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Chapter 85

Together

A Dodrio sprinted out of the forest and into the grassy plains known as The Gray Lands, its clawed feet ripping out patches of grass as it made loud squawking sounds. It ran with all of its might at a speed that not many Pokémon could hope to match. Only the flying-types and perhaps the Rapidash could hope to outrun it when it ran with such vigor.

And yet, right behind its tail, there was a Mienshao able to keep up with it without even needing to pant. Even more, in the Mienshao's arms there was a Cubone, his eyes locked onto the fleeing Dodrio.

"Alright Impetus, I have no idea if this is going to work, but let's give it a try," Terron said. "You ready to throw me at that Dodrio?"

"Of course," she said with a nod. "Whenever you're ready."

Terron eyed the Dodrio before the two of them, watching one of the heads twist around to glare back at the two. It released a loud squawk, prompting the other two heads to do the same and run even faster. Terron had to hold his arm over his eyes to prevent dirt from flying into his eyes.

"Do it!" Terron cried.

Without a second to waste, Impetus hurled the Cubone forward. Terron somersaulted before he landed on the Dodrio's back with his feet. All three of the heads instantly turned around and snapped at him with their long, pointy beaks, but Terron was ready. He ducked under their jabbing beaks and slid toward the middle head's neck. Then, before the heads could touch him, he grabbed the neck and jumped off the Dodrio, dragging the head down with him. The creature let out a harsh cry as it fought to keep its head up, but Terron wouldn't let it. With the momentum of his fall, he angled himself toward the head to his right, causing him to go swinging toward it. Then, he looped around it and intertwined the neck of the head he was holding with this new one. When he landed on the Dodrio's back once more, he pushed off of it and did the same with the other head. Before long, the three heads were knotted together, squawking loudly as they attempted to peck the Cubone, but unable to do so.

Terron landed on its back once more and took a moment to revel in his accomplishment with a devilish grin before he gripped onto the feathers of the Dodrio as it began to buck.

"Terron, I suggest you go through with your plan now," Impetus said as she ran close to the Dodrio's side. "This Dodrio might trip very soon and I am not sure I can catch you when that happens."

"I know, don't worry, I've got this," Terron reassured her.

The Cubone closed his eyes as he took in a deep breath, ignoring the panicked cries of the Dodrio and the violent bucking movements. He slowly opened his eyes as he dug his claw tips into the Dodrio's body, past its feathers and into its flesh. When he could feel its warm skin closing in around his paws, he knew it was time.

Make this Dodrio one of us. he commanded the distant entity in his mind.

Terron felt something cold ooze out of his hands and seep into the creature. He resisted shivering as it left him and invaded the Dodrio, turning the spot where his hands were black. It wasn't long before the black began to spread, slowly trickling all throughout the Dodrio as it slowly spiraled up the creature's knotted necks…

Terron released his hold on the Dodrio as he jumped off of its back and landed onto the grass with a roll. He tumbled through the green blades for a few seconds before he finally stopped himself. As he got to his feet, Impetus quickly joined his side, and then together, they brought their gazes to the Dodrio.

The creature had stopped running now and was collapsed on the ground in a tangled heap. It shrieked as the black continued to spread throughout its body, making wisps rise out of its body as if it was being seared alive. It contorted its body more as the darkness grew until it completely covered its body, and then it went limp. Terron and Impetus eyed it carefully, not moving from their spots as they readied themselves. Impetus began to crouch while Terron only continued to glare the seemingly dead Dodrio.

A moment of silence passed, and still nothing happened. The Dodrio still lay upon the grass, its eyes closed and its body still tainted black.

"I do not think that your plan worked, Terron," Impetus said as she stood herself up straight. "I sense no life from that Dodrio. I think you killed it."

"But I thought that the plague doesn't kill anyone," Terron said, looking down at his hands. "It just smothers out the spirit. The Dodrio's shadow should be taking over…"

"It's a wild Pokémon, Terron," Impetus stated blandly, walking over to the Dodrio. "They do not have shadows. They do not reject any thoughts they do not like because they listen to all of them. A shadow cannot exist if you agree with everything your mind tells you."

"But that doesn't mean that the Dodrio should be dead," Terron tried to reason. "Maybe I just put it to sleep or something. You know, like a coma."

Impetus said nothing as she approached the Dodrio and stopped in front of its three heads. Terron followed her and watched as she carefully pulled back one set of eyes on one head. Much to Terron's surprise, its iris and pupil were gone. All that was left was a vast, milky whiteness that seemed to glow softly. He had to resist shirking back as Impetus checked the other eyes of the Pokémon to find that they were all the same.

Terron looked over at the chest of the fallen Dodrio.

"Yeah… it's breathing still," Terron said. "You can see its chest rising and falling, if just barely. It's still alive. It's just in a coma like I said."

"But this clearly isn't what you wanted," Impetus said pointedly as she crossed her arms. "A comatose Dodrio serves us nothing."

"Well maybe I can wake it up," Terron decided. "Here, get back. I don't want you getting hurt."

Impetus rolled her eyes, but did as instructed and put a reasonable distance between her and the dormant Dodrio. Terron sighed and did the same before facing the creature once more. He balled his hands into fists, and the locked a tense glare onto the Dodrio.

"Get up," he commanded it.

The Dodrio didn't even twitch. It remained lifeless and still. Terron took a step forward.

"I said, get up," Terron said again, louder and harsher this time as he snapped his fingers to the best of his ability.

Terron thought he saw one of the talons on the Dodrio's feet curl in for a brief second before resuming its flaccid stance. It was progress, but it wasn't good enough. Terron scowled as he stamped his foot onto the ground. He saw Impetus briefly stumble before righting herself up once more.

"Get up!"

All six of the Dodrio's eyes snapped open at once. Terron watched as the white that was their eyes became the more familiar orange light that he associated with the Plagued Ones before it stood up onto its feet. The Dodrio silently untangled its three necks before all of the heads directed their eyes onto Terron. Terron shuddered.

