While Dawn pestered Cynthia to tell her all about their battle with Hunter, Lucas found himself engrossed in his studies in the Library. While he and Dawn were technically considering themselves a couple, he was not inclined to join her in all activities, least of all peppering the Sinnoh League's Champion over what might very well have been a very harrowing experience. He lost himself into the world of books in his time of solitude. Well, not entirely solitude. His Pachirisu remained perched on his head, pretending to read himself as if somehow adding himself into the situation. Though he knew his Pokemon could not understand any of the words written, he paid it no mind. After all, it was better to have his Pachirisu at his side than to not have any Pokemon at all.

The Library was quickly becoming a haven for those at Kingston Castle who were feeling somewhat out of place with all of the regal affairs taking place. Though there were more than a dozen tables in the library for people to read their books or any other lighthearted activities, almost all of them were full. Lizzie West, whom Lucas had discovered was once on Michael Kingston's Pokemon League and was the caretaker of Jirachi, was reading at one table with a mountain of books keeping her from being visible to any who weren't in direct view of her. Justin Jacques sat on the other side of Lucas's own table, himself engrossed in a book about the history of his own family, no doubt deeply curious as to where the rift between the Jacques and Kingston Families had come from and if it could be mended. Mark's "special guest" Greta was at another table, worriedly trying to read some romance novels to keep her mind off the fact that her "very special friend" was wounded in the clash with Hunter. Corey of the ArcNet News Team was working on re-calibrating one of his famous ESD Devices that had enough electromagnetic power to shut down an entire power generator, even one the size of a soccer pitch. The other two members of the team, Dylan and Amber, were also hard at work for themselves, with Dylan being forced by his own girlfriend to read a book about how to act like a gentleman in front of her and Amber studying some of the best journalists of their time to become a more well-rounded anchor on her own time. Even the King's own father, Big Mike, had taken a day off to spend time with his grandchildren, reading them as well as Olivia Novren's son Little Michael stories from the children's section.

This left Lucas with no choice but to share a table with someone whom he hoped would be studying something similar to him. She was the King's old friend from the ravaged Orre Region. Rui was her name. She was engrossed in a novel written by Professor Krane regarding the Shadow Pokemon Crisis that befell her region. Perhaps he could get a glimpse into what happened if he spoke with her. He settled his books down a few chairs away from her and glanced over at her. "Aren't you the King's friend?"

Rui flashed him a smile before returning to her reading. "That I am."

"You're also the one who was first able to see the Pokemon that had their hearts closed off artificially by Cipher?"

She nodded. "Correct again. I see I've got a little scholar sitting next to me."

Lucas flushed. "Well, I wouldn't say I'm a scholar exactly, but I hope to become one."

"I've heard a lot about you from Cynthia and Addison" Rui explained. "They tell me you hope to become a Professor yourself one of these days."

"I do, but first I need to complete my thesis about a potential connection between all of the anomalies of the world. The Distortion World that appeared in Sinnoh, the cataclysmic weather events in Hoenn caused by Groudon and Kyogre, the infamous King of Kalos, the Crimson Fury here in Arcana and of course the Shadow Pokemon Crisis in Orre."

"You can have my book when I'm finished" she winked. "Honestly though, this one is a little more liberal with the events than I expected it to be. I mean, they keep misspelling Cipher and they even had the gall to think that Wes was in league with them even after we kicked them to the curb years ago! The nerve!"

"That's why I was hoping for a more in depth story" Lucas explained. "You seem to know a lot about it, seeing as how you were there. Would you be able to clue me in as to what unfolded and how much you know about it?"

Rui lowered the book and sighed. "There really isn't much I can say, I'm afraid. The means with which Cipher used to close the hearts of those poor Pokemon are still not entirely clear and with most of their operation shut down by their latest hero, it's unclear if we'll ever find answers. Greevil and his sons vanished without a trace and Gonzap is more of a threat to a kids arcade than he is a threatening gangster. The Admins have all gone into hiding as well. My last personal hope was this book Professor Krane took out, but even that leaves you with more questions than answers."

"But how did these Pokemon break free from their, well, shadowy ways?"

