Crusaders of Dusk

by DarkFoxKit

Cut off from the life he knew, an Absol now must work his way and earn his right to return to the place he called home. Joining him is a timid Goomy who desires to become stronger and more respected. The two will face many challenges, learning to trust one another.

69. Chapter 69: Crusaders of Dusk

*Nothing is seen, only that the room is dark and seemingly empty. Suddenly the lights turn on, revealing a room filled with most of the characters throughout the story, with Team Night Tide at the center. There's a banner with big letters spelling out "CONGRATULATIONS!"*

DarkFoxKit: We've reached the end of the chapter, everyone! We're finally at the end! *Blows on a party horn*

Traveling Master: *Was currently making waffles in the shape of Eevee* And to celebrate, I'm making waffles! It has been a long time since this story was first published, going back so far as 2019.

DarkFoxKit: Back before the pandemic, and before I had cancer and getting treatment for it. Such innocent times back then. Oh, don't look sad, readers, this isn't the end of the story, just the end of a book.

Traveling Master: It has been a long journey, but DF is right, it is far from over. But that will be for later, right now, it's time for the final chapter! Thank you all for being patient with us, for sticking with this story for a long time, for the long delays and mistakes we made. It's always a pleasure knowing that we were able to entertain some of you with our story. Oh, before I forget, one final announcement.

DarkFoxKit: If you guys are reading this, and I hope you are, then this will be your last chance to leave a review for us to answer back to. We will be uploading an Epilogue after this chapter to answer any questions you guys have left. You can try to speculate what will happen in the next book, but do not expect us to answer any of those questions because we don't want to spoil anything. We will not be answering questions that have nothing to do with the story or characters, so try to keep your life stories and off topic responses to a minimum. Once again, I would like to reiterate that this will be your last chance to ask us any questions that don't involve the sequel. If you see the epilogue is up, that means we won't be answering anymore reviews, so unfortunately, those reading this in the future won't get a response, but we'll appreciate your reviews anyways.

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Chapter 69: Crusaders of Dusk

Darkness, complete darkness. That is what Dust felt was around him. He dared not open his eyes, not knowing what kind of damage the slime surrounding him could do. At first it was very unsettling, despite having carried Berry for a whole year now, being completely submerged in her slime wasn't exactly a pleasant feeling to Dust. He could feel his body sinking further and further, so he started wondering if at some point he'd end up inside Berry's stomach. The thought didn't help calm him down, which he was already struggling to do. He knew if he panicked now, he would lose what little precious air he had left, but considering his current situation, he didn't know what else he could do.

What felt like seconds felt like an eternity to Dust, with the only sound he could hear being the beating of his own heart. There was the occasional vibration that shook Dust's body slightly, which he assumed was Berry charging a massive attack. He couldn't even imagine the damage Berry could do if no one stopped her, but at this point, who could? Perhaps Zacian, but that would be more of a distraction. Maybe the Zamazenta could protect everyone, but would he be able to fully withstand a blast like that from Berry?

All these thoughts plagued the Absol's mind, but the one that stood out the most was how he failed Berry, of how she must feel right now, or how she will feel if she ever came to her senses. The guilt that would soon follow would tear his dear friend apart, knowing how much she struggled with controlling her powers and feeling like some monster.

And you accused her. What were you thinking saying that? Telling her that my failure was the only thing she ever wanted? Dust thought as he cursed himself.

The Absol wished he could take it all back, for a chance to somehow apologize to Berry, especially if he was about to meet his end soon. Already he could feel his body straining, begging him for any breath of air, but there was none to give. He didn't know how much time had passed since being submerged, but it was only a matter of time.

There was a sudden cold breeze blowing through his fur, which startled Dust because last time he checked, he was sinking into the depths of his friend. No longer did he feel contraind, but found himself now standing, but darkness was still around him. This felt all too familiar, having been to a similar place not once, but twice before. And each time was because Dust was on the brink of death.

"...Giratina?" Dust called out, hearing his voice echo. Part of him was expecting the legendary ghost dragon to show up, though another part of him dreaded seeing him.

"What is that thing?"

Dust turned, hearing a voice echoing through the darkness. He saw an image of a Quigsire glaring down at him.

"That's not one of my children."

"You're not one of us."

Dust heard what sounded like the voices of children sneering and laughing malicious. He saw Wooper surrounding him, laughing as if they were making fun of him. There were other Pokemon too, like Lotad, Poliwag, Mudkip, and the like.

"You're so weird and ugly, you must've been really deformed when you hatched!"

"Your parents must be so ashamed of you!"

"Stay away from me! You're just going to hurt me again!"

The cold wind began to blow harsher against Dust as the images of these Pokemon began to fade away into the darkness.

"You're supposed to be a dragon? You're nothing but a weak coward!"

"You think you're better than everyone, acting so humble and refusing to go all out. All you're doing is embarrassing yourself and this guild."

Dust recognized that voice, it belonged to Blizza. But that was when me and Berry had first joined the guild. What's going on? What is this place?

Another harsh wind blew against Dust, as though it was trying to push him away. He wasn't sure why, but he felt inclined to move against the wind.

"Oh that's the look I wanted to see, the same one where you showed everyone your true powers~ Oh just thinking about your battle, how you almost killed Team Volcano, I'm so tempted to take you for my own."

An image of Patricia the Mawile appeared, looking a lot bigger and scarier than Dust remembered her being. She had a crazed look of hunger in her eyes, though not the physical kind of hunger. It truly creeped Dust out. Though Dust felt a sharpness on his chest when Patricia mentioned how 'you almost killed Team Volcano'. It felt like the winds were trying to cut through his fur as he looked down. He didn't see any damage to his chest or fur.

Seeing how he was physically fine, Dust continued forward, the wind growing stronger with each step he took. Suddenly another Absol appeared before him, glaring at him as though it was ready to strike him down.

"Berry, my son may trust you, but so far since being your partner, his life has been put in more danger than before when he was with me. If you wish to continue staying on the same team as my son, I suggest you leave us be for now."

Dust gulped, remembering how Berry told him of how his mother threatened Berry after having found him heavily injured. Before he could only imagine what it must've felt like for Berry, but seeing it now, the thought of how Berry must've felt caused another sharp pain to hit his chest. He had seen his mother's rage before, but hearing Eclipse say those words as she glared at him, it felt like he wanted nothing more than to sink to the bottom of the earth, to disappear forever.

"...Mother…" Dust softly said before pressing on.

As Dust kept moving, he began to realize what was going on. These voices, these Pokemon, and the way they're being said… these were voices of the negative opinions the others had of Berry. They seemed to be much louder and frequent images of the Pokemon looked far more threatening than they did in reality, except for his mom, that one was accurate.

"Monster. Weakling. Ugly. Not worth anything."

These seemed to be the most potent themes for Berry. Berry had always proven herself to be a strong, capable Crusader, a leader, especially when she took over after Articuno took him. In fact, Berry did a lot to help Dust get to where he was now. She had supported him the best she could, and she had protected him the best way she could. Even when Dust messed up, Berry didn't hold it against him.

There was a loud roar and the winds blew harder. Dust stopped as he saw a towering Goodra standing before him. The Goodra looked as big as Berry currently was, and it looked down at him with hungry eyes. Dust felt the urge to run away from it, any sane Pokemon would've done so.

"It's a good thing I'm not exactly sane," Dust whispered to himself as he forced himself to move towards the giant Goodra.

The giant Goodra let out a loud roar as Dust ran at it. The Goodra brought down its horns at Dust, grabbing him. Dust struggled when he was grabbed, and he was taken to the Goodra's open mouth. Dust's eyes went wide, but this wasn't a real Goodra, he had to remind himself of that. He braced himself as the Goodra swallowed him.

Dust was falling and landed on what felt like… snow? The ground was cold and covered in snow. The wind was blowing harder. It felt like a blizzard was going through here, wherever 'here' was. Dust could hear someone sniffling up ahead despite the loud winds.

He wasn't sure if the sound was another one of Berry's memories, but something about it felt different than before. Regardless, the Absol moved towards the source of the sniffling, hearing the soft crunch of snow beneath his paws as he took every step to get closer and closer.

As he got closer, Dust finally found the source of the sound, and was relieved to see a familiar Goomy. On closer look, he saw his friend crying, and who wouldn't blame her. Dust moved forward in hopes of comforting his friend, but just as he was about to take another step, a sudden force knocked him back, causing him to fall on his back.

Looking up, he was shocked to see another Absol with its eyes closed. His first thought was that it was another version of his mother, but then the Absol opened its eyes, revealing red and blue eyes, just like his.

This other mental Dust glared at Dust before turning towards Berry. At first Dust was afraid that this version of him was gonna attack Berry, but then the Absol did no such thing. Instead it spoke, and as the first words left its mouth, that same sharp pain hit Dust's chest, recognizing what the Absol was saying.

"When morning comes, I'll tell Chihiro that I'll be resigning and have you made leader of Team Night Tide. You've shown to be a better leader than me. But don't think I'll just do what I've been doing before back at the Olympus guild. I know better to waste the guild's resources if I don't contribute anything. I'll prepare my things and leave. I always wanted to learn more about the world we live in, and before I was content with just staying in a library. I now know there's so much more I can learn, and I won't be doing it by staying in one place. Who knows, maybe I'll write a book about what I learned, share my knowledge and give everyone a chance to learn more about the world we live in…Doesn't sound too bad…"

Berry looked over at this image of Dust, and the real Dust felt a heavy weight in his stomach all of a sudden.

"I can't make the decision for you, Dust. But how can you say that?I know you didn't have much interest in being a Crusader before, but… are you really saying the only reason you continued being a Crusader was because of your goal of getting Gold Rank in the time limit? What would've happened if you got it? Would you still say you don't have a reason to be a Crusader anymore either? Did… did our time together for this past year, everything we've done, mean nothing to you? By now I thought you would've learned you don't have to only rely on yourself anymore. And yet… you're doing it again, you're planning to go at this alone again."

"...Berry…That's not…I didn't mean…I was only…" Dust quietly said, at lost for words as he tried to explain himself.

The image of Dust spoke over Dust himself with a tone of defeat, but also harshness. "And what would you have me do? Hmm? You've been asking me many times about what I want to do. For a good while I wasn't sure, and I didn't have the option to choose since I was forced to be a Crusader in the first place. Even if we had succeeded, it wouldn't have mattered if I stayed, went back to my old guild, quit or continued being a Crusader, because in the end it would've been my choice, my desire to choose what I wanted to do. And now that I finally have an idea on what to do, you have the nerve to even question if any of our time together meant nothing. If it truly meant nothing, I would've ignored all of it and taken the Syzygy. But you are right, you can't make this decision for me, it's my choice."

Berry was looking at the image of Dust in worry and desperation. Dust himself couldn't help but wonder if this heavy weight in his stomach, and this feeling of anxiety was what Berry was feeling when he said those things to her. The feeling of being abandoned, of hurting someone close to him, of making such a big mistake that he could never take back…

Don't go! Don't leave me!

Dust heard Berry's voice screaming out in his head, but she didn't speak this out loud to the image version of Dust. Instead, she tried to remain calm.

"You chose to be a Crusader, I was never given the choice," The image of Dust replied in his calm but angry tone. "Once morning arrives, I'll take my leave and you'll continue being a Crusader with the others."

No, don't leave me! I don't want you to leave, please! I want to us to stay together… Berry's inner voice begged the image of Dust, to the point that the mental voice of Berry sounded very broken, like a child crying for her mommy to not leave her out in the wilderness alone.

"Then I'll come with you!" Berry quickly said.