"Good, you're awake," Terron said, resisting the urge to smile. "Now, I need you to-"

The Dodrio let out a banshee-like screech before it abruptly turned tail and flung itself into the air. Terron was about to toss a good sized bone at it, but Impetus beat him to it. She pushed herself off the ground and tackled herself into the Dodrio before tossing it down to the ground with a smack of her whip-like fur. Then, before the Dodrio could climb back to its feet, Impetus descended upon it. A black substance encompassed her legs, turning them into spear-like objects as she landed down upon the Dodrio. There was a loud, hoarse cry from the Dodrio as she sank her corrupted appendages into the wild one, and then silence. The darkness surrounding the Dodrio dissipated as its heads collapsed along the ground, and soon, the corpse of a normal Dodrio lay before Terron.

Impetus's limbs returned to their normal form as she leapt out of the Dodrio and landed before the heads. She didn't bother to shake off the blood clinging to her feet.

"Wow… so that's what you can do now that you're synchronized," Terron said, making an effort to not let his jaw drop in awe.

"Yes. It's very similar to Syn's own power," Impetus verified. "Perhaps it's not as extensive as his, but it is adequate. I can kill any plague with ease this way, as shown with this Dodrio."

"Yeah…" Terron said quietly, remembering their current task at hand. "I really thought I could control that thing. I mean, it woke up when I told it to."

"Apparently you can't," Impetus said pointedly. "But that is nothing to be ashamed of. You are not the Primogenitor. Only it can control the plague that is not within us."

"No, but I've got part of it in me," Terron argued. "When it tried to corrupt Dimitri, it put a part of itself in him. You told me that the Primogenitor and its followers are scared of me and Yimtri for some reason, so maybe this is why. Maybe because I've got a piece of it in me, I can control the Plagued Ones and make everything it does useless! I mean, why else would it be scared of me? Why else would Plagued Ones like me and not attack me when they have the chance?"

"Maybe it's scared because it knows you have an entire army at your disposal, unlike other Pokémon that could be problematic," Impetus suggested. "The kings and clan leaders Syn and I killed would never tell us. But regardless, I don't agree with you trying to use that fragment in you to your advantage. You told me that it tried to possess you once. There is no reason why it won't do it again if you try to use its power. It might somehow break free from your pin's influence on it."

Terron glanced down at the robe covering his body and eyed one of his sleeves. He gently pressed a paw against it and felt the hard surface of his cherished pin resting against his wrist. He breathed slowly through his nose before looking back at Impetus.

"It's not going to break out," Terron assured her. "I'm not going to let it. Besides, Yimtri did this all the time. He used his plague's power to make his literal shadow come to life and do whatever he wanted it to. And he'd constantly be blocking out his plague!"

"But do you really want to end up like him?" Impetus asked distastefully.

Terron didn't answer her. He honestly didn't know how he wanted to respond to that question. On one hand, Terron had long accepted that Yimtri was a part of him. He was an extremely dark and ruthless part of Terron, but still him all the same. There was no reason in denying that anymore. But on the other hand, he didn't want to become exactly like Yimtri and be able to make such calculated and horrifying choices with such ease. Terron knew he would never know how many Pokémon Yimtri killed over his time on Shiron or to what extremes he had gone to accomplish his goals, but he didn't have to. All he had to do was think about Yimtri sometimes and he'd see flashes of the Sableye's life long before he and Terron ever met.

What he saw sometimes gave him nightmares.

"It's best you not plague anyone anyway," Impetus said after a while, snapping Terron out of his thought process. "There's no reason for you to try this on civilized Pokémon, if there were any to be found to begin with. If you cannot control wild plagued Pokémon, then it's best not to use the power at all. You'll make our attack on the Fellowship all the more problematic if you use that power when it's already going to be challenging enough."

"Yeah… you're probably right," Terron sighed. "I just thought it might help, you know? But I guess I can still rely on my bones and ground powers."

"You can't use that strange device you got from Kuron?" Impetus asked curiously. "You once told me that you could use it to summon bones out of thin air."

"Yeah… I could," Terron said as he rolled up his sleeve to reveal that the Socius was no longer there on his wrist. "But I took it off. I don't want to use it anymore."

"Why not? It sounded beneficial," Impetus asked.

"Because I didn't want my plague to get into my brain," Terron answered reluctantly, releasing his hold on his sleeve. "That thing connects to my brain. And I don't know how it possibly could, but the plague might find a way to attach itself to my Socius and then invade my mind all over again that way. So I kind of don't want to use it anymore so that my plague can't influence me anymore…"

"It's amusing you're scared of your plague influencing you with that device instead of when you're directly tapping into its power," Impetus said flatly.

"Well I'm not doing either now that I know I can't control anyone I plague, so it's not like it matters, right?" Terron said with a dry smile.

Impetus rolled her eyes, but said nothing more. She looked down at the Dodrio one last time and gave it a nudge with her foot. When she saw that it didn't move, she grabbed one of the Dodrio's legs and dragged it behind her. Despite its large size, she didn't falter or slow her walk as she made her way back toward Terron.

"We should head back to the camp," she stated as she passed him. "Perhaps the others will appreciate this Dodrio and add it to the larder."

"Yeah, guess you're right," Terron said with a shrug as he followed alongside her. "Not like there's anything else to do out here."

He grabbed the other leg of the Dodrio and began to pull, helping ease Impetus's burden as they made their way back toward the forest. Terron anticipated that pulling the creature would have been laborious, seeing as how it was heavier than both of them combined, but he was pleasantly surprised to find that dragging the creature didn't strain his muscles. Whether it was because he was splitting the task with Impetus or because of his plagued strength, Terron wasn't sure. However, that didn't stop him from smiling pleasantly and wanting to hum a merry tune.

"Hey, thanks for coming with me to try out my idea," Terron said to Impetus, suddenly remembering he had not expressed his kindness earlier. "I'm not sure I could have caught that Dodrio all on my own. You know how fast those things are."

"It is no problem," Impetus said in return. "It is always nice to spend time with you, especially when neither of us are in any true danger. It gives me something to do with Syn being gone anyway."

"Do you miss him?" Terron asked. "I mean, I know you guys spent all that time together and it was just the two of you."

