Attached

A Pokémon Persona Crossover Fanfiction

by Three Black Noises

Chapter 6

Trey and Bella got back not to long after Robin took Hope topside, and I joined Trey as bella whent off somewhere else.

Trey sat down at the living room table and proceedded to open his package.

After he flipped through some papers for over a minute, I asked, "So, what's the translation?"

He sighed irritably before saying, "Ruby thinks that you came through with Tina."

"Okay, so, is that bad?" I asked.

"Yes, but seeing as Tina should have been the one coming to look for my sister, it makes sence but"

Trey stopped talking for a time, and Liz came to sit by me; picking up the thread of the conversation as the others came to join us as well.

"Now we have a bit of a problem, right?" she asked.

"Sort of." Trey said slowly before clearing his throat nervously.

"Okay, So what's our problem?" sarah asked.

"I am not Tina." Trey said simply.

"Well let's just make another coin call and get her here." Bella said; having returned from her errand.

"I would do that as a last resort, but I think we can still make contact with my missing sister provided we can even find her in the first place.

"Okay, That sounds reasonable." sarah observed.

"Chu man. we'll find her." Chris said.

"Chu, man?" I asked.

"I just, felt like saying it for some reason." Chris said; mystified.

"You always use to tell people that back home." Liz said softly.

"Is it kind of like 'chill man'?" I asked.'

"Yes, it is." Liz answered with a small laugh.

"So does that mean I could get the first six months of my memories back?" Chris asked excitedly.

"Maybe, but I'd be happy if most of your trates came back myself. We can always work on where you've been and the like, but your personalitty is something we can't just teach you, if that makes any sence." Liz answered.

"Yeah it does." Chris said softly.

"Any clues in Ruby's message?" I asked; getting back to the subject at hand.

"Yes, but I cannot make it out." trey said in a vary puzzled way.

He paused for some seconds before reciting,

"In the language of the one whom you arived with... my name in this world is formed thus.

Place my name on parchment in the language of dots.

From the letters of my name, remove one dot from the first letter and turn the third ninety degrees clockwise."

Trey paused at this, then poked me just a little bit to hard in my ribs.

"Does that mean anything to you?" he asked.

He then added a vary quiet "Sorry." in my direction.

"Her name is spelle Y, correct?" I asked.

"I do not know. If it is, does that help you out?" Trey asked.

"Yes it does. See, the only letters you can get by removing a dot from R would be, H, L, and, a dropped F, but L makes the most sence seeing as a B turned clockwise becomes a C." I explained.

"Lucy?" Liz asked.

"NPdB should have an entry on her then." Crystal said; coming in from another room.

"NPDB?" I asked along with Chris and Christina.

"National Pokémon Database." crystal explained as she headed for her office.

Trey and I followed her, and I asked the others to join us. They declined saying; in different ways; that this was Trey's issue, and they trusted me to tell them anything they needed to know.

So Crystal got back in front of her PC and brought up some kind of web site.

"It's built into TVs to, but I can do it easier from here." crystal explained as she typed vary quickly.

"This kind of looks like what alder used." Trey explained.

"More or les, but more advanced, and we're going to use vary spesific sirch terms." Crystal explained.

She started typing again.

"wigglytuff, Lucy." she said as she typed.

We didn't have to wait long.

"and here we go. All Wigglytuff named Lucy. Any one of these look like your sister?" Crystal asked.

Trey tried to look at the screen, but he was to short.

He grunted as he tried to pull himself up to se better.

"Just sit in the chair." Crystal said; vacating it.

Trey took said chair while making nurvous sounds.

"You can't mess anything up." Crystal encouraged as she moved to stand by me.

Trey wasn't in the chair long before he said, "This one has to be her."

Trey tapped the screen, but nothing happened.

"Use the mouse." Crystal said.

She used her hand to point out said mouse before trying to rap her arm around me.

As trey figured out how it worked and started clicking around, Crystal moved into an extremely awkward hug.

"This, is, awkward, but Bella says I need to learn how to do it." Crystal said; trying to figure out the best way to rap her arms around me.

"Speaking of." Trey said.

"What. Hugs?" Crystal and I asked.

"Yes." Trey said with a little bit of anger coming into his voice.

Crystal disengaged from the hug to look at the screen, then gasped before saying, "Maybe you'd better let me have my chair back."

"Why is my sister hugging that lady?" Trey asked in the time it took him to get up and Crystal to sit down.

Crystal didn't take long to answer.

"That's her owner. Maybe your sister is trying to make some kind of life here because she can't get home?" She suggested.

"Are you saying my sister has a trainer?" Trey asked.

"No, she's, basically a pet." Crystal explained.

"Oh no! What do we do now." Trey moaned.

"Easy. We call her owner." Crystal said, clicking a button on her screen.

"At this hour?" I asked.

"Wowe! Hello?" a high-pitched voice from the PC asked.

"RUBY?" Crystal asked.

"Yes? TO WHOM am I speaking?" the voice asked.

"This is Crystal Brightstar."

"The, Crystal? The one that works with all the computer stuf?" Ruby asked.

"That's me, and I've got someone here who's dieing to speak to you."

At this, Crystal poked Trey somewhere that made him give a little "Tuff!" as he was pushed into screen range.

"Trey?" Ruby asked after a moment of stunned silence.

"Yes. I am quite afraid that I messed up, and got sent here instead of tina." Trey explained.

Ruby didn't say anything for a few beats, then, "What happened?"

I felt Trey's ears, and saw they were drooping.

"I, tried to pass an obstruction during my coming of age ceremony, and, made him appear instead."

I stepped forward and introduced myself.

Ruby thought for some time, then asked,

"Did they use Michael's arrival to stage a political show to get you out here?"

I thought the question was directed at Trey, and I was right, for he sighed deeply before answering yes.

