A/N - This is the last chapter for Part Two. This story will be put on a short hiatus while I finish Part Three. I'm much further behind than is ideal, since Christmas projects took focus towards the end of last year. For various reasons I'm struggling to write much, but I've made good progress over the past week. Hopefully the hiatus won't be very long, but Part Three has some substantial changes and new content to flesh things out, and new content takes me the longest to write! It goes beyond simply re-writing established chapters, and I strive to get it right and make it fit.

So please bare with me. For now, I'll say April is my goal to get posting again. It may be sooner than that, but I can't promise anything. All I can ask is you please keep an eye open for the next update email!

Thanks so much for all reads, reviews, faves and follows!

27 - The Next Step

Only a few minutes had passed since Faith had gone to get the nurse. The dojo was oddly quiet, the only sound coming from Harlequin's paws as the zorua paced back and forth behind Spark.

"Did you see his face?" Harlequin asked. "That look he had?"

"Yes." Spark watched Hope and NyukNyuk as they tried to get Reshiram into a more comfortable position. "Yes, I saw his face."

"It's like he regretted it!" Harlequin paused and waved a paw in the air. "When he attacked Enigma he was manic! But this time… this time it's like he didn't want to attack in the first place, and doing so was devastating!" The zorua immediately began pacing again, glancing up at the door periodically. "What's wrong with that whimsicott? Doesn't he even know his own strength?!"

"No," Spark said bluntly. "But he's learning."

Hope looked up at that, her eyes wide. "He doesn't know his own strength? How is that even possible?"

NyukNyuk swivelled on the spot to look at the dedenne.

"He has pokerus." Spark paused as a confused expression spread over the gardevoir's face. "A weird mutant strain of it. Not by choice, either. It was forced on him. He doesn't have any memories, or know the moves of his attacks, and…"

"And?" Hope encouraged.

Spark shrugged and met her gaze. "Well, you saw what happened. That pokerus pushes his strength far beyond what's normal for a whimsicott. Mischief… he's scared of hurting others." She waved a paw at the prone dragon. "You saw what happened! This will have crushed him."

"Yes, I can imagine." Hope's shoulders sank and she let out a sigh. "He needs to learn how to control that power if he's to fight in this war."

"Yeah, about that…" Spark grimaced. "I don't think he's gonna fight."

"With power like that, it would be a real shame," said Hope. "Does he know any other moves?"

"Energy ball," said Spark. "And that fairy move 'play rough' that I learned earlier."

Hope's jaw went slack. "Play rough?! But that's impossible for a whimsicott! How did he learn that without being in the Fairy Garden?"

"Impossible?" Spark gasped. "Well… I guess from the Heretics? He's an experiment of theirs. I don't know the details, but they've tampered with him." She grimaced and glanced to the side. "Clearly more than we're aware."

Footsteps resounded from outside and Spark looked up as an audino trotted into the dojo, tailed by Faith. The audino spotted Reshiram instantly and rushed to his side. Hope and NyukNyuk moved aside for her, and the pink rabbit-like pokemon crouched down beside the dragon.

"So he took a nasty hit?" she asked as she held Reshiram's head to her chest. "Or did he knock his head as he fell down?"

"I think he was knocked out before he fell," said Hope. "It all went a bit fast."

The audino didn't reply, her attention fully focused on the unconscious dragon. Her ears glowed with a soft pink light, and it pulsated out from her to surround Reshiram. It thrummed in the air like an amplified heartbeat, the sound growing with the intensity of the light.

"Will he be okay?" Harlequin asked quietly. The zorua had finally sat down, watching the audino intently.

"He'll be fine," said Faith.

Harlequin jerked their head up towards the mawile, a blush forming over their muzzle before quickly diverting their attention away from the scene. Spark wondered if Harlequin had actually intended to voice that question.

"Did you find Mischief?" Hope asked Faith.

Faith shook her head. "I went to get Joy. But I didn't see either Mischief or Cleo around the library when I returned."

"It might be a good idea to find them," Hope suggested. "Make sure he's okay."

Faith nodded and turned back to the door.

"I'd give them time." Spark stood in the doorway, barring the mawile's path. "If anyone else goes barging in it might just upset him more."

"But we're not upset with him," Faith explained. "We know an accident when we see it."