The image of Dust glared at her, making Dust himself flinch from the harsh look. He didn't remember giving Berry that look, but maybe that was out Berry herself remembered it.

"No, not this time. No arguing, no convincing, no amount of sticking to my body. I don't need you pitying me just cause I'm a failure who wants to be alone. Who will lead the team? Shab nearly had a mental panic attack when the others looked for him to lead and Cliff is still too young to lead. Kuro could possibly take the leadership role, but you have no reason, no obligation to give all that up just for me. You chose to be a Crusader, it's what you wanted, it's why you chose to leave your home, so you can make a difference and help others. You won't be achieving any of that by coming with me, you'll be better off leading the team yourself."

Why are you dumping all of this on me? We're supposed to be a team, a family… is that really not enough? Berry mentally said, and Dust was starting to wonder if Berry was subconsciously talking to him while she was reacting to this image version of him.

"That's not it. Just like how I can't make your choice for you, you can't make my choice for me. Nor can you make the choice for the others. What do you think Cliff would do when she wakes up and finds out her 'daddy' left and decided to go it alone? She would leave to go find you. If I leave the team, Cliff and Shab would definitely follow as well. Kuro can follow us if he really wants to stick with us, or he can find another team to join. I know you can't see it, Dust, but we've become more than just teammates on a Crusader team. We're more like a family. If one of us is down, the others will support them until they can get back on their feet. So don't you dare tell me I can't go with you, because it's my choice to go with you."

Wherever you go, I'm going with you, and you're not stopping me! Berry mentally added.

"So that's how it is? You won't let me take the Syzygy in peace, you won't let me leave in peace. I had hoped to leave on good terms but it seems you just have to have it your way. Might as well stay then, since you are so hung dry on me not being alone. We can go back to the way things were, me the bumbling idiot with you being the oh so smart, and humble member of the group. We'll go on missions and helping everyone," The image of Dust sarcastically stated.

Dust flinched, recalling exactly each word he said before, each word being said with anger at the world, at the guild, at himself and his failure, and then at Berry, who of everyone, didn't deserve any of it.

"Maybe we should tell Roxy to ignore her feelings too and just suck it up, have her stay with her team and ignore her desires to leave. I'm sure we can tell Cobra that no matter what, his team has to stay together. Heck, Talon and Ivy are still staying on the same team, despite the heavy strain they went through, so it's possible. Just to make you happy, we'll go back to the guild and pretend none of this happened. Gee, sorry for keeping you up late at night, but heeeey, at least we are together. That's what you wanted, I bet it's what you always wanted, to have me fail so I could stay. So congratulations, you get what you want. Don't wait up on me, It's been a long night and I believe we are both done with tonight." The image of Dust coldly stated before turning its back on Berry.

The image of Dust disappeared into the blizzard, leaving Berry alone. The real Dust felt a sudden crushing weight all over his body. He could barely stay standing from how heavy the invisible weight was. Not to mention the sharp feeling on his chest was a constant pain now instead of an immediate one.

I hurt Dust… I made him lose hope… It's all my fault. I truly am a monster… I thought I was getting better at being a Crusader… but all I've done was disgrace this badge… I don't deserve to be a Crusader. I deserve to disappear and rot… Dust heard Berry's thoughts say.

Dust saw Berry removing the badge from her scarf and tossing it aside, making it disappear into the snow. Dust instantly react, not caring if the badge was a mental image, and went for where he saw the badge had landed.

No no no! Of all the selfish and foolish things I've said and done, this is the worst one of them all! Dust mentally shouted at himself as he dug into the snow, ignoring the constant sharp pain in his chest.

A few seconds went by and Dust was starting to think he'd have no luck of finding the badge, but to his relief he found the shining badge. Tucking it inside his fur, Dust looked up, only to see Berry was missing. It only took a few seconds, but Dust saw Berry was now slithering away.

"Berry!" Dust called out as he was about to rush towards his friend, only for the same Absol to block his path. "What the? Move out of the way! I need to get to Berry!"

"We already told her that we are going alone," The mental Absol responded, surprising Dust. "She cared only for herself, she's the reason we are in this mess!"

"No, this was my fault! I'm the one who did this to her!" Dust shouted before attempting to rush pash this mental Absol.

Dust barely got a step in when the Absol suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his path. Dust growled before leaping at him with Iron Tail, but his attack was met with an impenetrable force, knocking Dust back once again. Not giving up, tried Slash and faint attack, but each time he attacked, he was met with that same force, constantly blocking his attack and knocking him back. Dust was about to charge forward again, when suddenly the image of the Absol was surrounded by large floating rocks. They had a pink and purple glow around him, and he instantly remembered what finally pushed Berry over the edge, Grace crushing the life out of him.

"This is what you wanted, to forever be alone!" The Absol shouted before sending the rocks at Dust.

Dust moved quickly to avoid the rocks, he also tried to use Iron Tail on the rocks. However, the rocks stopped coming at him and began to circle around him and the mental Dust. Dust frowned as he looked around, seeing the rocks morphing into the shape of a Gardevoir. The Gardevoir, however, was black, and her eyes were red. They were surrounded by shadowy Gardevoir, all laughing evilly.

"I'll kill you, Dust, and Berry. And the Szygy's power will be all mine! None of you can stop me!" The shadow Gardevoir shouted.

The image of Dust was suddenly buried in the rocks, and his face was cut severely by the wind. Dust heard Berry screaming out and he quickly looked up, seeing Berry watchined from the sky, her body was floating.

This can't be real! Dust isn't dying! Dust isn't dead! The Gardevoir isn't real! None of this is real! Please… let this not be my reality… Why am I always so weak? Why am I always so afraid? Why can't I ever protect Dust or my friends? Berry's mental voice cried.

Dust jumped onto the pile of rocks as the shadow Gardevoir began to disappear. Berry curled herself inward as a bubble of bright silver energy surrounded her body. Dust jumped at the bubble, but it was as solid as steel.

"What?" Dust was surprised by the durability, but still continued to try and penetrate the bubble. "Berry! Berry!"

Berry didn't give a reaction to Dust. She stayed quiet in her bubble.

Dust quickly took a moment to try to calm himself down. He wasn't going to be able to get to Berry if he was so worked up like this, and that may only make things worse. He had to think and use his mind for this. The bubble appeared to be made out of steel, so Dust decided the best way to break through that bubble was to treat it like a Pokemon type. Dust was going to have to break through that steel one way or another to get to Berry.

I only know Faint Attack, Slash, Iron Tail, and Ice Beam. The only one that may work is Faint Attack, but even then that might not be strong enough. All my other moves are useless. Slash and Iron Tail would hardly put a dent. And Ice Beam…Dust felt frustration as he thought about the move. It was the first official move he ever learned, just because he took the TM from his old guild. Of all TMs, why did I grab a move as useless as Ice Beam?

"Ice isn't as weak as you may think it is," A sudden new voice echoed in Dust's head. It was one he didn't recognize. And yet, it was familiar. "Many believe Ice to be one of the weakest of the types, only effective against a few types, while having many weaknesses. Most believe it can be void of life, seeping all warmth from those it touches. Truth is, it's within this icy embrace, that one could truly feel life around them."

Dust was confused by this voice and was wondering why he was hearing this now, of all times. Suddenly a new voice responded, one he recognized.

"Snowflake, I love you, but you're not making any sense," Dust heard the voice of his mother respond, followed by a sweet laughter.

Dust heard the first voice, Snowflake, respond with his own laughter. "I know it's hard to explain, but this is something I was taught long ago, by someone who was very dear to me. He showed me there's more to ice than just being cold. When you've reached temperatures that are so cold, that's when you truly feel it."

"And what's that?" Eclipse asked in amusement.

"A loving embrace," Snowflake answered.

Dust waited to see if the voices would speak more, but after waiting for a bit, he was only greeted by silence. So many thoughts were going through his head. Was that my imagination or an old memory? But how could I have a memory if I hadn't even hatched yet. And Snowflake…is…is that the name of my father? And what did he mean by loving embrace? Why bring up this memory I had when I was still in an egg?

But the more he thought about his supposedly father's words, the more it strangely made sense. Dust couldn't explain it, he recalled being drawn towards the TM Ice Beam when he first saw it all those years ago, how it felt natural to use every time he used it. Even when being frozen by Articuno, it was like his father had said, it didn't feel cold, but like he was being embraced.

Dust once again drew his attention back to the steel like bubble, feeling the sturdiness against his claws. He wasn't sure if it was gonna work, if it would amount to anything, and yet those doubts disappeared as he thought of his father's words.

"...Here goes nothing…" Dust stated before drawing energy from within, guiding it towards his mouth as he felt the cool energy course through his body.

Once the energy had reached the tip of his mouth, Dust released his Ice Beam, holding the bubble in between his two paws as he focused his Ice Beam around the bubble. At first he saw ice encasing the bubble, but surprisingly his paws were left unfrozen as it passed them. He continued to let loose Ice Beam, unsure of what to expect, until was completely encased in ice. Seeing how nothing else was happening, Dust ceased using Ice Beam, trying to figure out what to do.

Dust was about to question on what to do next, but as though some force was guiding him, he felt the need to place his right paw at the center of the bubble. Once again, he felt that energy build up within his body, but instead of going towards his mouth, he felt it being drawn towards his right paw. Letting it guide him, he focused that energy where he was touching the bubble. At first nothing happened, but after a few seconds of concentration, Dust heard a crack, followed by a few more. Focusing more on that energy, Dust saw more and more cracks appear around the ice. With one final push, the ice spear broke apart, and to Dust surprise, a part of the steel bubble had broken off.

"I don't believe it!" Dust exclaimed. He was about to celebrate when he noticed the edges of the bubble started to slowly reform. "Oh no! Berry!"

When Dust tried to reach inside the bubble, he saw Berry, but unlike the outside, it seemed like the inside of the bubble was far bigger, and the hole was only big enough for him to put one arm and his head within.

"Berry!" Dust shouted, hoping his friend would hear him.

Berry twitched a little, but she didn't react much. Dust needed to get her attention. His body felt heavy again, and the pain in his chest was making it hard for him to breathe.

"B-Berry! Please!" Dust coughed, trying to get the words out with how difficult it was for him to breathe.

There was still barely a reaction from the Goomy. Once again that pain erupted from his chest, this time causing him to clutch at it with his left paw. The moment he did, he felt something hard, and instantly remembered what he had grabbed earlier.

"B…" Dust paused for a second, taking several deep breaths. "Berry! I'm sorry for everything I said! For leaving you when you always stood by my side! But you can't give in! I know you've faced so many hardships and hatred, but remember all the good we did! All the good you did! You're not just a Crusader, but my friend! My first friend!"

Dust mustered the remaining strength he had left and bent towards his chest, grabbing the badge with his mouth before throwing it towards Berry. Unfortunately, with the little strength he had left, that maneuver caused him to lose his grip, causing his body to start falling out of the bubble. He tried to move his body, his limbs, but he found there were numb, the sharp pain having gone numb itself. Once again he heard the familiar beating of his own heart, but with each passing second, it was beating slower and slower.

Dust wasn't sure if Berry heard him, but he had done all he could. He knew that his time was almost up. He could only hope that maybe… maybe some of his words got through to Berry somehow…

"... Dust?"

Dust heard what sounded like Berry's voice, and his eyes opened with hope.

Berry was looking at the badge he threw in the bubble with her, and she looked over at Dust with horrified eyes. "Dust!?"

The world around them shook. The blizzard turned into rain, and the snow around them melted into a large body of water. Dust found himself drowning under the water, likely how his real body was feeling right now.