Ruby thought some more before saying, "Okay. This can still work out alright. Trey, is your memory still good enough to recall all the old stories?"

Trey laughed.

"Yes it is. Why do you ask?"

"Because I'll need it so I can make sure I remember all of them well enough to translate them into english."

"You do remember that I cannot sing anything except the parish song, correct?" Trey asked.

"I do." Ruby answered before making a little sound like sheead been caught doing something bad.

"Lucy, who are you talking to?" a woman's voice asked.

"Oh, Jade, I didn't hear you come in. This is my brother Tray." Ruby replied.

"Trey?" Jade asked with a puzzled tone.

"I thought you said Tina would be the one who answered the summins."

"She would have, if she'd been the one they sent. However do to a blunder on my brother's part, he was the one they sent instead. He can still help with the translation; if not the singing, so the effort wasn't a total waste."

"I see." Jade said quietly.

She thought for a few seconds then, "How soon can you get to a pokémon center to send him over?" she asked.

I thought the question was directed at me, so I opened my mouth to answer, but Crystal spoke first.

"We can send him right now if you wish. I've got a transfer machine here for, other reasons, as well, so just tell me where I'm sending him and we'll get him there."

"Okay. I guess you can get my ball ready."

I gave Trey a look.

"I do not much like the capture ball, but I also want to help my sister in tina's place, so I will go in a ball this once." he said.

So arrangements were quickly made with Jade for the transport.

As I put Trey in his ball, Ruby said to Jade, "By the way, my real name is Ruby."

"So that's why you laughed when I gave you that nikname huh?"

"It is. Also, and I learned this later, Lucy and Ruby are very simular in braille. That's how I mane sure we got the correct Wigglytuff."

"I see. Anything else you want to tell me?" Jade asked Ruby as Crystal got the machine ready.

"There is one more thing, though it doesn't relate to anything we're doing. My mother's name translates as Jade."

I heard Jade getting things ready on her end as she broke out in a huge laugh.

"Oh! That makes me feel a lot better. All this time I thought you were giving me that look when you said my name because you hated jade stones or something."

They both laugh together as Crystal made ready to send Trey over.

"Take care of him please?" I asked.

"Will do." Ruby then Jade said as Crystal took Trey's ball from me.

As she ran through the transfur procedure, she explained it to me so I'd know how trading worked if I ever wanted to engage in one.

After the transfur was confirmed, I left crystal to her work so I could explain what had just happened to the others.

I found all of them in one of the front rooms engaged in conversation.

"It seems to have worked." Liz was saying in a puzzled way.

"Feara." a new voice said in a rather bord way.

"Guess not." Robin said sadly.

"Don't knock it yet. These things can take time to work. Just try saying things with o in them every now and then and see if you can." Liz explained.

"I will." the new comer said.

It was at that time that I was noticed.

Introductions were quickly made between feara and myself, and I learned that she was an acquaintance of Robin's that he was helping out.

I then explained Trey's situation, and was told by everyone present; Liz mostly; that I made the right decision to let him reunite with his lost sister.

"So, what's the deal with Feara?" I asked.

"She's a Fearo who can't make the o sound, as I'm sure you've figured out by now, so I've kind of made it a little project of mine to attempt to fix her. Liz and Hope have just done, something with their joint powers that should fix her speach problems, though it might take some time for it to work." Robin explained.

"Are you wild?" Christina asked.

"Definitely, but due to my, inconvenience, it's vary unlikely that any wild bird Pokémon will except me as a mate." she explained in a manner that told me that she had to choose her words vary carefully so as to avoid an embarrassing situation.

"How about coming along with us." I offered.

"Why." feara challenged.

"Hope and sarah will be leaving together soon. Hope's going to serve abord a medical ship, and sarah's going to be her emotional support.

Trey you already know about, so their are plenty of spots open.

Aside from that, Robin needs a teacher for, bird things, and even though I'd like to be that teacher, I'm smart enough to know I wouldn't be vary good at it, as I know vary little about birds myself.

So, if you were willing to teach him, maybe I could sit in on the lessons and learn to?" I explained.

feara thought about my offer for a long time, and more than just me waited with bated breath.

"Flying requires flying." feara said simply.

I thought about what she'd said, and when I figured out what she ment, I couldn't help but bristle inside, just a little bit.

"Oh really, we living requires seeing, but I do plenty of living despite not seeing, so your argument holds no water." I said.

Feara took a vary long time to choose her words this time.

"You, do not, have wings. It will be, vary hard, to make you understand, what birds do, without them." she finally explained.

"I think, I just might have an answer to that." liz said with a little laugh.

Several minutes later found all of us; Crystal, bella and Bethany included; standing out back of Crystal's house.

Feara assessed robin's current flying abillitties, then asked Liz to begin the experiment.

Said experiment consisted of Feara going through various flying maneuvers while liz used her powers to keep feara suspended about four feet above the ground in a stationary position.

Feara explained what she was doing while I felt her body go through its motions and poses.

Robin then tried to repeat the motions and actions under feara's supervision.

Even though Robin's body was much heavyer than feara's, Liz felt abliged to hold him in the same position so I could feel how differently he went through the same motions.

I knew Crystal; as well as all my other friends; would most likely have questions for the two birds, but I was surprised to hear Bella and even bethany putting their own questions forth.

Liz encouraged me to ask questions as well, and I ddid with some trepidation; fearing mine might be slightly idiotic; compared to those everybody else was asking. Liz told me that their was no such thing as an idiotic question, for only by asking idiotic questions does one stop being an idiot and start being smart.

I wasn't exactly on bord with that philosophy, but I understood what she meant, so I just started asking away.

As a result, I came away from the twenty-minute session with a greater knoledge of; and greater respect for; birds and all they could; and couldn't; do.