Rui tapped her chin for a moment, then began her tale. "Well, I guess it all started when I was about your age and I arrived in Pyrite Town. I was on my way to meet my grandparents for a visit, when I noticed something strange was unfolding in the town. Pokemon were more aggressive and trainers were being mugged on the streets as if it were something normal. The police were doing nothing about it, either out of fear of retaliation or being involved. So, I watched a double battle take place between these two crooks named Trudly and Folly. The Pokemon they used in battle had a strange aura about it, but no one else could see it besides me. I was hopeful I was just seeing things, but those two were not going to take any chances. They chased me all over town until they caught me by Pyrite Colosseum. They kidnapped me in broad daylight. Tied me up, gagged me and threw me into a sack to take me to their boss. I would have been handed over too, if it weren't for my gallant prince, Wes." She let out a romantic sigh. "Those were the days. Just him and I against the whole world."

"Sounds like a real good guy, this Wes."

"More than that" Rui giggled. "He saved my life and stole the machine that Cipher and Team Snagem were using to steal trainers Pokemon. And with me being able to see them while he battled, we were able to reclaim all of those stolen Pokemon back and crush Cipher's main operations in Orre. And to answer your question, we took those Pokemon with their blackened hearts with us wherever we went to help acclimate them to living free lives. When they were finally feeling as though they could trust us, we went to Agate Village where my grandparents live. There, we allowed them to come face to face with the Relic Stone, which has the capacity to heal the damage done by Cipher. And after our work was done, we took off to see the world together. Cipher tried to show up again, but they fell apart when someone else took up the mantle of hero and trumped their efforts."

"Could you tell me more about this Relic Stone?" Lucas inquired.

"It's a big old stone in Agate Village. If we all somehow make it through this, you should come to Agate Village with us so we can show you personally." Rui thought for a moment before continuing. "Actually, Grandpa used to say that the healing powers of Celebi were what allowed these Pokemon to purify themselves. But I don't know if it meant that Celebi was literally there or not. He couldn't have been for the second Cipher crisis, since he left for Arcana with Michael and Julia after he came to Orre."

"The King was in Orre?" Lucas gasped.

Rui looked at him strangely. "Didn't you know? Michael came looking for us to see if we had a way to keep the Crimson Fury in check. The Relic Stone helped him to feel less angry all of the time. But it was only when Celebi appeared before him that he was able to begin the true process of healing." She glanced at the doors of the library, as if Michael were there and sighed. "He's been through so much already, yet I'm afraid he's going to need Celebi more than ever in the future."

"So the Crimson Fury and the Shadow Pokemon Crisis are linked?" Lucas inquired. "This is very interesting."

"You're not the only one who thought so, apparently" Rui said as she picked up the book she had been reading again. "One of the early passages in here shows my Grandfather and a scientist from this region were in contact up to the point when Wes and I defeated Nascour and Evice. I think his name was Baltimore? No. Balliard? Or was it Belmar?"

"Balthazar?"

"That's the one" Rui laughed. "Balthazar Aced."

"Him again" Lucas pondered. The name had come up constantly in his research. He had read the journal entries the famed scientist had written forwards and backwards, but there were still questions about the Fury that vexed him. If it was gone, as so many alleged it to be, why did Ryan lose himself to it when he killed Claude? Or against his brother on Mirage Island? Why was someone like King Michael still needing to be in the presence of Celebi if he was truly over it? Or had the surgery Professor Krane done to remove the artificial brands only removed the Fury on a surface level? Many questions would need to be answered in a very short amount of time. He didn't know if or when they would be leaving for Sinnoh, or more worrisome, when Mewtwo would be ready to make his war. There had to be something he was missing. A missing page or a misquoted line? Why would someone as dedicated to the sciences as Balthazar leave such an enormous gap on his knowledge of the Crimson Fury? But the only people who would know for sure were either dead in the case of Balthazar and James, missing in terms of the Queen's former research assistant in Amanda Fouritz, or in the case of the Queen herself, potentially having no memory to speak of.

"Look at this drivel" Rui snapped as she read another passage from the book. "This page is saying that Celebi purifies Pokemon by using time travel. What nonsense!"

"I thought Celebi was the Mythical Pokemon of Light and Time" Lucas recalled. "It could have some merit."

"No one can traverse time" Rui declared. "It's impossible. Countess Rosemary said tampering with time would have disastrous consequences."

Lucas could not help but roll his eyes at this proclamation. "And you listen to everything she tells you?"