"Sometimes," Impetus admittedly plainly. "But it's not debilitating. I know he is alright. He's very strong and he has Willow with him. I will see him soon. But why is Zekra not here with you? I'm surprised you didn't ask her to help you. You two spend so much time with each other you're practically attached at the hip."

"Oh, she said she wanted to spend time with Yimtri today," Terron said with a dismissive shrug. "I don't know, was just something she wanted to do."

"She's been around him for the past two days," Impetus remarked. "She seems to like spending a lot of time with him. I find that baffling when she was scared of him for so long."

"Well I don't know, I guess that talk the two of them had went great," Terron said simply. "I mean, you remember how happy and relieved they seemed to be when they visited us after they were done with their talk. But hey, they can do whatever they want. I'm not the boss of either of them. And if Yimtri's able to get along with somebody, then that's great for all of us. I just kind of wonder what they even do when they're together… because I sure can't find them after they go off together."

"The world may never know," Impetus said with a sly smile.

Aurora Town

"As you can see here, the Pledge Mountain is this particular mountain in this cluster of other mountains. It's without question the largest one and also the middle one, quite conveniently."

"Uh-huh."

"The Fellowship is built upon that particular mountain. From what I remember about it, it resembles a large castle of sorts, made of the finest and strongest stones there are. It's an impenetrable fortress that has been there for as long as anyone can remember. Groudon's strongest earthquake could not break it, nor could a wing flap from Lugia topple it as well. So we cannot possibly hope that Reshiram can burn the Fellowship to the ground when we storm it. I'm sure it'll cause some damage, but not enough for us to be completely sure of our victory."

"Uh-huh."

"Now I've already given everyone a role, and will continue to be more precise before we are all to depart, but this can all change when I figure out exactly where the portal is. Depending on the location of the portal, my plans may be changed radically. I'd rather not, but I suppose we'll see what Syn says whenever he comes here."

"Uh-huh."

"Are you even listening to me?"

"Of course I am! It's just I don't know how to respond to what you're saying. I mean, you've talked about Pledge Mountain and everything like five times already. It's getting really boring."

"Boring. How amusing. Well then, I'll have you know that most plans are quite boring. Perhaps they're exciting the first time, but after you have to run through them meticulously, making sure that they're all fool-proof, then of course they lose their luster and glamor. I imagine Terron never once went over his plans more than once if this is how you're acting."

"Well not with me, no. Maybe he did it in his head. I don't know. I never asked him. But I think you've thought about Pledge Mountain and everything enough times. You have to be getting sick of it."

"There's never such a thing as enough times to go over something."

"Uggggh."

Yimtri and Zekra were both sitting inside one of the rooms of the original Aurora Town Fellowship, which Yimtri felt was once a lodging room based on the numerous piles of hay and basins scattered about. The two sat against the wall with a crude drawing of the mountains surrounding the Fellowship carved into the wooden flooring before them.

The Sableye looked over to find that Zekra was holding her ears down with her paws, all the while making whining sounds. While he did find the noise she was making to be rather distracting and potentially draw unwanted attention to any of his members in the area, he was more puzzled by something else about her. Specifically, by the fact that she wasn't a Zoroark at the moment. She was instead a Zorua, making it so that when they sat together, they were of similar height.

"I don't understand why you continue to appear as a Zorua around me," Yimtri told her. "You've been doing this ever since I've allowed you to spend time with me."

"Oh, well that's easy," Zekra said as she removed her paws from her head and smiled at him. "It's so that you don't feel intimidated by how big I am. Because you know, I'm way taller than you when I'm a Zoroark."

Yimtri gave her a long stare, finding his thoughts stumped for a moment.

"You honestly think I can possibly be intimidated by you," he said flatly, "after all the times I've nearly murdered you."

"Well sure, why not?" Zekra said with a shrug. "I mean, I try to be a Zorua when I have personal talks with Tear too so that I make him more comfortable. I'm just trying to be thoughtful, I guess you can call it. Because I'm pretty sure that you guys don't like having this huge Zoroark talking down to you even though you never admit it. Even though pretty much everybody is bigger than you guys."

"Your thought process never ceases to baffle me," Yimtri said with a shake of his head as he rested his head against the wall behind him.

"Yeah, but clearly you must like it a little, otherwise you wouldn't keep hanging out with me," Zekra said snidely.

She then proceeded to scoot closer to the Sableye and cuddle against him, pressing her forehead against him in the process. Yimtri's eyes flickered as he scowled, but said nothing as he took his claws and brushed them through Zekra's furry head in an endless circle. The two remained this way for a while, neither saying anything to the other. However, while Zekra was most likely enjoying Yimtri's company, the Sableye had his mind elsewhere. Specifically, about Syn's impending arrival.

He knew that any day now Syn would be returning to Aurora Town. Syn had left eight days ago, and Yimtri knew it only took about four to reach the mountains and climb to the very peak where the Fellowship await. So long as there were not any complications, Syn's return trip would take the same amount of days. When the Serperior did return, then it would be time to begin the assault on the Fellowship. What would happen from there depended on many variables, such as his followers' cooperation and how strong the Fellowship had grown since he had gone into hiding, but there was one undeniable truth to be made from all of this.

He and Terron would become Dimitri again very soon.

"Auugh, ow, ow, you're hurting me," Zekra groaned.

Yimtri looked down to find that his claws were digging into Zekra's scalp, drawing thin lines of blood. The Sableye immediately withdrew his claws from her head as a light slowly enveloped Zekra. Her form started to grow and tower over the Sableye, but she was able to stop it and remained as a Zorua. Yimtri slowly drew his claws away from her and set them by his sides.

"Sorry," Yimtri said sheepishly.

"Having bad thoughts?" Zekra asked him, looking up at him with a sad glimmer in her eyes.

"I suppose you can say that," Yimtri replied, knowing there was no point in trying to hide anything from her. "I suppose there's something that irks me about this entire synchronization concept. Say I do merge with Terron before we ever reach Pledge Mountain. What exactly will happen to us? Will I simply become a voice in his head while he has full control, or will he and I combine together so that neither of us exist anymore? Or does something much more complicated happen? It's of concern because if I do end up synchronizing with Terron before we ever reach the Fellowship, it could bring with it variables that will be extremely problematic for our situation."