The ordeal left Liz extremely tired, so she headed in to bed earlier than I did.

Hope expressed a desire to regather the energy she'd used up trying to fix Feara, and feara; perhaps feeling guilty for causing hopes discomfort, agreed to stay up with her so the rest of us could get our sleep.

Robin didn't seem to object, so I took that as a sign and went into the house with the others.

"It's not connected to anything." Sara was saying as I entered the bedroom crystal had given us for the night.

"What's not connected to anything?" I asked; curious.

"Just a door in the middle of nowhere." Liz replied in a somewhat distracted way.

"Could it be an entrance to that velvot room place you talked about?" sarah asked.

"What door. I don't see one, unless your talking about the closet." Chris said from just behind me.

It dawned on me at that moment, that only people who might have a persona could actually see an entrance to the velvot room. Sarah; with her evolved form living in her head; qualified as a persona user, and Liz did to; at least according to Margaret.

"That's because you haven't awakened to a persona yet." I explained as I pulled out the velvot key igor had given me in the dream.

"I take it Chris just confirmed my idea?" Sarah half asked, half stated.

"That is correct my good lady." I said in a joking manner as I approached the door and felt it with my cane.

You're just going in, right now?" liz asked.

"Might as well get it over with." I said as I insirted the key into the lock.

Liz sighed as she took a position to the right of me.

"I'm tired, but their's no way you're going in their without me." she said.

"I want some answers about how Prinplup is living in my head and stuff, so I'm coming to." Sarah said as she took up a position on my left.

Well it looks like we're doing this..." I said, then, I turned the key, and everything went weird as we stepped into another world; or at least, some kind of in-between-world.

The door seemed to close after we passed through it, leaving us in some kind of room.

"Welcome to the Pokémon center. How may I help you today." Margaret asked.

we were in the main lobby of a Pokémon center, standing at the door that normaly lead back to the guest quorters.

"Well I don't think I need healing at this time, but is it possible to leave through the front, or is this all their is to the velvet room?" I asked.

"Go ahead and see for yourselves." Margaret invited, so we did.

Liz, Sarah, and I, emerged from the Pokémon center into a sunny spring day, with birds; not Pidgey or Spearow, but birds from my world; singing and the wind gently blowing against us.

"A, town?" I asked stupidly.

"Sort of. If you'd consider something with three buildings, no wait, four, buildings, a town." Liz said.

"I guess so." I said just as Sarah made a strange sound, then asked, "What's that high-pitched noise?"

"That would be bird song, from my world." I answered as I started to take Liz's arm.

She pulled it away saying, "I could help you, but why don't you use your cane?"

"So, where to?" I asked as we started walking.

"Well, their's the Pokémon center, if you want to turn around and visit Margaret again, but their's also, a Pokémart, a large brick building, and, what looks like a house, with." Liz began laughing.

"Well that's quaint," Liz said when she stopped laughing. "A, car, out front." she finished.

"Probably just set dressing. Let's start with the house." I said, and Liz turned right and began jogging.

"Wait!" sarah called from behind, "I can't woddle that fast!"

We waited for her to catch up, then we began jogging again; though slightly slower.

When we reached the house, we found that it was, indeed, a house.

Liz tugged on the front door, and it opened onto a small living room and a bed room with, only, one bed.

I realized, however, that it was a rather big bed; with velvet bed clothes, and thought twice about any perverted suggestions on behalf of the velvet town's chief proprietor.

I set Sarah down on it and began to look around as Liz did the same.

I found that their was also a big table; velbot table cloth included; with several velvet chairs set below a big window; most likely with velvot curtains; that let in the sunlight.

"Looks like a reading desc." I called to Liz who was poking around the outside of the room.

She came back to me.

"That's weird, their's no power. No light switches, plugs or anything, which I guess explains the reading desc positioned to catch the light from outside." she said.

"I guess so, but we have no books to read." I pointed out.

We began walking back to the front of the house slow enough so Sarah could walk with us.

We exited, and Liz headed down the drive a ways.

"I want to check something first before we check out that brick building." she said.

I folowed her footsteps until they stopped at the car.

I heard Liz try the driver's door, and as it popped open, I heard her slide behind the wheel.

I got in on the passenger side as Liz closed her door.

"Um, what are you doing?" I asked; somewhat perplexed as to why a Gardevoir like Liz would even be intrested in the workings of; or even trying to work; a human peace of technology.

"I figure, cars have some kind of power source right?" Liz began as Sarah climbed in with me.

I had no clue regarding Sarah's wanting to bee in the car, but as Liz and I were already in, I figured she just wanted to be included and didn't object.

I closed my door; with a small grunt; before answering, "Yeah, they run on batteries, why?"

as I felt for Liz, I couldn't help noticing that the car's seats and center console were covered in velvet, and that the car was well-maintained at about the middpoint of its life.

"Seeing as the house has no power, I'm thinking maybe this thing does, as soon as I find out how it works." Liz finished.

"Oh I know!" Sarah squealed; jumping almost into Liz's lap.

"You 'gotta have keys to work it!" Sarah exclaimed; looking around near the gear shift.

"Keys? Did someone say keys?" a high; bored; voice asked.

"I did, but who are you?" Sarah asked; not seeming the least bit perturbed.

"Just Klefki, your local key fairy." The voice responded; seeming to float closer to us from the back seat.

"Key fairy? I've never heard of you before." Liz said.

"That's not to surprising, noone wants me. I just like collecting keys, and my only useful power would be that of trapping all non-ghost type Pokémon." Klefki explained.

"That could be vary useful to me, as I'd like to befriend Pokémon rather than enslave them." I explained.

"So you'd make me hold Pokémon in place so you can, talk to them? Yeah, I'd enjoy doing that." Klefki admitted.

"Oh no! Does that mean we're all trapped in here with you?" Sarah asked; her voice much higher than normal.