"Imagine if someone like Courtney or Mewtwo had control over time" she argued. "Don't you think they'd use time to erase the White Mage from existence? Or make it so all Pokemon and Humans are enemies? Even if good guys had control over it, we'd be tempted to fix things so that bad times never happened. It's not something I could ever agree with, even if it meant getting my Wes back." She began to shake at that, but collected herself and went on reading, leaving Lucas alone with his thoughts.

"Traversing time?" Lucas asked himself. I should ask Cynthia about this. Then, if my theory holds water, I might have to seek out an audience with the King.

{}

"So you're telling me there was a page you guys kept out of the Journal of Balthazar?" Ryan asked Amanda as their group traversed the ever thickening woods of Mirage Island. Amanda knew this conversation would have to come up again at some point, but had hoped it would be a bit more civil than the last time she and Chris had debated it. But Ryan was more hurt than anyone, considering he was the first one who got to read the passages of Balthazar Aced's journals after Julia sent them to him. While Avery scouted out ahead of them and Chris remained on guard in the rear, she had little choice but to be confronted on this issue personally.

"In hindsight, I believe it was a serious mistake to do so" Amanda admitted. "But Julia was afraid of what the notes could possibly entail for the future. She was especially fearful of what would happen if they ended up being true." Though she had told Chris when they first spoke about it that she was unsure of the contents of the missing entry, she was only partially honest with him. She recalled enough of it to know why Julia was so petrified of it. There was more to Balthazar's words than just "Fury Relapse". If anyone deserved to know the truth, however, it was Ryan. If Julia trusted him to know the truth, surely she could. "I could recite it for you, to the best of my ability."

"I just want to know why you would keep the truth from us" Ryan pleaded. "I mean, didn't Michael and I deserve that?"

"Julia was horrified of potentially losing Michael" she reasoned. "If Michael felt that the Fury was no longer a problem, we felt that it would eventually die back down. How could we know the Syndicate would make another move? For all we knew, the only ones left were Claude and your brother."

"So all that talk about us being healed was a lie?" Ryan demanded.

"Not exactly" Amanda insisted.

"It can either be true or it could be a lie" the Champion demanded. "It can't be anywhere in between!"

Amanda sighed. "Maybe if you were older, you might understand that things aren't black and white. Even Michael understands that." When Ryan moved to protest, she put her finger to his mouth to quiet him. "But I'm willing to help you understand why." With Chris distracted on his own guardian duties and Darkrai ahead of them, she took Ryan's wrist and pulled him aside, sitting him down on a rock just off the path they had been on. Once he was seated, she held out her hand to him. "Give me your Poke Gear."

"I don't have my Poke Gear" Ryan insisted.

"Oh crap" Amanda frowned. "I should have figured as much. So use mine." She took hers out of her pocket and scrolled through the files she had been keeping protected for almost three years. She found the file Julia had pleaded for her to keep hidden and opened it. It was titled: Fury Relapse:

{}

Entry #9 (Journal #4): A fear vexes me. One that I do not wish to even begin to get into in these entries, but it's a fear I must confide somewhere, nonetheless. With James away celebrating the birth of a grandson, I am left with only my Corporeal Friend or my son to speak these fears to. But when I approach them, my Friend seems to already know what I want to discuss and dismisses it, while my son is too motivated by the sheer power of the Crimson Madness to even let me say my piece. Thus, I am left only to the sole solace I have had in these troubling times: my journals. I fear James may be right about our need to keep these from unsuspecting eyes, but I will feel some sense of emptiness if I am forced to abandon my work to prevent it from falling into evil hands. Then again, what good and evil are at this point is beginning to blur for me. I'm not even sure whom I can trust.

Every single disease and affliction in the known world has varied effects on people. Some effects are not long lasting and pass away with the proper rest and medication. Some are even eradicated through the means of inoculation. But the Madness is not one of these things. Its effects are stringent and unyielding to anyone in the presence of the Crimson Moon. All who are in its gravitas feel the same sensations of rage and lust for battle, regardless of age, gender or power of Pokemon. The bonds between Trainer and Pokemon seem to be the only thing that prevents mediocre and cruel trainers from falling prey to its grasp. So far, in the few years we've been working on this project and suffering the losses of time and family that have come with it, we have been focusing on preventing the Crimson Fury from harming another generation of Pokemon Trainers and their Pokemon. Lives have been lost because of the Fury, for generations, ceaselessly. Our ancestors believed it was Arceus punishing us for our decadent ways. As time passed, some simply assumed it was an act of nature we could not prevent, such as a hurricane or volcanic eruption. And it is the duty of men of science (or in James's case, men of our positions of power) to do all that is in our power to safeguard and protect the people we serve.

