Raikou's mouth fell open, as did Jeff's, while Deoxys had overheard this and, trying her best to reposition the sleeping Mewtwo in her lap to lean against the wall, got up to join the conversation. Drendan remained silent, letting the cackles of the campfire emit uninterrupted noise for the next few seconds, allowing the sentence he had just stated to linger in the air and therefore amplify its meaning. Raikou and the others weren't in awe because their theories of the location of the Rocket base were true, but at the fact that the whole revealing meant a hideous war was not too far off from starting. Soon they would have to infiltrate the base and rescue the Legendaries – stopping Terotrey Horrifiance and his robotic minions in a battle that would take everything they had to achieve victory.

Just at the mere thought of it…Raikou could feel his heart freeze in place.

Heatran, who had been resting in the corner, waiting for his Lucario ally to inform the others about how they knew the Rocket base's location, got up and walked over to join Drendan by the fire. The Lucario exchanged serious looks with him, but in the process stepped back slightly to give the lava toad the ability to continue with the explanation. He did just that with a quiet voice, his narrowed eyes gazing into the widened ones of his small audience.

"When I got here," he began, allowing his eyes to wander as if to emphasize the cavern as the specific 'here', "it wasn't long before I met Drendan. It wound up he was just passing through the valley, never really having a permanent place to stay. However, though…" He turned his gaze to the flame. "When I realized that not far from here a manmade base structure was being constructed, I looked in on it, soon learning that it belonged to Team Rocket. I thought it was weird for the Rockets to be in Sinnoh – this region is known to all to be Team Galactic territory - so I figured they would have to have a good reason for showing their faces in the area.

"Drendan learned of this, and therefore decided to stay behind and help me find out why the Rockets were establishing their organization here in the mountain valleys. As the building was finished, we continued to spy, eavesdropping on conversations between the grunts that patrolled the outside. Soon we learned that some man called Terotrey Horrifiance was capturing the Legendaries using robotic Pokemon that could hunt them by their Legendary essence.

"Drendan and I slowly watched in horror as, every few days, a helicopter or large vehicle came into the valley, carrying a captured Legendary. We counted all of the ones that had been caught, and when the latest one, Suicune," – Raikou cringed as if in pain – "was brought here, the grunts around the area began to say that all Legendaries had been caught."

Drendan suddenly stepped forward, his serious voice soon continuing the story. "Heatran and I knew that the only one they were missing was Raikou. We found it weird that they would state that they captured all of the Legendaries if they were missing him. So, when the grunts began to talk about his lack of Legendary essence, then, well…"

"We figured that Raikou had been exiled from the council," Heatran finished. "It's the only way for a Legendary to lose his or her essence."

Everyone remained silent with widened eyes, mouths gaped.

"It's apparent that Team Rocket is up to no good," Drendan began, eyes narrowed and arms crossed. "Heatran and I thought about trying to break in, but a rescue attempt by just the two of us would obviously end in failure because of the amount of Rockets, and those hordes of robotic Pokemon. Terotrey has had them patrolling the entire valley – possibly to keep away anybody from discovering the base."

The Lucario suddenly turned to Raikou. "Anyway, I have already devoted myself to helping you rescue the Legendaries, Raikou." He kneeled down as if serving a wise king or general, and Raikou chuckled nervously out of bashfulness, remembering then that Lucarios were known for their honorable personalities. Jeff did the same for the sake of it, and Deoxys sighed through her nostrils out of what seemed like impatience. However, she suddenly remembered the recent information, and therefore turned her eyes to Heatran, who she noticed was staring at Raikou and Drendan with slight shame and anger. She had overheard his tale – how he had gotten exiled from the council and always held a burden towards the Legendaries for it, even if he was aware now that he deserved his punishment.

She didn't want to point it out to the others and make it seem like she was trying to rub it in, but she couldn't help but nudge her elbow towards Raikou, who gazed at her with bewilderment before she pointed a finger at the lava toad that sat by the fire. Drendan noticed this as well and, being the friend he was to Heatran, made himself the one to turn towards the said Pokemon.