Zekra stared up at the Sableye for a while with a blank stare, saying nothing. Yimtri often had the thought to bother her and ask why she was remaining so quiet, but stifled it whenever it arose. He knew that Zekra would respond eventually. If not, and she continued like this for a full minute, he knew he could phase through the wall and disappear from sight to attend to other things.

But thankfully, Yimtri's patience prevailed and Zekra's expression did change. She gave him a small, if reluctant smile.

"Well, you could talk to Venri about it," she suggested softly. "I mean, I know I could, but I feel she'd be able to teach you about it better since she's a shadow just like you."

Yimtri resisted the urge to flinch. Once the feeling passed, he glared at the false Zorua and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Venri? If I remember right, she wants nothing to do with me," he spat bitterly. "She hates me, quite frankly."

"She doesn't hate you…" Zekra assured before seeing Yimtri's disapproving scowl. "Okay, well maybe she kind of does. But I talked to her just now, and she said she'll still talk. I mean, you guys kind of have to get along anyway if Tear and I end up… well, you know. Because if we do end up together, then you two are going to be seeing each other a lot. Maybe not like how you can right now, but you still will. And I'm not claiming to be an expert at love, but I'm pretty sure that both my shadow and Tear's shadow have to get along for this whole thing to work. Just like how I have to be able to get along with you if I ever want to be with Tear."

Yimtri thought for a moment. At first he wanted to argue that Zekra's point had no logical ground to hold, he realized that Zekra that perhaps did speak some truth in the matter. The superficial layers of mates were not the only ones that had to be agreeable with one another. Underneath all of that, perhaps the more hidden aspects of the creature had to agree with the other creature's inner self as well. He couldn't see a healthy relationship or friendship where there were parts of the person that absolutely despised the other person, even if they tried to suppress them as often as they could. He knew that even if not all of the aspects of partners quite enjoyed each other, despite what Zekra was trying to imply, they at least had to be able to be diplomatic to one another.

And though Yimtri felt there was no true reason to speak to Venri again, especially when she threated to kill him last time they spoke, he knew there was no reason to avoid her. Perhaps she could help him understand the art of synchronization. Then also, he knew Zekra would have wanted the two of them to talk together.

And that alone was enough of a reason.

"I don't know if it will work, but I suppose there's no harm in trying to speak with her," he told Zekra.

Zekra smiled pleasantly before a Zoroark manifested itself right beside her. The Zoroark gave Yimtri a resentful glare before looking back over at Zekra.

"You know this is stupid," Venri muttered distastefully. "He and I don't have to get along. We don't have to talk. I mean, what kind of logic is that, where in order for you and Tear to be mates, Yimtri and I gotta be all friendly with each other?"

"Well I think it's a pretty big deal when every time I'm cuddling with Yimtri, I can literally hear you screaming like someone's ripping out your guts and it really makes it hard to relax," Zekra shot back. "Imagine how you'll be when he and Tear are merged together."

"It'll be different. At least when they synchronize they won't be all Yimtri," Venri growled. "He'll still be Tear for the most part. I won't have to think that you're hanging out with the guy that keeps trying to kill you. You're waaaaaay too understanding, you know that, Zekra?"

"Venri," Zekra snapped, strengthening her stance. "Just talk to him. Help him understand synchronization better, okay? Just help him so that if he does end up merging with Tear, we can at least kill the Primogenitor and not have everything fall apart. Because if they merge and they don't know what to do because you didn't teach Yimtri about synchronization, then it's going to be your fault we all died for nothing."

"Fine," Venri hissed.

She then sat down with a loud thump before locking her eyes onto the Sableye, shooting him an agitated glare. Yimtri returned the same stare, refusing to allow her to intimidate him in the slightest. Two could play that game, after all.

"Alright… I'm going to leave you guys alone since I have something I need to do," Zekra said cautiously. "Don't go attacking each other, okay? I'll know. Seriously, I will, and I'll come right back here before you even know it and like murder you guys or something. So play nice."

Then Zekra walked over to the large hole in the wall that served as a makeshift window before leaping out of it. Yimtri didn't even need to look outside to know that she had turned into a flying-type of sorts and was soaring toward wherever she needed to be. He wasn't sure where exactly, but knew Venri did. However, he didn't bother asking Venri what she knew. He had a feeling she wouldn't tell him no matter what he did.

For a while, neither Yimtri nor Venri said anything to each other. They only kept their tense glare locked on one another, neither of them moving from their spot. Yimtri wondered if perhaps there was any point to this. It seemed that Venri was in no mood to talk, and if so, this was a waste of time. He had offered his time to Zekra when he could have made more preparations for the trip to the Fellowship, but that was only because there was actual meaning in their time together. If he and Venri were only going to sit amongst each other and engage in a staring contest, there was to reason for him to remain around her.

"Why do you even think you and Tear are going to merge back together?" Venri suddenly asked, snapping Yimtri out of his thoughts. "I mean, I'd get it if you were actually inside of Tear like how every other shadow is. But you're not. You're out here in the real world. I mean sure, you and him are sharing a lot of thoughts and everything, but that doesn't exactly mean you'll actually merge back together."

"There's nothing wrong with preparing for what could inevitably happen," Yimtri answered curtly. "Admittedly I'm not entirely sure how we would merge back together either when we're both alive with our own bodies, but I'd rather address the problem rather than dismiss it due to its improbability of happening."

"But it's still probably not going to happen until you guys die for obvious reasons," Venri argued. "You're just getting yourself worked up over something that's kind of impossible. What's the point in that?"

"Nothing is impossible about the circumstances we find ourselves in," Yimtri scowled. "For instance, I'm fairly certain that it's impossible that a shadow can actually be talking to those that are not its host in the first place. And yet here we are, both being shadows and having a discussion. Isn't it also impossible that you can sustain yourself for this long away from Zekra? Or that I can even exist outside of Terron in my own physical form? Shall I continue listing more examples?"

