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Chapter 65

Among the Guardians

The mighty black dragon stood before the puny, insignificant Pokémon as she glared down at them with crimson eyes burning with an unfathomable spite. She released a violent roar that shook the very ground Terron and Novus stood upon, sending powerful tremors through their bodies. They hastily covered their ears and struggled to keep their footing.

"I thought I sensed your presence," Zekrom growled, her deep and commanding voice flowing not just through their ears, but their minds as well. "Separating yourselves from your pack and disguising yourselves to appear like that to hide from me, are you? You spawn are very clever."

Zekrom opened her mouth to release another roar, but the group was quick to see a glowing blue light forming at the back of her mouth. All of them instantly scurried out of the way as she expelled a tremendous pillar of blue fire upon the spot where they once stood, instantly incinerating all of the vegetation. The fire continued to spread through the field as the Pokémon ran away from the vicious dragon. Zekrom let out another frightening roar as she instantly shot into the air. She immediately began breathing more fire upon the land, setting the world ablaze as the frantic Pokémon ran about it with no clear sense of direction.

"Novus, I thought you said she was going to help us!" Terron hollered to the faraway Quilava. "I don't know about you, but getting myself killed isn't exactly what I'd call helpful! Why didn't you tell us she was a vicious monster?!"

"She's not! She's benevolent!" Novus insisted. "She thinks we're Blight Demons! She can sense the blight in your soul and Nyx's and must think you're them!"

"So that's what the spawn are," Terron realized under his breath. "The spawn are Plagued Ones. But if they're the spawn, then what was that robot from earlier?"

Terron's thought process was suddenly interrupted, for a stream of dragon fire crashed down upon the ground a few feet in front of him. The heat from the fire nearly scorched him, even at such a distance. He tried to turn tail and run in another direction, but just as he did, Zekrom landed before him. He toppled right over onto his back from the violent impact. Her eyes flashed as she raised up a winged hand, showing dangerously sharp claws ready to rip him to shreds.

She plunged her claw straight down upon the Cubone, quick as lightning despite her bulky size. Thankfully Terron was able to roll out of the way just in time, barely avoiding the points of her claws as they became embedded in the ground. He hastily got to his feet as he fled from the great dragon. He didn't dare attack her; he knew he stood no chance against her.

Terron immediately felt something grab him by the back of his jacket and lift him high off the ground. He was instantly flipped around, and soon found himself in Zekrom's grasp, raised up to her eye level. He could feel all of the energy coursing through her veins flowing through his own body, making his blood circulate faster. However, it did nothing for him, for the dragon held him tight in her grasp. He couldn't even move his arms to retrieve a bone weapon from his coat.

Zekrom opened her jaws, revealing an entire mouthful of sharp incisors ready to cut him in half with a single bite.

"Let him go, wretched dragon!"

A mass of darkness slammed into Zekrom's temple, causing her to close her jaws into a grimace as she held up her free arm to take the brunt of the attack. The darkness continued to beat down upon her, but it didn't seem nearly as painful as before. Terron looked over to find that Nyx was shooting Zekrom with a Dark Pulse with a dark glare. She appeared to be trying to make the attack much larger with how the size of the pillar fluctuated rapidly, but seemed unable to do so.

Zekrom snarled as she shot the Darkrai a glare. But this time, there wasn't only malevolence burning in her glare. There was now an almost pitiful glimmer in her eyes.

"So you are the Darkrai that Blight Forest swallowed. It turned you into a spawn," Zekrom noted quietly.

"Yes, I am, but I am not like the ones you destroyed only moments ago."

"If only I could believe that. You do not understand how much I wish I could save you."

Zekrom spat out another stream of fire at the Darkrai. Nyx instantly swooped out of the way as she ceased her attack and flew around to Zekrom's back. She gathered energy in her claws, and then shot out a ray of frigid energy at the dragon's wings. Zekrom let out a harsh screech as the ice encased her wings, sealing them in their cold prison as they dug into her flesh. However, it was only for a brief moment, for the dragon flexed her wings and immediately shattered the icy binds. With her wings free, she instantly sprang into the air.

The glow in her tail immediately began to intensify, filling the entire area with light as a massive amount of electricity gathered around her. At first, Terron worried that she would use the same power she had used upon that entire swarm of Plagued Ones and eradicate all of them with a single blast. But then, he quickly remembered that the power she was generating was an electrical power, meaning that he would absorb it all and render it harmless to all of his friends. It would even give him an incredible power boost, seeing as how it would be directly from one of the most powerful beings in existence.

So, he did nothing as Zekrom finally discharged a massive explosion of blue lightning from her being. As to be expected, all of the electricity went directly into Terron's helmet, taking the full brunt of the attack. Terron was about to sigh in relief, but then, something very different happened.

Massive amounts of pain suddenly shot through his body, frying the entirety of his insides and cooking him alive. He screamed as he violently thrashed in Zekrom's grasp, but was unable to break out. He could only cry out in pure, agonizing pain as his vision turned white and the world around him started to fade.

"Stop this at once, Zekrom!"