"Yes, but…" Spark rubbed her paws together and shifted uneasily. "You know what? It might be a good idea to tell him that. Go ahead." She stood aside.

Faith smiled down at her. "Why don't you come with me? You're his friend, right?"

"I'm watching her." Spark nodded her head towards Harlequin. "The last thing he needs right now is her giving him a hard time."

Harlequin bared their canines. "I'm not going to chide him!"

"You did the last time!"

"Well… I…" Harlequin's hackles bristled. "I had my reasons!"

"Oh my!" Reshiram pushed himself up on a wing and rubbed his head with the other. He fixed the pair with his blue eyes. "Why are you arguing?"

A look of relief crossed Joy's face and she sat back on her haunches. NyukNyuk cheered and shuffled over to his friend's side, and Reshiram wrapped a wing around the small fairy-type.

"It's so good to have you back with us," said Hope. "You gave us a little bit of a scare."

"Yes. Well." Reshiram cleared his throat as he turned his attention back on Spark and Harlequin. He inclined his head on one side. "Where is that whimsicott friend of yours?"

"He bailed." Spark raised her paws in a weak shrug. "He feels kinda guilty."

"What ever for?" Reshiram tried to push himself up, oblivious to Spark's gobsmacked stutter at his response. Joy placed a paw on his shoulder to try and stop him. "I want to speak to him. That's the most powerful dazzling gleam I've ever felt!"

"You're not annoyed?" Spark finally spat out.

"Annoyed?" Reshiram laughed and shook his head. "Why, young dedenne, I'm not remotely annoyed! In fact, I'm rather impressed!" He paused and gave her a warm smile. "I'm the one who asked him to attack me in the first place, remember?"

"Yes, but…" Spark shuffled her feet and exchanged glances with Harlequin.

"No buts." Reshiram raised a wing-claw and shook his head. "I really must speak with him, especially if he's feeling guilty about… how do I word this?"

"Knocking you out?" Harlequin offered.

"Rather a strong wording, but okay." Reshiram rumbled laughter. "I'd rather say 'giving me a siesta'!"

"Then we'll go and look for him!" said Faith.

The mawile scooped up Spark in one paw, eliciting a small squeak of protest. Faith grabbed Harlequin by the collar and made her way out of the dojo.

"Why are you dragging me along?!" Harlequin barked, although they didn't put up any resistance.

"He's your friend, right?" asked Faith.

"He's not my friend!"

Faith smiled at the zorua and released their collar, but Harlequin followed them regardless.

Reshiram watched them leave and shook his head. "She's a wild one, that Harlequin." He pushed himself up into a more comfortable sitting position and leant back against the wall.

NyukNyuk hopped up onto his lap, and the white dragon placed a gentle paw on his back.

Hope sat down between Reshiram and Joy. "Xerneas brought her here to you for training yesterday, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did."

"Any success?"

Reshiram smiled down at her. "Hope, a dark-type entering the Fairy Garden is already a huge success in itself. It means things are changing." He chuckled. "Right now, Harlequin is scared. Just like I was when I first arrived here!"

NyukNyuk chittered his agreement and Reshiram laughed again.

"Exactly!" he said. "Give her time. She'll settle down eventually. Once she has, I imagine she'll learn to use the gift Xerneas has given to her."

...

Cleo sat beside Mischief, the pair of them silently watching a group of azurill playing in the lake. The sun shimmered off its glassy surface, which was disturbed by ripples as the hatchlings splashed about. Not fighting, but playing. Another example of the tranquillity that filled the Fairy Garden.

"It's not safe for me to stay here, is it?" Mischief asked.

Cleo jumped slightly. They'd been sat in silence for so long she hadn't been expecting him to speak.

"It is," she said, catching his eye. "You've made friends here. And like we were told earlier, just like Harlequin if you weren't meant to be here you wouldn't have found it."

"But I'm a monster," he said.

Cleo closed her eyes and sighed. "For the last time, Mischief, you are not a monster."

"I didn't want to fight," he went on. "I told them that, and they talked me into it. I ended up hurting Reshiram! One attack, and I…" He raised his paws weakly and let them flop back into his lap. "I hurt him."

"He asked you to hit him with a fairy-type move," Cleo explained. "He's a dragon. Of course it would have hurt him."

"You hit him with a fairy move and it didn't hurt him."