Berry looked out of her bubble in shock. "DUST! Stop!"

The world around Berry suddenly froze, like time itself had stopped.

---

The giant ball of energy Berry was building up suddenly stopped. Zacian had been pushed back after attempting to stop Berry, but while Zacian was strong, she couldn't hold off Berry forever. And Zamazenta was reaching his limit as well. The shields around the town were starting to waver. However, as Berry stopped building up the ball of energy, she looked down at the town again. She looked confused.

Berry started to turn her head back and forth, like she was looking for something, or maybe someone. The rain had calmed down, the winds stopped blowing as harsh. Berry wasn't going on a rampage anymore, but she was still giant.

"Hey… the winds died down…" Shab noted. "And that big ball of energy Berry was making stopped moving."

The other Pokemon had been waiting it out under Zamazenta's shields, trying to find a good opportunity to fly back up to Berry.

"That's good… if she had fired that energy… well, let's just say this region we're standing on would no longer exist," Otti informed.

"But why did she suddenly stop?" Kuro asked.

"Do you think Daddy was able to calm Mommy down?" Cliff asked.

"If that's the case, this might be our only chance to talk to Berry," Shab said. "Quickly, we need to get back up there before she loses herself again!"

"Talon? Can you fly again?" Kuro asked.

"I can still fly, yeah, but I'm too tired to dodge another attack from her," Talon answered.

"Then we better make this one count," Chihiro said.

"Please… I want Mommy and Daddy back," Cliff said.

Chihiro, Otti, and Talon flew out of the shield and back up to the Sliggoo. Since Berry wasn't roaring or fighting back as much, and the winds and rain weren't as harsh, they found it a lot easier to get up to Berry.

"Berry!" The others called, trying to get Berry's attention.

Berry's head turned to them, her eyes squinting as she had trouble seeing them. She let out a growl, not recognizing these tiny Pokemon and why they were flying to her face.

"Berry! No, it's us! Shab, Cliff, and Kuro! Don't you recognize us!?" Shab called out.

"Mommy! Please don't be this big mean dragon anymore! I miss the kind and gentle Mommy who always encouraged me and everyone else! Please go back to being the Mommy I remembered!" Cliff cried out.

"Come on, I know you're smart. If you can't see us, try sensing us with those giant horns of yours!" Kuro shouted.

"Berry, you've also helped me and my team. You've helped encourage Ivy when we found out who her father was, and I know she helped you too! I don't want you to be like this either, don't destroy this town, I know you would hate yourself if you do, and I can't let you do that to yourself!" Talon called out.

"I know we haven't spent a lot of time together, but I appreciate everything you and your team did for the research lab. Dust always loved discovering new things, and he was never boring to be around with. He helped me discover a lot of new things about Pokemon, and I know that you're important to him!" Otti shouted.

"Berry! Please listen to us! You've always helped out everyone who needed it, and played with us!" Phantom called out.

"And you helped me save my sister and Cliff when I was alone! I never properly thanked you for that! So I'm returning the favor!" Spooks yelled.

"Berry, I've had the pleasure of watching you and Dust grow since first entering my guild. I have watched with pride in seeing how courageous you have become, how caring you are for others, and how determined you were to improve yourself. I absolutely loved every second of it, and would Berry much like to see you to continue to grow!" Chihiro praised with a shout.

"Berry, you have been on my mind since I first met you and tasted your goo. I know you're kind, you're not a monster, so please don't let yourself be one!" Shab called out. "I want to help you with every fiber of my being, because I… I love you, Berry!"

---

Berry was looking out of her bubble, trying to see where Dust was in the water. She didn't know how to get out of the bubble, but she began hearing voice. She blinked as she heard the familiar voice speaking up to her, and images of familiar Pokemon began to appear in front of her.

"What…? Chihiro?" Berry blinked. "Phantom, Spooks… Otti, Talon?"

More Pokemon began to appear on top of these Pokemon, and Berry gasped. "Shab! Cliff! Kuro!"

They were giving her words of encouragement and kindness.

I'm not a monster… Berry began to tear up. They all… want me back? They really feel that way about me?

Berry heard Shab's confession and looked up at the image of Shab. Shab… loves me? But…

Berry didn't have time to think about that. There was something she had to do. "Thank you, everyone. I must save Dust before it's too late!"

Berry summoned a couple of water dragons around her as she glared at the bubble she was in. "Break!"

The water dragons attacked the bubble. Berry kept her focus on the bubble, making the water dragons attack continuously until the bubble finally began cracking. "That's it!"

Berry charged at the crack, tackling it with all her might, shattering the surface. She fell into the water and began searching for Dust frantically. She used her horns to try to sense him. He was down there, deep. Berry quickly swam as fast as she could to get to Dust.

Berry soon saw a white speck deep under the water. Berry turned around and used Water Pulse to rocket her body at Dust. She saw Dust wasn't moving or struggling to get air. She was worried she may have been too late. She swam under Dust and began to push him up.

You're always so close to death, aren't you, Dust? Berry chuckled a little. Well, you're not dying today, Dust, not while I'm around. I hope you know that.

Berry realized what she could do to save Dust. This might hurt a little, but it may save your life. I trust everyone will take care of you…

Berry created a large bubble around Dust's body. Then she began making a large ball of water before she released it. The ball of water blew out like a geyser, blowing Dust to the surface of the water.

---

The giant Silggoo lowered her head suddenly and something came out of her horn.

"What the?" Talon's keen eye caught the thing that came out. "That's Dust!"

"Somebody catch him!" Kuro shouted.

Before anyone could react, something red and black ran at Dust, catching him. Using his own body as a cushion, Crimson held Dust tightly as they landed on the ground, kicking up dirt around them.

"You know, you have a real knack for pulling the dramatics," Crimson grunted, but then noticed Dust wasn't responding.

Swiping some of the slime off Dust's fur and pressed his head against the Absol's chest. It was faint, but Crimson was able to pick up the slight beat of Dust's heart, and knew he had to act fast. Propping Dust on his back, the Zoroark started pressing against the Absol's chest, repeating the compression. The others soon landed, seeing what Crimson was doing and the state Dust was in.

"Daddy!" Cliff shouted as she hopped off Otti, only to be held back by the Garchomp. "Let me go!"

"Wait Cliff, Dust is in critical condition, Crimson needs all the focus he can get," Otti explained.

Crimson ignored the others, his eyes never leaving Dust's chest as he continued with the compressions. Several seconds pass, with no reaction from Dust. Everyone was looking with hopeful eyes, with Cliff being on the verge of tears. Just when Crimson had considered stopping, he felt sudden movement from Dust and the Absol started coughing, slime coming out of his mouth. Ceasing at once, Crimson propped Dust so that his body was now on his side.

Dust continued to cough out more slime, with each cough opening up his airway more and more. Eventually his coughing settled down while his body was still gasping for air.

"Deep breaths, try to clear your airway," Crimson advised.

Dust's eyes were still closed, his head was pounding, but he somewhat recognized the voice. I must be really out of it, cause I thought I heard Crimson just now.

"D-Daddy? Are you not in critical condition anymore?" Dust heard Cliff's innocent voice ask in a worried tone.

Dust choked out a bit more slime from his lungs, allowing him to breathe more. The last thing he remembered was falling into water, or maybe Berry's mental version of water.

"It looks like he's going to be okay," Shab said in relief when he saw Dust was able to breathe again.

"Don't you have a giant dragon to deal with?" Crimson grumbled.

Berry was looking down at the town. She looked very surprised and very confused, but it was different this time. Instead of being feral and running on instinct, there was intelligence behind those green eyes now, and horrification.

What happened? Why… why is the town so small!? Why is everything so small? Did everyone shrink? Berry thought in confusion as her brain was trying to wrap around what happened. The last thing I remembered was seeing that Gardevoir torturing Dust and… I was in that bubble…

As realization began to settle in, so did horror and guilt. The town didn't shrink… I got bigger… too big… I'm too big! What kind of damage did I do!? Who did I hurt? Was I responsible for almost killing Dust again!?

Berry looked down at her body, and realized she was… different, more than just being the size of a tower. What… is this?

Berry saw she had stubby little nubs now, her neck was longer too. Her eyesight seemed to be worse as she had trouble seeing a lot of things.

She heard howling and saw Zacian and Zamazenta, much smaller than she remembered because of her drastic size. They looked at her, though they seemed to be waiting to see what she would do.

Berry was on the verge of a panic attack, she was too big to be a normal Pokemon, she must've caused all sorts of property damage, and she hurt others, she may have even killed- Berry let out a gasp as she suddenly had trouble breathing herself.

Rain began to pour down, thunder and lightning flashed as Berry began to have a panic attack.

"What's going on? Is Berry going to rampage again?!" Kuro asked.

"Mommy! Please, don't go back to being a mean dragon!" Cliff shouted.

"This is different!" Carrie shouted as she ran to the group, keeping Chloe deep in her pouch. "I don't think Berry is going on another mindless rampage! Look at how she's acting!"

Berry was crying out instead of roaring, she looked terrified instead of angry, she was choking out on air itself. The giant ball of energy was still above her, while she had stopped giving it power, she never dissipated it. The battle of energy was beginning to vibrate as Berry was panicking. It looked like it was going to pop.

"She's panicking," Chihiro realized. "I'm going to try to calm her down!"

"T-take me…with you," Dust requested before coughing once more.

Chihiro shook her head before replying. "Dust you are in no condition to-"

"We don't have time to argue, Berry needs our help. If you don't take me, then I'll just ask one of the others to take me," Dust argued, already getting up, trying to ignore the numbing pain in his body.

"Otti, could you carry me and Dust?" Carrie requested.

"I can try, but why you too?" Otti asked.

"Whenever the children get upset, a song I used to sing would help calm them down," Carrie answered. "Chihiro, you know the one, right?"

"That song?" Chihiro replied. "Would that work on Berry?"

"We can start singing it while Dust tries to calm her down. It's our best bet," Carrie answered.

"...Very well…Phantom, Spooks, you two stay here," Chihiro ordered.

"What? But Grandma, we want to help to!" Spooks argued.

"Yeah, we can't just stay here and do nothing," Phantom added. "Berry needs our help."

"I know, but it's dangerous, and if something were to go wrong, you'll be safe here with the others instead of immediate danger," Chihiro explained.

"Chloe, I'm counting on you to keep Cliff, Phantom, and Spooks safe, alright?" Carrie said as she took Chloe out of her pouch and put her down near Cliff.

"You can count on me, Mommy," Chloe replied.

"Is this really okay? Doesn't Mommy need all of us?" Cliff asked.

"I think at this time, your mommy will need a smaller group to help her calm down," Chloe answered.

"We don't have much time, we better go now or that giant bomb will explode," Otti warned.

Carrie picked up Dust and put him into her pouch. "I know it's a bit snug for someone of your size, but I'm not having you staying out in your condition with no protection. This is the best compromise you're getting."

Dust nodded, too exhausted to really argue.

"Alright, Otti, stay close, we want to have Berry focus on all of us, given her eyesight," Chihiro advised.

Otti, still using her Garchomp form, nodded as she picked up and held Carrie in her arms. "Here we go!"

Chihiro and Otti flew up to Berry, who was still crying in a panic.

When Chihiro and Otti got close, Carrie began singing a soothing lullaby. It wasn't quite like the move 'Sing', as that would just put everyone around them to sleep. But it was just a calming song. Chihiro began singing it as well.

Berry stopped screaming, but was still taking labor breaths. Dust knew it was his turn to speak up while Carrie and Chihiro were singing the lullaby.

