A/N - Thanks for all reads, reviews, faves and follows! =D We're now back to the main story. I hope you enjoy!

24 - Mega Evolution

Silence spread over the library table as Cleo and her friends took everything in. Reshiram squatted on the floor beside them, the book still open before him. A thousand questions filled Cleo's mind, but she didn't even know where to start. Spark was sat on the table, staring at the book, while Mischief traced a claw over the wood grain, lost in his thoughts.

"I, erm…" Cleo licked her lips and settled back in her seat. NyukNyuk shifted beside her, fixing his twinkling eyes on her face. "I think 'wow' is all I can say right now."

"Tell me about it." Spark rubbed between her ears. "I'm kinda rendered speechless."

Faith let out a low chuckle and closed her violet eyes. "That's one of several reactions we're used to receiving."

Mischief raised his fluffy head. "Did all that really happen?"

"Yes," said Faith. "Many, many years ago now."

"Then how could pokemon just forget something like this?" Spark spread her paws. "It doesn't make sense."

Faith's expression fell and she exchanged glances with Hope.

The gardevoir turned to Spark and gave a weak smile. "If someone were to tell you something didn't exist over and over, then you'd stop talking about it, wouldn't you?"

"Yeah, 'cos there'd kinda be no point." Spark started slightly and scratched her head. "Huh. I see what you mean."

"There's something I don't understand." Cleo reached for the book and flicked a few pages backwards until it landed on a specific picture. "It mentions Yveltal, but it doesn't actually say what species he was before he transformed. This picture here shows more like him."

The image was of the pokemon gathered in the courtyard, with a small number of black birds that resembled Yveltal's earlier form.

"There are a lot of pokemon I've never heard of," said Cleo. "But I just found it odd it never said."

"They were all wiped out along with Yveltal," Reshiram explained. "They sided with him, and never once looked back. Their names, species… everything was erased."

"They say their spirits still live on in the very ground," said Faith. "Pokemon still hear their whispers as they spread their lies across Estellis."

A shudder ran through Cleo, and even Spark trembled briefly.

"Kinda creepy," said the dedenne.

"I think I understand," said Cleo. "It's those lies that are making pokemon forget about Xerneas and the Fairy Garden."

"Precisely," said Hope. "And because of that, the fairy-type is seemingly vanishing."

Cleo rubbed her nose and cast a sideways glance at Mischief. The whimsicott didn't appear to notice, still lost in his thoughts.

"I'm actually wondering," Cleo began slowly, "if Mischief here is part fairy-type."

Mischief looked up at that and flushed slightly. "I was wondering that myself."

Faith clasped her paws together and beamed. "That is most likely the case! Whimsicott are, naturally, both grass and fairy."

"Wow. All this sure has come out of the blue to us," Cleo mused. She gave the mawile a smile. "None of us had heard of the fairy-type before today. Our Guild leader thought Mischief's unknown typing was a form of evolution, but clearly it's not."

Faith's expression fell and she exchanged glances with Hope. "That's rather disheartening. It used to be so abundant."

Despite the mawile's change in mood, Cleo was still buzzing with the news. She leant forwards slightly on the table. "Mischief can even use some of the attacks described in the story."

"Yeah!" Spark exclaimed. "Sparkly pink light."

"Dazzling gleam," said Faith, perking up slightly. "That's right."

Mischief's eyes sparkled and he straightened in his seat. "So I'm a fairy-type?! How amazing is this?!"

The mimikyu beside Cleo wriggled with glee and chittered away.

Reshiram chuckled. "NyukNyuk says he felt the same way as you when he discovered he was part fairy-type."

Mischief beamed down at the mimikyu. "Maybe you can teach me some things?"

NyukNyuk chuckled and wriggled again, chattering in his unusual tongue.

"Hold your mudsdale, kid," said Reshiram. "I know you're excited, but we've still got a lot to cover here first."

"Yes, erm…" Mischief scratched behind one of his horns. "Does this mean I can also evolve like in the story?"

"That's always a possibility," said Hope. "But not one I've seen yet."

Faith shook her head. "Never heard of a whimsicottite."