But what about those already afflicted? What should happen to someone already scarred by the wrath of The Madness? My thoughts have lingered the past few days on the boy we experimented on many years ago. The one with the peculiar name from Unova. He contacted me several days ago, informing me of a conflict he was recently involved in. He had taken part in a battle with an old enemy, some fool named Ghetsis, during which his Pokemon began to act strangely. As did he. Were it not for the interference of this man's allies, the boy might have destroyed his enemy in battle. It's a strange twist of fate for this to take place outside of the influence of the Crimson Moon. After all, this affliction only occurs to people who have experienced the Crimson Moon, which only appears here in Arcana. So why would it affect him all the way in Unova? Unless there's something we've missed.

The Stone.

The item we discovered after a meteor fell on the Ruined Tunnel between Alchemiburg and Kingston Castle. The one we used to inspect his bond with his Pokemon. Had it somehow given him a sense of nuclear radiation? Had being in the presence of this rock alone caused him to have serious problems with his mood and the Madness? He mentioned that his Pokemon, one of the fabled Dragons of Truth and Ideals, had almost sought to annihilate his enemy like so many have during the Moon's Madness here. And the boy almost allowed this to happen. How scarred would he have been? How would his life have been impacted if he had shown no mercy? I dread the thought of this becoming something other than an isolated incident. How could I live with myself if anything happened to Elezar or my Corporeal Friend under exposure of this stone? Or to James and his assortment of grandchildren? Even outsiders like Bonnie or Claude could be put in danger by this stone. I'm beginning to contemplate destroying this wretched rock before any other catastrophes fall on my lap.

And yet, unyielding fears trouble me. What if there was more where this one came from? What if there are more stones like this? Or worse? What if it's already too late? What if this stone is nothing more than a distraction? What if those exposed to the Madness can have random outbursts at anytime and in any situation? Was all of these long days and nights of work for nothing? Could these people truly be defenseless against such a cataclysmic force of nature? Though I know it is against my creed as a scientist to think with such defeatism, with time growing short for all of us, I wonder if it may not already be time to admit that the Crimson Moon is something even the combined talents of us four cannot stop?

James. Good old, James. You'd be here to tell me things would be well. That we would be able to overcome this despite impossible odds. I don't know where his purity ever came from or how his heart can so easily guide his mind. I just know that I wouldn't have my best friend any other way.

{}

Amanda was relieved to find that Ryan had become contemplative and was less contentious than he was before. He showed less anger on his face and gave her hope that the reasoning as to why they had held back had gotten through to him. After all, it wasn't as if Julia and she had hidden this for malicious intent. After all Michael had endured at the hands of the Crimson Fury, killing and almost killing himself, Julia felt bound and determined to protect the man she loved. Amanda recalled the conversation she had with Julia when she chose to once and for all bury the information. When Amanda argued that it was Michael's right to know, Julia told her that she had caused Michael to suffer enough. At this point, Julia and Michael had not even spoken since she left him during one of his darkest moments, so Amanda could understand how emotionally stressed she was. Michael was actively avoiding her and she was almost sure that Michael would be abiding by her wishes to end their relationship permanently.

I've done more to him than anyone could ever know, she remembered Julia telling her after Michael, Ryan and Addison underwent their Brand Removals. I want to protect Michael from all that might hurt him. I love him, Amanda. More than anything in this wretched world. But if this is truly the end, I can safely know he's taken care of. He deserves better than me, anyway.

"So it really was the Fury inside of me when I took out Claude?" Ryan asked rhetorically. "And when I battled Holly and Mike?"

"I can't say for sure since I wasn't there" Amanda gently told him, "but it may appear to be so. The Fury is not something we can just remove so easily."

"We could have prepared for this if we knew" Ryan said, though far more sadly than he had been before. "I could have-"

"Mewtwo played all of us" Amanda replied. "You'd have to be as Psychic as he is to be able to keep up with him."

"Or just have dumb luck" Chris echoed as he returned from his patrol. "I mean, we've got an advantage as long as Mewtwo thinks you're out of the picture, right?"