"It still made him flinch."

Mischief grimaced and tugged at a few strands of grass. "I don't even want that. I just don't want to hurt anyone else."

Cleo bit her lip and stared out at the lake. Had it really been fair to make him use his attacks when he didn't want to? Perhaps, now Hope and Faith knew why Mischief didn't want to fight, he wouldn't be forced to again?

"When I woke up outside that Outcast town," Mischief said, snapping her out of her thoughts, "I had no idea what the world was like. Or myself for that matter. But now I've learned the world is a mess, and so am I. I'm just one big mess." He wound his paws together in his lap and stared blankly at his feet. "I just hurt everyone."

"Mischief." Cleo blinked tears back and grabbed Mischief's shoulder, giving him a gentle shake. "When I first met you, you were a friendly, playful nuisance. Sure, this world has shocked you. It's shocked us all. We're all born oblivious to the state this world is in, and we learn as we go along. Some of us are cut out for fighting, while others help from the sidelines. There are hundreds of pokemon in New City but only a fraction of them fight. Everyone helps out in their own way.

"Seeing this world has depressed you. I've seen it happen to so many. Pokemon reach their adult years and they're worn down by the misery and the persecution going on around them. I want to say it's normal, but that's just a sad, bleak outlook. It's not normal. So if you can find peace here, then I'm happy for you to stay. Here, you don't have to fight. Maybe you can find a place on the sidelines? I don't know. Only you can decide that. But you can stay here and go back to being that friendly, playful nuisance again. Okay?"

He fixed her with one eye. "Nuisance?"

"Yup!" Faith leaned over them beaming, with her paws tucked behind her back.

Cleo almost leapt to her feet, freezing in a squat. Accompanying the mawile was Spark and Harlequin. The dedenne plopped down beside Cleo, while Harlequin moved past them to sit a few feet away, gazing out at the lake.

Cleo sank back onto her bottom and shook her head. "Where did you lot come from?"

Faith chuckled and sat down next to Mischief. "You caused quite the stir back there! I've never seen a dazzling gleam that strong before! Reshiram was pretty impressed, too!"

"He was impressed?" Mischief spat.

Faith nodded and made an 'uhuh!'

Mischief shook his head and looked back out at the lake. "Well, you won't be seeing it again. Because I'm not fighting anymore."

"Not fighting?!" Faith gasped. "But you have all that talent!"

Cleo caught the mawile's eye and shook her head slowly. Faith's smile faltered and she trailed her violet eyes over Mischief as if she was seeing him for the first time.

"But… you don't have to use it," she said, sitting back on her paws. "If it upsets you, it's just going to be soul crushing."

Mischief nodded. "It doesn't just upset me though. It also upsets others."

Harlequin stiffened and quirked an ear back towards him. The zorua licked their lips slowly and pawed at something hidden in the grass.

"I believe you."

Mischief looked up at Harlequin. "Believe what?"

"When you said you didn't mean to hurt Enigma." Harlequin paused for a moment and looked out over the lake. "I believe you."

Cleo stared at Harlequin with wide eyes. Had those words actually left that zorua's mouth?

Mischief shook his head and looked down at his paws. "I just wanted him to stop hurting my friends. I didn't mean to-"

"I know." Tears sparkled in Harlequin's eyes and they shifted so their back was to Cleo and her friends.

"You've mentioned this Enigma before," said Faith. "Who is he exactly?"

"One of Hydreigon's assassins," Cleo explained. "Like Harlequin."

The zorua's ears drooped slightly and they rose to plod closer to the lake.

Cleo leant back on her paws, watching the zorua. "Two of his aces, to put it more accurately. They were both sent after us."

"Goodness!" Faith clapped her paws over her muzzle. "Whatever for?"

Mischief let out a long sigh and flopped back against the tree, rubbing his paws over his face. Cleo caught Faith's eye and shook her head, and a look of realisation crossed the mawile's face.

"Oh." She nodded slowly and looked away from Mischief.

Cleo wanted to elaborate, but she found herself wondering if recent events had reached the Fairy Garden. However, if Faith didn't know who Enigma and Harlequin were, then would she know who Boomer was? At the very least, after what had happened in the dojo, it wouldn't take much to put two and two together to work out Hydreigon was pretty annoyed with the whimsicott for something.