"Berry!" Dust shouted, only to cough shortly after, his throat still sore from having slime in it. "Berry, it's okay, it's over, you can stop now. I know you feel like you caused so much trouble, but everyone is okay. Everyone is safe and sound. Look, even White Leaf Town is still intact, with all the inhabitants safe and sound."

Berry began to breathe a little more easily, the rain began to settle down again.

"You're not a monster, Berry, you never were," Dust continued, remembering what Berry had been fearing about herself. "I'm safe, everyone else is safe… you can calm down now. I won't leave you, I'll be right here with you, Berry."

Berry looked at Dust, Carrie, Otti, and Chihiro. Carrie and Chihiro continued singing, the song helping soothe Berry.

The giant energy ball above Berry began to shrink as Berry calmed down. Zacian and Zamazenta both let out sighs of relief upon seeing this. Before long, the energy ball disappeared. Berry lowered her head.

"I'm sorry…" Berry said softly, speaking out loud for the first time since she grew into this size.

"Berry…the one who should be apologizing is me. I was so caught up in completing my one goal, that I failed to see everything else that came with it. I turned my back on you, breaking my promise to never leave you again, hurting you when all you ever tried to do was help me, even when I had no hope left," Dust apologized, but as he said those words, the weight of what he had done started coming to him, and unable to hold them back, tears started to roll down from his eyes.

"I've been nothing but selfish this whole year, and yet you never left my side, after having given you so many reasons to. I'm sorry that you've been through so much turmoil and hardships, how everyone kept misjudging you and treating you harshly. I'm sorry that I haven't been there like the friend you needed, someone who should've always been there for you, instead of worrying about their own problems," Dust paused for a second, using his fur to wipe some of the tears of his face before continuing with a smile. "You are not a monster. A monster wouldn't have cared for Cliff the way you did, nor let a Feebas stick to your head for such a long time. A monster would've given in to violence long ago. A monster wouldn't have been able to gain the trust of Kuro, nor the respect of other Crusaders. A monster wouldn't have sought for peaceful solutions, to help those in need, to share memories with friends and family alike. Berry, you are a Crusader, but more importantly, you are my friend, who doesn't deserve someone like you, and yet is grateful to be friends with nonetheless."

Berry looked at Dust and gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Dust… but…"

Berry looked around. Despite not having the best eyesight, even she could see how much damage she had caused in her blind rampage. There was water everywhere, and she could see a lot of trees not too far away destroyed or bent in an unnatural way. While she appreciated everything Dust had said to her, it was clear that Berry had proven just how dangerous she was when she lost control. She may not be a monster, but she was still a danger.

Berry let out a small sigh, though careful not to blow in the other's direction. "I messed up… I need some time… alone… Please, take care of the others…"

"What? What do you mean? Berry?" Dust frowned.

Berry's body began to shrink down, the silver crystal that had been on her body began to form around her. Carrie and Chihiro had stopped singing, confused on what was happening now. They descended from the sky as they watched Berry's body shrink back down to normal. However, instead of a Sliggoo standing before them, they only saw a big silver looking spiral shell.

"Berry!" Dust hopped out of Carrie's pouch, almost losing his footing when his legs swayed for a bit, but he caught himself. Once he reached Berry, he crouched low, to examine what happened. "Berry?! Are you okay? Can you hear me?!"

Chihiro flew over as Otti and Carrie watched in concern. Chihiro could still sense life in the shell, as well as the Syzygy.

"She's alive," Chihiro said to Dust. "But… I think she trapped herself in that shell."

"She must've seen how much damage she did, and felt she was too dangerous…" Carrie frowned.

"Hmm, how interesting," Otti said as she tapped on the shell with her claw. "I don't think I've ever seen a shell like this before, and it feels like it's as solid as steel."

"But… what do we do about Berry?" Dust asked.

"The best we can do right now is wait until Berry feels like she can come out of her shell," Chihiro answered. "I'm afraid that's all we can do."

The other Pokemon, seeing that the giant Sliggoo was gone, began to approach the area now. Zacian and Zamazenta, seeing how the danger had passed, took their leave back to the forest. The storm clouds above began to dissipate, showing the sky, and the morning sun was rising in the horizon.

---

Later that day, the guild was tasked with damage control, their first priority being White Leaf Town. Thankfully, due to Zamazenta's protective shield, damage was kept to a minimum, and the inhabitants were all safe and accounted for, with the few minor injuries, but those were due to the shaking caused by Berry when she first initially grew into a giant.

The forest nearby was not as lucky, with the terrain having been changed from Berry's movements alone, and the flood that Berry created in her rampage, it would take some time until it was deemed safe to travel through. With that, almost every member of the Unity Guild set out to help where they can. The only ones who were exempted were those that were injured, which by some miracle, was surprisingly a minimum.

Shab was the only one of Team Night Tide to stay in their room. The reason was because Carrie and Brody brought the shell Berry was in into their room. They needed to keep her safe and protected while they tried to do as much damage control as possible. Shab, being a fish Pokemon, couldn't do much to help with damage control himself. So he volunteered to stay in the room with Berry, seeing how it would be best to have someone waiting for her when she decided to emerge from her shell.

Cliff and Kuro went out with Carrie and Chloe, for Cliff, it was mostly for comfort after what happened to her mommy. Kuro decided to keep an eye on Cliff as well as help with the damage control, but his primary reason was to use his manipulation tactics to throw off Pokemon who wanted to hunt Berry down after the damages she caused.

Not every Pokemon had been very understanding of the situation. Many just knew that they were attacked by a giant Sliggoo they didn't recognize, and wanted to hunt it down before it could attack them again. Which was why the more manipulative members of the guild were set out to calm them down and to try to explain the situation to them, and how they were not going to let them condemn one of their own for something that had been out of her control.

Dust himself had to stay in the Medical Bay, his body was too weak to help with the damage control, despite his insistence he was fine, but Dr. Perfume refused to let him leave his room until he was better. Dr. Perfume made sure to have a nurse or two to keep an eye on Dust when he was busy with other patients. The only other Pokemon besides the nurse that kept Dust company was an unconscious Al. Dust had overheard Dr. Perfume stated that physically, nothing was wrong with the Charmeleon. The only damage he had taken was from Brody knocking him out, but despite many hours having passed, the Charmeleon still refused to wake up.

Dust thoughts wondered about the Charmeleon, to his teammates and Berry, to the other guild members and their thoughts on these recent events. He still was surprised to later find out that it was Crimson who not only caught him from falling to the ground, but also provided CPR, thus saving his life. Too many thoughts were going through Dust's head, so for now, he settled on trying to rest, while the others did what they needed.

Meanwhile, Crimson was currently packing his belongings into his bag. Due to the recent events, Chihiro had told every Crusader that all missions were to be put on hold for the time being, that the requests would be sent out to other guilds. Seeing how his team didn't have a mission, he knew he had other business to take care of. He was finishing packing the last few items, hoping to leave without much issue, when he heard loud footsteps coming towards his room. He gave a brief sigh, knowing fully well who was entering his room.

"What do you think you're doing leaving?!" A familiar Hakamo-o shouted.

"Hello Blizza," Crimson responded.

"Don't 'hello' me! Why is it that I'm finding out from Chihiro that you're leaving?!" Blizza questioned.

"Since our team is currently taking no missions, I felt it was best that I returned home for the time being. There's someone I need to speak to who might know about these recent events," Crimson answered. "Plus…we've gotten too comfortable with our rank."

"Comfortable? The heck is that supposed to mean?" Blizza asked. "We earned our way to Gold Rank, and we've done a pretty good job with our missions so far!"

"And yet we were unable to do anything to stop Berry or help White Leaf Village!" Crimson snapped, now facing his partner. "We were fortunate enough that those two canine Pokemon had shown up, else the town would've been dust, and many lives would've been lost."

Blizza was silent, understanding Crimson's frustration, having felt it herself. She had always had some kind of respect for that little timid dragon, especially when she started to show her own resolve to fight Blizza without relying on her power boost. However, Blizza had never expected the little timid dragon to go on such a destructive rampage that she nearly wiped out the town- no, the entire region.

"As Crusaders, we can't just be satisfied with only Gold Rank, we must strive to get stronger. Hammer of the Hundred Fists, Igneel the Hellfire, and Eclipse the White Reaper are all well known Master Rank Crusaders, each having to push themselves to the limit to get where they are now. Next time an event like this happens, we might not be so lucky. So along with getting information, I will be doing training back home," Crimson explained.

Blizza stared at her partner for a good while, before going for her own bag. "If that's the case, then I'm going with ya!"

Crimson shook his head before responding. "Not this time. Where I'm going would be too harsh, even for you. This is a family matter that I need to take care of. I need you here to lead the team while I'm gone."

"You can't seriously be thinking of leaving me in charge of Chrome and Levi?! They're blockheads who only listen to you!" Blizza argued.

"They'll listen to you when they need to, and they know better than to talk back to someone stronger than them, right?" Crimson grinned at Blizza. "And if you think you can't handle it, I suggest finding a Pokemon who can help manage the others. I am aware that you would rather not be a leader, but leadership is an important skill to have, especially if you want to fulfill your goal to prove to your tribe that you deserve to be the next head of your family."

Blizza grumbled, having shared with Crimson her past with her family, and her true reasons for becoming a Crusader in the first place.

"I know you will surpass your brother and make your tribe proud," Crimson stated before patting Blizza on the head. "Take care of the team, try not to injure outlaws too much, and keep an eye on Team Night Tide. They've proven themselves more than once of surpassing expectations from others. So make sure to remind them why our team rivals theirs."

Blizza frowned for a moment before she smirked. "I'll take care of the team so much that we'll be so much stronger by the time you get back. And don't be surprised if I'm a Kommo-o by the time you see me again."

Crimson returned the smirk before heading out the room. He gave a single wave goodbye, leaving Blizza and the guild behind.

---

Team Silkwing were helping with the repairs. Talon flew with Jade and Gale, delivering materials as quickly as they could for the stronger Pokemon to use the materials to rebuild some of the buildings that didn't quite make it. Ivy and Tippi were helping with the forest, using their vines and spore moves to help regrow some of the plants. Most Grass and Bug types were helping with the forest.

Otti was the most versatile Pokemon in the town, so she had to go back and forth between the forest and the town, using whatever forms would be best for that certain area. Though she would like to study Berry's shell more so she could better understand what had happened to Berry, but she knew helping the town and the forest came first.

Shab was looking at Berry's shell in their room. Berry had laid quiet since she had shrunk and created this shell around her.

"This isn't the first time you had to hide yourself away…" Shab said softly to the shell. "But… you don't need to keep hiding yourself, Berry…"

There was a knock on the door. Shab looked up. "Come in."

The door opened. Shab was surprised to see it was a familiar Rockruff. "Hey, Roxy. What are you doing here? I thought you'd be helping around town. Rock types are useful for helping with rebuilding, right?"

"Yeah, but…" Roxy looked at the shell. "I needed to take a break… and I wanted to check in on Berry. There's a lot of ruckus going on outside about whether or not Berry is too dangerous to… well… roam free."

"So Chihiro and the others are still trying to convince the townfolk that it wasn't Berry's fault?" Shab asked.

"Yeah, though I have a feeling it's gonna take a while for them to be comfortable with Berry around. It would help if she wasn't in her shell, she could try and prove that she isn't a danger to everyone," Roxy remarked.

"Knowing Berry, she'd feel just as guilty and would want to hide herself from everyone. This is why we have to be patient, she'll come out when she's ready," Shab stated, though it was more to convince himself.

"Yeah…" Roxy frowned. "According to the story the guildmaster wants us to tell the other Pokemon, Berry was fused with an unknown power source while exploring the Dust Forest. So the Mystery Dungeon will be closed off from Crusaders until further notice."