Spark stood up and turned to Hope and Faith. "Are you talking about those stones? 'Cos I'd never seen them until recently, and I've noticed you two wear them!"

Cleo looked up at the mawile and gardevoir sitting before her. During all the confusion and excitement, she'd failed to notice the pair were wearing the same stones shown in that book. Faith's was set in the large bow around her horn, while Hope wore one in a lace choker. Both appeared to be made of glass or crystal, and sported a colourful swirl in the middle, yet both were slightly different in colour, echoing the markings of the species that wore them. Cleo's eyes widened and her jaw went slack.

Faith nudged her bow and chuckled. "These are mega stones. They allow us to go through mega evolution like Harmony and her friends did during the war. Had you really not heard of them before?"

"Not exactly," said Cleo. "Harlequin carries one. But she doesn't seem to have any idea what it is, just that it's sentimental to her."

"They can really change your appearance?" Spark asked. "Just like it showed in that book, and on the tapestries?"

Faith nodded a little too excitedly and grabbed Hope's wrist. "Shall we show them, Hope?"

Hope retracted her paw and shook her head, smiling. "Not in here. There's not enough space!"

"Are you kidding?" Spark squeaked. "This library is huge!"

Reshiram chuckled and placed his wing claws on the table. "I won't have any mega-evolving in here. The energy given off will knock the book cases over! You're better off using the dojo, or go outside if you wish to demonstrate!"

"Nyuk!"

The mimikyu rose suddenly, causing Cleo to let out a startled squeak. He vanished through the chair in a shadowy pool, leaving Cleo's warmed side to feel oddly cold.

"Now where's he gone off to?" Spark asked.

Her answer came quite quickly as NyukNyuk scurried back around the bookcase with another book clasped in his claws. His shadowy limbs stretched up to place it on the table, and he rematerialised back beside Cleo. The book's cover sported a painting of a mega stone.

"Oh perfect!" Faith clapped her paws. "Thank you, NyukNyuk!"

The mimikyu beamed.

"This will explain how mega evolution works," Faith explained. "As well as relaying to you all the mega stones currently in existence. There's every possibility Xerneas could make more of them, but for now this might even help you to identify the one you say Harlequin has."

Hope toyed with the key-stone bangle on her wrist. "To my knowledge, there is no mega stone for a zorua. But it may have come into being without our knowledge. She did find her way here, after all."

Cleo reached out for the book, and Reshiram caught her eye with a smile.

"Take it with you," he said. "It might take you a while to read, and I don't want you to feel rushed." He cast Faith a grin, and the mawile returned it playfully. "You can bring it back when you're done."

Cleo flexed her claws as she considered picking the book up. "Are you sure? I… don't even know when I'd be able to return it."

"When you're done!" said Faith. "It would make good bed-time reading."

Cleo blinked and exchanged glances with Spark.

"Oh!" Faith smacked a paw to her forehead. "Of course. I need to show you to your rooms, don't I?"

"Rooms?" Spark and Cleo echoed.

"Well I'm not about to let you sleep in a bush!" Faith laughed and shook her head. "Of course you get rooms! We have plenty in Heart Abbey."

"You can stay here as long as you need," said Hope.

"That's very kind of you," said Cleo. "But we can't stay long. I mean, we have a mission to…"

She trailed off as she looked at the mawile and gardevoir, then down at the mimikyu beside her. Her heart did a flip. Spark's expression showed she'd met the exact same conclusion.

Faith inclined her head on one side. "To what?"

Cleo met her violet eyes. She couldn't very well tell them, could she? That she'd been sent to find more of this elusive new type - the fairy-type - and recruit them into a battle against Hydreigon? Hadn't they already said they were at war against the Darkness? Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to hang around for a while, before dropping her quest on Hope and Faith.

Cleo lowered her paws and sat back in her seat. "It doesn't matter. We'll gladly stay for a while. I want to know more about this place, and Xerneas. All of you!"

Hope smiled, and Faith clapped her paws.

"Oh this will be so much fun!" said the mawile. "I can't wait to show you everything! There's a huge feast later on, and a Dazzle Dance at dusk!"