"I guess, but still-"

Amanda watched as Chris sat beside Ryan and put his arm around him. "Look, bud. I can't ever know what it is you all go through with this whole Fury thing. But the one thing I've noticed since Mike took me under his wing was that someone like that ugly deformed freak doesn't just kill for the sake of it. Not even his genocide is without purpose. He took you out of the picture because he's afraid you'll be the key to his destruction. If you're in his way, he can't win. So, he tried to take you out. Yet here you are, with us. Now if that ain't dumb luck, the only thing left for it to be would be divine providence."

Amanda joined in, sitting down on Ryan's other side. "We have what little we have. It's not much, but it's all we've got. And I have a feeling that Julia and I will be coming clean if we ever make it back home."

"If you ever make it back home..." Ryan repeated.

"We" Chris corrected.

"Not me" Ryan answered. "I can't go back. Not like this."

"And if Avery could go back" Chris said proudly. "we'll find a way for you to do it. Even if I have to pry Jirachi from Hunter myself, we're going to get you back."

"Trust us the same way we trust you" Amanda told him kindly. "We won't let you down."

Ryan finally cracked a smile. "I doubt I'd be able to do this without you guys."

"We may not be Addy or Mike" Chris shrugged, "but we can fill in for the time being. Except the whole kissing part. Think Billy might hack off your lips if you try."

"Let's not broach that subject then!" the Champion laughed.

Amanda rolled her eyes. "Good to see you Kingstons are back in higher spirits." In a few quick movements, she shoved Chris up to his feet and rose herself. "Now let's get a move on. We still need to find that Temple of Dreams and maybe a few more Pokemon." As Chris staggered to his feet, Amanda pulled Ryan to his feet and planted a kiss on his forehead.

{}

When April informed him that nothing had yet changed for Julia's conditions, Michael had Annie assume the duties of watching over the construction of the new throne room and any of the lesser duties as King so that he could have some time that evening to let Celebi cleanse his heart of the dark thoughts plaguing him. Sure, his reunion with Celebi had helped, but more help was likely needed before anything else could come to pass. With his father looking after James and Arya for the day, having taken the day off to spend with his grandchildren, he had enough time to go into his bedroom and let his Mythical Pokemon friend set about purifying him as he had in the days of old. Hopefully, once Mewtwo and Courtney had finally been stopped, he may no longer need to rely on this cleansing of his heart anymore.

He opened the door and was floored to find his and Julia's bedroom was not empty. Olivia was sprawled out on his bed, three empty bottles of tequila on the bed next to her. His "replacement bride" seemed to have been drinking up here for quite a while. And had somehow managed to find herself in his bedroom and not her own. A more troubling thought than why she wasn't at work supporting her only child. Did she already fancy herself a Queen? Or had this been part of her plan all along?

"What are you doing here?" Michael asked calmly.

"Am I not allowed to be in a bedroom of Kings and Queens?!" she asked sloppily. "Am I not set to be a Queen?"

"If and only if Julia chooses to leave" Michael spoke, this time showing a bit of his anger. "And don't forget, until that happens, you have a son to look after."

"My son will be a prince regardless of what happens to me" Olivia cried out, taking a swig of a fourth tequila bottle she was cradling like a baby. "He's looked after, even if that freak kills us all!"

Michael lowered his head. "Word travels fast. How did you hear?"

"Sweetie" Olivia winked as she passed the bottle along from hand to hand, "it's been trending online since Cammie's little fun mission ended with a guy getting skewered by a sword. The entire region is terrified. But don't worry. My son is protected." She made to drink from the bottle once more, but Michael wrenched it from her hands and put it out of her reach on a nearby dresser. "Okay, rude!"

"So I have to assume you didn't go into work today?"

"What's the point of working when we've only got thirty days to live?!" Olivia barked. "Atticus understands."

Michael shook his head. "Taking advantage of a situation to suit your selfish needs? That doesn't sound like you, Liv."

"And you know me soooo well" Olivia laughed mockingly. She made herself out into a star on Michael's bed. "Come on, Michael! The Queen has a need for her King!"

"Get up!" Michael called to her. "We need to sober you up and get you to see your son. He's going to be asking about you, soon enough."