"I guess it makes sense that Chihiro wouldn't want all the Pokemon to know about the Syzygy thing," Shab sighed. Which is still inside Berry.

"Hey… it'll be okay," Roxy said softly to Shab, hoping to encourage the Feebas. "Berry is strong, I'm sure she'll come out before long, and things can go back to the way they were."

"I'm not sure if I want things to go back to the way they were," Shab admitted. "I mean I don't want things to change for the worse, of course. But… so much had happened that… it would feel wrong for things to stay the same as they were before."

"Well…whatever happens, know that you got friends to help you. You're not alone," Roxy reaffirmed. "And I'm sure that whenever Berry does come out of her shell, she'll be happy to see you when she does."

Shab gave a small smile. "Thanks, Roxy."

"No problem." Roxy smiled, wagging her tail a little.

---

A few days had gone by since Berry had taken her new form and went into her shell. The townsfolk had calmed down somewhat, with the occasional complaint from a few of the residents, but nothing that Chihiro or the others couldn't handle. Repairs for the town had gone smoothly, and it wouldn't be long until things would go back to normal. It was on the third day when Dr. Perfume had finally given Dust the OK to leave the Medical Bay, though it would be a few more days until Dust was in perfect condition to go on missions again. Though missions were the last thing on his mind.

"Oh, before you go, make sure to stop by Chihiro's office first," Dr. Perfume said. "She wanted to speak with you when you had recovered. She should be expecting you soon."

Dust nodded, but before leaving, he turned back, looking at one of the cots where Al was laying down. Just like Berry, who still remained in her shell, the Charmeleon had stayed unconscious this whole time.

"Will Al be okay?" Dust asked.

The Aromatisse sighed before responding. "Physically, he's fine. In all honesty, I don't know why he hasn't woken up yet. But do not worry, we are keeping a close eye on him and making sure to check his vitals."

"Thank you," Dust simply said before leaving.

Dust didn't hesitate to head for Chihiro's office. He was hoping to see Berry again soon, however, when he entered Chihiro's office, he was surprised to see Shab, Cliff, and Kuro were there as well. Not only that, but he saw the spiral shell that Berry made around herself there too. Spooks and Phantom were floating around the shell, poking it with their claws.

"Dust, so nice of you to join us," Chihiro said. "Dr. Perfume informed me you'd be here soon, so I had Miyagi let the rest of your team know you'd be here."

"Uh… how did the shell…?" Dust began to ask.

"I carried Mommy here," Cliff said. "I figured she would want to see you… even if she is in her shell."

Dust smiled while giving Cliff a small pat. "Thank you, Cliff. She wasn't too heavy, was she?"

Cliff proudly puffed up her chest as she responded. "Nope! And I'll keep getting stronger so I can be of more help in the future!"

"I don't know where she gets that strength from," Kuro remarked. "I tried lifting Berry and nearly had the wind knocked out of me. I mean, yeah, Salandit aren't exactly known for their strength, but still, with how small Berry was as a Goomy, you'd think she'd be easy to carry."

"I also didn't want to leave her alone in case she comes out of her shell while we were here," Shab added. "And we figured you'd want to see her as soon as possible."

Dust nodded as he walked closer to the shell. It looked the same as it did 3 days ago when Berry shrank down and left this behind.

"She's still alive in there, we can feel it," Phantom informed.

"Yeah, but I think she's sleeping right now. She doesn't have much else to do in there," Spooks sighed.

Just like Al…I wonder if the two are connected. Dust wondered, though until either of them woke up from their coma, it looked like they were all forced to wait.

"Now that you're all here, there are some things we need to discuss," Chihiro said, catching everyone's attention. "The first being the Copperajah in the room. Dust, I had heard from you that you wanted to get the Syzygy in order to return to the Olympus Guild, but I didn't have time to get a full detailed explanation at the time. Now that things are calming down, I'd like to know more about why you tried to take the Syzygy and risked putting all of us in danger like you did."

While Cliff normally would have argued about her daddy not meaning to put anyone in danger, she wanted to know why Dust tried to take something so powerful and dangerous like he did. Shab and Kuro were waiting for an answer as well. Spooks and Phantom flew out of the room, allowing for their grandmother to speak with Team Night Tide directly.

Dust sighed, knowing that there was no avoiding this. "Alright, it all started the day when I first received my punishment and was tasked to obtain the Gold Rank within a year…"

Dust then went on to explain how later that night, Grace had visited him to give him a secret mission. To search for a secret object within Unity Guild. She hadn't told him of the name, but that if he was successful in finding it and bringing it to her, she would make it to where he would be granted Gold Rank and be allowed to return back to Olympus Guild, even if he failed to obtain Gold Rank within the year. At the time Dust didn't question Grace's intention, of why she had given him the mission in the first place. But since coming to Unity Guild, whenever any topic that was related to this unknown object was brought up, Dust would take notice. Dust explained the first clue was from the outlaw Snubbull who kidnapped Chloe and demanded that Berry bring an item called the Syzygy.

Later, Dust explained how Chihiro had trusted him enough with the basic information of the Syzygy. The next clue was when they had given a tour of the guild for new members, and stopped by the stairs leading to the lower levels of the guild. But that's all there were, simple clues, nothing solid yet. Dust still had time left, having obtained Silver Rank, as well as the confidence and support from his team, the Absol was set on obtaining Gold Rank the normal way, seeing that it was his best shot.

After being told that his team would not be promoted after their mission in Mt. Snowfall, Dust explained how he ran off to be alone, finding himself at the entrance to Dusk Forest. That was where he met with Oxnard the Morpeko, one of the guild council members. Dust was sure there was no chance of succeeding, but the Morpeko had reminded him that he still had one last chance.

And so Dust went on to explain the recent events, of him sneaking down to the lower levels, with Berry following behind, their encounter with Spiritomb and the challenge of making him laugh. Dust noticed Chihiro trying to keep a straight face when mentioning the puns they had made in order to make Spiritomb laugh.

Soon after, Dust and Berry had found themselves in Dusk Forest, confronting Zacian and Zamazenta, and how Berry convinced Dust to give up on his mission.

"Wait, if you had given up on getting the Syzygy, then how did Berry end up with it inside her body?" Shab asked.

"...Well…that's when things…took a turn for the worse," Dust answered, not proud of what happened next.

The others were shocked to hear Dust explain his argument with Berry, the harsh words he had said, and how he had intended on leaving the guild alone. They were further shocked when he explained how Grace appeared, threatening Berry's life if Dust didn't retrieve the Syzygy. Having no other choice, and fearing Grace's threat of keeping it a secret, Dust went back and obtained the Syzygy after having faced the mental test.

"But I didn't willingly give it to Grace, especially after witnessing how dangerous the Syzygy could be. So I made a small makeshift berry bomb, and for a moment it worked. Grace was distracted, and I had both Berry and the Syzygy. We tried racing back to the guild. I figured if anyone could stop Grace, it could be our guildmaster, but she caught up with us easily. In the process, Berry had swallowed the Syzygy to keep Grace from getting it…but then she started crushing me with rocks. Berry couldn't just do nothing and watch me die, and with the Syzygy inside, her outbursts became too much, even for the everstone that she always wore. I saw a piece of it hit Grace's eye, but then I was knocked away by the sheer force of Berry's growth. I soon fell unconscious," Dust took a deep breath, finally having finished, and now waited to see Chihiro's response.

"So that's what happened," Chihiro noted.

"All of this happened while we were asleep?" Kuro frowned.

Dust gave a nod. "I didn't want to wake you guys up, this was supposed to be my burden to bear alone…"

"But you almost became a bad guy, Daddy," Cliff frowned.

"And what would've happened to us if you managed to go through with it?" Shab asked.

That was a question Berry herself had asked him too.

"I am glad that Berry stopped you from taking the Syzygy, Dust. The two guardians… you met them, right?" Chihiro asked.

Dust nodded. "Zacian and Zamazenta, right?"

"That's right. They have a duty of keeping a watch on the Syzygy. They judge the mindset and heart of whoever tries to take the Syzygy," Chihiro explained. "You see, the Syzygy has great power, as you had seen first paw. I didn't want to keep it hidden the traditional way. First of all, that's no fun and totally cliche. Second, the Syzygy was intended to be used for emergencies and a last ditch effort. Anyone with a pure heart and good intentions would be able to use it, as long as they don't abuse the power of course. The Syzygy itself also brings out your innermost desire, which would make it clear to the two guardians what your true intentions for the Syzygy was. If they deemed you a danger, they would've had to strike you down. That is how we keep the Syzygy safe, it's meant for those who are resolved to go through the dangers, and who have a pure heart and a good reason for using it."

"What about the Spiritomb?" Dust asked curiously.

"The Spiritomb holds spirits of evil and mischief of the past. They are being put to work to redeem themselves for their sins," Chihiro answered. "I would check in once in a while to see how they're doing."

"For eternity?" Dust frowned.

"Eternity? No, Hall of Origins no! It's only for a millenia or two," Chihiro replied. "I guess Spiritomb said 'eternity' to make it sound all dramatic. They like being so dramatic."

"Do you know about the rodent Pokemon in the basement?" Dust questioned.

"What?" Chihiro blinked.

"Oh boy, you've got a lot of those in the basement…" Dust chuckled.

"It's only been 50 or so years!" Chihiro groaned. "I suppose I should clean up down there… but we're not discussing that right now. There's something I need to bring up. And that's Grace. Are you saying Grace, the Guildmaster of the Olympus Guild, was the one who put you up to stealing the Syzygy for her, used Berry as a hostage, and tried to torture you to get the Syzygy out of Berry?"

"Everything I said was true. I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't witnessed it. Before Grace had shown up, I had blindly trusted her, never once questioning her motives or reasons. Even when Berry tried talking sense to me and questioning Grace's actions, I still chose to believe Grace was trustworthy. But now, I realized she was only using me from the start," Dust answered.

Chihiro sighed before responding. "Dust, this is quite the pickle we found ourselves in. On the one paw, I've watched you grow from when you first came here, from a selfish and vain Absol to a leader who sought the best for his friends. The fact that you were able to even obtain the Syzygy helps confirm this, if you truly had any ill intent, Zacian and Zamazenta would've made sure to stop you right then and there. But on the other paw, we only have your word to go on, even if your intentions were pure, Berry was afflicted with the Syzygy due to your intentions in the first place, and she's the only one who could've vouched for you. If Grace truly acted the way you said she did, it won't be easy to prove her guilty of your accusations. When it comes down to it, it ends up being your word against her word. Dust, I do want to believe you, but you know as well as I do how serious it is to accuse a guildmaster, especially one who is of the guild council. Unless you have anything to prove your cause, I'm afraid things will only become more difficult for you. So please, if there's anything you have, anything you know, please tell me."

Dust couldn't believe what he was hearing, but he couldn't blame Chihiro either. By all accounts, his account seems like it came from a fairytale that someone wanted to write a fanfic about. So this is what Grace truly meant, that it didn't matter what we said or do…No one would believe the words of a troublemaker compared to the words of a guildmaster.

"...I don't…" Dust answered.

"Chihiro, if I may," Kuro spoke up, catching everyone's attention. "Dust mentioned a Morpeko reminding him of his 'last chance', didn't he? When I finished filling out the paperwork, I was told to hand them to you in your office. But I remember seeing a Morpeko walking out of your office shortly after the rest of the team went to their room for the night. Is that the same Morpeko that Dust had mentioned?"