"Will you help us fight?" he then spoke quietly, firmness radiating from it as if a simple 'yes' or 'no' would satisfy him without the need of an explanation behind the choice. Heatran turned his eyes to him, knowing that everyone figured he was going to back out because of his relationship with the Legendaries. It was true that he believed that helping them would bring no benefit to his cause, despite that this conclusion had not been interpreted from hatred, but instead shame to face them again after the things he had done. Would they want to be saved by him, he thought? Even if he managed to do so it wouldn't change what they now saw him as.

Of course, now that he thought about it, doing the exact opposite and not helping would only add to his selfishness, as well as the cowardly attitude he sometimes held. He did not want to be viewed as a Pokemon who ran away at the mere glimpse of danger, but at least a being who helped others when it was needed. He wanted to be able to see himself as a hero again – to make up for his past crimes, or maybe even cease the Legendaries' urges to eye him with repugnance whenever he came across one. Even if helping the council didn't bring him back his Legendary status, it would assist in dissipating the guilt inside of him.

And he would do anything for that.

He turned his attention back to the others, noticing that they had been staring at him with compassionate eyes, waiting patiently for his response. He knew that they would understand if he didn't want to help, but refusing to join their alliance wouldn't ease his pain at all – it would only add to it. Therefore, with a sigh as if forcing himself to settle on his choice, he muttered out his answer with even more seriousness than before.

"The Legendaries need to be rescued…"

He locked gazes with Raikou.

"…and whether they like it or not, they're getting my help."

Eventually, after what seemed like hours of being pushed through halls, in which in reality was actually only ten minutes, Darkrai could hear the loud generators of computers fill the air, and when he opened his eyes to gaze at his surroundings, he noticed he was in a cathedral-sized room. Everything seemed to be dubbed in an eerie blue light, and the nightmare Legendary turned to find the source, which he gaped at as he soon looked upon a humongous machine that took up half the room. Gears rotated among it, wires bigger than his cage sprouting from one socket and entering through another. Lights flashed across the machine as a giant blue sphere hovered above it, being the source of the cobalt glow that covered everything.

And inside the sphere floated Arceus, seeming to be unconscious, as his eyelids were closed but yet his expression tightened with discomfort. Brackets tied his hooves together, and right below his sphere, built into the machine, was a set of what looked like circular glass cases made for holding something spherical.

Before Darkrai could examine the thing any further, he was pushed out of his cage and into a sort of cylindrical scanner in the bottom center of the machine, which trapped him inside with an unbreakable glass shielding. All he could see was Terotrey walk over to the scientists typing on the computers by the entrance into the room, any sounds protruding from outside becoming muffled through the heavy casing of the scanner. Darkrai banged his fist on the glass wall, but it did nothing.

He floated backwards only a few centimeters before he made cold contact with the opposite side of the round scanner. He felt claustrophobic, and all he could hear was his quickening breath, as well as feeling faint vibrations of the rotating gears among the machine, although nothing much of else could be felt or heard.

What was happening?

Darkrai caught sight of Terotrey raise his eyes from the computer, coming in contact with his. For a few seconds maroon conflicted with sea-green, and soon the scientist placed a smirk across his lips before his mouth moved, no doubt muttering a command to the fellow scientist beside him. The man nodded before punching a button on his computer keyboard.

The nightmare Legendary swallowed his tongue as he saw waves of light begin to flash from inside his glass barricade, causing him to freeze in slight fear. The lights began to come quicker and brighter, somewhat blinding him before the whole scanner was filled with light. He covered his eyes with his arm, not opening his eyelids one bit, and he eventually began to feel weakness crawl up his muscles. He nearly keeled over when nausea suddenly overtook him, but to avoid being blinded he held it all in and kept his arm in front of his face.

He felt his nerves become warm, and then cold, and then warm again.

He felt his fingers twitch.

He felt himself become dizzy, as if he was going to faint any second.

He could feel his muscles give out, which caused his arm to fall from his face. It didn't matter, though, as Darkrai now felt too weak to even open his eyes.