She tossed a tequila bottle at him, though it was enough of a lob for Michael to catch it instead of dodging it. "You and I both know how this ends up, Michael! We're all going to die! Protecting our precious little gifts won't mean much when Mewtwo kills us all!" She staggered to her feet, but fell back onto the bed. "I guess the floor lost me."

Michael put the bottle beside the half full one and made for her side. "Let's go!" He took hold of Olivia's arm and hauled her up to her feet. "For the record, Liv, you and I are not married. We're not even legally bound to one another until Julia leaves. The only agreement we have in place is if anything happens to you, which considering how drunk you are can be anything, I take care of Little Michael. But until that day comes, he needs his mother."

"He needs a father" Olivia pleaded. She slapped his chest several times, until the slaps slowed down and she cried into his chest, sobbing hysterically. "I can't do anything for him! What good of a mother am I if I can't even keep him safe from this?"

"A mother does what she can for her child to give him the best possible life" Michael gently counseled. "Your son needs you. Just as James and Arya need me and Julia."

"You and I both know how this whole Julia thing ends" she spat out, before almost collapsing to the floor, only being held up by her arms by the King. "She's going to wake up and remember that she forgot who all of us are and run off to whatever life has in store for her! Blissfully unaware of what kind of life she gives up! Just like every single one of us did when you were exiled!" She looked up at him, her scarlet-colored hair flashing like fire. "All of us did. Me, Becky, that fat bitch Betsy, Dee, Julia. All of us. We never saw you for what you are." She put her hands on his chest. "And when she goes, who's going to take care of James and Arya? Help them see that it was because of some whacked out witch that their mother walked out of their lives, but tell them that it doesn't matter because their stepmother loves them and-"

Michael took Olivia's hands off his chest. "Julia has not left yet and may not for all we know."

"You may wish it" she said drunkenly. "Just like I wish Georges was still here. Just like I wish she didn't have to be the one who lost you. But no one gets what they want in the end." She flashed a seductive look his way, her eyes flashing with intent and desire. "No one except a Queen." She then flung herself at Michael, kissing him. He did his best to push her away until she lost her grip on him and began to fall backwards. Michael caught her hands and pulled her back up and, very reluctantly, into another kiss. The two continued their steamy moment, landing on the bed beside one another.

Though the idea of being with Olivia was wrong on so many levels, he had to get used to it if Julia was going to depart. He gently moved her front facing onto the bed and took a deep breath. This is for the kids. Remember, Michael. It's for the kids. Yet no matter how many times he tried to tell himself that, he could not help but picture Julia telling herself a similar thing when she was with Peter in Sinnoh. Two rifts in their marriage had been caused by this, yet here he was making the same potential mistake as her. And yet, if she truly did abandon their family, their love, their children...did it matter in the end?

Olivia answered the question for him by grabbing him and pulling him down onto her. The two were within seconds of having what some would consider the affair of a lifetime. Which was, to Michael's relief and Olivia's drunken frustration, when the door was knocked on.

"Michael?!" Lizzie's voice called from behind the door. "Is this a bad time?"

Michael pulled away. "I'll be there in a second, Liz." He untangled himself from Olivia's grasp and pushed himself off the bed. Beads of nervous sweat were already running down his head, but he was on his feet in a matter of seconds. Olivia leaped up and grabbed his hand, pulling him back towards the bed, but Michael once more managed to free himself. He then raced for the tequila bottle and handed it to her to give him a moment's peace. With his heavily intoxicated guest drinking away, Michael pushed himself out of the room to speak with Lizzie. "What's up?"

"Do I want to know what's going on in there?" she inquired.

"Trust me, no you don't." He didn't even want to. The less anyone thought of this, the better. "What's going on?"

"I think I found something that could help us" Lizzie offered. "In one of the book in the library, I found that there is an ancient poem about the Six Mythical Pokemon being able to open up a pathway to the Realm of Arceus!" She showed him a picture she had taken with her Poke Gear, displaying the six Mythical Pokemon in a ring: Victini, Shaymin, Manaphy, Celebi, Jirachi and Mew, all creating a beam of light that will send anyone in it's embrace, be they Pokemon or human, to the celestial realm of Arceus.

"How does it work?" Michael asked, knowing they only had a few moments before Olivia's attention returned to him.

"That I'm not sure about" she replied. "But I was hoping that the six of us could figure out how it might work in the morning. Well, the four of us, plus Piper and Matt, considering Chris and Ryan aren't here to take part."