"No, I have to decide to trap Pokémon, and I haven't used key lock on any of you yet." Klefki explained as he? floated closer to Sarah and offered her a key.

"Well? You 'wunna turn my only key?" he asked.

"Only if it won't hert you." Sarah admited.

She put the key into the ignition, then; vary slowly; turned it forward; probably with Klefki's help.

"Guess not." she quietly said when no response was forth coming.

She turned the key back and forth a few times with a quiet "Hmmmm." as she did so.

The car suddenly made a low humming sound; causing Sarah to gasp.

Liz was messing with the console; apparently trying to open it.

At Sarah's exclamation however, she stopped, seemed to look around, then exclaimed, "Uh oh! what'd you do Sarah?"

after a time, Sarah asked, "Hmm, their's so many indicaters. I guess I turned the car on huh?"

"Yep. We have, power." Klefki drawled.

"Whow! What are all those!" Sarah asked.

"Uh, I'm not really sure." liz answered.

Suddenly, their was a soft knock on Liz's door.

"Robin, how'd you get here?" Liz asked in surprise after opening her door.

"Through the same door you took." Robin answered pleasantly.

"What's she want to know about?" he asked; leaning into the car.

"These things above the wheel." Liz answered; tapping the gages.

"Gages. That means they tell you things. In this case." robin began as he leaned in over Liz.

He used his wing to tap on the gage pannel saying, "Gass, oial , speed, total miles, and trip time." with each tapping sound.

"Hmmm, their's some logic to that." liz said quietly.

"Who turned the key?" Robin asked in a strange way without leaning out of the car just yet.

"That would be me." Sarah and Klefki replied.

"Wow a Klefki!. Nice to meat you, I'm Robin."

"wait you know of me?" Klefki asked; seeming to be taken aback.

"Just rumors really. Nice to see one in the flesh, uh, steel? though." Robin answered.

"Wow. I wished for a friend, and got a bunch of 'em." Klefki drawled.

"That answers the question of how you got here." I said before Sarah made to speak to robin.

"Hay Robin? What are these two things?" she asked; tapping at something on the dashboard.

"The letters E and F. Looks like you've got a full tank of gass, somehow." robin responded.

"That's odd. I don't see where we'd go if we could drive this car." I mused.

"Of course you can't." Klefki scoffed before catching himself and amending his statement to, "I mean, i can't either."

"See? or that there's nowhere to go?" I asked.

"Nowhere to go." Klefki responded as Liz began to remove herself from the car.

"Hang on a sec." liz said as she did so.

After Liz left, sarah got behind the wheel and began to mess with the console as Liz had been doing. After a minute or so, she mannaged to get it open.

"See! My flippers can do things! They can!" she said; doing a little dance.

"None of us ever said they couldn't." I said gently as Liz returned from whatever she'd gone to do. She had to move sarah over to sit back down, but Sarah didn't seem to mind, as she simply said, "I know." as if the conversation hadn't stopped. She dugg around in the console; exclaiming at its contents. She then picked something up and handed it to me.

"We have music, but, what is that?" she asked.

"CDs? But how do you know what they look like?" I asked; laughing.

"They play music in the lab, and I saw Juniper put a CD in a few times." sarah answered while I looked at the device she'd given me.

It didn't take long for me to figure out what it was. An adapter that fit into the cigaret lighter that turned it into a standard electrical plug and USB connecter.

"Now we have power to run or charge stuff if we need it." I said.

Sarah guided my hand into the console to find lots of CDs, all in joule cases.

I pulled one of the CDs out, then opened and closed its case a few times.

Can I please see that?" Liz asked as she turned on the radio.

I handed her the CD before we surfed through a bunch of stations, but they were all playing some version of "Aria of the Soul" from the Persona games; not to surprising, really.

"What pretty music." Sarah said dreamily as Liz popped open the joule case and slid the CD into the slot on the front of the radio.

"..You affirm today that you intend to abide by our sacred rules

and uphold our equally sacred beliefs?"

It was Daniel's voice, from the wigglytuff village, but more inportant than that, it was the vary first words I'd heard from the Pokémon world, but with greater clarity.

As I knewhe he would, Trey answered, "I do!"

"and, as a member of our society, you hereby agree to be..."

And on, and on it went.

"It's an audeo journal." Robin said in wonderment.

"Cool!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Yeah, it is." I reflected before saying, "Well Liz, you got your answer, now I'm wondering what's in that brick building."

"Fair enough." laughed Liz as she took out the CD and put it back where it came from.

"wow, their are a lot of CDs in here." Liz said as she rummaged through the console.

"What'd they do, record everything we ever said or did?" I asked.

"No, It looks like most of these are just place holders." Liz said quietly before closing the console.

"Can I finished listening to the pretty music?" Sarah asked.

"Maybe later okay?" Liz laughed as she reach for the key. Sarah stopped her however, saying, "Please, can I do it? I need to practice with my flippers so I can make them as versatile as possible so I can be of help to Hope as much as I can." she explained.

"Oh I don't know, can you turn the key, without Klefki's help? Because I'm positive Robin can't." I laughed; Mildly curious as to the capabilities of a pair of small, fingerless hands; that were closer to wings than not; on a bird like Sarah.

"Don't be smart with me. It can't be that different from opening a bottle." Sarah admonished with a laugh.

"I'm not." I laughed back. "I'm beeing serious when I ask if you can do it. And just so you know, it's a little different than opening a bottle, as the angle has changed." I finished.

"Well, let's see," Sarah said before attempting to manipulate the key, uh, Klefki.

(I doubt she can.) Liz thought at me.

(Give her a chance.) I thought back as Klefki started laughing.

As Sarah played with Klefki, I decided to ask Liz about her little excursion outside the car.