Spark bounced onto her feet. "Did you say 'feast'?!"

Faith laughed fondly at the dedenne. "Yes, I did!"

"Count me in!" said Spark.

NyukNyuk cheered beside her and bounced up and down in his seat. Cleo smiled down at the mimikyu, noting his completely shrouded appearance. She wanted to ask how he managed to eat and if he needed to remove his garment to do so, but didn't want to risk offending the little ghost-type.

Her mother's voice echoed through her mind, 'Curiosity often lands an espurr in trouble.'

She turned back to the book on mega evolution and picked it up. "Okay. I'm happy for you to show us around if you like, Faith?" She turned to the white dragon still crouching beside her. "Thank you so much, Reshiram. It's been lovely to meet you."

"Yes, it has," said Spark. "Sorry for our… initial shock."

Reshiram rumbled deep laughter. "Don't worry about it, it's understandable. It's been a pleasure talking with you all."

Cleo slid from her seat and Spark leapt up onto her shoulder from the table. Cleo eyed the book and her satchel, but it probably wouldn't fit. Instead, she hugged it to her chest. She turned to address Mischief who was standing beside the table, one paw on the book on Yveltal's Fall.

He looked up at Reshiram sheepishly. "Would you mind if I read this again?"

"By all means!" Reshiram picked it up in his claws and handed it to Mischief. "Like I said before. You can't hear this story too many times."

Mischief nodded at that and carried it in both arms as he joined Cleo's side.

Hope and Faith bade their farewell to the white dragon then motioned for Cleo and her friends to follow them.

"Where do you think Harlequin has been taken?" Spark asked suddenly.

Cleo jolted slightly. She'd almost forgotten the zorua wasn't with them. She looked up at Hope and Faith, who shrugged.

"I imagine you'll be reunited soon enough," said the mawile. "Where shall we take you first?"

"You mentioned we have rooms," said Cleo. "Perhaps we can stop by there first? I'd like to drop some things off."

"Of course!" Faith lead them down the winding staircase. "Then, if you like, we can show you mega evolution?"

"You're voicing my thoughts!" said Spark. "I'm super curious to see that in action."

Mischief was oddly silent as he followed behind them, his eyes trained on the cover of the book in his arms. Cleo glanced back at him. He'd been silent since they'd been re-united after their encounter with Enigma. Perhaps it was weighing on his mind? She didn't want to ask him with Hope and Faith present. She made a mental note to catch him alone later on.

...

The Heart Abbey was absolutely huge. There seemed to be no end to it. The red stone walls rose high above Cleo and her friends, and four towers formed each corner. The tallest tower contained two brass bells which Faith explained rang out to alert the pokemon to events and meal times.

The abbey formed a square, with a massive garden in the middle of it. Tunnels ran around the garden providing shelter from the weather, although there was no glass in the windows. Each narrow slit was bordered with a climbing plant - honeysuckle, sweet pea and ivy to name a few - which were visited by tiny bug pokemon Cleo didn't recognise. She soon learnt they were called cutiefly and ribombee. The former was smaller than Spark, although not by much.

Faith lead them through the tunnels, chatting to absently given Cleo wasn't really taking much in anymore. Mischief followed behind silently, gazing out at the garden. Hope had left them after they'd vacated the library, suddenly realising the time. She explained she was needed for kitchen duty, and left the newcomers in Faith's capable paws.

The mawile stopped by one of the many rooms stretched along the narrow corridors and pushed it open. "Here we go! Cleo, you and Spark can stay in this one."

Cleo poked her head around the door, and an involuntary gasp left her throat. The room contained two beds - a wooden frame topped with a nest of fresh hay and dried flower petals. At the foot of one of the beds was what at first glance appeared to be a stool. But it was topped with a nest of fresh hay like the other two beds, clearly prepared for a small pokemon to nest in. A wooden unit stood beneath the window at the back, which was closed off with a shutter to keep the wind at bay. The small unit contained three drawers, and was topped with a wicker basket piled generously with fresh berries.

Spark's mouth watered and she leapt from Cleo's shoulder. "Wow! This is amazing!"