The pain stopped. Terron weakly blinked as his vision slowly returned to normal, allowing him to see that Zekrom was no longer sending off that potent energy. Instead, she seemed frozen on the spot, her eyes stunned and unmoving. The Cubone slowly followed her gaze to find that she was staring at Novus standing not too far away from her. His eyes shined with a deep resolve, somehow not afraid of the fearsome dragon before him. All of the fires that had been burning around them had somehow been put out, leaving the field charred and oozing of a grey haze.

"I know it's very difficult to believe, but the Cubone and Darkrai before you are unique Blight Demons. I speak the truth," Novus explained, his voice filled with a power Terron had never heard him use before. "Legendary creatures such as the Darkrai can have the blight become a part of them, making the two of them the same creature and in doing so, the blight becomes harmless. And thanks to that symbiosis, the Darkrai mutated her own blight and gave the Cubone a part of it the same way that the original Blight Demon puts its blight into other creatures. Except his is just like hers in that it does not cause harm. So you have no reason to harm them. They are harmless."

Zekrom didn't say anything. She only stared at the Quilava, her stupefied gaze now gone and replaced with a more solemn expression. Nyx, who had been hovering near Zekrom with a hostile claw held out before her, remained where she was, in case the dragon decided to continue her rampage against them.

After a silent moment, the lightning dragon finally spoke.

"You called me Zekrom," she said in a plain voice. "You know my true name. How do you know that name when I am only known as Black Lightning?"

Novus didn't answer the question. He grimaced uncomfortably, though refused to remove his gaze from the mighty dragon before him. Zekrom looked at the Quilava for a moment longer, then gently set Terron on the ground at her side. Terron had barely even touched the ground before Nyx immediately picked him up and swooped back from Zekrom, distancing the two of them from her. But rather than flee, Nyx let Terron watch with her as Zekrom bent down, bringing her head closer to the little Quilava. Novus refused to move as she gazed at him from eye-level, staring at him cautiously.

And then, her eyes suddenly widened as her jaw opened slightly ajar.

"It's you," she said, her voice quiet and cautious. "You're here. But why are you here when you were supposed to stay on Shiron? Why do you look like that?"

"You know who I really am?" Novus asked, equally as cautious as Zekrom.

"Yes, of course. Only you would know my true name, and I can sense your spirit even in that pitiful new body of yours. Why would I not be able to when you and I were once one creature?"

All of the lethargy within Terron from being zapped with Zekrom's lightning immediately left him as he squirmed out of Nyx's grasp. She released him as he stumbled over to the equally baffled Quilava, who was still standing before his apparent other half.

"Wait a minute," Terron said as he came in between Novus and Zekrom. "You're telling me that this Quilava right here… this Quilava who I've been hanging around for months… is actually Reshiram? Like the Reshiram who's basically a fire god that can go around and incinerate everything in sight? The one who's supposed to be asleep back on Shiron right now?"

Zekrom immediately withdrew herself from the two as the lights flowing through her body intensified. Terron immediately cringed back at the sight, anxious that she would attack once more.

"There's no need for more violence, Zekrom," Novus stepped in, putting himself in front of Terron. "He isn't going to hurt you. He's only having this reaction because… I admittedly hid the truth from him all this time. I never told anyone the truth. He has every right to be upset with me, given our current circumstances."

The black dragon eyed Terron a second longer, casting him a suspicious gaze, and then dimmed the lights upon her body as she lowered herself into a more comfortable sitting position. Terron found it extremely strange to see such a massive creature before him attempting to sit among his presence as if to engage in a friendly chat, but chose not to dwell in the thought. He had other, more important things to worry about.

Terron brought his dark gaze back to Novus. He didn't even get to say anything before the Quilava began to sigh.

"I suppose I should tell you everything," Novus said in a saddened tone. "We've found Zekrom, and well… there's no point in hiding the truth from you any longer. So here, take a seat Terron. I have a lot to explain to you and to Zekrom. You two both need to know. You too, Nyx."

Terron didn't exactly feel any better upon hearing this, but did as instructed and found a patch of grass to sit upon. Seconds later, Nyx joined them, finding a spot to sit near Terron. Novus cast both of them a sad smile as he made his way over to Zekrom and stood beside her massive form. Terron and Nyx turned themselves around to fully face the two supposed legendary beings that they had been searching for all along.

"I was not brought into this world as Novus," the Quilava began, his voice brimming with a power that would seem fit for the divine creature he supposedly was. "A very long time ago, on the very day that the world split into Shiron and Kuron, a great and magnificent being known as Rem split itself in two. And thus, I came into existence from that fracture and was endowed the name of Reshiram. The moment I was given life, I immediately knew my purpose. Rem's memories and the half of its soul within me were a part of me, driving everything I stood for. For though I was no longer Rem, I still was Rem at the exact same time. I was a living paradox, something that I'm sure most of you can relate to. But perhaps I'll explain my philosophical nonsense for another time. Due to the fact that half of Rem's soul was the entirety of my own soul, I knew why I was brought into existence. So I flew into Shiron and prepared myself to serve as guardian over the Pokémon, to shield them from harm just as Rem had done before the blight corrupted the world.

