Nature brushed against Raikou and Suicune's faces as they slowly walked through the shrubs of the encompassing forest, eyes narrowed with determination to find the Rhyhorn clan's cave in the mesh of plants, moss, and hard bark. They had left Atsila's tribe not too long ago as the sun made its decent down towards the mountains on the horizon, the day seeming to die alongside it and therefore change into a hue of venomous purple that was slowly fading into black. The albino clouds that used to sail on it had vanished, their slow travel across the sky and to the mountains that towered over the region ending right before the sun had reached the middle of the blue atmosphere. A ghostly image of the moon could already be seen through the veil of deep colors, slowly brightening as the sky darkened.

The exile and the Legendary didn't seem to mind this, however, remaining silent as their ears remained open for any signs of a Rhyhorn in the sense of hearing. Their noses were distracted by the strong varieties of flowers that decked the trees' hanging leaves, a mixture of soothing scents meshing together with the putrid ones of the dying plants that weren't meant to be smelled. Of course, the exile and Legendary were too busy keenly searching for the Rhyhorn den that they did not pay any attention to the life around them, such as the nightly calls of the forest's nocturnal Pokemon, to how soft the ground's moss became to where their paws practically sank into the brown and green floor.

Meanwhile, as silence dominated both Raikou and Suicune, not too far behind them walked Mewtwo, Jeff, and Skyler, who followed the same silent time nonetheless, although Jeff couldn't help but snicker into his Flygon friend's ear and bring the desert dragon to emit giggles. The manmade Pokemon that was Mewtwo turned his head to them every so often as his feet lightly pressed against the mossy ground to bring his body forward, and with narrowed eyes only shook his head in disappointment, mentally convincing himself that they were no doubt gossiping about him in some way or manner. To save himself from having to retort against dumb remarks, the feline-like Pokemon kept his murderous thoughts in his mind.

The forest soon grew dark alongside the day, the cries of the nocturnal Pokemon seem to cease, which was odd although Raikou and Suicune figured they were now out hunting. The grounds of the jungle of trees felt dead, as the mossy flooring remained without indents of movement, and shrubs failed to shake vigorously since no creatures scurried into them. Raikou felt his courage slip slightly as the grounds gained attributes similar to a cheesy horror film. Suicune, on the other hand, couldn't help but smile and roll her eyes towards her counterpart's fear, and only nudged him comfortingly before bringing him back on the path.

"Where did Atsila say the Rhyhorns were?" Raikou managed to mutter out as he shook himself free of his chills. He snapped his head around, allowing his eyes to survey the forest's deserted areas that seemed to be engulfed in darkness. The only source for light now as the sun dipped below the mountains was the moon, which had grown quite bright, appearing as a silver medallion amongst the obsidian sky.

Suicune stopped in movement, and since she was walking in front of Raikou, turned her head to the side to eye him out of the corner of her eye. Her scarlet orbs turned downward as she pondered her mind for the answer, and slowly brought them back up to meet her counterpart's when she came up with a conclusion. "He said their cave is by the tallest tree in the forest," she answered, quirking her eyebrow while doing so.

Raikou frowned. "There's a lot of tall trees out here…"

All Suicune did was shrug, her eyes displaying hopelessness and also some pity for their predicament.

A few feet behind them sat Mewtwo, who was staring in the sky, obviously lost in thought. He knew of the directions Atsila had told them, but was even then confused himself on how to follow them. Jeff and Skyler, on the other hand, seemed determine to find the cave and therefore the Roselia hopped on his Flygon friend's head before the desert dragon slowly rose into the air using his diamond-shaped wings. Eventually Skyler flew high enough into the mesh of tree leaves for Jeff to raise his head and poke through the walls of green from the canopying ones, giving him an overhead view of the forest. Eventually they lowered to the ground.

"Just beyond those shrubs in front of you, dudes!" Jeff called out to Raikou and Suicune, who turned to eye him before nodding and following his suggestion. Mewtwo slightly growled to himself as Jeff and Skyler grinned like children to him, obviously mentally boasting about their usefulness among the mission. The manmade Pokemon could swear he felt slightly jealous, but quietly cursed himself for being so immature because of it.