Faith chuckled and stood aside for them to enter the room. "Your presence was already made known to the caretakers. So it's all ready for you, as you can see!"

"Complete with a midnight snack!" said Spark, already perched on the drawers to help herself to the basket. "I approve!"

"I'll let you two get settled and show Mischief to his room," said Faith. "Would you like me to pick you up later and show you around a bit more, or would you like some rest before dinner?"

Cleo wasn't sure which offer to take. Sure, she wanted to see more of the Fairy Garden, but a good rest would be greatly appreciated. She hadn't had a solid night's sleep since she was safe inside New City.

"I wouldn't mind a nap," she said. "And I can have a flick through this book too." She tapped the book under her arm.

Faith beamed and nodded with understanding. "Then I'll collect you in a couple of hours for dinner. I'm sorry we couldn't show you mega evolution in action before hand."

"It's not a problem," said Cleo. "Maybe later?"

"Of course!" Faith backed from the room and motioned for Mischief to follow her. "See you at dinner!"

Cleo raised her paw in a wave and watched the mawile leave with Mischief following behind her. He gave Cleo a small smile before shuffling away. But she couldn't help but feel something wasn't quite right. She closed the door and set the large book on her bed. Spark looked up from the basket of berries, her little cheeks bulging.

"Is there a problem?" she managed to ask.

"I'm just concerned for Mischief." Cleo climbed onto the bed, and the soft scent of rose and lavender drifted from it. "He seems a little off since our encounter with Enigma."

Spark made a small 'huh' and took a huge bite out of a cheri berry.

Cleo shook her head and flipped the book open. Her mind didn't really absorb the text, and she found herself absently flicking. Pictures of pokemon were painted in their 'mega forms' alongside their regular ones. Cleo soon found herself perusing the different pokemon, astounded at how different their stronger forms looked. She found herself looking over the two different gardevoir forms, noting the change in ability to 'pixilate'. A move that turned any normal-type move into the fairy-type.

"That explains the hyper voice," she muttered to herself, recalling Harmony's use of it in the story of Yveltal's Fall.

Spark landed beside her, vanishing slightly into the hay. She scrambled back out and perched beside Cleo, whiskers twitching as she stretched herself up to see the book.

"Does it tell you what all the stones do?" Spark asked.

Cleo glanced down at her then back to what she was reading. "It appears to, yes. Look. This is the same stone Hope was wearing."

She traced a paw over the stone marked 'gardevoirite'.

"Does it have the one Harlequin carries?" Spark ventured.

Cleo looked at the dedenne again and, with a start, flicked through the pages. She hadn't considered looking for the unusual stone Harlequin had in their possession. Without it, she couldn't be certain she'd find the right picture. But she still had an image of it in her mind. Clear, with a hint of blue, with black, blue and white swirling up inside it.

Her eyes fell on the image of it looking back out at her. She was almost certain it was the right one. But the pokemon next to it was not a zorua.

"This doesn't make much sense," said Cleo. "Maybe we're on the wrong page."

The pokemon staring out at her was one she'd only ever seen in pictures. White fur, with a dark blue face and crimson eyes. A huge horn curled up from the right side of its head, and its tail appeared to be a bony blade coated with dark fur. An absol. A pokemon pushed to extinction out of superstitious fear.

Harlequin had claimed the stone was sentimental. Could it be that the zorua was linked to the absol? Perhaps a friend, or some ancient history? How else would an absolite have made it into Harlequin's paws? Unless it was a family heirloom, with no known link to the absol.

Spark tensed beside Cleo, staring wide-eyed at the picture. Her black eyes flitted between the image of the absol, and its mega form that looked like it had sprouted white, feathery wings from its thick white ruff.

"Maybe I'm wrong," said Cleo. "I don't have it here with me to compare."

"No…" Spark's voice cracked and she cleared her throat. "No, I think you might be spot on."

"What makes you say that?" Cleo asked.

"Well… I didn't really wanna talk about this around Harlequin, but." Spark climbed up onto Cleo's lap and stared up at her. "Mischief said he ran into an absol, just after Enigma attacked us."