His energy…his power…it felt like it was being drained from him altogether. Extensive pain surged through him, and it took him all he had to avoid screaming out in agony.

Eventually it stopped, the lights dissipating, giving him a view of the lab again. Now, however, he couldn't open his eyes; he felt weak and hurt beyond what seemed normal to come with immobilization. It was almost as if he was even weaker than a baby Pokemon.

Simultaneous to this, one of the empty glass spheres on the machine soon became filled with a purplish substance that radiated with an obsidian flame, and Terotrey could feel himself smile since he instantly knew what it was.

Darkrai's Legendary essence.

It wasn't long after that before Darkrai was ushered back into his cage and rolled out of the room to be returned to his holding cell. Meanwhile, Terotrey walked closer to the glass sphere that held the nightmare Pokemon's Legendary essence, and he couldn't help but smirk slightly.

The silver-haired scientist was one step closer to becoming a Legendary.

He was one step closer in making the Legendaries only legends.

He was one step closer in creating his fantasized world – a world without sin that looked up to him for guidance.

Darkrai was no longer a Legendary.

His essence belonged to Terotrey now.

"Should we prepare the other Legendaries for essence extraction, sir?"

Terotrey blinked, escaping his dazed state and turned to face the grunt that had entered the room, the loud purring of the essence machine blocking out all relative noises, although he could hear the minion good enough nonetheless. The silver-haired scientist nodded slightly, walking closer to the grunt while shooting devious looks towards Darkrai's concealed essence, and eventually muttered to him, "Yes, and don't forget to set up the larger scanners for the more bigger Legendaries."

The grunt nodded and immediately took off down the hall, leaving Terotrey behind.

And the only thing that came from the scientist's lips was a villainous laugh.

A world without sin…

…begins with the destruction of those who bring suffering.

Mewtwo's eyes suddenly shot open for a split second, and he flew forward from his leaning position, landing on the ground with his back facing upwards. His hand came up and slowly began to clench, his eyelids closing tightly in response.

Pain…so much pain…

He tried to get up, but as extensive agony deluged his muscles, weakness from it all kept him from doing so. He barely could open his eyes, and his tail flailed around like a beached Magikarp. His teeth gritted, sweat forming across his furry face, which had already grown damp from the unbearable pain that filled every inch of his body. His breathing became quick and feverish – he felt like his lungs were inflaming, halting the oxygen that was running through them, therefore making him go through an asthmatic attack.

Pain…so much pain. He could feel it all. He could fell their pain.

He rolled over, gasping for air, his hands now tightly clenched like his eyelids. It felt like his very soul was being pulled from the center of his body – being sucked out by a demonic creature hungry for it. Because of all of this he didn't even notice Raikou and the others snap away from their talk with each other, calling out his name in worry as they noticed his seizure-like actions. Deoxys, being the most worried of them all, cried out for him as she got up and rushed towards him. He couldn't feel her soft touch grace his arm – everything on the outside was numb to him. He could barely hear because every noise was coated with silence, nonexistent to his ringing eardrums.

All he could sense was their screams of pain, witnessing their faces contorted by horror flash through his head like the very dream that had led him into this. He wasn't having a nightmare of Raikou and the others experiencing a gruesome fate…

…but instead the other Legendaries.

He could feel their pain as he saw their essences being torn away from them, sucked out by a hellish fiend, whose glowing scarlet eyes were piercing like daggers, hidden away by the shadows driven forward from the screams of the Legendaries. He could hear him cackle, his voice coming out as a vicious chuckle fit for a dark entity – a demonic god.

It wasn't long before the essence-less Legendaries began to fade away like ghosts, now behind them, staring down at Mewtwo, a colossal monster that used to be the hellish scientist behind it all. With his pure red eyes he gazed down at the manmade Pokemon, the black sky above turning red like the blood that seemed to be raining down from the obsidian clouds. This monster was him, the creator of the robotic Pokemon, who was now a demon driven by lust for control of the hellish world around him – a land he could watch over like a god.