(So, what'd you find a minute ago?) I thought.

(I can't walk more than fifty paces or so beyond the buildings, but my eyes can see for a great distance, though their's nothing but emptyness, and sky.)

(Their's not even any ground?)

(Their is, but their wouldn't be any point in attempting to drive on it, seeing as their's nowhere to go.)

"I CAN'T DO THIS!" Sarah sort of sobbed.

"Sure you can, just stay calm." Robin encouraged.

(So what stopped you from walking beyond the buildings.)

(Nothing it would seem. I just couldn't walk beyond a cirtain point.) Liz explained.

Sarah blew out a vary loud breath.

"Still can't do it huh. I didn't think a Piplup could, but, you know, never herts to think on the brite side." Klefki stated.

"Ge you think?" Sarah asked in a sulking tone.

"It sounds to us like you're having a rather hard time with your task, but we're here if you need help." Liz said.

"I do, but I'd like for Robin to try." Sarah said in a vary quiet voice.

So Liz got out of the car, but Robin didn't take her place.

"Um, Sarah?" Robin began.

"At least try, please?" Sarah pleaded.

Robin let out a strange sound that could have been the bird version of a sigh as he climbed into the driver seat.

"Wow you look so cool." Sarah breathed.

"No I don't. I look positively stupid." Robin laughed.

"Hmm, let's see then." Liz said playfully before closing the driver side door and walking to the front of the car.

I knew what she was doing; looking in at Robin through the wind shield as if he were a person.

"Liz?" Robin asked after half a minute had passed.

After a full minute, he actually sighed this time; long and low, kind of like a person, but still more like a bird because; well, that's what he was.

"All right Sarah. I'll prove to you that I can't deactivate this car." Robin said low in his throat before trying to turn Klefki with his wings.

As I expected, he failed, but Sarah didn't laugh at him, or even admonish him for failing.

"Nope, can't do it, even though my wings have slightly more movement than a regular bird." he explained with finality.

Though Robin seemed to give up on Klefki, he still moved his wings around, almost like he was thinking about saying; or doing; something.

I reached to feel what he was doing, and he din't pull away.

His wings could actually move inward just a bit. That is to say, he could make his wings turn in such a way that they hugged is sides like human arms, but he couldn't actually do anything with them aside from that.

"You know Sarah, It's not cowardice at all to ask for help." he suggested.

"I know, but Hope needs me to be strong for her." Sarah replied.

"It's not weekness to say to someone that you need help." Klefki said.

As he was speaking, Robin gathered Sarah to him; something his wings could actually do; then began singing to her.

"What's that?" I asked after he sang for a time.

"Nothing much, just something Mom always sang to me. I thought it might perhaps help Sarah to." he said softly.

"How much do you remember about her?" she asked.

"Not much. Just that song really." Robin said.

"At least you have good memories of your mother." Sarah said wistfully.

After a short time she added, "And it's good wisdom I'll keep with me."

"I wish it were more." robin said vary quietly.

"You've got a pretty voice." I complimented.

"It's nothing special." Robin said modestly.

"Could you tell me what that song means?" I asked

"Later okay? It's not, something that translates into english well." he explained.

"How do you know?" Sarah asked.

"Because I got caught singing it by one of my former masters, and failed to translated for them. Though, their is a bit in their about gaining strength by asking for help." Robin explained.

"If you like, I can work on it here in my boredom." Klefki offered.

"He can't except your offer, at least, not if my plan goes off perfectly." I replied; just as Liz opened the door and leaned in.

"Wow Mr. Robin, you look like quite the distinguished gentleman." She observed.

"I get that a lot." Robin said as we extrocated ourselves from the car.

"wait their for me Klefki, okay?" I asked.

"No problem." he said, and I heard him remove himself from the ignition after deactivating it.

"I do wonder why the power resides in a car and not the buildings?" Liz asked as we began walking tward the brick building.

I knew their was no way Liz hadn't heard Robin's song; or my request to Klefki, but I could tell by the way she didn't ask about it that she was keeping out of business that wasn't hers.

"The velvet room always has some form of locomotion, so I guess it, kills two birds with one stone, by doubling as our power source." I responded to her question.

"Besides, its better than having something like, the Velvet Trailer Park." I added as an afterthought.

Liz and Sarah were both grosed out by my statement.

"Yeah, those are nothing but breeding grounds for Grimer and Koffing." Liz added.

By then, we were climbing the stone steps of the building.

"Ladies first." I said; holding the door for Liz and Sarah.

"why thank you sir." Liz said; a bit amused.

"I've been waiting for you!" said a vary familiar voice; at least to me anyway.

The door closed behind all four of us as we enterd, and someone; most likely the owner of the voice; came tward us.

for those who don't know," the voice continued, "My name is Igor, and, as always, I'm delighted to make your acquaintance. Please, take a seat. We have much to discuss."

Liz lead me to some chairs, and we took seats, with Sarah opting to sit in my lap.

Igor took a chair opposit us, then continued.

"I am the master of this velvet town, and, also the master of this library as well."

"I don't get it. I thought this place only took the shape of a single room." I asked.

Igor chuckled lightly before answering.

"My boy, this place takes the shape of what ever environment its guests require. In this particular case however, I've gone slightly out of my way to give you a little bit of extra assistance. For example, this library is fully stocked with books containing all the knowledge you'll ever need concerning Personas, as well as everything, Margaret and I could find, regarding the world you now find yourself inhabiting."

"Why books? And are any of them in braille?" I asked; wondering if he'd had that foresight as well.

Why yes my boy! It would be offal rood of me to invite you here to gather knowledge, and then force someone like Liz or Robin to read to you instead of gaining knowledge themselves." Igor answered.

"Thank you sir. That meands a lot to me, and, if it's okay, I do feel in bad need of a little bit of a refresher on my persona knowledge." I said; starting to rise from my seat.