"But then, just as I entered Shiron, something happened to me. I still cannot understand what it was to this day, but I suddenly felt an overwhelming lethargy overcome me, and the next thing I knew, my body collapsed. I fell out of the sky, and then just as I hit the ground, my body morphed itself into a spherical, stone-like object. That was the last thing I remembered before that sudden fatigue completely overtook me, putting me into a very deep sleep that I could not wake from."

"The same happened to me," Zekrom stated. "Shortly after I arrived in Kuron, I fell into a deep slumber and my body was reduced to a pitiful state. I was unable to do anything but sleep in that new form, completely unaware of everything happening around me."

"So it happened to the both of us," Novus said thoughtfully. "Nyx really did see the both of us falling comatose. But I believe that's as far as our stories go in similarities Zekrom, for you see, I never awoke from my slumber."

"What do you mean? You are standing among me right now. I feel your spirit within that body of yours as we speak."

Novus sighed in melancholy as he cast a shameful glance down upon the ground.

"When the Blight Demons first appeared in Shiron many centuries after I fell into that uncanny slumber, I sensed them," Novus uttered in a quiet tone. "I did not wake from my slumber, but I could feel their presence crawling throughout the region. I could feel the Primogenitor's, the original Blight Demon's, taint in them and knew that the monster that we had tried to stop as Rem was upon us once again. When I sensed those demons running amok, I knew I had to wake up. I knew I had to stop the Primogenitor from bringing more death and suffering to the world. I was not about to let history repeat itself. But… I could not wake up. My body remained locked in slumber and it refused to revert back into my true form. It remained stuck in that stone form, unmoving and completely useless as I struggled within it. But no matter what I did, I could not turn back into the mighty dragon I was supposed to be for whatever reason.

"When I could not break out, something started to happen to me. This unbearable desperation consumed me, demanding for me to stop the catastrophe that was to encroach Shiron in due time. It was a thought that would never leave me, tormenting me endlessly as I remained in my useless body. It told me over and over again that I had to stop the Blight Demons. It told me that I could not sit and remain useless. But no matter what I did, I could not break free. I was trapped. And yet… that horrible feeling never left me, torturing me day after day and forcing me to have horrifying visions of Shiron overrun with blight…

"I couldn't take it anymore after the fifth day. I had to free myself of the relentless thought, and I knew that there was only one way to do so. So I did something that I never would have dared to do before in my desperation to escape from the torment; I left my body and wandered Shiron as a spirit until I came across a feral Quilava who had died from falling into a river when escaping a predator and drowned as a result. And then… I seeped my spirit into that Quilava's body and joined my spirit with that physical body. The next thing I knew, I was suddenly that Quilava, but with my mind completely my own. There wasn't a single trace of that feral within me due to its spirit having already departed to the spirit world. And so… now that I had given myself physical form, I renamed myself Novus, for I did not want to wear my true name when using such a lowly form, and began my quest to stop the Blight Demons whilst searching for a way to awaken my true body. And thus, that is why I am the way I am now in this lowly mortal form."

Everyone stared at Novus, or rather, Reshiram trapped within a Quilava body. For a moment, no one said anything. They only tried to process everything he had just told them and carefully trying to sort through the details. They could only keep their stunned gazes fixed to Novus, who remained standing amongst them with a deeply ashamed frown.

After an awkward moment of silence, someone finally spoke.

"So this whole time when you said that you've been around since forever," Terron started to say in a low voice, "you've actually just been alive as Rem, then went into a coma for hundreds of years, then you've been wandering around as a Quilava? You were never actually immortal while you were in that Quilava body?"

"No, though I am immortal in my true body, I cannot carry that over to this body," Novus replied. "All of my divine power and abilities are sealed within my actual body. This Quilava body is very much susceptible to death and ages just as any other mortal body would. I imagine this body only has a decade left before it starts to deteriorate."

"But you can just leave that body and go find another one and keep living forever basically," Terron then said.

"I suppose if I wanted to, I very well could," Novus answered. "However, I'd rather not. It took quite a bit of time to adjust to this weak Quilava body when I know I am supposed to have abilities far greater than any mortal fire Pokémon should. And then also, it takes a while for my spirit to fully sync with the body when it's not truly mine. You must understand that in theory I am possessing corpses and reanimating them. You do not want to understand the process I must go through to rid myself of the decaying tissue, purge myself of the bacteria and Pokémon that eat away at the dying flesh, and then revitalize the body to make it so that it functions as a living creature again. It's a process I honestly do not want to go through again. I never would have done it in the first place if it weren't for the fact that I was so desperate to free myself of those awful thoughts. I was fortunate enough that I found a body that didn't die a violent death. If that Quilava had died because it was crushed by a boulder or died of a puncture wound from a fatal encounter with some predator… I dread to think what it would have felt like to join with that body."

Terron shuddered at the thought of the borderline necromancy Novus had committed as well as the potential fate of joining with a mangled corpse. He could very vividly see Reshiram fusing with the Quilava form he now had, only with much of its flesh torn away from wild Mandibuzz that had feasted upon the decaying body long before the dragon spirit had found it. He imagined that Novus would have looked like a zombie with the way his muscles would have been exposed with many of his organs hanging out of the deep puncture wounds created when the dark creatures tore out his flesh. He also considered that some of Novus's organs might have been missing. Terron quickly forced the thought out of his mind before it could possibly grow more grotesque.

