"Are you okay?"

Mewtwo blinked, slight surprise gracing his expression, although when he turned to the source of the noise and his eyes came in contact with Deoxys', it quickly died down to one fit for a serious inventor. He turned his orbs away to think, focusing them on the cool ground of the caverns, and they glowed slightly in the darkness that engulfed everything, seething through the cracks between the stalactites above. Deoxys' words sprang through his mind like a lingering echo, and it wasn't hard to compare them to the current situation, as well as come up with a plausible reason why she had said them in a soft murmur.

"I mean…" she then began, keeping her telepathic voice quiet, also turning her eyes to the ground as if it would help her come up with the right words to say. Behind her in a somewhat-large room was a fire blazing upon a small pile of dead wood, around it being an exhausted Raikou and Heatran, while a Lucario called Drendan had come in not too long ago and brought Jeff and Skyler, who were unconscious from the previous robot chase, to rest near the fire until they woke. Silence had dominated the group as they relaxed, pushing their troubles aside to give their muscles and minds the recovery they needed, as well as thrive in a moment where no robotic Pokemon were in sight.

Of course, Heatran had led the group deeper into the caverns after he had chased away the robots, bringing the group into a cool room where only the splashes of microscopic-sized water droplets could be heard as they fell from the tips of the rocky spikes above. Apparently the cold sanctuary was where Heatran resided among the caverns, seeing as how Drendan, who was his ally, instantly knew where it was located.

"What?" Mewtwo then cut her off, although it seemed to be only a simple mutter to egg Deoxys' words out faster. He had gotten up while the group relaxed around the fire, walking into the shadowed corner to sort out his thoughts, and it didn't take much to convince Deoxys to follow him with slight interest. The manmade Pokemon had brought his eyes to her, eyebrow on the verge of quirking, his voice also quiet to avoid interrupting the peaceful moments between their allies around the campfire.

Deoxys sighed, although she only moved closer to him, eventually standing right by his side, bringing herself to lean up against the wall as he was doing. "You look kind of distant…" she finished, her voice trailing off to make room for his immediate response.

However, instead of emitting a reply on the spot like he usually would in a similar situation, Mewtwo turned his eyes downward once again, this time remaining silent for a few seconds. He didn't notice Deoxys' eyes settle on him, implications of compassion gracing them as she found herself worrying for his status. It was obvious the whole group was shaken up due to recent incidents, but while the others relaxed around the fire Mewtwo had broken away from them and moved towards the far corner to ponder on unknown thoughts.

"I'm just thinking," was all he answered simply, his tone filled with slight drag. In fact, he seemed more exhausted than the others, although he had rather find separate room to sort out his thoughts than actually try to get some rest, which such a thing brought Deoxys to mentally scold him. It appeared that he was pushing himself to be the 'plan maker' of the group, therefore depriving himself of relaxation of any sort in order to decide what they were all going to do from here. Despite how helpful his suggestions had been, Deoxys knew that Mewtwo needed to get rid of his current stress instead of adding more while trying to ponder on new ideas for the future.

Of course, to avoid the risk of angering him, she chose to keep her complaints to herself unless they were needed to settle a debate.

"About what?" she replied, somewhat narrowing her eyes since annoyance from before was still present. She managed to suppress expressing it by emitting more sighs, though.

Mewtwo shifted the weight between his shoulders, as well as within his legs seeing as how he had been standing for quite some time. "I'm trying to decide what we're going to do after this," he muttered (Deoxys rolled her eyes; how typical, she thought), his sagging voice signaling his tiredness of doing the aforementioned. Deoxys could tell he was trying to hide it behind the closing of his eyes and the serious expression on his face, regardless that his gritted teeth pretty much broadcasted his exhaustion like the colossal neon sign of a new casino.

Deoxys felt herself scoff, and she couldn't help but bring her thoughts into the open. "Well, idea or no idea, you need to get some sleep."