"Hold on just a minute their Michael. their are a few rules regarding the knowledge within these walls." Igor said, and I sat; hoping the price of knowledge wouldn't be to steep.

"While you are all free to take books out of this building, I must insist that you don't take them out of the Velvet Town. You may take them back to the house for easier reading, but any knowledge that leaves this town does so in your own heads. Understood?"

I nodded, and I guess the others did the same.

"And, to answerer your other question, we have to use books, because, the Velvet Room, cannot produce electricity of any kind."

I thought about pointing out that Igor was wrong, but decided against it.

"If you haven't yet, I highly advise you to visit the other buildings before you take your leave, as you'll find the services within extremely valuable on your journey. Also, take note that time, moves at a slower pace here than in the Pokémon world, so this place can act as a sort of haven to you, and all your Pokémon with the persona ability, as well as possibly those without it, whenever you need it.

I thanked Igor again, and started to rise again. This time, Igor didn't stop me, but he did follow us.

Eventually Liz cleared her throat.

"Yes Liz?" Igor responded.

Liz didn't say anything for a time, and Igor finally spoke up again.

"Liz, you present the appearance of someone with a question on her lips. Please, speak your mind, and I'll try to answer to the best of my ability.

"Well, Margaret said that I was Michael's persona, but I'm just a humble Gardevoir."

"Yes you are my dear, but the bond your kind forge with humans is not unlike that of a human and his or her persona partner.

That aside, my assistant wasn't intirely accurate regarding your status.

While it is true that you and Michael share a mental link, as far as personas are concerned, you will mostly function as a conduit for Michael's imagination and fill in the gaps his, inconvenience creates."

"so, I imagine something, and it passes through Liz and becomes a persona?" I asked.

"Yes that is correct, however this world will allow the persona ability to function in a somewhat different way, and perhaps help it manifest even stronger powers as well."

"But one thing I don't get is how personas get stronger, and what are they anyway." Sarah put in.

"Well, Personas are, in simple terms, the aspirations of the host.

You for example, envision yourself as a being much stronger than your current form, but are afraid to assume it for fear of forgetting yourself, correct?"

"Yes, but how" Sarah began.

"My girl, it's plane to see. You are a vary small bird who lacks the ability to fly, and you're also quite clumsy in your movements, thus lacking the grace you wish to have."

Why, yes, but how did you know that?"

"This space, the library in particular, is a space for the fusing of personas. as such, I have the ability to sence the dreams that make up each one." Igor Explained.

I wondered how he could understand Sarah, but given that this was the velvot roomm, anything was possible.

"So, if I found a Pokémon with a big dream, I could make it a persona?" I asked.

"Yes, provided you get the creature in question to share its dream willingly, in whitch case the manifestation of the dream would become a persona, but function almost like a Pokémon, and would be trainable accordingly. As for personas that come from Pokémon already in your party, like Sarah here, you train them, much like Pokémon, but you need to be aware that a persona's health, as well as it's abillity to cast magic spells, comes from your own strength, or in the case of Sarah, her own strength, so she would also need to keep up her training in order to allow her persona to function at her maximum potential."

"So, if Michael, got one of those Personas from a Pokémon that shared its dream, wouldn't that mean the he'd need to get stronger as well?" Robin asked.

"It would, and you all need to be aware that any damage taken by such beings that causes them pain,"

"Let me guess, the user would also feel the pain to right?" I asked.

"You catch on fast." Igor complemented.

"So we'll never be persona and, um, partner?" Liz asked while touching me.

"It might be possible if your bond becomes stronger. Speaking of bonds, keep an eye out for not just Pokémon, but humans you could help along your journey, as what we call Social Links greatly increase a persona's power, even more so than training."

"What?" Sarah, Robin and Liz asked.

"Basically, we just keep doing what we've been doing, and, well, I guess we'll see." I said.

"Just so." Igor encouraged as he lead us somewhere in the building.

Robin took that time to speak up.

"Sir? I don't have one of those persona things. How was I able to get into the Velvot Room in the first place?"

"You do have, 'one of those persona things', you just haven't awakened to it yet." Igor replied smoothly.

"Well, even if I can't awaken to it yet, can I at least meat it?" Robin asked.

"That depends. Normally the answer would be no, but if you're ready to meat it..." Igor answered.

Before any more conversation could take place, I heard the sound of a persona being summond; kind of like small glass braking mixed with a wooshing sound.

What came forth, was, not, what I expected. A, vary, tiny bird flew in front of Robin and twittered softly in a deep voice that didn't seem like it could possibly come from such a small creature.

"No. You can't be" Robin began before the bird twittered some more.

"But you're so tiny."

More twittering; a hole lot more of it.

"Well, I'm vary sorry to say I don't really need you at the moment. I just wanted to meat you."

The bird seemed to leave, though their wasn't any actual sound to indicate this, I just knew it was gone.

"So what was that. I don't recognize it." Robin addressed Igore.

"It's not from your world. It's actually from Michael's world. I believe it's a bird they call a robin."

"Just like my name." Robin said softly as we arived at an absolutely massive room of books.

"Liz gasped, "They're so big."

"Some are in Braille, and that does take more space than print." Igor answered.

"Some are in my language." robin said, but I was already diving into the mountain of knoledge, so the rest of what he; or anyone else; said was lost on me.

After a vary long time, I chose some books for later and staggered with them out of the braille section.

Liz met me and used her powers to lift them out of my arms, then they were gone.

"gees Michael, don't hurt yourself carrying so many heavy books." she said as the books vanished.

"They're back at the house, by the way." she explained.

"But you don't need to use your powers just for that, seeing as that's nothing compared to the load I carry around for school." I protested.

"Please, it's like fourty feet to the house, and besides that, I can move some books from one place to another at that distance easily enough."