"Fine, whatever. Get yourself all worried then," Venri said as she rolled her eyes. "When you sync up with Tear, you're pretty much going to become him. Like, you'll hear all of his thoughts, see everything he sees, all that stuff. But you'll also be able to see things he can't, like if someone's in the area that's trying to hide from him. And you gotta be the one to warn him about that because he sure won't ever pick up on it."

"So, he and I will undoubtedly be able to share our memories as well then," Yimtri mused. "Of course, I'm sure by this point we have nothing to hide from each other."

"Nope," Venri said. "I mean, you can just stay quiet and pretend to not hear anything Tear's thinking or saying, but you'll see all of it. But he can't see everything you think or anything. He can only see whatever you want him to see. Which is kind of cool for us, but not really much for them. But hey, they get to have a body and we can't, so we have to have some kind of fair trade, right?"

Yimtri didn't quite believe that was considered an even trade, but didn't bother making a remark about it. Instead, he glanced down at his claws and his shadow that was stretched out before him on the wooden floorboards.

"And what about power?" he then asked. "What kind of power will we have when we're merged? I'm fairly certain that when we merge, Terron won't be able to use my abilities. Sableye and Cubone were never meant to inherit each other's powers."

"Well I don't know about that," Venri said with a shrug. "I mean with Zekra, I already knew how she was going to turn out. She already had the potential and I just made it like ten times better. But not you guys since you've got really different powers on your own. I really don't know what's going to happen when you guys end up synchronizing. I mean, I'd imagine that Tear would still keep his powers and everything since he's the one that keeps his body, but I don't know about what's going to happen to your powers. I don't know, maybe you'll make it so he can throw bones with way more accuracy or something."

"Or perhaps I'll simply give him the power his other plague had and allow him to craft a large assemble of weapons he couldn't make on his own," Yimtri considered.

"Yeah, maybe that'll happen. If it ever does. Which it probably won't because you guys are being stupidly paranoid about this whole thing."

Yimtri wanted to continue pondering in the possible implications of synchronization, but was unable to because he couldn't focus on much else than the dark glimmer in Venri's eyes. It made a dark and bitter feeling brew within him and encouraged him to shoot her the very same glare. And though he told himself to continue the conversation they were trying to have, he couldn't fight off the urge to make a snippy remark. Venri's resentful behavior was rather contagious.

"You know that I have no intentions of killing Zekra anymore," he told her. "There's no reason to keep hating me."

"Well I can't really believe that, because you said the exact same thing last time before you literally attacked her five minutes later," Venri shot back.

"It's different this time," he assured her sourly. "I need her around to end the Primogenitor's reign of terror. She's not a resource I'm going to throw away."

"And because you love her too, right?"

"That has nothing to do with any of this. Besides, it's Terron that loves her, not me. I'm simply feeling his emotions whether I like it or not."

"But you're still in love with her, which she's totally cool with for some reason even I can't figure out even though it's freaky. Really, I think she's wasting her time with you. I mean, when you and Terron probably synchronize after you're both dead, it's not like she's actually going to be able to talk to you anymore. I know she says she will, but she really doesn't know how she's going to."

The Sableye scowled deeply at the false Zoroark as his gemstones flickered briefly before radiating with a sinister blue light. He had to resist sinking his claws into the floorboards.

"Is that supposed to bother me?" he asked incredulously.

"I don't know, is it?" Venri sneered, wearing an evil grin.

"You're doing a terrible job if that is your goal," Yimtri said with a dejected scoff. "You truly are Zekra's shadow; you rely on such childish tactics to infuriate me and make me stoop to your pitiful level."

"Well at least I don't go blackmailing Pokémon and threatening to kill them when they don't listen to what I say! Don't try to pretend to be the better shadow here!"

"At least I don't purposely keep myself in certain forms to terrorize and intimidate whoever is with me, regardless of who they are. Including Zekra herself."

"At least I don't actively keep trying to kill Tear and his friends and run away the second things don't start going my way!"

"At least I'm not the one that told Zekra to not help Zeverous when he was fighting off hordes of Shade's mindless members and thus am the one responsible for his death and Zekra's despair that lasted for months."

Venri's eyes flashed as she let out a menacing snarl and promptly leapt onto all fours. Yimtri immediately sprang to his feet as well as he let out a demonic hiss of his own, poising to strike. He glared up at the false Zoroark as she dug her claws into the floorboards, digging deep groves into it with an irritating screeching noise.

"Oh that does it! I don't care what Zekra says anymore!"

"Neither do I, quite frankly. I cannot stand your presence any longer. You're even more headache-inducing than Terron, Zekra, and Zeverous combined. Zekra was too optimistic after all. I'm never going to be able to hold a diplomatic conversation with you."

"Yeah! That's right! You and me! Right now! We're having it out! Let's go! Come on! COME ON! LET'S HANDLE THIS LIKE REAL SHADOWS! FORGET BEING DIPLOMATIC!"

Yimtri didn't even hesitate to make the first strike, springing at the false Zoroark and knocking her down to the ground. He swiped his claws at her face, knowing that it wouldn't actually hurt Venri, but still understanding that Venri couldn't reform so easily with Zekra far away from them. With one claw, he managed to rip them through half of her head, making it so that it dissipated into the air. Soon, he found himself staring at a half-faced Zoroark, her only eye shining with a malicious red light.

He didn't even get a chance to react before Venri shoved him off of her. Then, just before he could hit the ground, Venri launched herself at him, grabbing him in her claws and smashing into the wall. However, thanks to Yimtri's intangibility, the two ended up phasing right through the wall and they plummeted from the very top of the Fellowship base.

The two didn't even notice their descent until they both careened into something solid and hot that Yimtri couldn't phase through, unraveling the two from each other as they crashed onto the ground shortly after. They both snapped back to their feet and prepared to pounce at each other once more, but then saw that they standing in the midst of a large, hulking shadow. By the time they looked up at the towering source of the shadow and realized who was among them, they had completely forgotten they had been fighting in the first place.