"So that's your big secret then, huh?" Terron asked. "That's what you wouldn't tell me this whole time?"

"Yes… that was what I hid from everyone I knew," Novus admitted. "I know that you're probably upset with me for hiding the truth from you for so long, but you must understand that I had no other choice. If someone found out that I was Reshiram, I could only imagine the commotion that would occur. Then not only that, but imagine if the Fellowship knew about my existence. The Primogenitor no doubt wants to rid both myself and Zekrom from Kuron and Shiron. It probably knows that we could eradicate it. So imagine if it knew that Reshiram, one of its feared enemies, was inside the body of a weak little Quilava… imagine what it would do to me. I… I do not want that horrifying creature to find me until I find my body again. I already shudder at the thought of having to face that creature in my true form."

Terron thought for a moment. He could understand why Novus had lied to him; the Quilava's points were valid. However, as he thought about the situation, much darker thoughts were soon to surface. With these dark thoughts, he soon realized something that stirred up a number of hostile and malicious emotions within him.

"But if you were here with us this whole time… why did you send everybody to go find you?" Terron then asked in a simmering voice, a dark glint in his eyes. "Why did you tell everybody that Zekrom was back on Shiron when she on Kuron? You knew she was here, yet you made it sound like she was back on Shiron. Why did you do all of that, knowing that we wouldn't find anything?"

"Terron, I would never do that," Novus said with anxious haste. "I can understand why you think that, but that was never my intention. I did not separate Zeverous and Zekra from us without purpose. My body truly is back on Shiron and I need someone to retrieve it so that I can attempt to awaken it and use it once more. As for Zekrom, like I said before, I honestly did think that she was on Shiron. I did not know if the creator would allow her to come here, given that he no longer wanted Pokémon mingling with humans after that forceful separation thanks to that dimensional split. I swear that I did not send us on this journey only to have our efforts be purposeless. I would never manipulate you to do something like that when I knew how much it pained you to be separated from Zekra."

The Cubone kept his glower glued to Novus, still feeling the bitter emotions seething within him. After a short, contemplative moment, he finally sighed as he softly shook his head.

"You're right," Terron said quietly. "You wouldn't do anything like that. Sorry that I was being like that. I guess I'm still kind of in shock about everything. It's a lot to take in, knowing that I've actually been hanging around an immortal legendary."

"You have had me in your presence for quite a while and you did not seem to mind that."

"But I knew that you were a legendary the second you started hanging around us," Terron chuckled at the Darkrai. "You didn't go disguising yourself as a Mightyena or something like that. You were a Darkrai and didn't even try to hide it."

"True."

Terron chuckled some more. He found it was the only way to relieve himself of the awkwardness and stress of the situation. Here he was sitting amongst the company of three very powerful Pokémon known to the world as legendaries, him being the only insignificant and mortal Pokémon there. He knew that Nyx was technically mortal herself if it weren't for the fact that she had an ever-regenerating plague within her, but she was still nonetheless a superior being to him. Everyone around him was. Even the one he thought he had something in common with, the little Quilava standing beside the almighty black dragon, was only pretending to be mortal. In reality, he was just as mighty in stature and strength as the ones surrounding him.

It was then that Terron realized that he was ignoring a certain massive creature. He looked up at Zekrom and saw how she was gazing upon the group with her penetrating crimson eyes, as if she were studying the little ones around her. Terron didn't know how he had managed to forget all about her until just then. She was clearly not an easy Pokémon to miss in their small group.

"Zekrom…" Terron said, forcing himself to sound as respectful as he could lest he anger her and send her into a rampage. "It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Terron, and this Darkrai here is Nyx."

"The same with you, Terron," Zekrom replied, now wearing a bemused smile. "I apologize for nearly eradicating you earlier; I didn't know that spawn could possibly be benevolent. Ever since the spawn arrived here, they have been nothing but malicious creatures of death. I had no reason to think that you were any different."

"It's alright," Terron said with a reluctant frown. "I guess you didn't know any better. But, how did you hurt me even though you used a lightning attack? I'm a ground-type, your power shouldn't hurt me."

"That is because while that power is filled with lightning, it aims directly at the blight inside you," she answered. "So while it can't hurt you personally, it will hurt your blight, which is the pain you felt."

"Oh, well that would explain a lot…" Terron said quietly.

The black dragon smiled for a brief moment before it vanished as a more solemn expression came over her.

"But I don't understand how the blight within you and Nyx is benevolent," she then said to the Cubone. "I know Reshiram explained that Nyx gave you a harmless blight, but that does not make much sense either. How did you, Nyx, break free from the Primogenitor, the one you call the origin of the spawn? Why do you, Terron, have the blight within you in the first place? Then not only that, but I do not understand why any of you are here among me in Kuron. You should not be able to come here."

"Well that truly is quite a long story, Zekrom," Novus replied in lieu of Terron. "But because I know that you truly do want to know, I'll surely tell you all of it to the best of my in return, I ask that you explain to me your own story when I am done. There is quite a bit I don't understand about your own situation."