"Oh." was all I could say.

We found Igor waiting at the door to see us off, and I decided now was as good a time as any to enact my plan.

Igor was; to say the least; surprised to know that a Pokemon; even one as unusual as Klefki; had found its way into the velbet room.

It wasn't that hard to convince him to convert Klefki into my velvet key. In fact, he seemed excited at the prospect of an organic; fully thinking; key.

He explained that the conversion would happen if we could get Klefki to agree to leave with us.

I didn't see any problems with that arrangement, so we bit Igor good by and left the library.

"So, you read to?" I asked Liz as we headed for the only other unexplored building in the town.

"Yes, thanks, and took some books for myself as well." she answered lightly, but didn't volunteer what she'd read, and I didn't ask, yet.

We reached the Pokémart, and a bell rang as we entered.

"Hello!" Called a male voice as we entered.

"Welcome to the Velvet mart. I'm Theodore. How may I be of service today."

"Oh hy! Aren't you Elizabeth and Margaret's younger brother?" I asked; hoping I was right.

"Why yes I am. How good of you to ask."

I noticed that Liz was looking around.

"It's just a standard Pokémart." she called before returning to me.

"We can get this stuff at any Pokémon center." she finished.

"Yes you can, but not at the low low prices I offer." Theodore said with a glow in his voice.

A door slammed somewhere in the back of the place, and a girl's voice said, "Theodore, you really should stop gloating ."

"But they are low." he persisted.

"Oh what ever." the girl said dismissively, then seemed to notice us.

"Where have you two been! I've been waiting for you to show!" she said in my direction.

"This young lady is Lavenza, and she's" Lavenza cut Theodore off.

"I believe I am more than capable of introducing myself if you don't mind." she said before turning back to me.

"Now Michael, I'm actually something like Elizabeth's younger sister, and just so happen to be here to offer you a vary important service. In the left-hand corner of the stor is what I call the Velvet exchange. I'll be watching the deeds you accomplish in the Pokémon world and will give you velvet points you can exchange for some vary valuable items.

"Like what exactly?" I asked.

"Nothing much, just some TMs, a few tomes, and some odds and ends I picked up, junk mostly.

She headed tward her corner of the shop as I addressed Theodore again.

"So I have to pay money for your items?"

Yes, do you need some at this time?'

"How about five potions and the same in antidotes." I said; deciding to test his 'low prices'.

"Okay, seeing as this is your first purchase, that will be ten Poké dollors." he said brightly.

(highway robbery) I thought, but said "Really? done!" as I handed him the money.

"the price might increase slightly as you buy from us, by the way." Theodore said as he took the money.

"But why would you need money anyway?" I asked Theodore.

"Oh, because of reasons." he said breezily.

I knew he wasn't going to elaborate any further, so I left Theodore and headed for Lavenza's corner.

"So you decided to check out my little store after all." she stated as I arived.

"Yes, and to answer your question, I was reading in the library, and lost track of time."

"That was what you'd call a rhetorical question! But, thanks, for answering anyway." she added.

Liz came up behind me and said; vary gently, "Ms. Lavenza? I'm sorry to have to point this out, but he can't read the list."

"I know that! I'm still trying to learn Braille so he can. So could you read it to him just for today? Please?"

"I don't think we have enough points to buy anything today anyway." Liz said politely before gasping, "five hundred points for an, Ability Tome?"

"It teaches a Pokémon the second ability if they have one for good." Lavenza answered matter-of-factly.

"wow." was all Liz said in reply.

I decided we'd better leave and return to crystal's before she started worrying about us, but when I called for Sarah, I got no response.

"wasn't she right behind us?" I asked Liz.

"She and robin left a while ago and, went, oh, my. Let's go." she said as she took my arm and started walking vary fast.

"You used your powers, didn't you?" I asked as we walked.

"Yes, but only just to find our friends." She answered as we got back to the house.

Liz called Sarah's name as we reached the car.

She needn't have, as the same music from before was playing from the car's location.

"It's okay, we're in here." Robin called from the driver's seat of the car.

"Sarah got bord and left, so I followed her here and decided to let her listen to the music." Robin explained after Liz and I had gotten in on the passenger side.

"We also found a few other things to." sarah added.

Seemingly on cue, robin turned off the car and got out; handing Klefki to Liz in the process.

"We checked out the area beyond the car and found it to be some kind of invisible wall. We can reach it, but we can't walk past it, but we do seem to walk in place." sarah explained as Liz and I vacated the car as well.

"That's what I found out as well, though my explaination didn't call it and invisible wall." liz said.

"Like a video game." I mused.

"What?" Robin asked.

"In video games, sometimes the developers will make it so the player can't reach a location even if they can see it. That way the environment still looks nice even if the developers have finished the level, or in some cases, the entire game world." I explained as Liz and I walked around the car to be in better view of sarah and Robin.

"That sounds about right." robin agreed as Sara took Klefki from Liz.

"Watch this." Sara said as she aproached the open drivers door on the car.

As she did, I felt; more than heard; the velvot room work its magic.

Part of the car metaphor shrank itself as sarah got in and showed us that she was now able to expertly activate its systems without Klefki's help.

The music started again, but Sarah must have pressed some control; or combination of them; because the music was replaced by feara's voice.

"And their is not a doubt in your mind that this is the right path for you?" Feara was asking.

"Is their any doubt in your mind that you love" sarah slambed a control with her flipper before we could hear anything else Hope asked.

"This Liam guy has really trained her well." Jade was saying.

Trey sighed. "And here I thought bringing Mom home was going to be easy." he said dejectedly.

Sarah pressed another control.

"...would lie to you mamb. They just disappeared into thin air." Chris was saying.

"If liz is with him then you have nothing to worry about." Crystal replied.