Cleo blinked at her a few times. "He ran into an absol? Is he sure that's what it was?"

"I know he doesn't have any memories, but even if he wasn't sure, it adds up just lookin' at this." Spark waved a paw at the book. "This absol said he wants to kill Harlequin. I don't know why. Mischief didn't say. But it seems pretty bad. Why would an absol want to kill Harlequin of all pokemon?"

"Absol were pushed from the Shadow Lands," said Cleo. "They were all wiped out. What you're saying makes no sense. I didn't think any were still alive."

"Neither did I." Spark rubbed the backs of her ears and groaned. "I'm not sure how I feel about this. If an absol is after Harlequin, then what if he comes after us?"

"It'd be no different than any other dark-type pokemon coming after us," said Cleo. "And he didn't kill Mischief, did he?"

"No." Spark sat down heavily. "Mischief said the absol distracted him so he didn't kill Harlequin. This makes me think he's some kind of crazy pokemon himself who wants the pleasure of exacting some kind of revenge."

Cleo mulled over that for a moment, idly toying with the fur between her ears. After a moment, she said, "Is it possible that Harlequin's family are responsible for wiping out that absol's clan?"

Spark shrugged. "It's entirely possible. Maybe they were all poison users like Harlequin, as well." She paused and caught Cleo's eye. "Think we should ask her?"

"I'm not sure, Spark."

"Why not? I mean, doesn't she have a right to know someone wants to kill her?"

"You're talking about a pokemon that was sent to kill us," said Cleo.

The pair sat in silence for a moment, staring at their paws.

"Faith did say she wouldn't have been able to come in here if she meant harm, Cleo," said Spark.

Cleo screwed her eyes shut. Yes. Faith did say that, but not in so many words. There was a big difference between wanting to find sanctuary, and killing someone because you felt forced to. Harlequin still didn't consider Cleo and her friends allies, and the feeling was mutual.

She turned her gaze back to the page with the absol. Those crimson eyes. A harbinger of disaster. Yet it had a mega stone. That meant it had fought in Xerneas' army, along with other pokemon that weren't mentioned by name in the story. Then where had all the superstition come from? What had driven Hydreigon to wipe out an entire species that shared one of the typings he wanted to dominate Estellis with?

Cleo closed the book and set it aside. It was too much to deal with. She wanted to get some sleep and think about it later. Maybe, if she got the chance, she'd talk to Harlequin about it.

If their paths ever crossed again, that is.

...

An erratic jingling echoed through the dusky air as Enigma staggered his way across the plain. He'd recovered enough of his strength to move, and Harlequin and those other pokemon had long since vanished into the Endless Woods. Enigma had no desire to follow them. After his encounter with that whimsicott, his focus was fully back on the Heretics. He wanted to know exactly what Rio had kept from him, and the longer he spent loitering around in that tree the more impatient and irritated he was growing.

The problem was, every step hurt. He had absolutely no desire to engage in combat. He had to hope he'd recover enough strength during his walk back to the Moorlands Forest, or that he'd be able to drag that information out of Rio through sheer fear alone. He didn't expect his next encounter with the meowstic to be a good one, especially after he'd destroyed his tyranitar. Enigma clicked his tongue at that thought. If he needed to kill the foolish scientist… well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

Enigma's foot snagged in a hidden spiral of goosegrass, and he lurched forwards with a stifled gasp. His shoulders throbbed with the motion, and he sneered down at the sticky plant fastened firmly around his leg. He wrenched it free, gritting his teeth at the pain, and tossed it unceremoniously into the long grass. Those plants had been a death trap during his walk back across the plain. Thankfully the end of it was in sight. Good. The journey was becoming disheartening, and he hadn't the strength to warp. There also weren't enough trees to leap along the branches, not that he could in his condition. He stuck to the shadows as best he could, his smokey fur blending in seamlessly.