"So I am not the only one confused by the current circumstances. How amusing," Zekrom chuckled to herself, her laughter lightly rumbling the ground. "Very well, that is fair. Do inform me of what you have been doing this entire time you have been in that Quilava body of yours, Reshiram, and how it relates to the two spawn beside you. I'm sure it will be quite interesting."

"Oh, it most certainly is…" Novus muttered under his breath.

Nonetheless, the Quilava took in a deep breath as he composed himself and took a seat beside the massive dragon.

"After I joined myself with this body, I spent much of my time trying to find my true body," Novus explained. "I tried to join an organization called the Special Tasks Fellowship that was known for trying to find a way to stop the Blight Demons, or spawn as you're now calling them. But they would not take me in because I didn't have a team and I refused to join one because I was much too prideful at the time. I didn't want anyone with me when I found my body again; I did not want anyone to be a liability to me. So when I could not join that organization, I tried to search for the body on my own. Of course, I never found it despite having a vague idea of where it might be, and decided that I would settle down as an instructor at a training facility I came across one day until I came up with a better idea. Thus I remained there for many years, training those I came across so that if I could not find my body for the time being, I could at least make others stronger so they could better defend themselves should the demons descend upon them.

"But then, I met Terron out in a field when I was venturing one day, along with his Zorua companion who is not with us at this very moment. I discovered that they were fledgling Fellowship members, which was quite intriguing and thus I kept an eye on them. It was very amusing to watch them grow in both physical and emotional strength as they went about their laborious days. And though it took some time, but I eventually came to realize that there was something very promising about those two. I couldn't quite understand what gave me that impression, but I soon began to feel that perhaps they could help me find my true body, as well as you since I still thought that you were on Shiron. But when I finally convinced myself to join their growing team, I quickly discovered that there was something very… off about all of them."

Novus cast a glance at Terron, and gestured his paw toward him. Terron shot the Quilava a confused glance, but his mind was quick to piece together what Novus wanted from him. He frowned nervously as he adjusted his posture and sat up straight.

"My team and I had gone on this mission before Nov- um, Reshiram found us," Terron said, shirking a bit as he stared up at Zekrom.

"You do not have to call me by that name," Novus cut in indifferently. "In fact, I'd prefer to be called Novus until we find my body. I don't want to wear my true name when I'm no longer fit to have it in this insignificant body."

"Okay, well before Novus asked to join my team," Terron corrected, "we had gone on this trip for the Fellowship. There was four of us at the time, and we had to go to one of the other Fellowship bases to get these evolution stones. Because well, there's five bases, and the one we were told to go to supposedly had a whole bunch of them. So we went there and we thought we were just going to get them from the leaders and leave… but it turned out that we had to go into this thing called a Mystery Dungeon to get them. A Mystery Dungeon is like this environment that's all corrupted and weird, and they're all over Shiron. Like, everywhere, but most of the time they're not that bad. Well apparently this one we were supposed to go into was apparently really, really messed up. It was so messed up, that it sucked us inside when we got close to it and had all of this freaky stuff trying to kill us inside. Like there were these tentacles that would rip off our skin, and this place that made our emotions go out of control and made us hallucinate. And then it made our guide to try to kill us right when we were going to get out of there…

"But the worst part was that when we got out, we found out that we all had the blight inside of us. Because you see, all of the Mystery Dungeons on Shiron are actually nightmares that Nyx made when she was under the Primogenitor's control and she'd try to trap Pokémon in them so she could send them off to the Primogenitor and make more spawn. And, that dungeon I went to was where Nyx actually was. All of the other dungeons just had copies of her. I went into the one where she was the most powerful and so, I got the blight in me and so did my friends. We thought it was evil since we knew about the spawn and what they did, so we wanted to tell our Fellowship, but our guide ended up forcing us not to say anything. So we just had to stay quiet, and that's when Novus decided to join us and we told him everything…"

Zekrom stared down upon the Cubone, giving him a concerned, yet also threatening look at the exact same time. Terron anticipated that she would say something, perhaps to prod him for more answers, but she continued to remain silent. Terron wasn't sure if he found that comforting or not.

"Everything that follows is quite confusing and takes an absurdly long time to explain, so I will try to condense it in a concise manner as much as I can," Novus then went on. "But basically, shortly after telling me the truth, the Fellowship the Cubone and his friends were staying at was destroyed by the Blight Demons, as well as two of his friends. So due to the fact that they were both children, they were dismissed and I went with them to a new home. But of course, we left that home after a time and we sought to find a way to end the Blight Demons ourselves. Which, after a large amount of events, we finally decided to go into the dungeon that had blighted them in the first place and defeat Nyx, thinking it would end our problems. We did succeed in defeating Nyx, but as you can tell, it turned out things weren't quite as we thought and we discovered that the Darkrai was nothing but a brainwashed pawn and that the Fellowship was sided with the Primogenitor. But thankfully defeating Nyx set her free, so she brought us to safety. Then after a long rest, we decided to go find my body and yourself, for no one knew what else to do and I knew that was the only true way we could finally put an end to the blight. As for why we are here with you, that's because due to a very strange encounter with the Unown while searching for my body, we went into their realm and found a portal within their realm that lead to here. Thus, we are where we are now."

