Three days after Luke found Gality's Diary, February 19

Stephen

I woke up in the hotel room, with Antonio sitting on the couch, watching television. I started to sit up, but then I started feeling like an empty bottle of water. Antonio noticed that I had sat up, and walked over to the bed where I was sitting. "How do you feel, Stephen?"

"Drained."

"Understandable. Do you even know what happened?"

"Well, I was fighting that Gardevoir, then I was here, so I'll say no.":

"From what Thomas said, you were hit directly by a Psycho Boost. Gality teleported us out, and Thomas and I carried you back."

"Gality saved us? How would he do that, and why?"

"How, that would be with that psychic rock. Why, I currently don't know."

"From what he said in that weird psychic vision thing, it is possible that he still cares about us."

"Where are you getting that from? I know he saved us, but he said the "reason" for that was for us to make up our mind, which I don't believe."

"If he really wanted us to get out of the way, he would do it himself."

"You know that he couldn't beat us three-on-one, straight up."

"That's not how he would do it. You know how quickly he could take down Thomas without laying a finger on him."

"You're right there." Antonio walked over to the window and closed the blinds. "Thomas and I want to return to the community."

"Why?"

"Thomas says that there is no way that we can capture the Gardevoir."

"Fair. I'm willing to return, but someone else is going to have to drive."

"That's what Thomas was doing. He assumed that you would agree, so he has already has the boat ready. Are you able to really walk?"

"We'll see." I attempted to stand, but I stumbled, and Antonio stopped me from slamming into the ground. "It seems that is a no."

"Its okay. I'll help you to the boat." Antonio put his arm on my shoulder, and started walking me to the elevator. We arrived on the bottom floor, Antonio thanked the Pokemon manning the desk, and towards the dock. As Antonio said, Thomas had the boat parked in the closest spot to the hotel. Antonio helped me into the boat, and then I stumbled into the seat. Antonio sat across from me, and Thomas started backing up the boat.

"Stephen, next time you try and use Protect, make sure the thing hitting you doesn't outrank you in energy."

"I'm okay, Thomas, thanks for asking."

"You're still standing! You're fine!" Thomas drove the boat until he got out of the no wake zone, then put it into full throttle.

"So, do you know where Gality broadcasted his psychic vision?"

"Not exactly. I can when we get back to the community. It should only take about an hour."

"Well, don't work too hard." Thomas grinned from the driver's seat.

"Well, don't take too long. I want to stop that little annoying pest!" Thomas leered, looking back to us in the backseat.

"He was our friend at one time, you know." I replied.

"Well, not anymore. He's a renegade, Stephen."

"He did save your life, Thomas." Antonio countered.

"I didn't need saving, Antonio." We were all silent after that.

Antonio

Thomas parked the boat into the dock, and jumped off the boat quickly. I had to help Stephen off the boat, and walk him to the town hall. Thomas and Mayor Swordhand were already talking when we walked in. When the Mayor saw me basically carrying Stephen in the room, he motioned for the guards to help him to a seat. I sat in between Thomas and Stephen, and the Mayor started walking around the room. "I'm assuming that you were unsuccessful?"

"Correct. We were outclassed." Thomas complained.

"That was to be expected." A Gardevoir I recognized walked from the corner of the room behind the mayor's desk.

"General Psyspeed!" Thomas exclaimed, looking at the Gardevoir wearing a pure gray dress, with three medals and nearly twenty achievements.

"Yes, young Guardsman."

"What are you doing here, general?" I asked.

"I have joined with Mayor Swordhand to try and capture my niece. I see that you have found her."

"Unfortunately." Stephen whined.

"General, please stand outside for a second. I need to discuss some things with my Guardsman." the Mayor stated. General Psyspeed nodded, then left the room. "Gentlemen, why did you fail?"

"We weren't powerful enough, sir." Thomas answered.

"I see." the Mayor hit a button on his desk, and we all fell into a prison cell, being held above lava.

"What just happened?" Thomas said, rubbing his head. Stephen was groaning over in the corner.