Mewtwo's eyes flew open at the tone of the space Pokemon's voice, which would've fit a mother scolding her ignorant children. He was tempted to meet her gaze, although he didn't want to face her in case she suddenly carried a demonic glint among her eyes, which becoming frightened by a female would add to the tribulations he was going through, such as the severe headache his brain was racking since he had thought on things a little too hard. Of course, despite his urge to grab his head because of this, he ignored his reflex and instead kept his hand behind his back to decrease suspicion.

Then again, he was just trying to figure why Deoxys was even caring in the first place. Sure the space Pokemon had become friends with the whole group, but he had noticed that she seem to pay a lot more attention to him than anybody else…

…not like he hated it or anything.

Of course, he appreciated her generosity, and how she had watched over him during the recent journey, correcting him on mistakes he had made, may they have been misinterpreted information to simple speech impingements. He knew that when she said she had been watching over the Earth before touching down, she hadn't been kidding. The extraterrestrial Pokemon seemed to know a lot more about planet Earth's many features than he himself, which was rare for him to admit since he became somewhat arrogant when the subject of better knowledge was pointed at. Like her, he was hungry to learn, which probably explained why he spent most of his time reading books than doing anything else.

"Why do you care?" he then found himself replying, eyes narrowing to the extent of hers, which didn't seem to intimidate her since her hands had placed themselves on her hips, only adding to her strict countenance. It didn't take much for his stoic expression to quickly contort into one of slight shock when she suddenly stepped forward, jabbing her index finger right in front of his widened eyes.

"Stress kills," she hissed, getting her point across by placing her face right in front of his, the facial fur around his slightly-gaped mouth only centimeters away from her smooth skin. Despite that his hot breath danced across her jaw line because of this, her serious expression remained strong, the gaze of her eyes impaling into his like spears. "And it's not healthy for you to be pushing yourself like this when you don't even need to." She threw her hands up in the air like a hyper psychopath, her next words carrying a scolding tone as well. "Do you want to grow a brain tumor and die?"

Mewtwo quirked his eyebrow. "You are surely kidding, Deoxys."

Deoxys groaned in annoyance towards his arrogance, therefore turning around and crossing her arms. "No, I'm not."

Mewtwo frowned, slightly offended.

Rolling his eyes, he then turned around, his back facing hers since he was about to walk away in search of a different, more isolated spot to think in. Of course, before he could take one step forward, he suddenly felt two hands grab his shoulders, the thumb on each one beginning to stroke the skin there harshly. He cringed slightly in pain, although as he felt the thumbs rub deeper into his skin as if trying to stretch out the knotted, tensed muscles, he could feel calmness overcome him, his arms falling forward from relaxation and therefore dangling at his sides. He didn't even realize that a smile of comfort had graced his mouth, his eyes becoming droopy in the wake.

That is, until he turned his gaze to notice that Deoxys was the one digging her thumbs into his back, her narrowed eyes focused on her hands as she pushed the stress away from his muscles. He barely mumbled a "What are you doing," in the midst of it, his voice coming out as an incoherent gurgle since, for once, tiredness was allowed to take over him seeing as how the barricading tension had been stroked away.

"It's called a massage," she answered simply, apparently understanding his jumbled words. Anger from before was still present, although now her voice was calm and straight to the point. "Humans do it to others in order to relieve stress and help them relax."

"I…I told you I wasn't stressed…"

"Tauros feces," she replied in a somewhat sing-song tone, continuing with her work.

Before Mewtwo could mumble out a retort, he groaned slightly in fatigue, and before he knew it he fell backwards right into Deoxys' arms, which she widened her eyes slightly as his unexpected action brought her to the ground and against the wall with him in her hold. As she regained her thoughts from the small tumble, she lowered her eyes downward…

…and only to spot Mewtwo's head on her lap, his expression calm and chest slowly rising and falling since he had fallen asleep. She stayed silent, somewhat amazed how soft his expression was able to become when he, for once, wasn't forcing himself to think hard. If she had a mouth she would be smiling softly, and as her hand came up to slowly stroke the fur on his forehead in an affectionate manner, her next words slid out as a caring whisper.

"You need someone to look out for ya, you big jughead."