He tugged a few burrs from his scarf and pressed on, glancing up to check just how much further he had to walk. A large wall rose up from the long grass, coated in a blanket of ivy. He'd spotted it a good way back, but hadn't fathomed just how big it was. He found himself wandering towards it as intrigue took over. It was at least three times his height, and stretched away to his left to back onto the remains of a garden. At least, he thought it might have been a garden. It was much too overgrown to say for certain, and most of the plants had been choked out by the goosegrass.

Enigma peered up at the wall, his curiosity winning over his desire to keep moving. What on earth could be hidden behind a wall like that? It had clearly been abandoned for some time. The ivy was rotting away the mortar between the stone, and a few large stones had fallen free into the grass, now embraced by a bed of thick moss. He pushed himself towards it, his paws catching on the spindly snares of that wretched plant. He managed to shake them off and came to a stop mere inches from the wall. He brushed the ivy aside, but revealed nothing but cold stone wall behind it. Surely there must be a gate? The question was 'where?' He glanced up and down the length of it, rapidly losing the motivation to circumnavigate the entire structure. Instead, he tried to summon the strength to warp onto the top of the wall just to see what was on the other side, but the effort was much too exhausting.

He inclined his head on one side as he frowned up at it. Whatever was beyond it might provide shelter where he could gather his strength before encountering Rio once more. However, if he did manage to climb or warp up it somehow, if he lost his strength in the process he'd meet a very nasty drop. One that might actually finish him off.

He shook his head and moved away from it, deciding to resign himself to the long trek back into the Moorlands Forest.

...

Harbinger had completely lost track of Harlequin and the other pokemon. That greatly bothered him. He'd been tracking them through the Endless Woods, following their scent trail. If he'd picked up on it earlier, they'd have been easy pickings, having gone in circles before finding another path to follow. Just a little earlier… that was all he'd needed to have them where he wanted them. A flaw he constantly berated him for.

How had they just vanished? Their trail ended cold near a clearing, and peering through the brambles had shown him nothing. He wasn't exactly going to walk right out into the open, even if he couldn't detect any waiting ambush. The trail had ended, as if they'd been zipped right up into the air. Teleport? No… Gardevoir used to occupy the woods. But there had been no sightings of them in many, many years.

Harbinger trotted along the path, retracing his footsteps back towards the overgrown orchard. Each step made him wonder if backtracking was a fruitless endeavour, but it was the only solution he could think of. Harlequin and the others could have simply retraced their footsteps to get back out of the Endless Woods, and Harbinger had simply missed them.

He froze and stared at the ground between his feet. No. That didn't make sense! They had to have gone somewhere. Why would they backtrack? Harlequin, like Harbinger and the pawniard twins, was immune to the gardevoir's enchantment. Those pokemon wouldn't just be lost in the woods. Harlequin could guide them, and the enchantment was weakening enough for a strong-minded pokemon to be able to ignore, should they be aware of it.

If they hadn't gone back towards the orchard, then the only other destinations Harbinger could think of were the Snowcapped Mountains on the other side of the Endless Woods, or the Outcast settlement just beyond a hazardous field of thistles. The former was a very likely choice, but at this time of year the peaks would be wrought with blizzards. Harbinger dealt very well with blizzards.

As for the Outcast settlement, it certainly offered a very nice view of the mountains. But Harlequin and their companions would be walking right into a deathtrap. Only a couple of moons ago, Harbinger had passed that way. He had no idea what lay beyond it other than the towering mountain peaks. No sooner had he spotted that settlement, he'd triggered a landslide, burying the entire village. He smirked at the memory and cast a glance in its direction. A flag fluttered in the distance, displaying a brief glimpse of the Outcast Guild's sun symbol.

No, they definitely wouldn't have taken that route. Any sensible pokemon would know it was unwise to go near that village while the land was still unsettled.

...

Review Replies:

Jusmove - Thank you so much! I'm glad you noticed the Biblical metaphors! =D I'm really trying to make that apparent in the rewrite, and Of Light and Darkness seemed a great way to really get that across. I hadn't gone into the fall of Yveltal in the original that much. Of Light and Darkness was originally written for a contest on Thousand Roads (which I failed to meet the minimum word requirement of lol) and rewritten for Rekindled probably a year later. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading!

Thanks everyone! Please R&R! =D