As Jeff and Skyler continued their far walk behind Raikou and Suicune, Mewtwo quickening his pace to catch up, the said thunder tiger and water dog nodded to each other before slowly walking through the shrubs that blocked out their view of the area ahead.

They gasped slightly as they emerged into a large clearing, a small mountain rising from the grassy grounds in the middle of the mile-long field, rocks that were indented deep into the ground spread out everywhere. The night sky was visible, the moon settling right in the center of it, its silvery light bouncing off the stone hill, and the cracks and crevasses among it brought shadows to collide with the light. At the bottom of the hill, seeming to be buried into its stone and dirt flesh, was a large opening, engulfed in darkness and seeming to lead downward like an underground tunnel. Raikou and Suicune couldn't help but wonder on why it seemed so dead around the area, silence and isolation giving the cave a creepy semblance.

Nonetheless, Raikou and Suicune were positive that that was the Rhyhorn clan's haven.

Exchanging looks as Jeff, Skyler, and Mewtwo came up from behind them, widening their own eyes slightly at the view of the 'lonely' hill amongst the field of grass and large rocks, Raikou and Suicune nodded as they began their trek into the open and towards the cave.

"Dude…this is creepy."

Jeff's eyes slowly examined the ceiling of the cave after he and the others had entered. The entrance into it had indeed gone downward like a lowering tunnel into the underground, and had now opened up into cathedral-sized rooms that sported hanging stalactites and rising stalagmites, each dripping with fresh, icy water. Puddles formed upon the cold ground, ripples sprawling across their surfaces as vibrations of passing movements reached them, reflecting the bewildered faces of Raikou and Suicune, along with Jeff, Skyler, and Mewtwo as they all made their way through the deserted caverns.

The stone walls of the series of tunnels were bright, as if a lingering Flash attack had been used not too long ago, bringing light to rest upon the area. Despite this, the nooks and crannies of the caverns remained dark with shadows, including the ceilings of the rooms when they were yards in height. Due to the lack of openings, stray wind failed to cause wails to echo throughout the caverns, and therefore the rooms remained dead silent unless one's voice spoke and sent their tone to repeat as it traveled across the cave's vast spaces.

"It's so…deserted," Raikou mumbled to Suicune, confusion gracing his voice as he traveled his eyes up the walls and to the overhead, stalactite-covered ceilings. Every time he did this he felt overwhelmed for some reason, threatening to fall backwards onto his side because of it. Meanwhile, Suicune kept her eyes forward, keeping them narrowed as suspicion grew inside of her, Mewtwo remained silent, allowing his own slit eyes to wander, as Jeff and Skyler stayed close behind, appearing somewhat frightened by both the breathtaking sizes of the rooms and the loneliness that occupied them.

Eventually Suicune sighed, her forelegs and hind legs aching slightly from all of the walking they had done. She turned her eyes to her counterpart, who was staring at her, obviously searching for guidance. With a sigh, she replied, "I'm wondering where everyone is -"

Suddenly her head snapped forward, her eyes narrowing once again as if she had spotted something amongst the miles of ground ahead. The others froze, waiting for her to explain what had caused her to jolt slightly.

"Do you hear that?" she asked quietly, not turning her head to face the others. Mewtwo exchanged looks with Raikou, while Jeff and Skyler had already closed their eyes, trying to focus on any intruding, distant sounds that Suicune was possibly referencing to. Slowly the exile and manmade Pokemon did the same.

It was faint, as if the creator was quite far away. It sounded like some sort of cheer, and as Raikou focused on it more he noticed the quantity of tones that made up the cries fit for an audience at a contest or Pokemon tournament. He clenched his paws as he tried to focus on it, trying to conclude what it was.

"It sounds like cheering…" Mewtwo muttered from the back, and Raikou flashed his eyes open, noticing that Suicune had opened hers a while ago.

"It's coming from over there," she then replied, pointing her paw towards a cavern opening that sat a few yards ahead. Immediately she took off for it, as did Raikou, while Mewtwo, Jeff, and Skyler followed somewhat-far behind in the shadows in case an unexpected Rhyhorn was to jump out and meet them.