"Judgment…has…come…" he, the demon, hissed, his voice filled with vileness and booming across the bloodied air as if it was the very raging storm above. "Scorch the sinners from all the Earth…build anew from…their…ASHES!"

And with that his claw swung downwards, landing right on Mewtwo…

…and at the same time the said manmade Pokemon rushed forward and out of his dream state, breathing heavily, landing in the arms of Deoxys, who paid no heed to the extensive amount of sweat that was pouring from him.

Slowly his hearing returned, as did his sight, and the pain began to dissipate.

Had he just…seen into the future?

Only few psychic types carried the ability, which most didn't have the capability to control, and when the things to come were of bad auras, they were usually expressed through a nightmare. He doubted it, though, as even if he had occasionally witnessed an accurate event in a dream, it was usually exaggerated a bit, or simply false and only part of his imagination.

But…it felt so real, definitely with the fact that he had actually felt the Legendaries' pain that were shown in it.

Mewtwo couldn't help but shiver. His head was hurting too much to allow him to dwell on it. Maybe the stress from the recent events had gotten to him, or maybe he really had seen into an apocalyptic future. He didn't want to know, nor did he want to share the horrifying experience with Raikou and the others, who calmed down when he opened his eyes to gaze at them, despite that hundreds of questions asking about his health came flying out of their mouths at that direct moment.

"It was…just a bad dream," Mewtwo forced himself to mumble, instantly feeling guilt rise within him for lying. He wanted it to be true, but he couldn't help but be in denial when it came to the theory that the strange dream was only brought onto him by his constant worry on what Terotrey was doing with the Legendaries. He hoped that it was just his imagination, although he still carried doubt and nervousness, and with the fact that it was still possibly a look into the future…it wasn't really easing his worry.

Nonetheless, he did not want to get the others worried over it, and therefore kept his mouth shut about it. There were so many possibilities behind its origin, and he didn't feel comfortable immediately settling on the most horrifying theory.

"'A bad dream'?" Deoxys repeated with skepticism and slight worry gracing her tone. "You looked like you were in immense pain -"

Before anymore words could come out, Drendan stepped forward, halting noise of any kind with a firm and quick, "Shhh!"

Everyone followed his order, remaining silent, watching him turn his eyes to the ceiling ever so slowly, a mixture of bewilderment and seriousness radiating from his irises. He knew that Mewtwo's state was important, but when he suddenly felt the strong presence of unidentified Pokemon, he knew that it was a subject worth looking into. It was possibly an enemy – robotic Pokemon, although Drendan doubted this because the semblances of the newcomers on the surface didn't feel of fake, manmade souls. He could sense feet with actual flesh hit the ground, seeming to hover around the area above the underground tunnels.

He contemplated on telling the others to stay low at the risk that it was an enemy, but for some reason the semblances among the unknown beings were soft and filled with good. He could feel it, closing his eyes and seeing the blue auras that surrounded them. The unknown beings were high in number – maybe it was a passing Pokemon clan, and although he would usually dub such a thing ordinary and nothing to worry about, he felt something different about these beings.

"Pokemon are here…on the surface," he then mumbled to the others. "I'm gonna go check it out."

And before anyone could mutter a word of response, the Lucario ran off deeper into the tunnels, leaving Raikou and the others to stare at him with puzzlement, while simultaneously attending to Mewtwo, who was still recovering from his nightmare.

Knowing the tunnels' layout, it wasn't long before Drendan emerged into daylight, miles of rocky valley exposing themselves to him as soon as he stepped out of the shaded caverns. He followed the auras of the strange Pokemon that had intrigued him to surface from underground, and as he blocked out the sun's bright light with his arm, he tried his best to accustom his eyes to it, as well as on the beings that stood not far from him.

He narrowed his eyes to focus his gaze, and when the beings became clear in vision, he found himself gasping slightly. When Raikou had told him and Heatran that he had formed a bond with an army willing to fight to rescue the Legendaries, he wasn't kidding.

Because in front of him was an old Charizard and Rhydon, behind them standing an army of at least hundreds of battle-ready Pokemon.