Jeff's eyes slowly opened, his lips smacking together to disperse any dryness that rested on them. His vision was blurry, and because of the small implications of pain that still lingered within his tiny muscles, he looked droopier than usual. He felt slightly nauseous from it all, and in case his food from that earlier morning was preparing to rocket up his esophagus and out his mouth, he leaned forward from his leaning position. He could sense vibrations of heat dance on his back, and after recognizing the cavern background that surrounded him, he turned his head around, noticing that a campfire was only a few feet away.

All the Roselia could remember was being chased by robotic Pokemon, falling down a vertical tunnel, and then being saved by a humanoid being.

Out of suffering from slight disorientation, he brought his head forward once again to its original position, only then to notice that a pair of black feet was right in front of his tiny legs. Fear rose within him, and Jeff slowly turned his eyes upward, following the legs to the blue hips, up the goldenrod torso, and finally to the jackal-like head of the Lucario that was now gazing down upon him with what seemed like a mixture of disappointment and puzzlement.

Jeff squeaked.

"HOLY HECK IT'S ANUBIS!" the Roselia then cried out, scared, stumbling to get up and running away from the stranger aura Pokemon, who was now displaying more bewilderment than anything else. The grass type didn't even notice Skyler, who was still knocked out and was also resting by the fire, place his tail in front of him absentmindedly, therefore making the poor rose Pokemon trip over it and smack face-first into a hard surface.

Jeff groaned slightly as he recovered from the collision, bringing his eyes to identify what he had run into. Before he could do anything, two red and black eyes were staring down on him with slight curiosity, the four-legged owner's leg readjusting itself since the Roselia had crashed into it. Of course, due to the being's size, it had only felt like a weak tap to him.

Then again, the Roselia that was Jefferson only stared horrifically at him for three more seconds before all hell seemed to break loose.

"OH MY ARCEUS IT'S A FAT TOAD THING!"

Jeff immediately rushed up again and ran the other way. Heatran stared at him, this time looking slightly offended at the 'fat' part of the Roselia's cry, which explained why he displayed obvious amusement as Drendan rolled his eyes in annoyance in the midst of trying to catch the Roselia and calm him down.

It wasn't long, though, before Jeff caught sight of Raikou, who had been watching the whole performance with his own humorous look grazing his eyes. The Roselia didn't care, and instead ran behind the thunder tiger's foreleg, shivering like crazy as he turned his black eyes to gaze at the Lucario that had been chasing him.

"These guys saved us, Jeff," Raikou chuckled, raising his foreleg and therefore taking away the Roselia's hiding spot. Jeff was still shaking in fear, although with the exile's soothing words he seemed to calm slightly, which brought Drendan to cease his attempt to explain and instead sit down by the fire, the flames reflecting off of his scarlet eyes. Heatran narrowed his own orbs, the cackles of the fire yet again becoming the only sound in the area, and the lava toad relaxed while Raikou told Jeff about the current situation.

Afterwards, Jeff rubbed the back of his head in slight bashfulness. "Sorry about being scared of you, dudes, and thanks for saving us."

Drendan nodded slightly, while Heatran kept his eyes on the campfire.

"So…" the Roselia then began, turning his gaze towards the lava toad. "Raikou told me you got exiled too, dude. Like, how'd that happen?"

Raikou exchanged glances with Drendan, both of whom kept quiet and decided to allow the lava toad to tell his own story. Heatran didn't seem to mind about having to explain, as he knew that his new allies needed to know. His eyes narrowed into slits, his expression growing serious as he gazed upon the simmering flames in front of him.

"The reason behind my exile was similar to Raikou's," he began, tone calm and quiet like the swaying motions of the fire. In fact, his voice seemed to work alongside the dancing blazes, the flames reaching high whenever his voice gained harshness, but yet dying down when his vocals contorted into murmurs. "A while ago, in my original home of Stark Mountain, hundreds of Pokemon resided in the forests that surrounded it.