More was about to be said, but Sarah deactivated the car's systems and climbed out, causing the metaphorical apparatus to revert back to its original size.

"See? I told you it'd work. You just had to want it to." sarah said to robin.

"I stand corrected." he replied softly.

"It must be a metaphor for freedom." I laughed.

"Indeed." liz answered in complete agreement as she took Klefki from Sarah and got back into the car herself.

"What button gave us Trey?" Liz asked.

Sarah got in Liz's lap and; I guess; pointed at a button that Liz pressed.

"...with Michael earlier today." Jade was saying.

"How could a level 23 Raichu lose to a level 30 Pidgeot?" Ruby asked.

Liz got out of the car then; after handing Klefki to me.

"I think we might just meat up with Liam again." Liz said quietly in my direction.

"I sure hope not, because he was a jirk, a respectful one, but a jirk none the less." I observed.

"Well, this little trip has been quite enlightening, but am I the only creature that thinks the night is starting to age?" Robin asked in a way that told me he didn't want to talk about the close call we'd both had with Liam earlier.

"Not at all. we have a big day ahead of us, so we all need to hit the hay." I said; deciding to take his hint.

And with that, we followed Robin's lead, and headed for the Pokémon center.

On the way, I filled Klefki in on my plan.

I didn't even get to ask him to come along with us, because he was so happy to have new friends that he asked me if I'd mind if he traveled with us for a time.

That seemed to have sealed the deal, because I felt the velvet key's weight leave my body, and Klefki then disappeared from my arms.

Margaret was waiting for us inside the Pokémon center.

"Leaving already?" she asked.

"Yes, but I guess we need to find out what you're going to do for us first." I said.

"I see. Well, my controbution will consist primarily of keeping tabs on the personas you collect."

She tapped a heavy-sounding book resting on the Pokémon center's front desc
"Come visit me when you collect some new personas, and I'll record them in here so you can recall them at any time." she explained.

"OH! Oh! Can I put Prinplup in their?" asked Sarah.

"I don't see why not, but at this time only Michael can recall her." Margaret said as she did something.

"Sarah gasped, "Wowe, she's on a card now?"

"Yes, but Michael, you're spiritual reserves are quite low at this point, so I don't recommend using her yet. And speaking of spiritual reserves, I can help you increase them, seeing as we don't really want to encourage the mass fainting of Pokémon just to increase your ability to cast Magic spells using your personas."

Margaret walked to somewhere else in the center as she spoke.

"To that end, the velvet points you'll be aquiring for Lavenza will help in this regard, and I'm also putting together a list of my own little things I'd like to see done in the Pokémon world that will earn you more spirit points."

She set a smaller book down on the desc.

"I'll be loging everything Lavenza observes regarding your accomplishments in here, as well as personas I personally find interesting. I'll increase your spirit points as you show me more interesting personas from this new world."

She wrote something down in the book.

"Prinplup, herself, isn't vary interesting, but the circumstances by which she came into being are, so I'll count this one and give you..."

She paused for a time.

"hmm, how about 50 points." she said, and I felt a new power serge into me.

"That along with your starting points gives you 150, which should do you for a time." she finished.

"What about Klefki?" I asked.

Margaret thought for a moment before speaking.

"Let me think on it. You didn't aquire him from the Pokémon world, and yet he is one." she said before closing the smaller book.

Sarah sighed as I put my hand on the exit door's handle.

"Prinplup's nothing special." she said; imitating Margaret.

"She just means that Prinplup is your evolved form." Robin explained.

"So would you get more points if I had something, cooler?" Sarah asked me quietly.

"Some, but not enough to make it worth forcing your persona to change." Margaret and I replied together.

We then laughed at are little occurance.

"It's not the points I care about, their's just, something, weird about my future self rooming in my head." Sarah said at length.

"A person only has one hart." I said.

"And normally that'd mean only one persona, but Pokémon change form spontaneously, so it's possible that your persona could change once you reach evolution." Margaret explained.

"Besides, what would you have if not prinplup?" Liz asked.

"It doesn't matter." Sarah said; disheartened.

"Well don't let it get you down to much, and please come see us soon." margaret called as we walked through the velvet door and back into the Pokémon world.

Bella was waiting up for us when we arived back in the bedroom at Crystal's place.

I knew it was her without question due to her vary loud breathing.

"So, you've decided to join us once again." she said accusingly.

"Sorry about that, but we found," I stopped their; unsure how much to reveal to what basically amounted to a total stranger.

"Found what?" crystal asked.

"The velvot room." Robin supplied.

"The what?" Crystal and Bella asked at the same time.

So I explained to my new hosts all about how personas workd and the strange Igore who had; somehow; given Sarah, Robin, Liz and I the power the weald them.

We also filled Crystal and Bella in on all the strange events that had transpired ever since I'd arived in the Pokémon world.

After we were all done talking, Crystal thought it all over, then said, "All right. You've already gotten my daughter involved in this strangeness, which; by extention includes Bella and myself, so I'll help you out in the best way I know how."

I thanked Crystal for her efforts before she told us what time it was.

"We all need to get into bed if we're going to make it to that gym match in the morning with clear heads. Feara's staying here for the night, her and Hope have already crashed in the other room along with my daughter and that Raichu she's developed a strange liking for. Their's plenty of room here for all of you, so get comfortable, and I'll see everyone at seven AM sharp." Crystal basically commanded before leaving.

as tired as I was, it was no problem at all to heed her command.

Some time later, Crystal; holding a laptop of some kind; came back into Michael's room and seemed to look around a bit before walking directly toward the location of the velvot room door Michael and his friends had used earlier that night; even though no door could be seen anymore.

As Crystal aproached the place where the door had been, she disappeared into thin air.

If Michael had been awake, he would have heard the sound of the velvot room door opening and closing; vary quietly.