Zekra flew through the air as a Skarmory high over Aurora Town, surveying the ground with a watchful eye. Though she was quite a distance up and the buildings seemed to be nothing more than little blocks, she found herself able to identify any Pokémon she saw roaming about. And most of all, she could hear what they were saying as well. She saw a Murkrow and Swellow perched amongst each near a fountain that no longer flowed with water, discussing their most recent flight together and the vacancy of the land. She witnessed a Lucario, Froslass, and Drifblim having a heated discussion about which one of them would be wearing certain magical accessories, such as a Defense Scarf or Power Band.

Zekra wanted to continue eavesdropping on the Pokémon far below her and find more potentially interesting conversations, but she knew there were more important things at hand. So with a frown and a firm reminder to herself, she continued onward, leaving behind the small gatherings of Pokémon. She remained high in the air above everyone else, soaring about without a word.

Her silence was only broken when she finally found what she was looking for some time later.

She saw Terron and Impetus in a park within the town, the both of them engaging in a mock battle of sorts. Impetus was bombarding Terron with an endless flurry of attacks from her whip-like fur, forcing Terron to find creative ways to dodge them. Most of the time he moved to the side so that the fur just barely grazed past him, though occasionally he would take the club in his hand and attempt to catch Impetus's overgrown fur in it. Eventually, he did manage to succeed, causing Impetus's fur to wind around it like a snake. Then, before Impetus could pull back her arm, Terron yanked his club to the side, dragging Impetus with it. As soon as she hit the ground, Terron pounced at her.

Zekra's heart fluttered nervously as she went into a nosedive until she was fairly close to the ground. Then, spread out her wings, slightly slowing her descent before she transformed back into a Zoroark. She managed to land on all fours, sending some dust and dirt into the air that instantly attracted her friends' attention. Terron and Impetus ceased their fighting as they watched Zekra walk toward them.

"Hey guys," Zekra said, trying to stifle her awkward smile but ultimately failing. "How's it going?"

"Oh, it's going great," Terron said pleasantly as he twirled the club in his hand around. "I'm getting a lot better at dodging thanks to Impetus."

"He's not the fastest, but he's proving agile for a Cubone, which isn't a quick creature," Impetus then said. "But he still needs to work on his offense. He still isn't striking back as swiftly as I think he could be."

"We'll get there, though," Terron assured Impetus. "I'm not about to be the weakest link in the chain just because I'm not synchronized unlike pretty much everybody else in our group."

"Well I'm glad to hear that you guys are doing great then," Zekra said cheerily before dropping her smile. "But uh… Tear, can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure," Terron said, looking up at Zekra as brightly as before. "What is it?"

Zekra eyed Impetus and quickly realized that Impetus wasn't moving. She was watching Zekra, waiting patiently for Zekra to start speaking. Zekra felt her insides turn to liquid for a brief moment.

"Um… well I wanted to talk to you… you know, alone," she said, almost desperately.

"Oh," Terron said, his cheerful persona fading as he looked over at Impetus. "Well okay. Sure. Impetus, do you think-"

"It's fine. I'll leave you be," Impetus reassured him with a nod. "We can always keep practicing later."

The Mienshao pat the Cubone on the head with a paw before turning away from him and Zekra. Zekra thought she saw Impetus flash her a hint of a sly smile before walked away, and before long, Terron and Zekra were alone. There was not a Pokémon to be seen for as far as Zekra could see. She couldn't even feel anyone's presence in the vicinity either.

It was only her and Terron.

"So, what is it you want to talk to me about?" Terron asked Zekra, smiling earnestly.

Zekra stared down at the little Cubone and suddenly felt her insides beginning to melt. The thoughts in her mind and the words she wanted to say to Terron disappeared as the uncomfortable feeling washed over her. The bravado and confidence she had gathered up within herself was fading fast. She heavily considered abandoning her plans entirely and leaving Terron be so that he could continue training with Impetus.

However, before the thought could persist for much longer, Zekra's strength returned and she realized she had to talk to Terron. There was no reason to run away from him. There was absolutely nothing to be afraid of, and also, she was running out of time. She had delayed talking to him long enough about what was on her mind quite often these days. If she waited any longer, she would surely no longer have a chance to speak to Terron.

Besides, I already know how Tear feels. Zekra told herself. There's no reason to be worried that he's going to reject me or anything. It'll be okay.

With this thought in mind, Zekra sighed, releasing the burning in her heart as she sat down in front of Terron. The Cubone did the same, still keeping his gaze on her as she changed into a Zorua. And though keeping that form made her mind hazy and only seemed to sap away her vigor even more, she forced herself to remain in that form.

"Um… listen," Zekra began to say, already finding her voice quieter than she wanted it to be. "There's something I've been wanting to talk to you about for a while, but I wasn't really sure how to do it. And we're running out of time so… well…"

"Yeah?" Terron asked, watching her carefully, not at all frightened like she was.

"Um… do you… I heard that you… I was wondering… if you wanted… because I heard that… I was wondering… I mean… what I'm trying to say is…"

Something in Zekra finally snapped after she showed no signs in stopping her awkward stuttering, erasing Zekra's nervousness and filling her seething bitterness. Overcome by this sudden spark of disgust at her own ineptitude, she scowled bitterly before finally throwing her paws into the ground and letting her claws slide out and pierce the grass beneath her.

"You wanna be mates, Tear?!"

Zekra watched as Terron's carefree expression immediately dropped into a stupefied stare. Within seconds, Zekra thought that she was staring at a statue instead of her best friend. The second she saw that, Zekra wanted to curl up into a ball, or at least turn into a Skarmory again and fly very far away. But she knew she couldn't. She had to finish what she started.

"Uh… look," Zekra said, trying to stop herself from shaking. "I know that we're both going to die when we go kill the Primogenitor. I know we've only got a few days left to live. But… well… I wanted to spend those last few days being your mate. Because I really, really like you, Tear. Maybe it started when you and me got kicked out of the Fellowship. Maybe it started after we split up to find Reshiram and Zekrom. Or I don't know, maybe it happened when it was just the two of us back when things were so much easier. I don't know when it started. But the point is… I like being with you. More than anyone I've ever known. Any time I'm with you, I feel like I can do anything. I feel so happy and alive and… really, for the longest time… you were the only reason I kept going. Because underneath all of that rage and hatred I felt, there was just a lot of emptiness. A lot of lonely and dark emptiness I had no idea how to deal with it until Venri came along. I really think that if I hadn't of met you before she showed me how to deal with all of that, I never would have made it this far. Just waking up in the morning and seeing you there with me made me realize that I could keep going. It made me realize there was a reason to keep fighting and that there was someone always there to help me and be there for me. If it weren't for you I'd… hah, I'd probably be dead because of some stupid mistake."