"As a Legendary, it was partially my job to keep them all safe. However, it wasn't long before Team Galactic – who is a rivaling organization to Team Rocket that resides here in Sinnoh – learned of my existence. As with every crime syndicate that is obsessed with gaining dominance over the world with powerful Pokemon, they sent dozens of scouts towards my area, trying to capture me.

"The fight between us…it took place in the forests with the Pokemon, and seeing as how I was their protector they offered to help me defend the area.

"The battle was going according to plan – the Galactic scouts were being pushed back successfully, and I knew that their attempt to capture me was futile. Because of this…well…I got cocky."

Heatran turned his eyes to Raikou, even more sternness radiating from them.

"The Legendaries are the most powerful creatures on Earth, are they not?" he continued, gaze returning to the flame at the rhetorical question. "With so much power it would be oxymoronic for each one not to display some arrogance every now and then. However, like Raikou, I abused this – I abused it heavily.

"My arrogance and stupidity took over. Even when the Galactic scouts began to retreat I wanted to prove to them never to mess with the likes of me again. I provoked them, endangering the Pokemon I was sworn to protect, and it didn't take much to anger them enough to risk sending a full-fledged attack. I wasn't prepared for such a thing – the reinforcements came in unexpectedly when the Pokemon that helped me were still trying to recover from the previous battle. Because of this, we weren't strong enough to fight back that time.

"Many Pokemon died, and although I was able to escape before I was captured, parts of the forest were left in flames, killing even more. The only thing I did was run like a coward.

"A few days later when the Pokemon of the forest began their long road to recovery, I didn't dare go back. Instead I returned to the Hall of Legends to face trial for the incident, and because of my arrogance, which led to the death of innocent Pokemon, I was exiled from the council permanently.

"I didn't bother to return to Stark Mountain. I knew that every Pokemon there would hate me if I did. So, instead I came here to the valleys below the mountains to start a new life – a barren location where it would be easy to hide and be forgotten about."

At the end of the tale even Drendan and Raikou, who had already known it, were left with gaped mouths. Jeff nearly fell backwards from it all, his eyes widened and breath quickened. This seemed to depress Heatran even more, and he turned away, obviously ashamed. However, his next words came in the form of a firm admittance.

"Raikou…you always scold yourself for your arrogance, believing that it was your fault behind the accidents that led to your exile. Yes, it unfortunately was, but yet you admit to your wrongdoings…"

Raikou cocked his head slightly, unfamiliar with this part of the tale, and interested to learn what the lava toad was trying to say.

Heatran sighed, bringing his eyes to the thunder tiger once again. "I always hated the Legendaries for when they banned me. I was blinded by my own selfishness, actually thinking that I did not deserve my punishment, and only Team Galactic was the one who should have been blamed.

"Now, however, I know why I was exiled. It was my fault just as much as Team Galactic's, and therefore I belong as an exile, hidden away from others – set to be only a actual legend passed between Pokemon.

"You, though, Raikou, have always thought you deserved your fate, and such a thing as taking responsibility for your actions and trying your best to learn and fix them makes you the least arrogant Pokemon I know…"

As Heatran then smiled slightly, Raikou soon found himself doing so as well.

"That's awesome, dude," Jeff commented, smiling like an immature child. His expression suddenly turned serious, though, as an old thought came up. "Um, dudes, didn't you say you knew something about that Terotrey dude?"

Heatran, Drendan, and Raikou blinked in realization, finally remembering the most important case here. Heatran nodded to Drendan, who got up, and with his own stoic expression began to explain that as well.

"The truth is…we know the location of the Rocket base."

The air within the holding cell that contained the cages of Darkrai and Cresselia, along with Entei and now Suicune since she had placed in the same cage as his had grown quiet. This was because the Legendaries inside had fallen asleep, all exhausted from worrying what was to come, as well as trying to assure each other everything was going to be all right despite. Darkrai was leaning up against Cresselia, who had her head resting on top of his almost as if she was trying to show affection even when they were sleeping. Suicune and Entei were snuggled up together, Entei laying his head over Suicune's neck like an overprotective father, which Suicune usually dubbed him as.