Eventually the exile and Legendary made it to the entrance into the cavern, which opened up into a large room that carried a pit similar to an old Roman-style coliseum. Layers of smooth stone served as the seats for the audience, the deep pit in the middle made for whatever creature or event that was entertaining. In the top of the room, somewhat overlooking the coliseum was a throne carved from the rock, obviously for seating the leader of the clan.

Ironically, Rhyhorns covered the audience seats, standing side-by-side with each other on the layers of smooth rock. Amongst the throne sat a Rhydon with an amused expression on his snout, a white bandage covering his left eye. Raikou and Suicune could automatically tell that the said evolution of Rhyhorn was none other than Bouldarin himself.

The exile and Legendary were about to rush forward, making their presence known to the inhabitants inside the stone coliseum, but stopped instantly when they realized that there was something in the pit of the room.

A cage.

Narrowing their eyes, trying to avoid losing focus over the snarls of cheer that radiated from the vast amount of Rhyhorns in the room, they noticed that there was a humanoid whose body resembled a DNA string inside of the cage, its human-like hands wrapped around the iron bars, obviously feeling hatred towards the stone Pokemon around it, while wanting to be released. Raikou and Suicune knew that it wasn't human, but it was definitely a creature they hadn't seen before.

Meanwhile, Mewtwo slowly peered over the corner that opened up into the coliseum room, displaying slight shock like Raikou and Suicune as he noticed the caged humanoid being in the pit center of the room as well. He blinked, his mouth opening in slight awe, which such an expression fit for a stunned man looking upon a beautiful goddess crossed his feline face.

That is, until he realized this and silently smacked himself in the forehead, scolding his thoughts simultaneously.

Jeff and Skyler slowly came up from behind him, quirking their eyebrows at the things within the coliseum, although they remained silent and stayed hidden like Mewtwo.

Raikou was slightly curious to learn who the imprisoned being was, but his thoughts were subsided when he and Suicune spotted a Rhyhorn in the crowd toss a small rock towards the cage like some sort of bully, sending the being in the cage to roll to the side and dodge it. Immediately the Rhyhorns, as well as Bouldarin, broke into vicious laughter, giving them the semblance of having personalities that were amused to the mere torture of others. It was obvious the being inside the cage was weak, and if it had any powers it was too exhausted to use them.

Because of this, as more rocks were thrown towards the cage in spite of obvious anger and sick entertainment, both Raikou and Suicune grimaced in horror. Thoughts of how creatures could be so cruel crossed their minds, and the thunder tiger couldn't help himself as he suddenly rushed forward and screamed out, "HEY! STOP THAT!"

Time seem to freeze at that direct moment, and Suicune only turned her disbelieving face to her counterpart, while Mewtwo, and even Jeff and Skyler, mentally scolded him with hundreds of insults…

…and all because every single Rhyhorn in the room dropped into silence, turning their eyes to the Legendary and exile that stood at the top of the room's entering stone staircase, some blinking, their mouths hanging open. Bouldarin even looked shock beyond what seemed abnormal for him, while the caged being's fury grew dim as curiosity and bewilderment took over.

Raikou blinked as well, finally realizing that he had given his and the others position away, and was now standing in front of a coliseum filled with bewildered, staring Rhyhorns.

"…oopsie."

"The Legendaries…have been captured?" Bouldarin repeated as Raikou ended the tale of the ENTIRE situation. The said thunder tiger, along with Suicune, was now standing in front of the Rhydon's throne, still in the coliseum, which had grown silent apart from the whispers of the Rhyhorns that had remained in their seats among the audience. The imprisoned being was still stuck in its cage in the middle of the room, although confusion and slight hopefulness covered its expression rather than anger like it had before the unexpected 'creators of life' walked through the door.

No doubt was everyone in the room stunned by the presence of Legendaries, and out of respect they stayed in their seats, not talking out loud while the leader of the clan spoke to them. Mewtwo and Jeff and Skyler, who were still right outside the coliseum cavern, stayed behind the wall, hiding unless their help was required, despite that they still listened with interest.

Bouldarin sighed, his eye still slightly widened, although the aftermaths of surprise had left him and the clan a little while ago. Now, instead, they all seemed eager to learn why Legendaries were walking their halls.

"Onto the situation in front of us, though…" Suicune cut in for her counterpart, who backed away slightly, giving her the signal to explain. The water dog did just that, telling Bouldarin about their deal to negotiate with them on the behalf of Atsila, and also the story the Charizard had told them about the war between their clans.