Zekra cautiously eyed Terron to find that he was still staring at her, frozen to his spot. He didn't seem ready to bolt, allowing Zekra some relief, but she still couldn't tell how he was taking everything.

"I love you," Zekra said after a short pause. "I… I just want you to know that. No matter what you end up saying next… I just want you to know that I love you and that you're one of the strongest and kindest Pokémon I've ever met. Every day is always a good day because I know that you'll always be there for me, during my absolute best and during my absolute worst moments."

The false Zorua released a sigh as all of her pent-up energy left her, allowing her to finally sit contently. Her muscles still shuddered and her mind still buzzed, but she could at least feel warmth in her chest and a smile on her muzzle now. A great weight had been lifted from her back, and no matter what ended up happening next, she could at least feel happiness in knowing that she had shared her heart with Terron.

Terron still did not say anything. Zekra continued to watch him, waiting for signs of him to speak, but he never did. He only remained where he sat, still staring at Zekra with the same empty expression. Occasionally his stoic expression would be broken by an unsure frown or he would open his mouth to say something, but it was fleeting and within seconds, he would be back to being as blank-faced as before. And though it wracked Zekra's nerves and made her want to pounce at him and demand to know why he wasn't saying anything when she knew he did love her in return, she knew she had to be patient. Thus, she resigned herself to sitting in front of Terron, constantly assuring herself that all would be fine and that Yimtri had not simply been lying to her about Terron.

After what felt like an eternity passed, the mask-less Cubone finally released a long sigh.

"Alright. Look," Terron said quietly, causing Zekra's ears to perk up. "I'm going to say it now. I love you too. After we got separated, I started to realize just how much you meant to me. I always sort of knew before, but after that day when you and Zev ended up leaving, I knew there was something special about you. Something more special about you than any of my other friends. Something that would make me willing to do a lot of stupidly dangerous things that I wouldn't dream of doing otherwise, like save you from a swarm of Plagued Ones. Or even make me cry for as long as I did after you left. So I do like you too, okay?"

Zekra began to smile giddily and was forced to put her paws in front of her mouth to stifle her giggling. She was just about to leap to her feet and tackle down Terron so that she could cuddle with him, but then she saw that Terron wasn't smiling as she was.

"And even though I'd love to be mates with you and everything…" he went on before Zekra could ponder further. "I don't know if we actually should be mates. Because there's… complications I'm worried about."

"But… What do you mean?" Zekra asked, her heart dropping into a deep, dark pit within her chest.

"Well one of the complications I'm talking about is what's going to end up happening to me pretty soon," Terron explained ruefully. "Whether it happens before we go to Pledge Mountain or before I die, Yimtri and I will merge back together. We're going to be Dimitri again. And honestly… I don't think I'm going to be me anymore when that happens. I mean, I know that you and Syn and Impetus all act the same even though you're synchronized, but that's because your shadows were always with you guys. They were always there inside of you guys. But with Yimtri… he's been separated from me ever since I woke up. Actually no, longer than that. He's been separated from me ever since Dimitri got ripped in half all those years ago. He's his own person and I'm my own person because of that. So when we merge… I'm worried that it won't be as clean as it was with you and Venri. I think… I might turn out to be someone very different when we end up synchronizing back together and… I'm worried that you're not going to like the person or Pokémon or whatever it is I end up becoming."

"But I like both of you guys," Zekra assured him. "Obviously I get along with you just fine, and Yimtri and I are doing just great! Sure he's kind of grating and everything, but I still like talking to him. So if I can get along with both of you separately, I'm pretty sure I can do the same thing when you're synchronized."

"But would you really?" Terron asked. "You think that I'll either act like me or Yimtri but… what if I don't? What if we both disappear and you're stuck with somebody else? What if you're stuck with somebody who doesn't behave like me or him?"

"That's not going to happen," Zekra said defiantly, scowling at Terron. "You two are still going to be yourselves when you're together. Just because Yimtri's not literally attached to your soul unlike Venri doesn't mean it'll be any different than when me and Venri synchronized. You guys aren't just going to disappear and have this new person or whatever you want to call it take over your new body. You're still going to be you and you're just going to have Yimtri talking to you a whole lot more."

"Well even if that was true, there's something else that I'm not too sure about this whole thing," Terron went on dejectedly.

"What, that you don't want to be mates for like five days because it's totally pointless?" Zekra asked, tasting the bitterness of her words on her own tongue.

"No, I'm not worried about that. I'm pretty sure we can be together still after we die, and if not, I'd still be okay with being your mate," Terron said, shaking his head softly before lowering his head. "It's um… well it's something a little awkward to admit."

"Well this entire conversation is going pretty poorly if you ask me," Zekra grumbled, her mood souring by the second. "Was supposed to be sweet and heartwarming, but then you turned it into whatever this is now. So yeah, what's a little bit of awkwardness going to do to this conversation?"

Terron's uncomfortable expression finally darkened as he shot Zekra a glare.

"Well I'm sorry that I want you to spare you from a broken heart," Terron spat at her. "I'm sorry that I'm trying to make you realize why I'm not totally on board with this whole thing."

"You're already breaking my heart!" Zekra yelled. "Don't act like ending this before it even begins is going to make anything better! You already said you love me! Why's it so hard for you just to say we can be mates?"

"I already told you why! Stop arguing with me!"

"Well it's a stupid excuse! Just tell me we can mates and then we can call it a day!"

"Well then maybe I don't want to be mates with you if this is how you're going to be!"