Chihiro frowned when Kuro brought that Morpeko up. "Yes, I had been visited by that Morpeko several times before and after you all came back from your mission at Mt. Snowfall."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, guildmaster, but wasn't a Morpeko also a part of the Olympus Guild's council?" Kuro pointed out.

Chihiro was surprised by Kuro's question. "Why yes, there is one, though only Grace and Eclipse are commonly known. While not kept secret, it's not exactly easy to know the rest of the guild council members."

"Well, after seeing that Morpeko around a lot, something felt off about them, so I did a little digging. You're not wrong, it wasn't exactly easy, but I learned of one being a member of the council," Kuro remarked.

"While impressive, what point are you trying to make?" Chihiro curiously asked.

"The point is that if this Morpeko is a member of the council, the same council Grace is, and he's involved in this whole thing, manipulating Dust, and either bribing or blackmailing you to keep him from being promoted somehow, then doesn't that also point at Grace being the manipulator that Dust says she is?" Kuro answered. "After all, Grace is the supposed leader of this council. Why would another member of the council be here now of all times when it was the same day Dust was supposed to either graduate to the Gold Rank or fail?"

"That's a good point," Cliff said. "Wow, Kuro, you're really smart."

"Where I come from, you have to be if you want to survive," Kuro said. "Let's hope you don't have to experience it yourself, little one."

"But does this help us?" Shab asked.

"If that Morpeko is indeed a member of the council, then yes, because it points to Grace being involved," Kuro explained. "Whether she's as heavily involved as Dust says she is or not, that alone is already putting her under suspicion."

"And I agree," Chihiro spoke, surprising Dust and the others. "You're not the first to suspect foul play. Being tasked with watching over the Syzygy, there have been attempts to get it for years. I won't lie that when I first received news of an Absol suddenly joining us from Olympus guild, I was suspicious of Dust."

"Wait? Really?" Dust asked.

"Don't worry, my doubts were put to rest after shortly meeting you," Chihiro responded. "You see, your first mission in Dusk Forest was not just a test to see what rank you should start it, but to also see how trustworthy you truly were. You were honest in your failure, going so far in expecting Berry to choose someone else as her partner, and yet she chose to stay by your side. So while my suspicion of you may have subsided, that didn't mean I didn't sense some kind of scheming happening behind the scene."

Dust and the others were surprised to hear this.

Chihiro decided to continue. "In truth, it was after the tournament when my attention turned towards Olympus Guild itself. Ever since then, Olympus guild has been intruding more and more in Unity guild's business, especially when it concerned Team Night Tide. At first I assumed it was due to Eclipse wanting the best for Dust, but if that were true, your team would've been granted Gold Rank after the tournament. That's when I notice Grace always voicing her caution and advice. The final clue was when Oxnard himself came, delivering a direct message from Grace. It is in the guild council's best interest that Team Night Tide be not rewarded for their mission."

"What? Grace sent that?" Shab asked in shock.

"Could you read this message to us?" Kuro requested.

Chihiro nodded before taking a parchment from her desk before reading it. "We understand the dangers and risks that they had gone through, but nonetheless, we cannot be promoting the idea of low ranking Crusaders taking on high risk missions."

Dust frowned. His memories of the Olympus Guild council members were as fresh in his mind as always, especially one member in particular who wasn't his mother or Grace. A very angry member who never liked Dust. And those words sounded like something he would say. "That sounded like Xavier…"

"I take it that you know this 'Xavier'?" Shab asked.

"He's a Metagross who is in charge of all the finance that goes through the guilds. He has, more than once, voiced his…opinion of me. If he truly had it his way, I would've been kicked out of the guild long ago," Dust answered.

"He sounds as bad as Chrome." Cliff frowned.

"Regardless, I was told to refrain from telling you that this came from the Guild Council themselves," Chihiro remarked. "They wished for Team Night Tide to continue their work without the idea of the council being the one to prevent their promotion. If I had, the council would've taken actions against Unity Guild, replacing me as its guildmaster and disbanding your team."

"What? How powerful is this council? Why would they be able to do that?" Shab questioned, shocked to hear about this.

"Yeah! Nobody can replace you as the guildmaster of the Unity Guild!" Cliff agreed.

"The Olympus Guild was the first guild to ever be made, and through them many other guilds branched off. All resources, all information, all major decisions, such as creating a new guild, promoting someone to Master Rank, or holding some of the most dangerous criminals known to Pokemon kind," Dust answered.

The others looked at him as he continued the explanation.

"Each member has a role, from finance, to food resources, and energy resources to the guids. My mother was in charge of dealing with Crusaders, being one herself. And at the head of the council is the guildmaster of the Olympus Guild. So if they deem a guildmaster isn't performing to the best of their abilities, they will look into replacing them with someone who is better suited for the position," Dust finished, having grown and learned a lot about his old guild.

"That seems like a flawed system… and it seems to allow corrupted Pokemon to be able to take over and threaten others, like with Grace." Kuro frowned.

"There's just one problem, even with all our speculation, it will amount to nothing unless there is hard evidence against Grace's activities. We can bring all these points up to the council, but Grace seems like the kind of Pokemon who has been playing the long game. Not just anyone can become the guildmaster of the Olympus Guild. It takes years of dedication and trust. If she had acted alone, then it will be difficult to convince the others, unless they are all in on it together, thus making it impossible," Chihiro stated.

Cliff, Shab, and Dust all frowned. Kuro looked to be deep in thought, likely trying to bring up another point about the Morpeko that could help them point back to Grace. However, there was a knock on the door.

"We're having an important meeting," Chihiro called.

"I believe you will want to see this, especially for your meeting," A familiar voice spoke from the other side of the door.

The doors were suddenly opened as a familiar, white-four legged Pokemon with a satchel on their side entered the room. Everyone was surprised to see Eclipse enter.

"Mother?!" Dust exclaimed.

"Grandma!?" Cliff exclaimed a little after Dust did.

"Hello son, hello Cliff~" Eclipse greeted with a smile before turning her attention to Chihiro. "Sorry for interrupting, I would've been here sooner but there were some complications as I left the Olympus Guild."

"Did you come because you heard about the incident with a giant Sliggoo?" Chihiro asked.

"That's one of the reasons. I was also planning on seeing Dust to see how he did," Eclipse answered. "And from what I've heard, you and your team have been very busy this last month."

Dust was trying not to blush or show his embarrassment as Eclipse was looking at him and his teammates.

"Where's that little Goomy you always carried on your back? And what's with that big… metal looking shell?" Eclipse asked.

Dust sighed before briefly explaining last night's event and what led to Berry being trapped in her own shell, which included his mission of retrieving the Syzygy, meeting Zacian and Zamazenta, Grace's arrival and attempts at almost murdering him and Berry. Once finished, Dust waited for his mother to respond, but all she did was sat down, brought her two paws together and close to her muzzle before taking a deep breath.

"...Okay…So there's more than what the reports actually stated," Eclipse stated, trying to keep a calm demeanor, which only lasted for a few seconds. "I'm sorry! Everytime I think I'm mentally prepared to hear what crazy activity you've been up to, you somehow manage to surpass my expectations by doing something even crazier!"

"Not that I'm not happy to see you, Eclipse, but… what are you doing here?" Chihiro asked, confused by Eclipse's sudden arrival while also trying not to laugh at the Absol's predicament.

Eclipse calmed down once more, turning her attention to Chihiro. "Well, as I'm sure you are all aware, there has been some foul play going around. I'm not just a Master Rank Crusader due to how many Pokemon I've fought. I knew something was up when I learned of Team Night Tide's mission in Mt. Snowfall and how apparently their guildmaster had refused to reward them. So imagine my surprise when I did some digging of my own and found out that someone's been interfering with Team Night Tide's progression."

"I take it you received some letter stating how it was the council's decision on preventing Dust's promotion to Gold Rank?" Eclipse asked.

"Yes, I did," Chihiro replied. "I have the letter on my desk if you want to see it for yourself."

Eclipse nodded before walking up to Chihiro's desk, taking a quick look at the letter before sighing. "First, I want to say that this did not come from the council. In fact, the other guild council members had no idea of Dust's activities these last month. It was only thanks to the news letter that I even learned of Team Night Tide's involvement there, when normally the council would've known as soon as the mission was reported to Chihiro."

"So what did you figure out then, Eclipse?" Chihiro asked. "Because we are in a bit of a bind here right now. Dust claims that Grace was behind all of this, manipulating him to try to steal the Syzygy. But we can't arrest Grace or condemn her without solid proof."

Eclipse nodded, knowing full well how serious it is to accuse a guildmaster. "True, words alone wouldn't be enough. Luckily I came prepared."

Eclipse then removed the satchel she was wearing with her mouth, placing it on top of Chihiro's desk.

"It took me a while, but I found some interesting documents and letters belonging to Grace," Eclipse then proceeded to open the satchel, revealing a stack of paper. "Some had the council's decision without us knowing, deals with questionable organizations, outlaws, and such."

Dust, Cliff, Shab, and Kuro were watching in awe at how quickly Eclipse went through the documents, and about how they belonged to Grace. Chihiro was pretty impressed herself.

"Having this much evidence on our side, we can inform Officer Magnazone to arrest Grace, and strip her of her power as the guildmaster of the Olympus Guild and a member of the council," Chihiro said.

"But it's been days since Dust last saw her, would she even still be at the guild? What if she figured she would get caught and try to run off?" Shab asked.

"That is also a fair point," Eclipse noted before walking out the office for a brief moment. The sound of loud muffled was heard as Eclipse returned, dragging something behind her. Once back inside, she dropped what she was dragging on the floor. "So imagine my surprise, when just when I learned of Grace's activities at her office, the Gardevoir herself teleports right there beside me. Usually it's where criminals try to run away from me, not towards me."

Everyone was staring in shock that the Pokemon of the topic was right there, in front of them, tied up and gagged. One of Grace's eyes looked really badly scratched up.

"Grace just teleported to you?" Shab blinked. "Couldn't she teleport out of those bindings?"

"Our guild has many resources, and ways to bind certain Pokemon types, negative certain moves and abilities. Just like there are certain items that can boost a Pokemon's attack type, those same items can be used to inhibit other types," Eclipse explained.

"Oh, we dealt with a Drapion poacher who used these metal bindings that even Berry couldn't slip out of. He said they were made with a special material meant for hunting certain Pokemon," Shab remarked, recalling his and Berry's previous adventure.

"It is very concerning that a poacher had access to those kinds of materials, but nonetheless, Shab is right. These bindings are made with special Steel with Dark type binding. Not exactly cheap, but good for keeping Fairy type outlaws in check, as well as prevent Psychic types from just teleporting away," Eclipse remarked.

Dust was looking at Grace. It was odd to see her like this, as Grace had always looked majestic and graceful whenever he saw her before, even when she showed her true colors. To see the Gardevoir reduced to this was pitiful. But considering what she had done, and would've done if it weren't for Berry, he couldn't say she didn't deserve it.

"I believe once you present these documents to the court," Eclipse stated to Chihiro. "And bring in this outlaw, who tried to use my son for her own selfish purposes, she will be immediately dealt with. And hopefully the other Pokemon will stop giving Berry a hard time."

"Thank you, Grandma! You're the best grandmother ever!" Cliff smiled cheerfully before rushing up to hug Eclipse.

Eclipse blushed slightly, still not completely used to being a grandma, gave Cliff a few pats. Chihiro's laughter only made the older Absol blush even more.

"Well, Grace, it looks like your little schemes have been put to a halt," Chihiro said to Grace. "We'll make sure to give you a nice, comfy place once the court is finished with you."