Bouldarin started to growl slowly as Atsila was mentioned, along with the death of the Charizard's wife, Scalene. As Suicune ended her tale Bouldarin flew upwards onto his feet, convincing Raikou to step back once more, while Suicune even looked intimidated despite that she remained in place.

"Don't. Ever. Mention. Atsila. To. Me," the Rhydon snarled, his voice not going beyond a vicious howl, although the Rhyhorns among the audience seemed to growl in sync with him. Suicune narrowed her eyes, as did Raikou, and the thunder tiger walked forward, somewhat wondering if the shock of them being Legendaries was rubbing off, as Bouldarin suddenly didn't seem so afraid of them.

With a snort, Suicune suddenly stepped forward. "You are the one who started the war, Bouldarin," she muttered, slight vile leaking from her tone. The Rhydon narrowed his eye alongside hers, and only stepped forward as well.

"Have you heard my side of the story, yet?" he then asked, obviously trying his best to keep his behavior civilized. His tone carried mock, which such a thing made Suicune growl, although she remained silent as if signaling for him to continue.

"Those metallic Pokemon killed my son!"

As if on cue the Rhyhorns in the room roared, adding to the intimidation that came with the Rhydon's snarl. Raikou widened his eyes, as did Suicune, both aware that he was referring to the robotic Pokemon, although they were still shocked that the metallic 'monsters' had been in the forest in the first place.

"Those monsters came from nowhere and killed my son – the heir to my throne," Bouldarin began, not giving Suicune a chance to explain, "and all under the spawning hands of that demon!"

He jabbed his claw forward, and all eyes turned to the being inside of the cage, who jolted slightly from the sudden gain of attention. Raikou and Suicune, out of bewilderment, slowly approached the 'demon', which Bouldarin didn't seem to mind.

The female DNA-resembling hostage lowered her eyes to the Legendaries, and, if she had a mouth, would be smiling at realizing that two rulers (well, one) of natural balance were still free. Raikou somehow felt safe under the being's soft glance, and found himself mentally debating Bouldarin even if he had no proof of her having innocence. By the way Suicune's expression showed the same formation, it was obvious she was having doubts as well.

"Who are you?" Raikou slowly mumbled, almost as if he was in a daze of some sort.

The being grabbed the iron bars of her cage so she could come closer to the thunder tiger and water dog, who were standing right in front of her metallic prison. "My name is Deoxys," she tried to reply in a friendly manner, although exhaustion and fright from before blocked this from her telepathic voice that spoke outwards like Mewtwo's. "I came from outer space, where my species is spread throughout the universe."

Raikou and Suicune listened with interest, although Bouldarin seemed to roll his eye at every word she emitted.

"When I came across this planet I was fascinated by it," Deoxys started again, keeping her eyes entirely focused on Suicune and Raikou, "I noticed that it was controlled by beings who surveyed the rules of natural balance. After a while I noticed that strange Pokemon made of metal were coming out of nowhere and hunting the Legendaries down. I knew this was bad so I came down to investigate and help in any way I could.

"I came across this forest when I touched down. The first thing I realized was that robotic Pokemon were heading towards here, hurting any normal Pokemon they came by in order to hunt for Legendaries. I tried to help by keeping away any I came across. Since they seemed to be attracted to the forest I stayed here, and now I know why they were obsessed with this place – you guys, the only walking Legendaries – well, Legendary, since Raikou's an exile – was here.

"I tried to warn you by finding you, and when I noticed you were in this 'Atsila's' tribe, I tried to get there. The problem is, Rocky over there" – she shot a deathly glare towards Bouldarin – "thought that since I was coming by Atsila's clan so much I was his pawn in the war between their clans, and since he hadn't seen my species anywhere, he thought I was a demon who was summoning the robotic Pokemon since they had started to appear in the forest a little while after I got here, which was really because of your arrival."

Raikou and Suicune exchanged shocked glances, but nodded towards Deoxys as they took in her words. Her story made perfect sense, they thought, and they knew that Bouldarin had been jumping to conclusions too quickly when he had blamed an extraterrestrial Pokemon in creating the robots. With angered eyes Suicune turned to Bouldarin, who had already begun to growl.