It wasn't long before Darkrai shook himself awake, silently moving Cresselia's head to rest upon the ground so he could move around and stretch out his cramped limbs. He yawned slightly, casting a quick loving glance towards Cresselia before checking on Entei and Suicune, who only sighed in their sleep every now and then. The fire lion was displaying a small smile, possibly from the fact that he was reunited with Suicune, although the said water dog seemed to be facing conflict among her dreams. Darkrai could tell that she was dreaming about Raikou – her need to see him again, perhaps.

The nightmare Legendary could feel himself sigh as he brought a claw up to take care of an itch on his back, but nonetheless remained quiet to avoid disturbing the others.

"'Rai?"

Darkrai blinked, turning to the source of the soft whisper, soon staring at Cresselia as she stretched out her neck. Turning his darkened eyes into a loving gaze he quickly floated towards her and planted a soft kiss against her lips, which was what human couples usually did in the morning, although they couldn't really tell if it was morning or not. The metallic swan then nuzzled into him, and he could feel warmth flutter through him as he gave equal affection back.

Feelings of worry had grown larger ever since the arrival of Suicune. They did believe Raikou had a chance to rescue them, but sure enough their hopes had grown dim – even Suicune was displaying doubt, although she refused to give up. Of course, Darkrai was just happy to be with Cresselia, and therefore hadn't thought much of it since his confession.

They were about to lean into each other for another kiss when the door suddenly flung open, awaking Entei and Suicune, who snapped their heads around instantly, although all eyes turned to Terotrey Horrifiance when he emerged into the room. Immediately vicious snarls emitted from the water dog and fire lion, while Darkrai, on instant reaction, pushed Cresselia behind him, acting like her guardian. His sea-green eyes narrowed, giving Terotrey the deadliest glare he could muster, while Cresselia tried to do the same.

The silver-haired scientist heard a laugh escape his lips at the severe hatred that instantly radiated from the room upon his arrival, and with a snap of his fingers four grunts came in from behind him. With their faces hidden by their caps, which Darkrai could easily tell they had looks of deviousness on their pale features, the grunts approached the dreaming Legendaries' cage. Darkrai gasped, as did Cresselia, when the grunts opened the cage, and with iron poles started to usher the nightmare Legendary into a moveable cage they had brought in earlier.

Darkrai roared in anger as he dodged the poles, but seeing as how there wasn't much room to avoid things in the small space his cage provided, a pole came up from behind him and smacked into his back, causing him to tumble over in his float and roll into the other cage. Cresselia grimaced in horror, although she quickly put on a face of hatred and moved forward to ram into the Rockets…

…only to have the cage door shut right in her face, cutting off her capability to do such a thing.

She could feel tears brim her eyes as the moveable cage now containing a somewhat-dazed Darkrai began to head towards the door. Terotrey watched, and eventually turned his narrowed eyes to Cresselia, who was emitting her name in yelps, although to Pokemon who could understand her she was calling out for Darkrai. Entei and Suicune growled instantly, trying to get towards Terotrey, although their shocking iron bars prevented them from doing so.

Darkrai, who had regained his thoughts, finally remembered what had happened, and therefore floated upwards to catch sight of him being rolled out of the room in a new cage. As he saw Cresselia grow out of view he displayed a look of hurt and reached his claw out to her despite that he knew it was useless. He felt his heart plummet, and all he did was turn his saddened eyes downward. He didn't bother to shoot deathly glares to the Rocket grunts pushing his cage down the halls, nor Terotrey when he walked out of the room with seriousness gracing his face, and even with the cries of Cresselia calling for him he felt no comfort.

Time seemed to slow as he finally realized that he could possibly be only mere seconds away from disaster. He knew for one thing that whatever Terotrey was going to do was going to be bad – tragic even. He could feel his muscles weaken at the thought – at the possibility that he would never see Cresselia or anyone else important to him ever again.

If Terotrey was going to kill him, he hoped he made it quick.

Of course, unbeknownst to him, though, Terotrey had an intention in mind that was much worse than that…