Wonder orbs, Reshiram's as white as the winter's snow and Zekrom's as black as the darkest depths of the ocean. Because of that, it might be difficult to find them. So I ask you that when you arrive at your location, search diligently. Do not leave any stone unturned. Spend at least an entire week investigating the entire location."

"So that's why it's going to take so long to find those two even though we can get there really fast," Zekra remarked.

"Precisely," Novus said. "I understand it's a rather tedious thing to ask of each of you, but it's imperative we find Reshiram and Zekrom. We cannot have it so that we could not find them all because we did not search well enough. Do you understand?"

Everyone slowly nodded in mutual understanding.

"Good. Now, let's not waste any further time. In exactly four months from now, we will all meet back here in Aurora Town's Fellowship to check on our progress. That should provide plenty of time for all of us to search about."

"Got it, four months," Zeverous repeated to himself before glancing down at his sister. "Well Zekra, let's get going. I've already got the first place to visit all figured out."

A bright light came over Zeverous, and soon, he was a majestic Pidgeot crouched down before Zekra. The Zorua gave a small smile as she climbed onto his back and wrapped her paws around his neck.

"Bye you guys," Terron said remorsefully. "Stay safe, alright?"

Zekra turned to the Cubone, her smile gone and replaced with a more somber expression.

"You too, Tear," she said.

For just a moment, she seemed ready to say something else, such as that she did want to be with Terron on the journey or that she would miss him while she was away. But the words never came, for she turned away.

"Let's go, Zev."

With a mighty flap of his wings, Zeverous flew high into the sky, taking Zekra with him.

Seconds later, they were both gone.

Several minutes passed, and Terron hadn't moved from his spot. He still stood there in the midst of his two remaining companions, feeling at a complete loss. He stared up at the part of the sky where he had last seen Zeverous and Zekra, his eyes glazed over.

Absolutely nothing in his mind was registering at the moment. He couldn't tell that his eyes were growing sore from staring up at the sun for too long, nor could he feel his spine growing stiff from the way he craned his neck for so long. The outside world was practically non-existent to Terron.

"Terron? Are you alright?"

Terron felt something nudge him in the side. Wordlessly, he glanced over to find Novus at his side and looking up at him with a concerned stare. Terron sighed as he hung his head and closed his eyes.

"I really want to say yes," Terron said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Believe me, I really do want to say I'm okay. But… no, I'm not. I'm really not."

"It's because of Zekra, isn't it?" Novus asked.

Terron nodded solemnly, feeling his heart break at the name.

"I understand," Novus sighed empathetically. "You two were rather close. But Terron, you'll see her again. This isn't a permanent goodbye."

"I know," Terron replied. "I know I'll probably see her again. But that doesn't stop the pain."

Novus frowned sadly, but said nothing. He only offered Terron his company as the Cubone fought against the painful twisting in his heart. No matter how much he tried, it refused to yield to his commands of silence. It demanded that he feel the heartbreak of being separated from his partner.

Terron felt a cold claw wrap around his shoulders. He didn't even need to open his eyes to know who was comforting him now.

"I am sorry that I forced myself to be with your team. I did not realize that you would miss the Zorua so much. If I had known-"

Something in Terron suddenly snapped.

"She was my best friend," Terron stated, his voice brimming with bitterness. "My closest friend since you dumped me here in this world against my will. She's been there by my side this whole time when you couldn't ever be because you were too busy being Yimtri's partner."

Terron opened his eyes and shot Nyx a dark glare. In that instant, a maelstrom of resentful feelings stirred up inside of him, turning every single one of his thoughts into a threat against the Darkrai that stood before him.

"I know you're with me now because you just want to protect me since you can't do that with Yimtri anymore," he went on. "You don't want me to die because I'm your replacement Yimtri. I've been in this situation before; I know what's going on. And quite frankly, I don't want any part of it. I just wish that having Zekra protecting me could have been good enough for you. Wish you could have accepted that she's my partner and you're not. She's a lot stronger than you give her credit for. She stayed with me longer than you did after you rescued me from the Primogenitor after you let me to rot with it for twenty-five years. She didn't promptly ditch me after saving me and leave me to fend for myself without a clue of what was going on."

Nyx withdrew her claw from Terron, deeply hurt by his comment. Instantly, Terron felt the sting of regret and wished he could take back his words.