"You've been thrown in a cell, that's what!" the Mayor's voice boomed from speakers somewhere.

"Why are you doing this?"

"You guys failed me. You know I expect highly of my Guardsman."

"Then why not just let us go?" I asked.

"I'm sorry, but that's not how this community works." A piece of metal peeled back from the wall, showing the Mayor behind a piece of glass.

"That hurt badly." Stephen complained, sitting up.

"Stephen, we have more important matters right now!" Thomas yelled. The Mayor smiled from behind the glass.

"Thomas, there's another problem. You must care for the safety of your teammates…"

"Coming from you, who just threw us in a cage!' Thomas snapped back. The Mayor just ignored him.

"But you also must know when to dispose of the pawns, if they are not good enough."

"So, Gality was right." I put together all of the signs that Gality had given us, and the times he just straight up told us this is what happened to him.

"Correct. My son is a failure in many ways, but he is intelligent. I know he knew what I would do as Mayor, but he didn't want to defy me, nor believe it."

"So, what are you going to do with us?" Thomas asked.

"What do you think?" The Mayor laughed, hitting a switch that slowly lowered us towards the lava. "It's cliche, but I enjoy it!" He then sat down on the chair behind the glass, watching us. Stephen motioned for me to sit next to him, and I did. Thomas did not do so, and tried to kick the bars of the cage to no avail.

"What, Stephen?"

"I made this cage, and always have a failsafe in case that someone gets locked in. The seven bars on the far right will fall out if you hit the top, and the bottom of all of them." Stephen whispered as Thomas tried to use Psycho Cut to break open the cage, but they were absorbed by the bars. "Wait until you get to the point where the glass is below where The Mayor is sitting."

"But won't that…"

"Yes. You'll have to go without me."

"I can't do that!"

"You must. I cannot make that jump. I have a way out that is infinitely more probable."

"Okay, Stephen. But I better see you when Thomas and I get out of here!"

"You will." I stood up and motioned for Thomas to stop punching the bars. He stopped, though he looked confused as to why I was so calm. I waited for the window to come into sight, and kicked the top and bottom of the bars. The bar plummeted into the lava, causing a splash. Thomas saw what I was doing, and we did that until all of the breakable ones were broken.

"What about Stephen?"

"He'll come, Thomas. Just go!" I jumped towards the glass, using two Psycho Cuts to cut a hole in it. I landed and rolled forward so that Thomas wouldn't land on me. An alarm sounded off.

"ALL UNITS! ROYAL GUARDSMAN THOMAS AND ANTONIO ARE ESCAPING. FIND THEM IMMEDIATELY!"

"We should probably run!" I yelled over the noise, and then I ran out into the hallway, with Thomas behind me.

Stephen

I watched as my friends ran through the door of the room, then to how the cage was still moving downwards. I have little energy left in me, I thought. But I really only have one option. I tried to remember what Gality had told me about telepathy. Focus, he said. Doing it wrong can result in undesired consequences. I used telepathy to talk to anyone in the region, since I didn't have the power to direct it at the moment, nor the skill. Help me! I thought. I had to lie down because every muscle in my body felt like it was empty. Out of energy. After no one came after a minute, I knew what was going to happen. Well, I guess I get to know what a cake feels like in the oven. Suddenly, I was not in the cage, but in a forest somewhere. I looked around with the little strength I had to see a Pokemon under a cloak. For a second, I thought it was Peter, but that wouldn't make any sense. "You're welcome." Gality.

"You...were...right."

"I know. I'm glad you see what I meant." Then, he was gone, and everything went dark.

Thomas

I ducked behind a pillar as a few more Psycho Cuts came whizzing past me on my left. Antonio was on my right, able to fire back, but only because he was behind a wall and not a random pole. "Are there any better exits, Antonio?" I asked, diving over to the wall that he was standing behind.

"The main two entrances and no-gos. They will be the most guarded." Antoni'o said, returning fire at the increasing number of people coming after us.