"We need to make sure Mark and Matt are up to this" Michael cautioned. "They're protectors just as much as the rest of us are."

"Matt should be ready to go and I was about to ask Mark if he's up for it."

Michael shrugged. "Fine. Go see Mark and if he says yes, we'll plan for early tomorrow morning."

Lizzie happily nodded. "Okie dokie then. I'll let you get back to...whatever it was you were doing." She then walked down the hall.

Michael was about to follow her, but the door opened enough for Olivia to grab him and drag him back inside. Michael was hauled all the way into the room and slammed up against the door. She eyed him with the same eyes she had the little boy who had danced with her at his grandparents anniversary party. She winked at him and moved to lock the door. He was about to protest, but she put her other hand over his mouth and shushed him. When the door was locked for the rest of the day, she pulled him away from the door. She kept him silenced until she was finally back in front of him before removing her hand. "No talking." She then took both of his hands and pulled him into bed with her. "We can talk later."

He let Olivia lead him on, knowing all too well that one way or another, this was how his night was going to go.

{}

While on the hunt for Elezar Aced and wherever he was hiding on Mirage Island, Courtney found herself unable to progress due to a sharp pain in her head. She hadn't felt this sort of a pain in years. Not since the fateful day in Hoenn when she had the vision of Primal Groudon unleashing his wrath on the Hoenn Region with his destructive power if Maxie and her allies woke him. She was about to have another prophetic vision and was in no position to stop it from coming. She tried to fight it off, until her eyes brightened and she lost control of herself for the duration of the Prophecy.

For Every Light

Shall Come a Corresponding Dark

Yin and Yang, Sun and Moon

These Forces Must Maintain Order

Should a Mage Rise

And cast darkness into doubt

So too must a Knight

Who's heart is full of rage

White and Black, They will Clash

Upon the Land Whence They Were Forged

And into the Moon or the Sun

Shalt the World Go to the Victor!

She fell to the ground, breathing heavily and caressing her forehead. To her horror, she had no memory of a single word of the prophecy she had just given to herself. She leaped to her feet and cried out.

"NO! NO! I NEED THAT PROPHECY!" She smacked her head several times, but to no avail.

"You seem to have misplaced a great many things, Miss Courtney" a voice called out from the darkness.

Courtney spun around and called out her Magmortar to defend herself. "SHOW YOURSELF!"

The dense black forest revealed two individuals coming her way. The first was a Pokemon, a Scizor, who strangely bore a look of displeasure on his face. Behind the Pokemon strode a man. A man who had once lorded over Courtney when he commanded the Syndicate. A man she hated with every fiber of her being that wasn't focused on hating Julia Pines. And on his face, he wore the same condescending look he had when he acted superior to her.

"You seem to have an uncanny ability of failing when it matters most, Courtney" Elezar snickered.

"I should say the same for you" Courtney growled. "But the way I see it, you've found a much better hobby since you survived your little excursion into the fiery depths of Mt. Heatmor. And that is irritating myself and The Grand Master!" The Magmortar aimed it's cannon arm at Elezar and his Pokemon, growling as intensely as his trainer was feeling. "Since I've found you, I promise to be extra careful with you when I send you to reunite with The Grand Master."

"Aha" Elezar smirked. "But we've yet to reach past the negotiation stage. After all, one of us has a great deal of leverage over the other."

"And what leverage would that be?" she demanded.

"I'm the one that wretched beast you serve wants" her former boss reasoned. "Not Avery Frost or anything else in her possession, at least as far as you both know. You're after me because of my constant interference with your goals. Because I possess that which your precious master needs the most." He revealed in his pocket the crystal used to power the Harvesting Machine. "And...because I remember ever single word of your precious little Prophecy."

Courtney was speechless. "Wha-bu-you-"

Elezar put the crystal back into his pocket. "Now that all of our cards are on the table, I believe you were interested in the contents of your latest Prophecy, which seemed to sound quite important. You wouldn't want to return to the Master empty handed, now would you? You may have shamed The Grand Master for the last time. Who knows what will happen if you do it again."

Courtney ground her teeth and seethed in anger. "Fine. Name your terms, Elezar. So I can send you to Hell with a smile on your face!"

"I don't negotiate with subordinates" Elezar grinned wickedly. "Bring me to see my old friend, would you?"