"You weren't lying when you told me that your story was quite lengthy and perplexing," Zekrom said in reply after a short pause. "You have had a very interesting time on Shiron. It makes my own experiences here on Kuron appear quite pale when compared to yours."

"So you do not doubt the validity of the seemingly downright impossible claims I have just made?" Novus asked. "Even though parts of it contradict everything you have witnessed on Kuron?"

"Of course I don't," Zekrom said to him with a warm smile. "I see no reason as to why you would lie to me. I admit that I had a difficult time comprehending that the blight can be benevolent, but after observing the two beside you, I can see that you spoke the truth about that as well. If they were true spawn, they would have made an attempt to devour the two of us by now. So there's no need to fear; I believe every word you said."

Novus sighed in relief. Terron, on the other hand, kept his puzzled gaze fixed to Zekrom. While he was quite grateful that she had chosen to believe them and not eradicate them on the spot, he had a difficult time believing that Zekrom was able to trust them so easily. He almost thought that she was perhaps a little too gullible or naïve for her own good. However, he then considered that perhaps he was only so baffled by her cooperation because of his own past experiences. Trust was becoming a rare luxury for him, and it was becoming an almost subconscious action to doubt every single word any stranger spoke to him. He imagined Zekrom was more trusting, or at least more open to listening, because she wasn't tainted by the betrayal Terron had encountered.

Terron watched as the black dragon rose to her feet. The ground rumbled as she steadied herself, forcing Terron to firmly plant both of his paws onto the ground to prevent himself from falling over.

"As I promised, I will tell you what has happened to me ever since I awoke," Zekrom said. "But I do not think remaining here is for the best for that. Climb onto me and I will take you somewhere that I think is much better than this empty field. It should only take a minute or two."

Terron shot the dragon a baffled expression, seeing how much she towered over him with her mighty stature. He didn't know how he was supposed to get on her with the way her hide seemed so smooth and seemingly without a single place to grip. Climbing onto her seemed about as easy as climbing up a steel wall with no indentations whatsoever. But his worries were soon relieved, for Zekrom set one of her claws down upon the ground before him. Though still intimidated by her sheer size, Terron made his way toward her massive clawed hand and stepped onto it, Novus soon joining him.

Zekrom smiled pleasantly as she raised up her hand and set the three upon her shoulder. Terron and Novus awkwardly fumbled around for a few seconds, taking extra care not to stumble off the dragon, until they were both sitting on opposite shoulders. Terron found that despite her appearance, she actually felt very rough and had many small groves upon her that served as adequate places to grip onto her. He had no idea how well they would fare when she would actually fly, but he felt it was better than nothing.

Nyx, however, chose to hover at a distance from the dragon's head.

"I would prefer to fly by myself than attempt to sit upon you. I do not think that would quite work with me."

"It's completely your choice," Zekrom shrugged. "However, you must realize that I fly at speeds matched by almost no one. I might leave you behind in that case."

"I will be able to keep up with your speed, do not worry. I will not be falling behind."

"If you insist. Well then, time to go. I suggest you two on me hang on tight. There is a reason why I am called Black Lightning by the humans."

Before Terron could ask what she meant, Zekrom swiftly spread out her wings and leapt into the air. Terron felt his stomach lurch as he hastily gripped onto her shoulders. A few seconds after doing so, a very bright light emitted from behind as a loud whirling sound emitted through the air. Terron looked back to find that the lights and sounds were coming directly from her tail. The light was swirling around in circles, growing brighter and brighter with each second as the glowing lines upon her body seemed to intensify.

And then, a flash of blue went off, and rings of electricity burst out of Zekrom's tail.

Terron was nearly knocked off the great dragon from a sudden gale of wind. He hastily tightened his grip onto Zekrom as the wind continued to pummel him, trying to blow him right off her and send him spiraling down into Kuron. He feebly fought against the force as he turned his head back around in an attempt to see where Zekrom was flying to. However, he was quick to find that he could see literally nothing at all. Zekrom was flying so fast that everything was reduced to nothing but a mesh of colors, rendering the cities to nothing but quick flashes of neon light. The only thing he could see in clear detail was the sky, which still retained its appearance as an endless blanket of black with thousands of pinpoints of light.

The Cubone could feel the wind growing stronger with each passing second. It was pressing him further and further off the dragon, ripping his hands off her so that it could send him to his death. And though Terron resisted as much as he could and held on for dear life, he knew that his efforts were only buying him limited time. Any second now he would finally lose his grip and plummet into the depths of Kuron. It was only a matter of time.

Terron opened his mouth to scream for Zekrom to stop, but then, the wind stopped. Everything became still, and the Cubone no longer felt a force pinning him down while simultaneously pushing him away.

"Here we are. Much more suitable."

Terron felt something grab him by the back of his coat and gently set him down upon the ground. He turned around to find Zekrom standing before him, setting Novus down beside him with Nyx already at his side. He blinked a few times, still stunned from suddenly being free of the perilous flight.