"How about the side entrances?" I replied, trying to fend off attacks from the other direction. "We're being flanked here!"

"We could get through those, but not all of the Gallade in front of us! We need a new plan!"

"I have nothing besides fight to the bitter end!" The Psycho Cuts were even more plentiful, and even knocking out one guard didn't matter at this point.

"Bad plan!" Antonio remarked. "I'm getting overwhelmed!"

"Same!" We both hid from the onslaught the best we could.

"I have an idea!" Antonio stopped returning fire and then fired straight up through an air vent. "Come on!" I jumped up there, Antonio helped pull me up, and then put the cover back. We crawled through the vent, which definitely wasn't built for Gallade.

"I never thought that I would be doing this."

"What? You don't like spy movies or something?"

"That's a movie! There are actually people trying to kill us!" We crawled until we hit a dead end in the system. "Well, now what?" Just then, Psycho Cuts started ripping through the vent system.

"You can't hide from me!" The Mayor's voice echoed through the vent. I shot a Psycho Cut at the ceiling, revealing dirt instead of cement. That gave me an idea.

"Antonio, look out!" Antonio moved back as far as he could, and I used the most powerful Psycho Cut I could to try and create a tunnel to the surface. I did the same thing two more times, causing a small sinkhole. "Let's go!" Antonio and I climbed through the dirt and rocks, putting rips in our clothes. We got to the top of the pit and just started running into the woods. I heard the shouts of other Gallade behind me, but they faded semi-quickly. We ran until we were out of breath, then stopped to take a break.

"Thomas, what do we do from here?"

"I have no idea."

"Well, Mayor Swordhand is probably going to put a bounty on our heads. We need to go somewhere." Antonio paced in a circle for a minute. "My only thought is to go to the place that Gality told Stephen about. Only problem with that is that I don't know where Stephen is!" We thought for a moment, but them I saw a bush that seemed slightly squished. I walked over to it to see Stephen just laying there.

"Looks like we won't have to look far." Antonio ran over to me. He immediately tried to hear Stephen's heartbeat.

"He's alive, but not much longer if we don't do something."

"Well, I don't know where to go!" Just then, Stephen slowly moved his hand over to his bag.

"Left pouch, that's where to go…" Stephen was talking so quiet that I didn't even know if he was saying anything. Antonio picked up the psychic tracking thing that Stephen was using.

"Help me pick him up, Thomas!" I did as he said, and we ventured off into a place that could very well be a trap, or an enemy stronghold, or…

Mayor Swordhand

I looked out over the balcony and into the woods that swallowed the old Guardsmen. "So, when will the attack commence?" I heard General Psyspeed ask as she walked over to where I was standing.

"Whenever you're ready. My men can be ready in five minutes."

"Well, I was asking that because of the Gallade that fled into the forest."

"Them? Not a problem. Most of them couldn't even beat my son in a fight."

"What about the other one?"

"He'll come back. I know it." The General looked confused, but didn't press for more answers.

"I want to attack in one week."

"That will be fine." The General nodded, and walked away. I went back to looking at the woods for about two hours, with my cape swaying in the wind. I thought about strategies, counterattacks, possible resistance.

"Sir, the workday is over." I turned around to see my lead bodyguard.

"Yes." I walked down from the town hall balcony, and to my house. I closed all of the blinds and locked all of the doors, then went to the basement and locked that door as well. I snuck out of the secret entrance, and all the way into my airplane hangar in the mountain. I got into the plane, started it up, and ventured towards the Distortion World Portal.

I landed the plane and walked into the portal, watching the world turn colorful to monochrome. Everything was shades of dark purple, except the Pokemon stuck here to mine for eternity, never to break the rock in front of them. Giratina turned around, levitating off the ground, when I approached. I dropped to one knee and bowed before the ruler of the land. "How is the mission going?"

"Well. We are preparing to go find her, or burn her with the town."

"Good." Giratina started to turn away.

"Wait! You said that something would be done about my son!"

"He will be dealt with, and I have an idea how to!" Giratina bellowed, laughing afterwards.