Grace wiggled around and muffled in her gag. She couldn't even use her telepathy to speak to anyone.

"There's just one more matter to take care of," Eclipse spoke up, drawing everyone's attention. "Since Grace was the one who sent Dust on this mission in the first place, even issuing his punishment."

"What…does that mean, mother?" Dust inquired.

"It means that your task to obtain Gold Rank within the year is now void. You can come back home with me now," Eclipse answered. "Without any strings attached."

Everything seemed to have grown quiet. Cliff, Shab, and Kuro were surprised to hear this.

"Does that mean… you're leaving the Unity Guild?" Kuro asked.

"And Team Night Tide?" Shab added softly.

"But… you can't, can you? I mean… you're our leader, Daddy. And Mommy fought so hard for you to stay…" Cliff frowned as she began to sniffle.

"Everyone, this is Dust's decision," Chihiro spoke up.

"But I don't want Daddy to leave!" Cliff cried.

"It's okay, Cliff… no need to cry," Shab said, trying to calm down the Larvitar. "We'll be able to visit Dust whenever we want. But you don't want to make Dust unhappy, do you?"

"N-no… I don't want to make Daddy unhappy…" Cliff answered, sniffling a bit. "But… promise I can see Daddy whenever I want?"

"If you're a good girl and keep doing missions to earn enough money to pay for travelling, then sure," Kuro replied.

"Dust, do you need time to think?" Chihiro asked.

Everyone turned to Dust waiting to hear his answer. The Absol was silent for a minute before walking up to Eclipse to face her.

"Did you decide to come back to the Olympus Guild with me?" Eclipse asked when Dust walked up to her.

"..." Dust sighed before smiling at his mother. "You know…if you had told me I could go home at the start of the year, I would've taken that offer faster than a heartbeat. For a long time I had the simple goal of obtaining the Gold Rank, so I could return home, never thinking about what I truly wanted. It took this long, but I now know what I want."

"And what's that?" Eclipse asked, wondering where Dust is going with this.

"I want everyone to be proud of the Absol I am, of the Crusader I could be, of the friend they deserve, of the son you can take pride in. As much as I missed my old home with you, I've come to appreciate the experience I've gained since coming here, of the Pokemon I've met, of the bonds we created," Dust then turned to look at Berry's shell. "It took this long, longer than it should've, but it's thanks to Berry that I learned what I wanted."

Dust turned to face his mother one more time before finishing. "I'm sorry, Mom…but I plan to stay, so I can work on making everyone proud of me. My friends have always been there for me, especially Berry, and I intend to be there for them. I will miss being at the Olympus Guild with you, Mom. But… here, I have something more important than all the research books could offer me."

Eclipse looked at Dust's mismatched eyes for a long moment. Dust didn't falter, he kept his resolve as he looked back at his mother's red eyes.

Finally, after what felt like hours, even though it had only been a few seconds in reality, Eclipse gave Dust a big, proud smile. "Dust… I'm proud of you. You've truly grown since you left the Olympus Guild a year ago. The Absol standing before me now is nothing like the lonely Absol who had left with an impossible task. I can truly say you are my and your father's son. I hope you keep that resolve and continue working on being the Pokemon you want to be."

My father? Dust thought. He then recalled his memory of Snowflake and was about to ask Eclipse about him when he suddenly felt a tug on his leg, causing him to turn and see Cliff.

"So… does that mean… Daddy is staying?" Cliff asked in a hopeful tone.

"It looks like it," Shab said with a smile of his own.

"Yaaay!" Cliff cheered. "Daddy's staying! You hear that, Mommy? Daddy is staying!"

There was no reaction from Berry, unfortunately, but Dust wanted to imagine she was happy about that.

"I have to take Grace to Officer Magnazone as soon as possible," Chihiro spoke up. "Everyone is dismissed. Oh, and Dust… if you need to talk to me about something, I'll be available by 9 o' clock tonight."

Dust nodded. He had some questions regarding the Syzygy, but that could wait. He didn't want to spoil this moment.

Everyone was happy that things turned out okay in the end. Dust decided to stay in the Unity Guild, Cliff, Shab, and Kuro were celebrating Dust's choice at the cafeteria. Cliff carried Berry's shell everywhere they went, still wanting to include Berry as much as they possibly could.

However, even though things were doing well, there were still some loose ends.

---

Dust was alone this time. After a long day, Cliff, Shab, and Kuro decided to turn in for the night. Cliff and Shab stayed close to Berry's shell as they slept. Dust finished writing in his journal. He saw he ran out of pages in his journal, so he was going to need a new one.

Dust walked out of the room and headed for Chihiro's office. He knew it was still a bit early for Chihiro to return, but he had a different reason for going there.

"I'm glad you stuck around, Mother," Dust said.

"I needed to make sure Chihiro took care of everything regarding Grace," Eclipse replied as she looked at Dust. "I'd imagine you came here for more than just pleasantries though."

Dust's smile faded, unsure of what to expect next. But the only way to find out was to simply ask. "Mother…who is Snowflake?"

Eclipse looked at Dust with wide eyes, being caught off guard by the question. "How…do you know that name?"

"When I was being held by Berry, at some point I think I made a mental link with her, seeing her memories go by as I tried to search for her. When Berry was surrounded by a steel bubble, I tried to break through, but nothing was working. I thought about the moves I knew, and how none of them would work, especially Ice Beam," Dust recounted.

The Absol took a moment before continuing, rethinking of the memory he experienced. "I heard a voice, talking about how there's more to ice. I heard your voice for a moment too, calling the other voice, Snowflake. The last thing I heard him say was that ice can be a loving embrace."

Eclipse frowned as she looked away for a moment, probably trying to think of how to respond. After a moment of thinking, Eclipse looked at Dust again. "I'll admit, I didn't expect you to… know about that conversation. You were just an egg back then. Your father… is…was a very talented Pokemon, and a passionate one at that. You remind me of him when you get passionate about your research. He had hopes, dreams, ambitions… he was a wonderful Pokemon to be around."

"So…what happened to him then?" Dust asked.

Eclipse was silent, but Dust could see how hesitant she was. It was the first time he saw his mother like this, unsure, doubtful, and most surprising, afraid. Afraid of what? Dust couldn't quite tell, but seeing his mother like this was starting to make Dust feel guilty himself.

Finally Eclipse spoke up with a shaky voice. "Dust…your father is-"

"Mother, it's okay," Dust interrupted while giving Eclipse a hug. "You don't have to tell me right now. You can tell me when you're ready."

Eclipse gave a sigh before she finally said something. "The Pokemon I loved is long gone…"

"Oh…" Dust replied softly.

Eclipse then looked at Dust's mismatched eyes, giving him a small smile. "Everytime I see your blue eye, I'm always reminded of your father. And together, we were able to have you, and that's something I'll never regret."

"Thanks Mom." Dust returned the smile, hugging Eclipse once more before responding. Though a new question came to mind as he let goed of Eclipse. "Though…since we are on the topic, I must ask, if my father was still with you…was there a chance I could've had a younger sibling?"

"... That is not a topic I'm comfortable discussing with you," Eclipse grumbled.

A familiar Dragapult flew into the office. "Oh! I see you two are already here. Sorry about the lateness. It took a lot of arguing and paperwork to finally have Grace locked up. She's going to be… condemned by tomorrow morning. Her crimes were serious, especially since she had such a high stature among the Pokemon society."

Dust gulped, having an idea of what it could mean to be condemned. It was still a strange thought, thinking of Grace, who had always appeared friendly, to be the cause of much suffering. Dust had only known of her involvement with his activities, he could hardly imagine how many Pokemon Grace had harmed in order to get what she wanted.

"And that's only going to be the start of it. I can imagine the Olympus Guild panicking over finding out their leader was a corrupt Pokemon," Eclipse groaned. "Then there's the paperwork and meetings with the other council members, trying to pick a suitable Pokemon to become the new guildmaster. I can already feel the headache coming along."

"Let's hope they'll pick someone who won't abuse their power," Chihiro said.

Dust looked over at Chihiro.

"Hey, Dust, so I imagine you have something you wanted to ask? I thought you'd be content after everything that's happened," Chihiro remarked.

"I was hoping to better understand the Syzygy, why it made Berry grow not only big, but apparently changed her type as well. She appeared as a normal Sliggoo, but then that shell came out of nowhere as she shrunk back to normal size," Dust asked.

"I would like to know this as well," Eclipse said. "Especially if such a case were to happen again."

Chihiro sighed. "Nobody knows or fully understands what the Syzygy truly is. Some say it came from outer space and landed on our planet long ago. Others say it was created by Legendary Pokemon and left around this region. My ancestors found the Syzygy and had kept it safe, only using it when the need arises. The Syzygy, however, seems to work differently on each individual. Not everyone would grow into the size of a tower, or have their type changed entirely. The Syzygy takes the desire of the one wielding it, and turns it into a reality. A Pokemon could change into a completely different species, or transform into a Legendary Pokemon, or become a part of the region."

"As for Berry growing as big as she did, and why her type changed… it was likely a result of what Grace was doing just before Berry activated the Syzygy. Grace was torturing you, and trapped her with her Psychic powers. Berry wished to be bigger and stronger, to be able to resist Grace's powers, and to protect you from her. Not to mention Berry's own… natural talent… It resulted in Berry becoming big and turning into a Steel type. The shell we saw was likely her wish to seal herself away from the rest of the world," Chihiro finished.

Dust was both curious and worried over what the Syzygy would've done to him if he had taken it out of his own desire. Granted before Zacian and Zamazenta strike me down.

"Grace said how there were other items like the Syzygy, unique and powerful in their own way. Do you know of any other items like that?" Dust inquired.

"It's true, I've heard that there are indeed unique items around these lands. They could've been left by the humans from long ago, or perhaps came to our planet. But just like the Syzygy, none of us truly know the origins, and if there are others out there, no one could know where they could be either," Chihiro answered before giving a grin. "Should you ever find yourself in the presence of one of these items, I absolutely suggest using extreme caution. Wouldn't want you to turn to Dust. You might even Faint from the Attack. But you do have an Iron will, that runs all the way to your tail. Though I must admit, it would be ice if you are able to learn more about them safely. Though I suggest doing it during the day instead at night. Wouldn't want to be doing it during an Eclipse."

"I see you're back on your pun tirade," Eclipse grumbled.

"I haven't been able to use puns for a while, give me a break!" Chihiro huffed. "No need to Pressure me so much!"

Dust was actually trying not to laugh. Chihiro's endless use of puns must be getting to him.

"Erm… uh… what about the Syzygy that… um… Berry consumed?" Dust asked, regaining his composure.

"Well… that is a bit of a complicated thing. We can't get it out of her if she doesn't come out of her shell. And… who knows what the Syzygy will do while she's in her shell," Chihiro sighed. "Let's just hope she doesn't activate it in such a drastic way again. I don't know if White Leaf Town can take another rampage from Berry. For now though… you should head back to your room and get some rest. I'm sure Berry will want to see you when she decides to come out. And please, try to keep her calm."

"We'll do our best," Dust confirmed. "Mother, will you be leaving soon?"

"Yes, in the morning. They'll want me to be present during Grace's trial, for both as a witness and to make sure the Gardevoir behaves," Eclipse answered. "You take care of yourself, you have good friends who support you. Be the leader I know you're capable of being."

"I will mother, take care. Goodnight Chihiro," Dust waved goodbye to both Eclipse and Chihiro.

"Make sure to sleep well, and that your room isn't too dusty~" Chihiro chuckled.

Dust chuckled as well as he left the office to head back to his room, where his team waited for him to return. Heh… my team… my friends… my family. I would never trade you guys for anything else in the world.