A large shadow washed over them, snapping Cleo out of her thoughts. They all looked up to find Xerneas standing behind them with Reshiram, NyukNyuk and Hope at his side. Cleo and her friends dipped their heads in a respectful bow.

"You're okay!" Mischief gasped. "I was so worried! Reshiram, I'm so sorry, I-!"

Reshiram waved a wing in dismissal. "It's no problem at all, Mischief! In fact, I'm very impressed with your strength."

Mischief looked down at his paws and frowned. "I don't understand why everyone keeps saying that."

"To use a dazzling gleam strong enough to take down Reshiram," said Xerneas. "Young whimsicott, you do not realise the strength you have."

"My strength has caused me to take lives," Mischief said sadly. "And I've really hurt Harlequin's friend. What if I…" He screwed his eyes shut.

Xerneas lowered his head so his nose was almost level with Mischief's. "You just need to learn to control it."

"How can I control it?" Mischief asked. "Most of the time, I don't even remember using it."

"Look for the signs." Xerneas gave him a warm smile and stood up straight. "Your skills will be incredibly useful in this war."

"But I don't want to fight."

"Not even to wipe out the Darkness, aide those who are seeking the Fairy Garden, and bring peace to Estellis?"

Mischief's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to reply, but all words seemed to be lost. He snapped his jaw shut again and glanced over the Fairy Garden.

"I have a request of all of you," Xerneas said. "You have all learned how to use the fairy power here, and now I want you to go out there and use that power to fight the Darkness."

Cleo jerked her head around, catching Harlequin's startled sapphire eyes. Cleo turned back to Xerneas and stuttered slightly. "All of us?"

"Yes. All of you." Xerneas looked at each in turn as he said, "You all have your own strengths and weaknesses. But when situations seem to be turning dire, those weaknesses will become your greatest strengths." His gaze lingered on Mischief, and the great stag smiled warmly. "Will you go out and fight the Darkness, and help bring more lost pokemon to the Fairy Garden?"

"I…" Cleo scratched the back of her head and glanced at Harlequin. "We actually have assassins after us. That's how we've encountered her. Harlequin is our prisoner, not our ally."

Xerneas raised his head to catch Harlequin's gaze. "Young zorua. That absolite you wear about your neck?"

Harlequin looked down at the stone just visible in their thick ruff.

"When you return that to the one it belongs to," said Xerneas, "send him here. I shall teach him how to use it."

Harlequin looked back up at Xerneas. "But… he's dead." The zorua's eyes glistened. "He died… a long time ago."

A warm smile spread across Xerneas' muzzle, and Harlequin's sapphire eyes lit up.

"He's alive?" the zorua gasped.

Xerneas nodded. "He is alive."

"He's alive!" Harlequin leapt to their feet, grinning widely. "Then… Then I have to go and find him!"

"Wait."

Harlequin froze, staring at Xerneas, transfixed.

"He is just one of many pokemon I would like you to send back here," said Xerneas. "However, it will not be safe for any of you. Particularly you three." He turned his attention to Cleo, Spark and Mischief. "You will need help removing Howlinger and the Wildfires."

Cleo felt her fur prickle and her heart picked up its pace. She exchanged an anxious glance with Spark.

"For those, you must fight fire with fire," Xerneas explained. "There is one pokemon who can help you. One who knows Howlinger very well."

"Where do we find a pokemon like that?" Spark asked.

"You will know him when you find him."

Spark looked like she wanted to say more, but held it in.

"Xerneas?" Faith stood up and turned towards Xerneas, bowing deeply. "I would like to go with these pokemon, if you don't mind?"

"You're going with them?" Hope asked.

"Their story has troubled me deeply," Faith explained. "I had no idea the number of fairy-type pokemon was declining so drastically in Estellis. To hear of Gleamgrove Abbey being left to ruin? It's saddened me. The world must be in a diabolical state right now. So I want to help Cleo and her friends, help the pokemon out there who need it, and spread the word of you and the Fairy Garden while we travel."

Xerneas nodded. "Very well. I am sure these four will be very glad of your help?"

"Of course!" Cleo gave the mawile a friendly smile. "We would be delighted if Faith joined us."

"Me too!" Spark stretched up to her full five inches of height. "Maybe she can even teach me how to mega evolve!"