After a few seconds, his stupor finally passed, and he allowed himself to look upon his new surroundings. Terron found himself in what appeared to be the remains of what was once a grand Kuron city similar to that of the one Terron had been exploring earlier. All of the buildings stood tall and proud before him, but they were without life. The glow he had grown quite accustomed to was not present anywhere, leaving the city dead and eerily vacant. It didn't feel right to be surrounded by so much darkness with the only light source being Zekrom herself. Her light, despite being so bright, could only ward off so much darkness.

The lightning dragon frowned pitifully as she gazed upon the city with the Cubone.

"Five years ago, the spawn arrived in Kuron," she spoke. "I knew that they were Pokémon filled with the blight since I knew what the blight felt like as Rem, but I didn't understand why the blight had chosen to take on this form when in the past, it would simply devour everything. Whatever was the reason, I was never able to find the answer and I was unconcerned at the time. For the moment they arrived in Kuron, I sensed them and knew that I had to put a stop to them. Just as you thought Reshiram, I could not let history repeat itself. I wasn't about to let more death come upon this world I was to guard. At that very moment, I knew I had to wake up. And so, I did and rushed to where I sensed the spawn. It was at this very place we stand now.

"Though I came here as quickly as I could, I'm afraid I wasn't fast enough. The humans hadn't created their guardians and still roamed about the night unsuspectingly. So when the spawn descended upon them, it did not take much effort for the spawn to overwhelm the humans. By the time I arrived, all of the humans were gone. Some of them lay dead in the streets, but otherwise, there wasn't a single uncorrupted soul in the city. All that was left were spawn. I do not know the exact number of how many humans were killed, were carried away to that Primogenitor, or evacuated to a much safer location, but I knew there were casualties. When I saw what had happened, I knew from that point on what I had to do. So without a second thought, I eradicated every single one of those spawn and vowed to hunt each and every one down and prevent them from repeating what they had committed here. Eventually the humans discovered the spawn for themselves. They created these guardians, these metallic beings modeled after their strange lesser creatures called animals, to eradicate spawn on sight. Then as the guardians roamed about their cities, the humans boarded themselves and their animals indoors until the sun rose. They knew I existed and knew what I was doing, so they did these things to help ease my burden. But I never stopped. I discovered that the guardians could only temporarily ward off the spawn, as they would reform a time later, only for the guardians to kill them again and begin an endless cycle until morning. I truly was the only one capable of destroying the spawn permanently. I imagined that it had to do with the fact that I am half of Rem and thus I was endowed with divine powers, but it didn't matter in the end. I knew that I was to protect Kuron, and I would fulfill my role without question. Rem split and made me for a reason, and I will not disappoint my original self."

Zekrom finally finished as she continued to cast her somber, but resolute glare upon the city. The three with her remained silent, contemplating over her words and having their own melancholy memories come over them. The decimation of the city she could not save was a story too greatly paralleled to the tragedies of several cities back on Shiron. It seemed that no matter where they went, Plagued Ones would completely devour entire populations relentlessly.

"So nobody's ever come back here, huh?" Terron then asked.

"Humans come here occasionally in the day," Zekrom answered vacantly. "Though, it is only to serve as a grim reminder of what the spawn are truly capable of. This city is more a memorial than anything else."

"Yeah, I can get that," Terron said in dismay.

So the Plagued Ones started showing up on Kuron right after Dimitri left. Terron thought. Because if it's been five years here, then it's been twenty-five on Shiron, so it adds up right. But why would they come right after Dimitri left? I know that isn't a coincidence. Was the Primogenitor looking for Yimtri since he got away?

Before Terron could ponder more, he saw the Quilava look over at him.

"I believe it's finally time to get going," Novus spoke. "We have found what we need."

The Quilava turned to the great dragon beside him, who was no longer glowing with the ethereal colors. She looked down upon him with a curious stare.

"Zekrom, I have a very humble request to ask of you," Novus said to her, bowing his head. "As I said before, I and a few others have set our minds to destroying the Primogenitor so that we might put an end to the blight once and for all. I knew that the moment I began my quest, I needed to find not just my body, but you as well. I knew that though I haven't seen you in centuries, you are the only one who can truly help us. All of the other legendary beings we once knew are gone, and it is only you and I who can stop the Primogenitor now. So please, I ask of you, come with us to Shiron for the time being. I know that you're reluctant to leave behind Kuron when you have been protecting it so greatly all these years, but understand that you will not be gone for too long. One year here is five on Shiron, meaning that if you were gone for five days on Shiron, you would only be gone for one here. I'm sure that the humans, who have created the guardians to aid them, will be fine. So please, help me find my own body so that together, you and I can put an end to the Primogenitor. I honestly, with all of my heart, believe that is what Rem would have wanted if we were still it."

The divine creature looked upon the insignificant Quilava with a blank stare. Novus, seemingly able to sense this, brought his gaze back up to the mighty dragon and returned the same expression. Terron and Nyx could only watch as the two Rem halves held their gaze, seemingly locked in a wordless conversation only the two of them could partake in.

After a long moment of silence, Zekrom's solemn expression was broken by a soft smile.

"Of course, Reshiram," Zekrom spoke. "I will gladly join you and aid you in your quest to destroy the Primogenitor. I too want nothing more than for the blight to finally be purged from the worlds we both protect. This will be the last time it resurfaces and flourishes."