---

Oragonking: Traveling Master: Dust is sinking into Berry's slime, where the tentacle horn was holding Dust.

DarkFoxKit: Not many expected Berry to Dynamax either. The Terastaliastion was actually a great idea for a certain thing we decided to do with Berry, which, if you haven't figured it out by now, we won't say. But it is considered to be unusual, the Syzygy isn't just a stone you use to Dynamax Pokemon, it can have different effects on different individuals as was explained in the chapter. So nobody could really guarantee what will happen, not even Zacian and Zamazenta.

Traveling Master: Yeah, Grace did occasionally watch over Dust when Eclipse was gone. But we haven't really put much thought or specific details on how it was exactly like for Dust growing up there. So others could've been tasked with watching Dust as well.

Earthpatriot: DarkFoxKit: Uh, well we may have more dynamaxed stuff in the future if that helps. But that's… really all we can respond to, so… uh… hope you enjoyed the chapter. ^^'

Sobbas: Traveling Master: Well, we actually were hoping to update this chapter last week as well, but we noticed that our readers were used to our updates being longer than a week, so we weren't sure if anyone would've realized a new chapter had been updated, hence why we took an extra week before updating. We are hoping to release the Epilogue next week, but we might wait an extra week to give all our readers a chance to catch up and such. But thank you for your patient, we all are waiting for this story to reach its conclusion XD

DarkFoxKit: It was difficult to write for the secondary characters. We couldn't possibly fit all of them in, and the ones we were able to use, we had some trouble really including without it seeming rushed or side lined. Berry doesn't have a huge horn on her forehead, I'm not sure where you got the idea. If you meant the horn she used to grab Dust, we were talking about the two horns a Sliggoo naturally has. If you mean the axe on her head… I mean have you played Scarlet or Violet yet? That's what the Steel type Terastilize form had. ^^' There is no big horn on her forehead. Having Chihiro and the other members of the guild trying to save the city was definitely difficult to write. It was very chaotic, and we weren't sure if we were doing the scene justice. So I'm glad to hear you liked it. Having the other characters, like Otti, Gale, and Miyagi get involved does show what they are capable of in times of a crisis.

Traveling Master: Well, with Team Crimson Raider, only Crimson and Blizza have really worked together long enough to think of good strategies or attacks. Just like back at the tournament when they faced Patricia, even though Levi was on the team, Crimson and Blizza worked better with each other. So you're right, they are opposite to Team Night Tide, where they rely on each other more while Crimson's team are more focused on themselves.

We haven't really shown much of Crimson and his team, only when Team Night Tide was involved. There's more to the Zoroark than we've shown, with his own goals and determinations that have yet to be revealed. And again, you're right on the money, just because a character is an antagonist, doesn't make them an evil character. Just someone who will be an obstacle for the main protagonist. We have many future plans regarding the rivalry between Dust and Crimson, as well as their respective teams.

Glad someone caught that little glimpse with Crimson's eye. Of course that goes heavily into spoiler territory, so unfortunately there isn't much we could say regarding what that exactly means, or what it could be.

DarkFoxKit: Yeah, Blizza had to learn a hard lesson in humility. Although Berry had always been teaching her that since the beginning, since her first outburst on Blizza. But seeing how Blizza barely made a dent in Berry, that had to hurt her pride quite a bit.

We had more ideas for Team Silkwing, but we got to the point where it only felt like filler, and we wanted to continue the plot, so we cut out a lot of ideas we had for this book. We might use or repurpose the ideas in the next book. But yeah, we wanted to use Team Silkwing for this too, we grew attached to them. Unfortunately for Ivy, yeah, her lack of the ability to fly was really showing here. Of course this isn't the first time Ivy had to deal with being the only one on the team to not be able to fly, but yeah, it was really prominent here.

Traveling Master: What's funny about Team Destruct is that they were the very first characters I ever created, so I was always fond of them and was glad we were able to use them in our story. But of course, since they weren't the main characters, we had to put them as side/supporting characters when needed. For the most part, you're right in saying they were a comic team, helping where they can and moving the plot forward when needed. But here, this was something we've been planning for a good while. Just like with Crimson, there's more to Team Destruct we haven't shown much of, but might be able to tackle in the future, especially with Al. While we can't say much as to why he acted in such a violent manner, you are right in assuming that there's more to it than just Al being…well Al. But Al's past and his possible connections to Berry are something we are looking forward to revealing in the future.

DarkFoxKit: Team Aura Force left for a mission before all of this happened. In truth, we already had a lot of characters to deal with, adding in Team Aura Force would've just put more strain on us, especially since they aren't exactly our characters to begin with, so we didn't feel all that comfortable using them.

When you said you don't understand how he hasn't panicked yet, who did you mean? You were talking about Team Night Tide, but when you said 'he', it sounds like you mean one person in particular, but you didn't specify who you were talking about. Unless you meant to say 'they', but it came out as 'he'. But yeah, they couldn't afford to panic now because they knew they were needed to try to resolve the situation.

Traveling Master: You know…looking back now…yeah…Dust seems to have a knack of close death encounters. XD Unfortunately being desperate results in desperate decisions, and we've seen how that turned out. As you read by now…it's most likely gonna be 3 for 3 XD

DarkFoxKit: Yeeeeah… as you saw, Berry did not take this too well. She's literally hiding in her shell and refuses to come out. She's pretty much shut down. And your speculation for how Team Night Tide is going to handle this is pretty accurate. We were planning to tackle most of this at the start of the next book. But it's nice to see that someone recognizes the role each team member plays in Team Night Tide. You deserve a tray of yummy cookies.

Berry4Goodra: DarkFoxKit: Yeah, Berry evolved. And you saw Berry's reaction to… well, everything, she didn't take it well. She pretty much shut down.

We get that you're an external reader, it's just… when people cheer for a character, or reprimand them on a TV screen, the action is immediate and emotional. But when it's written as a review, that means you had time to read, think about it, and write it out. So to us, it kinda felt like you were judging what they were doing without really thinking about it. That's why we felt the need to explain why they acted like they did.

Traveling Master: Well, the Olympus Guild was the first guild ever made, and with that it has many resources. But it's Grace herself that uses these resources for her own agenda. And with the Syzygy, Grace could easily keep all her promises to Berry and her team had Berry and Dust willingly choose to be loyal to her. So her giving Kuro the method for changing the Salandit/Salazzle clan would be possible.

DarkFoxKit: I'm not trying to sound rude, but if you don't expect us to reveal if a character is a shapeshifter, then why are you asking? Just seems kinda pointless, doesn't it? I mean if you want to let us know you suspect that someone is a shapeshifter, you could say that you think they might be without asking us if they are, because if you phrase it as a question, of course we're going to tell you we can't tell you.

Traveling Master: You are right concerning Dust's knowledge on Sliggoo. While he hadn't seen any, he was able to piece it together when he saw Berry take on a different form, and seeing the similarities between that a Goodra, he figured that's what Berry evolved into. Ironic that this is the first official time he's seen an evolution, and it happened to be his best friend losing control.

DarkFoxKit: Well, as explained in the chapter, the Syzygy doesn't just do one thing, it can do other things to the wielder depending on the individual's mindset and desire. Berry wished to be bigger and stronger to stop Grace, so that's why it turned her big. The Terastalization was due to Berry's desire to protect Dust from this powerful Psychic/Fairy type; the protection, plus the ability to resist Psychic and Fairy, gave her the Steel typing. The Steel type is the best single defensive typing as of this point in time.

Traveling Master: No need to apologize, we haven't really focused on non Crusader characters, so it can be easy to assume the other guild council members were Crusaders. It wasn't something we really addressed or pointed out in the story, since those characters weren't really the main focus, or hardly appeared that often. To answer one of your questions, Otti is not a Crusader, she's a researcher for the Unity Guild. But just because someone isn't a Crusader, doesn't mean they can't help and offer assistance when needed.

DarkFoxKit: You weren't the only one to ask us about Eternatus, we've had more people asking us about that, some even PMed us about it. We got pretty annoyed by it, so I apologize if we snapped at you about it. But yeah, Eternatus has nothing to do with the Syzygy, or with Zacian and Zamazenta. But you do often talk about things that are very off topic and it's usually about things that we don't have much to say about.

The Mega Evolution, I believe, can happen in many different ways. It just requires a certain kind of energy and power. The stones and the whole bond with the human thing is just the most well known and easiest way to trigger it. Rayquaza was able to Mega Evolve without really needing a stone or a human after all, that's just one of the alternative ways a Pokemon could Mega Evolve I like to think.

Traveling Master: Seeing how Dust was blessed by Giratina, we do have plans in the future concerning the Ghost Dragon. As for Dialga or Palkia, we haven't really made plans for those two in the future. Maybe they'll appear, or maybe not. We haven't decided that far yet.

DarkFoxKit: The whole 'aura of an angry dragon' thing with Levi is more how dragon Pokemon can sense other dragon Pokemon's power, and yes, I am calling Gyarados a dragon Pokemon. Just because it's not a Dragon type doesn't mean it's not a dragon. Gyarados in general are also good at sensing other angry dragons due to being angry dragons themselves. They also know when not to mess with someone bigger or stronger than them.

Ivy was with Berry, Dust, and Shab when they went to visit Tsunami. It was when Berry got sick, and they met with Berry's adopted Wooper family. Ivy and Berry had that talk about their parents. So yeah, Ivy has seen Tsunami.

Traveling Master: Al seeing Berry's new form definitely triggered something in the Charmeleon. IF he were indeed Berry's father…I'd say that would put him at least…between 25 and 30. But that's just speculation, seeing how Al has no memory, it's hard to say his exact age at the moment.

DarkFoxKit: And I want to add that Pokemon's age differs from human age, it also depends on what species the Pokemon are too. Dragon Pokemon (yes, the Charizard line are dragons) age much slower than a human would. So Al could be in his 50s but still be considered a teenager.

The voice in Berry's head is the Syzygy. I probably could've waited until the next book to have that revealed, but considering we don't know how long that will be, and we don't know if you will be reading it, I figured I would just give you the answer to that. The rain Berry summoned was a heavy downpour rain, but it's not as… heavy as Primordial Sea (Primal Kyogre's rain), if it was, Berry would've already flooded the entire area by the time Zacian and Zamazenta came in.

Now that we've gotten your review out of the way, we'll say something about you calling yourself stupid and having low self esteem. I understand what it's like to feel stupid and to have low self esteem. I congratulate you for having the courage to review every chapter you've read as I had to build up the courage to be able to do even that with fanfictions I like to read for the longest time. Articulating is definitely not an easy thing to do, especially when the writer could take what you say the wrong way.

Though we are trying to help you with that by giving you advice like try not to go off topic so much, and try to check what you wrote in your review before sending it, maybe try to see if you've already asked a question before, because sending people the same questions over and over again can get pretty grating. And it kinda feels like you don't really listen to us when we say these things, which is why we were getting pretty annoyed as we read more of your reviews. You have to make an effort if you want to be a better person, and not feel as stupid as you feel now. Wallowing in self hatred isn't going to do you any favors, and trust me, I do that a lot myself. It isn't easy. But you can't let that keep you from doing what you love. I suggest trying to talk about it with friends or loved ones, they can help you with that. I know I've gotten better over the years with the friends I've made.

In any case though, we aren't going to treat you any differently than any other reviewers. So if you have any questions that don't involve spoilers, then feel free to ask. You can ask about the characters too, we are a bit more free to tell you about them now that we've reached the end of the book. But we still have to refrain from telling you everything about them. Thank you for sticking around for this long, we really do appreciate it.