Faith chuckled and stooped to grin at Spark. "If we ever find a mega stone for you, then I'd be happy to!"

Xerneas smiled down at Spark and took a step back. "Then I shall see you on your way. Hope? Could you please teleport them back to New City?"

"New City?" Cleo asked. "Is that where the pokemon we are looking for is?"

"No," said Xerneas. "But there is a pokemon there who wishes to know more about the fairy-type."

Cleo and Spark exchanged puzzled glances. "Tinker?"

Hope moved over to Faith while removing her bracelet. "You'll need your keystone. Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"I'll be fine!" said Faith. "I'll be back before you know it."

"Very well." Hope fastened her own keystone around her wrist and spread her arms. "Gather round. Where do you want me to drop you?"

"By the big tree," Cleo explained. "Tinker will not be amused if I drag Harlequin into the main city."

Mischief looked up at Hope, then at Cleo. "I'm really leaving…"

"You'll be fine, Mischief!" Reshiram waved a wing, while NyukNyuk waved a shadowy claw from atop the dragon's head. "We'll see you back here soon!"

Xerneas and Reshiram warped before their eyes, and the colourful, peaceful Fairy Garden faded away to be replaced by the familiar sparse canopy of the Moorland's Forest.

Hope looked around at the shadowy trees. "Is this the right place? I fear I may have missed the mark."

"Yes." Cleo nodded as she took in the thorny bushes and stinging nettles that spread out ahead of them. "This is the right place."

"Okay. I'll leave you here." Hope stood back and folded her paws before her. She fixed the group with a fond smile. "Please take care."

"We will!" Faith waved.

"Thanks for helping us get back here," said Cleo.

"It saves a long walk." Hope chuckled. "See you all again soon." With that, the gardevoir vanished into thin air.

"Okay." Cleo turned to Faith, taking the mawile by surprise. Cleo spoke in a hushed tone, "I need to warn you there is an illusion blocking the tree." She caught Mischief's eye and the whimsicott inched in closer. "It shows your worst fear. Just push through, and close your eyes if need be."

"That sounds incredibly familiar to what you described in the Endless Woods," said Faith.

"It is, actually, yes." Cleo ushered the mawile towards the nettles. "Let's move on. I don't want to draw attention from any of the Darkness, and we're losing daylight."

"You go that way," said Harlequin. "I'm looking for Harbinger."

The zorua turned to march away, and Cleo felt a tug at her wrist. Harlequin came to an abrupt halt and yelped as their head was snapped back against Cleo's bracelet. Wide sapphire eyes fixed on the meowstic and a look of confusion crossed both Cleo's and Harlequin's faces.

"It's working again?" Harlequin whined.

Cleo frowned at the bracelet and shrugged. "I guess so."

Harlequin lowered their head and let out a low, pathetic growl.

Cleo motioned a paw for Harlequin to follow them. "Then I suppose you're coming with us."

"But I have to find him!" Harlequin barked. "I need to give him his mega stone!" Regardless, the zorua fell into step at the back of the group. "This can't be happening."

Faith fell back to walk beside Harlequin and gave the assassin an encouraging smile. "Don't worry. We'll find your friend."

...

Enigma sat unnoticed in the branches of an old sycamore, watching Harlequin and their companions. The zorua was still stuck with that meowstic, and the whimsicott was also still with them. No longer manic. That was very curious. But what was even more curious was the new pokemon with them. A mawile… he'd never seen one. The Iron Canyon was torched by the Wildfires long ago, but Enigma wouldn't rule out a potential survivor.

He pushed himself up as he watched them trudge through the foliage, almost vanishing into it entirely. Why would any pokemon voluntarily walk through all those stinging nettles? He crept along the branch, grimacing with the effort of pulling himself up. He paused to rub his sore ribs, trying to block out the nagging pain. The group of pokemon were soon out of sight, engulfed in the towering nettles. Enigma's curiosity had got the better of him. He could practically feel his boredom lifting. Was something of interest beyond those nettles?

He clicked his tongue and settled back on the branch. As much as he wanted to find out, he was in no fit state for a fight should they retaliate again.

So he decided to wait until they were a little further away before following them.

...

Thanks for reading! Please R&R!

Again, please bare with me while I finish Part 3. Updates will commence again in the near future!