"Thank you, Zekrom," Novus replied, smiling as well. "I greatly appreciate your help."

Zekrom carefully reached down and picked up Novus and Terron off the ground and set them upon her shoulders.

"How do you intend to return to Shiron?" Zekrom then asked. "I do not have the power to travel between dimensions I'm afraid and I can safely assume neither can any of you."

"The only way is to find those Unown again," Novus answered. "As tedious as it's going to be, we'll have to track them down and use one of their portals to get to their world. But once we go to their world, it should be no problem getting back to Shiron. The only difficult part is finding those Unown. It's so difficult to predict where they will appear."

"I can sense them, somewhat. They give off a very unique aura. If we circle about Kuron, I should be able to sense them eventually and hopefully we can reach the portal in time."

"Well then I guess that's what we'll do then," Novus then said. "Thanks for informing us about that, Nyx. Well if that's the case, let's find a place to rest for a while and then begin our search for the Unown."

Zekrom nodded as she opened her wings and took off into the sky, this time at a much slower and gentler place so that no one felt that they would go flying off her.

Terron thought he should have felt happy as they sped through the air, watching Kuron roll past him. He knew that as of that moment, he and his companions had recruited Zekrom, one of the dragons that they needed to defeat the Primogenitor. Then not only that, but he also discovered that he had the other dragon with him the entire time and that all that was left to be done was to find his body. So in a sense, Terron's group had found both of the legendary dragons they had so heavily sought and were only a portal away from defeating the Primogenitor. Very soon, the nightmare would end and the worlds would be at peace.

And yet, Terron felt a strange emptiness in his heart and he already knew why. It was because as of that moment, the group no longer had a reason to remain on Kuron and was to return home. In other words, Terron would never be able to visit his old home as a human and see what he had left behind. And though Terron tried to convince himself that it wasn't important and there was probably nothing there, his heart continued to long for that he could not have.

But perhaps most of all, he knew what defeating the Primogenitor really meant. He had figured it out when Nyx had told him she would die as soon as the Primogenitor died because the blight was inseparably intertwined with her entire being. He hadn't had much time to ponder in it due to Zekrom's impromptus appearance, but now that he did, the awful truth finally took its emotional toll on him.

If the Primogenitor was finally killed and wiped from existence… then surely the same fate awaited anyone who held the plague within them.

It was the late evening in the realm where only Pokémon roamed, when everyone unwound from their daily activities before retiring for the night. Upon Shirra, in the little village of Shellshore, things were no exception. Despite being separated from the main region by quite a number of miles of ocean and shielded from the horrors that plagued the main land, the routine was the same. It was universal no matter where you were on Shiron.

This was especially so for a certain Sylveon and Glaceon.

The two Pokémon sat within their comfortable home at a wooden table much too big for the both of them, eating their dinner together. The sun had set not too long ago, leaving only a glowing orb set upon the table to serve as a light source. And though it was somewhat dim from repeated use, it was still adequate enough for the two.

"I'm really starting to wonder if we should get a smaller table," the Sylveon said as she rubbed one of her ribbon-like appendages across the surface. "It makes me feel a little lonely whenever I eat at it."

"Oh? Am I not enough company for you?" the Glaceon asked with a teasing grin.

The Sylveon laughed for a short moment, but soon had her happy grin fade back into a saddened smile.

"Well I mean, I'm so used to sharing this table with children," she clarified. "I mean, way back when, we used to have Ivy, Éclair, and Vee here for a long time. And then after they all left, Crystelle was here with us, and when she was still here, we had those three that Len asked us to look after. But now, all of them have left and it's kind of strange looking at this table and not seeing a bunch of jittery children sitting around us…"

"Ah, yes I know how you feel," the Glaceon admitted. "I do miss all of them sometimes, but I'm afraid that they're gone now. They're all grown up now, except for maybe Crystelle and Len's little ones. But, we're probably not going to see Crystelle for another few months, and I have no idea what is to become of Terron, Zekra, and Novus…"

"Do you think that they're alright? I worry about them sometimes."

"As do I. The three of them were rather vague about what they wanted to go do and it sounded incredibly dangerous… but knowing them, I do believe they should be fine. They have Novus with them, not to mention we sent that mercenary to take care of them. I have a strong feeling that he won't let us down."

The Sylveon nodded as she silently took an apple from her plate and took a bite out of it.

"What could they have possibly gone off to do?" she wondered aloud. "What could have been so important that they had to leave us and do it all by themselves? I think about it all the time, but I just can't come up with anything. I wonder if Éclair would know something since-"

There was a very loud thump from outside of the home. The Sylveon and Glaceon stopped eating as they stared at the front door, both of them as still as could be. They waited for something else to happen, perhaps for something scurrying out in the sand or voices, but there was nothing.

The two gave each other a glance, and then simultaneously got up and quietly made their way toward the door. With held breaths, they opened door just a crack and cautiously peered outside. They were very quick to figure out what had made that noise, and the second they did, the two of them nearly had a panic attack.

There, collapsed on their doorstep and out cold, was Zekra.