Something in Zekra finally snapped, and before she knew it, she had thrown herself at Terron and tackled him to the ground. Then, in a moment of animalistic wrath, she opened her jaws and sank her fangs into Terron's neck. The Cubone let out a hoarse cry before he grabbed her by the neck and attempted to pry her off of him. However, Zekra only sank her teeth further into him, prompting Terron to tighten his hold around her neck in an effort to strangle her.

But just as Zekra was to change herself back into a Zoroark and rake his face with her claws, she stopped. With her jaws still clamped around Terron's neck, she looked at the Cubone to find that he had stopped as well. They were both frozen in a tangled mess of each other, both of them attempting to kill each other even though they had just professed their feelings to each other. When the two of them realized the ridiculousness of the situation, the two of them couldn't help but begin laughing as they finally released each other. Zekra landed with a thump on Terron's chest as they continued to laugh, their voices mixing with the other's as all of their frustrations melted away.

"It's been a while since we've attacked each other," Terron said after his laughter had calmed enough that he could speak again. "I really thought that we would have gotten over this by now. You'd think we could just use words to get over things."

"I guess some habits just don't die," Zekra said with a smile. "Besides, there's nothing wrong with this. It's not like any of us actually get hurt."

Zekra then nuzzled Terron's cheek with her muzzle as the Cubone reached up and held Zekra to his chest. Zekra closed her eyes as she listened to his strong and flighty heartbeat, and for quite a long time, that was all she did. The two lay there in the grassy fields, holding one another, enjoying the cool breeze and the quiet of the park around them. Zekra wouldn't have minded if the two of them could simply be like that forever. Terron's loving and warm embrace was all she needed. She could easily forget about the world around her when she was simply with Terron.

"Here, tell you what," Terron suddenly said, breaking the peaceful silence between them.

"Huh?" Zekra asked, opening her eyes and glancing at the Cubone to find that he was staring up into the sky.

"We can be together until I synchronize," Terron told her. "I don't know how long that's going to be, but we can be mates until I end up merging with Yimtri."

Zekra's got off of Terron and walked around him before stopping behind his head. She looked down at him, smiling as wide as she could as she resisted the urge to prance about.

"Really?" she asked eagerly.

"Yeah, really," Terron said, wearing a small smile of his own. "I guess you and I can try and make the most out of these last few days we're going to be alive together. But… there's something I want you to know."

"Yeah?" Zekra asked, Terron's lowered and more solemn tone unable to break her smile.

"When I do become Dimitri again, I make no promises that we can keep staying together," Terron said forlornly. "I don't know what's going to happen to me after that point. So when that point comes… I don't want you getting your hopes up. I want you to be able to accept that maybe we really can't be together anymore. Okay?"

"Okay!" Zekra said, not even waiting a beat to respond.

"You're not even worried, are you?" Terron said with a sigh.

"Nope! Everything's going to be fine!" Zekra assured him. "Besides, how can I possibly feel down right now when we're mates now! This is so awesome! Now we get to be together and stuff! Yeah!"

Zekra, no longer able to resist the urge, began laughing to herself as she circled Terron in a whimsical frolic, all the while humming a merry tune. She saw that even though Terron was shaking his head in disapproval and sighing to himself, he couldn't resist chuckling himself.

"Oh yeah! That reminds me," Zekra asked as Terron began to sit up. "What was the second reason you didn't want to be mates in the first place? You've got me all curious."

"Oh. That," Terron said, his cheeks suddenly turning a bright shade of red. "Oh well uh… I was going to say that… um… that it'd be weird for a human and… a Pokémon to be mates. Because you know… even though I'm a Cubone now, I'm still a human on the inside. And when you look at it that way…"

Zekra couldn't resist the urge to laugh at the ridiculousness of the notion. She found the remark so comical, in fact, that she actually fell over in the middle of her romp and rolled about on the ground, her illusion beginning to fade. She wheezed as she curled herself into a ball, laughing so loudly that her stomach began to cramp.

"Tear, that's… that's the stup… stupidest thing I've… I've heard," Zekra said in between her laughs, finding it difficult to catch her breath. "You're… you're not human anymore! You're a Cubone! And… really… do you think I even care?"

"Well… no," Terron confessed after pondering for a moment. "You're so much of a weirdo that I'm pretty sure if I told you I was an alien you would still want to be mates…"

"Yeah! And besides, do you even think you're a human anymore?"

"Not really now that I think about it... I mean, I've been stuck in this body for so long that I sometimes think I was always a Cubone… And I'm pretty sure I'm never going to be human ever again no matter what."

"Exactly! So don't go thinking anything about this is weird! You're fine! There's nothing weird with us being mates!"

"Except for the part where we're both going to die and that there's literally nothing normal about either of us."

"Yeah! When we're already two weirdos, everything that should be weird is normal to us!"

Terron didn't say anything more, presumably because he was too busy rolling his eyes at Zekra's inane banter. However, Zekra didn't mind it in the slightest. In fact, nothing could spoil the joy and happiness swelling within Zekra's heart. She almost felt as though she had been whisked away to some faraway wonderland where all was right and nothing could go wrong.

"Zekra," called a rather familiar voice.

Zekra opened her tear-filled eyes to find Venri right in front of her, staring down at her in her Sableye form. With a curious frown, Zekra righted herself up and changed herself back into a Zoroark. She was about to greet Venri with a smile and announce with zeal that she and Terron were mates even though she had a feeling Venri already knew, but then she saw that the demented grin Venri always wore wasn't there. Takings its place instead was a grim, foreboding grimace matched with a dark glimmer in Venri's eyes.

As soon as she saw this, all of the warmth in Zekra cooled until there was nothing but a dark blankness within her chest. Her smile slowly melted as a worrisome frown was soon to replace it.

"Venri… what's going on?" she asked.

"Yeah, is something wrong?" Terron asked as well as he joined Zekra's side.

"Reshiram just got back from flying around the place," Venri explained, her normally zealous voice now stilted and solemn. "He found someone passed out while he was out and just brought them over to the Fellowship base here."

"Who?" Zekra asked cautiously. "Was it Syn? Because I know Syn's supposed to be back any day now."

"No… he didn't find Syn," Venri said with a shake of his head. "He doesn't know where Syn is."

"Then who did he find?" Zekra asked.

"He found Len."