"Sorry," Terron sighed. "I didn't mean to take this out on you. I mean, I know you're sort of using me as a replacement Yimtri, but only because… you know why. I know you really do want what's best for me and that you weren't really trying to drive Zekra away."

"It is alright. I understand."

"I just really miss her," Terron said with a broken voice, feeling water form in his eyes. "I didn't want to say goodbye…"

Nyx and Novus stood in silence as the Cubone pressed his palms deep into his skull, vainly stifling the grief welling up in him.

"It is okay to cry. You do not have to hold back anything. Crying can be good for you. It is the only way to let your pain go sometimes. Do not be afraid to cry."

"Yeah… I know," Terron whispered. "I know. I just wish you guys didn't have to see me like this."

Nonetheless, Terron pulled off his persona and let it drop to his feet. Then, with nothing suppressing his emotions, he buried his hands into his face and let the tears flow freely down his face. Nyx and Novus remained with him as he wept in silence, the Darkrai tenderly stroking Terron's back while Novus rested his head against the Cubone's side.

After a few minutes of crying, all of the pain in Terron's heart was released, leaving him with a vast emptiness. But this time, it was not a depressing emptiness. There was still the lingering ache, but there was also a strange sort of peace to keep him company.

Terron wiped the remaining tears out of his eyes. He blinked a few times, then looked down at the skull that gazed up at him with hollowed-out eyes. With a deep breath, he picked it up and placed it back upon his head once again. The familiar security of the persona came over him, giving him the strength he needed to be the strong leader he had to be.

There was no more time for dwelling in something he couldn't change. He had to move on and focus on what truly mattered.

He had legendary dragons in dire need of finding.

Terron turned to his two companions with a determined glare. Both of them separated themselves from him, realizing that he was no longer in need of their comfort.

"Alright, I'm done moping," Terron announced. "I've wasted enough of your guys' time. Novus, where are we headed first?"

"I was considering visiting the Unown Ruins," the Quilava answered. "They're supposedly the remains of a civilization where these creatures known as Unown lived. It's the closest location to here."

"Then let's go there," Terron said as he reached into Novus's bag and pulled out the map before unfolding it. "Can you point out where it is?"

The Quilava pushed his paw against a mark a few inches away from where Aurora Town stood on the map. With a nod, Terron brought the map over to Nyx and pointed out the location to her with the tip of his claw.

"Nyx, how good are you at reading maps and using them to get somewhere?" he asked.

"I have never used a map before, so not well. However, if you can explain to me how far away the location is and what direction I need to travel in, that will be all I need to bring you to these ruins."

"Alright. Novus, how far away is the ruins from here? I can't read what the legend says about that."

"Approximately four hundred miles," Novus answered after peering at the map for a moment.

"Got it," Terron said with a nod as he folded up the map and tucked it back into Novus's bag. "Four hundred miles east. Which means that the direction we need to head is…"

Terron looked up at the sun, which was now beginning its descent as the afternoon came upon the group. He stared at it for a while longer before turning his back to the glowing sphere.

"This way," Terron finished. "This is east. So if we go this way for a while, then we should eventually get to those ruins."

"Correct," Novus grinned. "I'm impressed that you knew which way east was. I wasn't quite sure if you knew, given that you humans don't have the instincts to know the cardinal directions."

"Well I'll have you know that we humans actually do know how to tell which way is east or west or whatever," Terron scoffed. "We just use the sun to help us is all. It rises in the east, and it sets in the west. So if you know that, you know how to figure out which way to go."

"Heh, but you still don't have the instincts," Novus chuckled. "You humans are amusing in how you adapt to not having such seemingly basic instincts for Pokémon."

Terron let out a snort before he looked over at Nyx.

"Well Nyx, you ready to take Novus and I to those ruins?" he asked her.

Nyx nodded as she drifted over to the smaller Pokémon and carefully picked them up in her claws. Then, after securing them close to her person, she swooped higher into the sky and flew forward at the swiftest speed she could manage.

Terron glared into the distance as he clung tighter to the Darkrai.

Starting right now, I can't let anything get in my way anymore. I have to give everything my all. Absolutely nothing can stop me. Not any wild Pokémon that try to eat us, not the Fellowship, not the Primogenitor itself, and not even Zekra.

Because if I let even one thing break me, then everything's over.