"The demon tells lies!" the Rhydon spat, speaking to Suicune and Raikou as if they were merely members of his clan. "Atsila summoned her to make the metallic monsters and kill my clan!"

"Do you have any proof of this?" Suicune retorted, and Bouldarin swallowed his tongue as the Legendary advanced on him, Raikou only eyeing the event in the background beside Deoxys. Quickly the Rhydon shook his shock and intimidated state away before regaining his monstrous stance.

"I have all the proof I need in my son's murdered carcass!" he answered with a vicious snarl, although Suicune kept firm.

"Why would Atsila want to kill your son anyway?" Raikou cut in from the back, moving forward until he was right beside his counterpart.

Bouldarin's mouth twitched, and he only narrowed his eye as he then muttered, "Because…we hate each other. Brothers usually do."

In unison, Raikou, Suicune, as well as Mewtwo, Jeff, and Skyler widened their eyes.

B-brothers?

Bouldarin threw his head back to let out a hoarse laugh, as if he had grown insanely happy, or just really arrogant and mocking. "I bet Atsila didn't tell you that part, huh?" he then sneered, seriousness gracing his voice. "We were both brothers, and we had a sibling rivalry growing up to who would lead the clan when we were older. When I learned it was him I was angry…

"So, when I was old enough, I took all of the Rhyhorns from the clan and ran off to start my own. Atsila hated me for it, he thought I was selfish to not be there and serve my duties among his tribe, only running off so I could be the leader of my own. He was also mad that I wasn't there to kiss his ass all the time and call him my graceful lord.

"I knew that he despised me, and despite that our clans had agreed to live in peace, I knew he wanted nothing but for me to be loyal to him again. I know he summoned that demon" – he pointed to Deoxys again – "and she created the robotic Pokemon to kill my son, which was Atsila's warning to merge my clan with his or something of greater tragedy would happen.

"I wasn't afraid of him, despite that my son's death brought my clan down to the ground. I knew for one thing that I had to be strong, and so I returned the favor, and killed his wife, Scalene, to show him that I will not be taken as a fool!

"After that the war between our clans began. It wasn't long ago before I found his demon pawn, and I captured her, which will hopefully end the tyranny that is the reign of the metallic monsters!"

Raikou and Suicune were speechless, their thoughts instantly debating if Bouldarin's words were true – as if Atsila really did lie to them and was only using them to end a war he really had started. They couldn't help but carry doubt in their gut (although they were convinced Bouldarin and Atsila were really brothers, as they felt that that was true) towards the fact that a Pokemon of a peaceful semblance such as Atsila would really be evil enough to kill his own blood's son just as a warning for him to rejoin his clan.

Was it all true? Was it only partially true? Was it all lies? So many questions had risen up from the explanation that Raikou felt like he was going to faint.

"Y-you have no proof that Atsila was able to create metallic monsters, or even summon Deoxys," Suicune muttered, stuttering slightly as if it was the only thing she had in mind she could possible counter with. Bouldarin seemed to chuckle at the lack of her comebacks, despite that he showed anger towards it all the same.

"Where is your proof that he didn't?" he replied, narrowing his eye again, and Suicune pulled back, glancing at Raikou as if looking for guidance. They did know that Atsila did not bring fourth the robotic Pokemon, but they still didn't know who did.

Meanwhile, Jeff and Skyler displayed their own shock from the revealing of Bouldarin's alibi, their own debates on if it was true in some parts or not overtaking their thoughts. Mewtwo even seemed bewildered about the whole thing, wanting the truth behind it all.

Jeff turned his head to Skyler. "Dude, does anyone else feel like they're in CSI: La'Rousse City? Only, instead of La'Rousse City, we're in a cave filled with man-eating Rhyhorns in the middle of a forest in the Sinnoh region."

Mewtwo, ignoring Jeff, turned his head the other way. His thoughts became interrupted when he felt the familiar feeling that he had felt before he rescued Raikou and Suicune from Darkrai's island erupt through his gut, and he couldn't help but bring his somewhat-worried eyes towards the far entrance of the Rhyhorn clan's cave.

Danger was coming.

And it wasn't a Pokemon.